Browsing Tag

alt

Miss Terious exhibited the power and pain of alter-egos in ‘Misty’

Posted on 26 July 2024

Miss Terious’ latest single, Misty, bridges the gap between the tender indie pop magnetism of boygenius, the artful expression of Kate Bush, and the gothic sombre glamour reminiscent of Evanescence. This coalescence is perfectly interwoven in the arcane atmosphere of the indie piano pop ballad, where the sparse instrumentals allow Miss Terious’ emotionally heightened vocals to spectrally overpower the production.

Each verse tightens the heartstrings as you become consumed by the raw emotion conveyed through the confession of how pseudonyms can deliver confidence while concealing the person behind the greatness. The deeply felt pain of being wanted through association rather than true connection resonates throughout Misty; anyone who has experienced this pain will find the ultimate consolation within the candour.

Miss Terious is a British-born alternative musician from the West Midlands, known for her originated mix of electronic and classical instruments. Since debuting with her EP Bleeding Green in 2020, she has tackled topics such as abuse, mental health, and her separation from the ballet industry. In 2022, she was honoured as BBC Introducing’s Artist of the Month for Coventry and Warwickshire and performed at the Backyard Festival in Leamington Spa. Her contribution to the music scene earned her the Local Hero Award for AIM Awards 2022.

After hearing Misty, there isn’t an industry accolade we wouldn’t see her as fit for.

Misty was officially released on July 19; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: The Immaculate Crows charted a journey through self-rediscovery through the post-punk-meets alt-country single, Van Gogh

Posted on 18 July 2024

With their seminal single, Van Gogh, the mesmeric Brisbane alternative outfit, The Immaculate Crows, led by the philosophically profound Bruce Neilsen, reflected the fractures in the torn soul of the tortured namesake artist while exhibiting an exposition of the complexities of self-discovery and the ease with which autonomy can become obscured.

Bruce Neilsen’s guitar work lights up the track, scintillating the dark alt-country aesthetic established by Jessica Shipley’s commanding vocals and Daphne Mae’s ethereal harmonies; Wayne Harvey’s garagey guitar licks introduce an additional dynamic to the arcanely genre-fluid tour de evocative force, which will be euphony to the ears of fans of Echo and the Bunnymen and Jefferson Airplane.

As a band that has navigated the highs and lows of the music scene since the early ’80s, The Immaculate Crows have continually evolved. Neilsen’s return to the scene in 2019 marked a revival of their creative output, now characterised by a collaborative dynamic within the collective which has released two albums to date with a third on the way.

The Immaculate Crows Said:

“The single was inspired by the tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh; as the single came to fruition, I integrated disparate themes of ageism, false friends and charlatans. The single is completely open to personal interpretation, but the main underpinning is a narrative of attempting to rediscover yourself through finding spirituality, a special someone or something and eventually ‘coming out of the wilderness’.”

Van Gogh is available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Follow The Immaculate Crows on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

An Avant-Garde Echo of Isolation: Lena Lovelace – The Lonely Doll Song

Posted on 12 July 2024

Lena Lovelace unexpectedly returned with her new single, The Lonely Doll Song, an audacious exploration into the depths of isolation and faded glory. Contrary to her announcement of a musical hiatus earlier this year, Lovelace’s latest orchestration plunges into the melancholic reality faced by child stars past their ephemeral peak of fame.

Inspired by the narrative of Björn Andrésen, whose youthful foray in the spotlight dwindled as portrayed in the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, Lovelace crafts a soundscape that mirrors this descent. The minimalist yet profound single, consisting of little more than ethereally haunting vocal layers paired with the sparse, resonant notes of an electric piano, becomes a raw, unfiltered reflection of neglect and obscurity.

Lovelace’s approach in The Lonely Doll Song eschews mainstream appeal to embrace a spectral quality; the melody and composition invoke a sense of disquiet, perfectly aligning with the theme of the piece which also exhibits the singer-songwriter’s awe-inspiring refusal to conform.

The Lonely Doll Song is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Georgina White became Trip-Hop’s most arresting chanteuse in ‘LOVE’

Posted on 8 July 2024

Georgina White’s recently re-released single, LOVE, is an aching reflection on the darker shades of affection. As the PJ Harvey-esque trip-hop aesthetics mirror the turbulence of a mind gaslit into accepting abuse by nefarious actions running under the guise of passion, the indie alt-pop framework ensures that White is doing far more than simply following in the footsteps of trip-hop pioneers, she’s synthesising a sound that is irreplicably her own.

The sepia-tinged production by the hand of Dan Myers brings an aura of old-school spectral soul to the soundscape which harnesses the haunting vocal delivery. Delicate yet commanding, White’s voice embodies the complexities of maleficent love, delivering each verse with a chanteuse’s grace and an insurgence of empowerment. Angel Olsen herself couldn’t have performed LOVE better.

Penned after drawing inspiration from the Cruel Intentions soundtrack, LOVE lends from the melancholic depths of the OST; despair pulsates throughout the progressions in the luxuriantly arcane production that melds gritty guitars with syncopated beats that mimic the frenetic rhythms of a heart beating out of sync.

Whatever the Brit-Austrian artist and actress turns her talents to next, it is going to be the epitome of iconic.

Stream LOVE on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vice Club is a red-hot new flame in the alt-rock fire with their seminal single, Call It What You Want

Posted on 7 July 2024

From the underbelly of New York’s gritty music scene, the NYC icons of innovative immorality, Vice Club have unleashed ‘Call It What You Want’; a track that’s drenched in the raw, visceral energy of grunge, infused with the kinetic seduction of Deftones’ breakdowns, and tinged with the raw emotionality of Silverchair and Thrice.

Rather than play it safe with the vocal performance, Vice Club transgressed expectation with the chameleonic execution by experimenting with pseudo-trap cadences and pop hooks around the gruff deliverances of ennui, creating an alchemically dynamic track with swathes of cross-over appeal. The soaring, intuitively technical guitar solo assures that even rock traditionalists can take something from the evocatively heightened anthem.

Every motif and progression is a testament to Vice Club’s determination to become the architects of a brand-new alt-rock wave and ensure their sound goes untainted by anyone else’s touch. Their DIY philosophy extended from the writing into the recording and production; swathing every aspect in their unique soundprint that will undoubtedly leave an army of alt music fans kneeling at their hedonic altar.

Call It What You Want was officially released on May 31; stream the single on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Serenity Club launched an attack of anthemic alt-rock reclamation with ‘Taking Back My Life’

Posted on 28 June 2024
The Serenity Club

With pop-fuelled alt-rock choruses that will be euphony to be the ears of the Foo Fighters between verses that reanimate rugged 90s Britpop swagger, The Serenity Club’s latest single, Taking Back My Life, is an unforgettably emboldening anthem of reclamation.

The high-octane synthesis of volition, redemption and serotonin is set to put the London-based triadic powerhouse on the map ahead of their debut five-track EP, Obsession Submission, which is due for release later this summer. The timely release of the single also means that it incidentally coincides with the General Election; I couldn’t think of a better track to listen to on the way to the polling station.

Hints of 90s-era Manic Street Preachers (think along the lines of Slash n Burn, You Love Us, and Kevin Carter) resound throughout the vivaciously fuelled guitar licks and the razor-sharp hooks that don’t stop at pulling you into the centre of this intensely liberating hit. They open the doorway to one of the most determined-to-embed earworms you’ve ever encountered as they work alongside the unflinchingly dynamic vocals of Mit Inajar.

With an exhilarating sound that Wembley Stadium could scarcely contain, The Serenity Club has exactly what it takes to take their career to stratospheric heights this summer; just try standing in their way.

Taking Back My Life will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp, from June 28th.

Discover more about The Serenity Club via their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post-Punk Pulsates Through Dissolved Girl’s Latest Alt-90s Spectral Sonic Shadow, I’m a Beast

Posted on 22 June 2024

Dissolved Girl is back for round three; the gloves are off, and teeth are bared in their latest single, I’m a Beast, which blasts past alt-90s pastiche and scathes the rhythmic pulses with killer hooks, sharp enough to tear through the monochromatically cold atmosphere of the release which aches for redemption.

Ornate gothic instrumentation carves its way through the production while the basslines pulsate with post-punk volition under the vocal lines which blend raw power with haunting vulnerability. If Garbage released this single at the zenith of their career, the spectrally sensuous soundscape would have darkened the top of the charts for weeks. We may be living in a new sonic epoch, but the London-based four-piece is unflinching in their determination to keep bands relevant in the modern music industry.

With their refined approach to bending minds through esoteric alchemy and their ability to linger in the psyche for long after the final shadowy note, it’s only a matter of time before they take the alt-music underground by storm.

I’m a Beast was officially released on June 14; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spyndycyt entered the industry as a zany indie pop enigma with ‘MysteryBoy’.

Posted on 20 June 2024

Spyndycyt’s seminal single, ‘MysteryBoy‘, kicks off with a short sermonic acapella narration of abstract lyrical poetry before the beat and scintillatingly strobing synths consume the track in true electro-pop style.

Yet, ‘MysteryBoy’ is far from your average pop fare. It fuses Jack White-esque aesthetics with Suicide-reminiscent indietronica and an eccentricity scarcely heard in the contemporary music industry. If Lou Reed lost all sense of restraint and approached his sound with unadulterated expression, you’d undoubtedly be treated to an exhilarant zany hit in the same vein as ‘MysteryBoy’.

Even after this soul-baring release, Spyndycyt remains somewhat of an enigma behind his avant-garde production that’s rampant with infectious zeal. His approach to music is intriguingly unconventional, but don’t get it twisted, though he may blaze through his productions driven by fantasies that far exceed his abilities, the result is a mould-breaking riot of rhythmically-charged euphoria.

His raw, almost naive touch, brings a unique authenticity to his work that seekers of fresh and boundary-pushing hits will want to devour. Break away from the mundane and predictable and hit play.

MysteryBoy was officially released on June 12th; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oceandvst cured nihilism with their hooked-up juggernaut of an emo post-hardcore anthem, Dead End Hope

Posted on 16 June 2024

‘Dead End Hope’ is so much more than the sum of its parts; a savant polymath wouldn’t know where to start breaking the latest expansively affecting single from Oceandvst down.

The only true way to do the augmented with raw volition alt anthem any justice is by alluding to the visceral impact of the release that covers the entire emo spectrum while extending an olive branch of empathy to anyone who has ever known the claustrophobia of being trapped within their own mind.

From Paramore-esque vocal hooks to the heart-in-throat vindication of MCR to the hell-hath-no-fury like a post-hardcore breakdown of blast beats, ferociously distorted guitars and snarled basslines, Dead End Hope delivers it all while keeping the emotion of the single at its core.

Since forming in 2017, the Greek trio has lived up to their mission of becoming architects of sonic sanctuaries to the disillusioned, the lost, and the outliers with the candour in their lyrics and the intensity of their melodies. Messages of solidarity and hope underscore each of their releases which have been lauded by Billboard Magazine and Alternative Press.

If any outfit is capable of curing nihilism while simultaneously perfecting the formula for a pop-punk-post-hardcore anthemic hybrid, it is Oceandvst.

Dead End Hope was officially released on June 7th; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Radiant alchemised sociopathic kryptonite in their alt-rock anthem, Formulaic

Posted on 16 June 2024

Alt-rock rhythms rendezvoused with moody electroclash-esque pop aesthetics in the latest single, Formulaic, from the Canadian harbingers of sonic revolution, The Radiant.

The accolade-decorated outfit used the single from their forthcoming LP, Take 3, to hold a mirror to the contrived ilk of sociopaths who always know what to say to manipulate a situation while wrapping themselves up in the narcissistic fantasy of a belief that they’re untouchable. The visceral impact of Mikhaila Anderson’s soaring with scathed soul vocals will undoubtedly make them think twice and embolden others to join The Radiant at the vanguard of silken-tongued resistance.

In their most accomplished single to date, The Radiant let their endlessly expanding audience know exactly who they are; a powerhouse with rock n roll reverence in their bones and innovation in their blood.

After receiving nominations for Rock Artist of the Year from BreakOutWest WCMA in 2020 and Alternative Artist of the Year in 2022 from North Sask Music Zine following the release of their eponymous debut EP in 2019, with the release of their debut album in the pipeline, more award nominations will naturally follow.

Formulaic will be available to stream on all major platforms from June 16th. Find your preferred way to listen via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast