Browsing Tag

Americana Pop

Blind Crush by Bijou Belle and The RathCo Is Flirty Midwest Indie Pop with Infatuation-Drunk Dive Bar Momentum

Posted on 21 July 2026

Bijou Belle became Americana’s new sweetheart after the Midwest supreme released her latest single, Blind Crush, with her band, Bijou Belle and The RathCo. The 17-year-old Rapid City, South Dakota alt-pop and indie-pop artist grew up in a staunchly musical family, with her grandfather, Rocke Grace, connected to the rock classic Rocky Mountain Way, and that inherited musical pedigree runs through her veins and into this track.

Raucous in all the right places, playfully seductive in all the rest, the rock-tinged country-pop earworm winds through the nostalgia of Y2K pop while sidestepping the crossroads of dated antiquity. Bijou Belle drives the aesthetic right into the centre of the contemporary pop zeitgeist, with the momentum of an artist who refuses to smooth her sound down to fit the superficial plastic-pop mould.

Blind Crush captures the irrational headrush of infatuation; the reckless moment when logic loses its keys and butterflies take the wheel. It’s the kind of hit you want to get your Levi’s hotpants on for and head to a dive bar to find your new crush, so you can get as giddy as the lyrics that writhe in the rapture of infatuation.

After touring the Midwest with The RathCo and reaching national audiences on NBC’s The Voice as part of Team Adam, Belle already carries the poise of someone learning how to make big rooms feel personal.

Blind Crush is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Micah Marine’s second eponymous album allows pop to walk barefoot through blues, soul and Americana fantasy

Posted on 2 June 2026

Micah Marine brought a burst of authenticity back to pop with his second eponymous album, Micah Marine 2. The expansively styled LP traverses the entire pop spectrum, travelling further across the span of one single than many pop artists do in a lifetime. The second track on the LP, Daddy, is the ultimate introduction to Micah Marine’s soul-pop fusionist style.

The way he brings blues beyond genre and into an art form that reverberates with mainstream appeal is almost as affecting as the experience of the single itself. As acoustic guitar strings twang and the percussion is kept traditional, Micah uses his voice to push the arbitrary parameters of blues, allowing it to shine with brand new warmth while pop adopts the salacious-to-the-soul grooves.

Micah Marine’s wider world is rooted in cinematic pop, alternative pop, dream-pop aesthetics, Americana fantasy, and emotional storytelling, yet Daddy proves the mythology works because the feeling comes first.

His music moves between the spaces of intimate confessionalism and movie-soundtrack resonance, where heartbreak is gold-shimmered theatre, and reinvention becomes survival. Across Micah Marine 2, he folds healing, ambition, memory, identity, and escapism into songs that reach for something larger than life. Daddy gives that universe its most tactile pulse, all bluesy intimacy, soul-pop glow, and a fearless emotional core.

Micah Marine 2 is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tasha Keswani Reacquainted Pain with Grace in the Americana-Laced Alt-Pop Ballad, Hello Stranger Hello

Posted on 20 May 2026

Stunning doesn’t even come close to encompassing the resonance-rich latest single from Tasha Keswani. Within the arcane expanse of ‘Hello Stranger Hello’, the Bangalore singer-songwriter blurred the lines between the swoon-demanding pop ballad, the folk narrative of a soul being torn into tributaries by splintering connection and a rich Americana vignette, complete with dusky winding guitar strings.

With a voice that has surely made its fair share of grown men cry and a clear, rare songwriting talent, Tasha Keswani ensured Hello Stranger Hello sweeps you up in the celestial alt-country pop twang; the sweetly soft chords are enough to metaphorically break the bind of gravity as they transcend in a seemingly infinite trajectory.

The instrumentation is kept traditional to the country pop genre, making it all the more impressive that the young singer-songwriter was able to nestle so much authenticity in the rapture of the release, which reacquaints with a ghost from the past with the kind of grace which reflects how much pain had to pass to seem amicable in the face of the returning wanderer.

Produced with UK-based Jack Gourlay, the single carries warm acoustic textures and layered harmonies shaped by Keswani’s Hindustani classical training and choral background across India and Scotland. Following recognition from Rolling Stone India and editorial support across Spotify and Apple Music, Hello Stranger Hello affirms her place as an artist writing from the fragile seams of love, change, and memory.

Hello Stranger Hello is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Angie Keys Unlocks Emotional Armour in Her Alt-Pop Anthem ‘Brave’

Posted on 1 April 2025

With an intro landing deftly between a bitter-sweet Taylor Swift ballad and the soaring guitar strings of a Springsteen-inspired country-pop anthem, Angie Keys’ single, ‘Brave’, instantly immerses you in melodically impassioned territory. Taken from her debut album, Finally Here, the track never allows its emotive momentum to falter, striking an affecting balance between intensity and tranquillity.

Keys’ instrumental swells resonate with palpable feeling, affirming her talent for embedding visceral emotion into each note. Yet, amidst this sonic strength, a gentle serenity emerges through Keys’ vocals, gracefully drifting through the production like whispers of comfort. This effortless vocal touch adds a serene reverie, making the single a musical salve for those wearied by fortitude.

Lyrically, ‘Brave’ explores the resilience required to thrive despite relentless trials—an honest narrative borne from genuine life experience. Keys, a Birmingham-based singer-songwriter with roots tracing back to childhood family performances, has grown into a nuanced storyteller. Her teenage fascination with 90s multitrack recording blossomed into mastery, fuelled further by life’s heartbreaks, repairs, loves, and losses. These lived experiences culminate impressively on her long-awaited debut, underpinned by contributions from global talents including Emiliano Boulot on drums, Daniel Beachy’s pedal steel, Marco Gatti’s piano keys, Hugo Lanauestudi’s lap steel, and Joseph Keys’ accomplished guitar and production work.

Brave is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Madelyn Jones prescribes indie-pop tranquillity in her latest single, ‘Carolina Blue’.

Posted on 7 July 2021

Colorado-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Madelyn Jones has followed on from the success of her 2020 debut single, For You, with the release of her tranquil indie-pop track, Carolina Blue.

Carolina Blue is the perfect soundscape for those chilled summer nights; as the lyrics inspire affectionate nostalgia, the mellow pace of the sun-bleached indie-pop instrumentals brings Nashville-style catharsis

At a young age, Madelyn Jones is already exhibiting the same level of maturity and finesse as her dynamic array of influences. The singer-songwriter who has been writing songs since the 5th grade takes inspiration from everyone from Taylor Swift to the Beatles to Frank Sinatra. Discernibly, she can authentically mimic all of the aforementioned’s abilities to evoke emotion through music, and got her money’s worth from her music degree at Belmont University.

Carolina Blue is now available to stream on all platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Natalie Duque has released her gracefully minimalist ballad, Silence Hurts More.

Posted on 2 July 2021

With guitars that will make Slowdive fans swoon combined with tender keys and Natalie Duque’s arresting, almost angelic vocals, Silence Hurts More is everything that a contemporary ballad should be.

Silence Hurts More is just one of the singles found on her latest soul-baring 2-track release, Gemini, that carries the candid nature of Adele’s most emotionally exposing singles and a gracefully minimalist instrumental style which gives the poetically introspective lyricism more room to breathe in the soundscape.

The level of talent in the release easily matches the authenticity. We are incredibly grateful to have found Natalie Duque at this blossoming stage of her career. It is going to be incredibly satisfying watching such an accolade-worthy artist ascend.

Check out Natalie Duque on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennifer Alvarado is red hot and ‘Playing With Fire’

Posted on 17 May 2021

Songwriting from the tender age of four, and with an album of Christian music (2015’s ‘Hello Life’) already under her belt, Jennifer Alvarado was named ‘One To Watch’ by the Nashville Songwriters Association off the back of her 2020 single ‘I Break Things’ and its four follow-ups. With a Commscope award for original songwriting, Alevarado’s new single – from the freshly released EP of the same name – ‘Playing With Fire’ is a gentle, mid-tempoBlues-tinged Country ballad.

Acoustic-guitar and chilled Texas shuffle drums on the verses, with big powerchord uplifts on the choruses, ‘Playing With Fire’ is perfect summer driving music; simple and immediate, catchy as hell, gritty and honest, with a big pentatonic-focused guitar break and Alvarado’s excellent, emotive vocal carrying the song. There’s obvious reference points; Shania, Taylor, maybe a little of the Meredith Brooks, but it’s exactly the sort of song that should be all over daytime radio and Country Music Television. It’s a great single, and it’s easy to see why it’s already been voted Number 1 on Indie Star Radio’s ‘Top 21’.

Check out ‘Playing With Fire’ on Spotify now; follow Jennifer Alvarado on Facebook and here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Marshall Artz are ‘Coming Home’ with their twin guitars and a brand new album

Posted on 8 May 2021
Marshall Artz

Taken from their fifth album ‘What Matters’, Marshall Artz’ new single ‘Coming Home’ is a mildly folky, Louisiana-tinged acoustic-led duet, fast-paced and upbeat with some bluegrass vibes in places around the banjo-roll lead breaks and slide guitar pieces, all wrapped around the uber-tight fingerstyle rhythm work of Kevin Artz. There’s a folk-rock, Americana feel to the track, reminiscent of 70’s trio America, Bread, or Harry Chapin, with maybe an element of the Doobie Brothers thrown in in the way both players interact organically around the track to create something that sounds fuller than ‘just’ two guitars and vocals.

It’s an excellent track, pacey and tight; lyrically, the title’s pretty much on the money – a long time away, nothing but ‘FaceTime on my iPhone’ to connect with, and ‘today is the day that I’m coming home’. Gentle, fun, and uplifting, ‘Coming Home’ is a great introduction to Marshall Artz new album.

You can hear ‘Coming Home’ here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Delicate, Beautiful, and Haunting – The Real Shade are ‘Waiting For Good News’

Posted on 3 May 2021
The Real Shade

Gorgeously simple-but-evocative strummed acoustic guitar and Tim Vesely’s beautiful, cultured vocal carries the first half of ‘Waiting For Good News’, the new single from Toronto-based The Real Shade, before delicate organ, drum, and backing vocals join us around the mid-point; ‘Waiting For Good News’ is a perfect, tear-jerking-in-a-good-way, poignant and heartfelt yet hopeful and uplifting, it’s an absolutely stunning mix of lo-fi, old-school Americana, folk, and simple, expressive pop. Think Jayhawks, Counting Crows, or the mellower parts of Buffalo Tom, with a little of Paul Westerberg and Justin Townes Earle thrown in for good measure.

Taken from the forthcoming album ‘String Of Lights’, and a collaboration between ‘usual’ The Real Shade singer-songwriter Jane Gowan (Spygirl, Neins Circa) and producer and musician Vesely (Rheostatics), ‘Waiting For Good News’ is inspired both by the feelings a lot of us have right now, as we emerge slowly, blinking and nervously sniffing the air, from lockdown, and the novel ‘All My Puny Sorrows’ (Miriam Toews). It’s an absolutely beautiful, reflective single, perfectly composed and stunningly performed, gorgeous in its simplicity and 1,000,000 times more powerful because of it.

‘Waiting For Good News’ is released on May 14th 2021; you can find more information from The Real Shade’s website.

Review by Alex Holmes

The Dark Days have ‘Georgia’ on their minds.

Posted on 2 May 2021

Take four siblings raised in Colorado, a bunch of traditional acoustic instruments, some serious musicianship and songwriting, and a whole lot of heart and soul, and with a little bit of gentle shaking you might just come out with The Dark Days. Classic, perfect, gorgeous gentle Americana written ‘for our Ma when we were going through the struggle’, ‘Georgia’ rolls and swells along on waves of acoustic guitar, cahon, strings, and singer Xela Dark’s stunning voice; smoky, soothing, sultry, caressing, uplifting, and just plain beautiful, Xela’s vocal is the icing on an already extremely well-baked cake. Think of Counting Crows or the Jayhawks, with Sheryl Crow or maybe Lene Marlin taking over on vocals for Adam Duritz for a while, and you can imagine the sort of territory we’re in here.

It’s a perfect, sweet summer song; something to lie back in a corn field and just listen along to, and let everything else go for a few minutes. That’s pretty rare.

You can check out ‘Georgia’ on Spotify, and follow The Dark Days on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes