Browsing Tag

Angel Olsen

Succumb to the sonorous resonance in Sophie Lilah’s latest indie dream pop single, Hazy

Posted on 29 December 2023

Sophie Lilah’s latest single, Hazy, took a few leaves from the songwriting books of Big Thief and Angel Olsen but left plenty of room for her own dreamy indie pop innovation by crafting a soundscape that entwines the ethereal with profoundly grounding magnetism as the lyrics traverse stratospheres of emotion and experience.

The song is a breath-taking ode to its title, sweeping listeners up in melodiously airy tides that reveal new depths with each listen. It’s a dreamscape that keeps giving, a testament to Lilah’s ingenuity and ability to create music that resonates on multiple levels.

There’s something so seductive about surrendering to the soul in the melodies that have been polished to indie pop perfection and strike a delicate balance between accessibility and depth in the ambience which alchemically becomes intimately expansive. The themes of longing, boredom, guilt over laziness, and everyday maladies are handled with a deft touch, offering resonance and relatable catharsis in no short measure. Her lyrics transcend language to open windows to her vulnerable yet juxtaposing empowered soul. We can’t rate Sophie Lilah highly enough. Get her on your radar and anticipate her next ahead of the curve move.

Hazy was officially released with the B-side single, Take Back the Power, on December 19. Stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Debbie Christ is scintillatingly affecting in her advocacy of authenticity and resilience in We Carry On

Posted on 18 December 2023

Taken from her I’ve Got Time / We Carry On double A-side single, We Carry On by Debbie Christ is a scintillatingly affecting extension of the Shoegaze genre, which spills all the reverb and chorus effects your heart could possibly desire while adding new arcane layers to the intricate tapestry of a production that will consume you down to the last atom of your being as you’re absorbed in the experimentalism.

The defiance of categorisation within the synthesis of femme garage rock, folk, punk and indie not only invites you into a dream-like aural experience but compels you to embrace your own authenticity and walk your unique path, away from the shame of exhibiting your eccentricities.

After overcoming loss, addiction, cancer, and rebelling against her evangelical upbringing, I can’t think of a better voice to help you chart your own path with resilience than Debbie Christ. She’s an icon, not for all she’s endured, but for her determination to emancipate others from their suffering and embolden them.

Towards the outro, We Carry On moves away from the Angel Olsen-reminiscent choral accordance to deliver rancour in the same vein as Big Thief and Lucy Dacus around the Grandaddy-esque synths that add yet another dynamic to the release that is far too infectious to encounter just once. If there’s any justice left in the music industry, Debbie Christ will be one of the biggest names in indie in 2024.

We Carry On is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

wych elm gave grunge a place on 21st-century airwaves with their pitchfork-permeated single, ‘Burnt at the Stake’

Posted on 11 October 2023

Wearing their Angel Olsen and Courtney Barnett influences on the sleeve of their guitarwork and their devil-may-care vocal lines, the Bristol-based trio, wych elm, gave their latest psychedelically sludgy feat of alt-indie, Burnt at the Stake, as much mainstream appeal as their hits that have surpassed the million stream mark.

The winding carnivalesque-with-macabre-glamour melodies are carved through by the angular syncopated notes to ensure the tension is succinctly taught before the breaks into the choruses that blister with catharsis.

Burnt at the Stake is the first single to drip from the forthcoming EP, Field Crow, which will drop on November 13th. Make sure wych elm is on your radar for the deliverance of it and in your gig calendar for when they embark on their UK tour from the same date.

Burnt at the Stake was officially released on September 30th; stream it on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Visit the haunted ‘Park of Endless Dreams II’ in Frances Cleave’s ethereally alchemic single

Posted on 20 June 2023

After beguiling us with her Southern Gothic sophomore single, Freedom vs. Loneliness, the Charleston singer-songwriter Frances Cleave perceptibly sharpened her magnetic songwriting chops for her third single, Park of Endless Dreams II.

The deeply confessional single gives an intimate view into Cleave’s relatable haunted psyche while bringing her audience’s emotions to the surface to taste the catharsis in the hazy Lynchian soundscape.

Traversing the pleasure-pain dichotomy through ethereal vocal lines, which sink into the eerie tones split by the minimalist synth lines, Park of Endless Dreams II is yet another testament to Cleave’s alchemic relationship to music. With her lyricality always pertaining to a sense of duality, Cleave is a rare artist who shows you both sides of the coin with her poetic works.

Park of Endless Dreams II was officially released on June 9th. Stream it on Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The West Australian Alt-Country Singer-Songwriter, Siobhan Cotchin, Takes us to Tucson in Her Latest Ethereally Luminous Release

Posted on 27 February 2022

After garnering over 100k streams on Spotify with her 2020 single Do You Know What I Mean? Siobhan Cotchin has returned to the airwaves with her ethereally bluesy Americana single, Tucson. It will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Big Thief, Angel Olsen and Bonny Light Horsemen.

The West Australian alt-country/rock singer-songwriter’s career has already taken off in Australia. Based on the luminous accordance of Tucson, paired with Cotchin’s determination to weave immersive introspective narratives, she has everything it takes to become an international country-rock icon. In a similar style to Kurt Vile, the award-winning artist caresses the roots of Americana while securing its place in the 21st-century. Her minimalist angular melodies fall into the cavernous production just as succinctly as the lyrics that allude to the subjective desolateness of Tucson.

Tuscon is now available to stream and purchase on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Alternative singer-songwriter Laura Lang shares artful introspection in her debut single, Lithium

Posted on 3 January 2022

Tennessee-based independent singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Laura Lang is fresh from the release of her debut single, Lithium. With a voice as arresting as Angel Olsen and Phoebe Bridgers and the artful baroque nuances, you can’t help getting caught up in the captivating chord structures paired with the pop-inspired melodies.

After a melancholy bleeding intro, Lithium shifts into a testament of Lang’s introspective intellect, creative imagination and ability to create an ethereally captivating soundscape from the unravelling of her emotions.

With her debut album, All Downhill from There, which promises to echo suffering, beauty and nature due for release in January 2022, saving space on your radar for Laura Lang will undoubtedly pay off. Her debut single, Lithium, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Natalie Lane has released the bitter-sweet dark-pop ballad of the year with ‘Lonely’.

Posted on 14 October 2021

Californian singer-songwriter, Natalie Lane, has released her most captivating single to date with ‘Lonely’. The experimentally stormy production of the atmospheric downtempo ballad amplifies the intensity of the confessionally raw single to a visceral degree.

With a sonic style that sits in between Angel Olsen, St. Vincent and Billie Eilish combined with hints of bluesy Americana, Natalie Lane’s alchemic single hits like no other. It’s heart-wrenching tracks like this that take the stigma away from the admission of loneliness. Given that loneliness is a fundamental part of our human existence, we’re sure the weight in this track will resonate with anyone that takes a chance on it.

The official video for Lonely premiered on October 2nd; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fair Verona – Egomaniac: Film Noir Folk Pop

Posted on 29 June 2021
Egomaniac by Fair Verona

The atmospheric air in Fair Verona’s latest single, Egomaniac, comes with a tinge of archaicism yet the ethereally melodic soundscape finds itself in tune with the contemporary moody indie-pop sound.

The alternative duo comprises Mickey Vaughan (lead vocals, piano and guitar) and Maxwell Mandell (drums and production). Their profound collaborative chemistry resides in the way the instrumentals, vocals, and production share the same alchemically morose, haunting feel. Egomaniac is mellow and cutting all in equal measure. Fans of Sophe Luxe, Angel Olsen, and Phoebe Bridgers will want to make room on their radars for the Charlottesville, Virginia-residing duo with their vintagely modern sound.

The explicit version and the radio-friendly version of Egomaniac are both available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vincent Sonder lights up our day with ‘Camel Lights’

Posted on 20 January 2021

In his day job, Vincent Sonder – the alter-ego of celebrated filmmaker Joe Connor – has worked with bands as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Sam Smith, Coldplay, Paul Weller, The Maccabees, and Placebo (among others), and that shoulder-rubbing pedigree has obviously stood him in good stead when it comes to his own creative flow. Recorded in 2017 but only now available across streaming services, ‘Vincent Sonder’ the album is a gorgeous, glorious affair, and ‘Camel Lights’ is a perfect introduction.

Beautiful, exquisite piano accompanies Sonder’s mellow storytelling vocal, the lyrical flow creating a perfect mood of contemplation and reverie, dreamlike and meditative, with a narrative feel that tells the story of ‘the memory of a man that I can’t find’. It’s bewitching, evocative, and anecdotal, made all the more memorable by the interplay with the second, female vocal intertwined between Sonder’s lead and those plaintive minor piano chords; you listen, and you can practically see cigarette smoke drifting from a discarded ashtray, monochrome, in the rain. It’s beautiful.

Follow Vincent Sonder on Instagram; hear ‘Camel Lights’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify.

Review by Alex Holmes

Clara Day has made her hauntingly hypnotic debut with ‘The Ritual’

Posted on 29 December 2020
https://claraday.bandcamp.com/?fbclid=IwAR0Y1uPgteh4QQ3rg5njzWJtND5tV-lxq1ovg-UNyJVPOc-QfxlyShf_L-U

Bristol-based singer-songwriter, Clara Day, made her debut with the stunning Psych Folk single, ‘The Ritual’, on December 17th, without a hint of hyperbole, it may be the most enthralling single released in 2020.

By taking inspiration from 70s folk horror films, Clara Day was able to bring hypnotically hexing energy to the ambient semi-orchestral single which oozes sensuality, beguile and tender intimacy, all in equal measure.

Any fans of Mazzy Star, Angel Olsen and Big Thief will find Clara Day’s haunting vocal timbre just as enchanting. Yet, with the celestial psychedelia which the singer-songwriter brings to her transfixing sound, there’s an extra layer of alchemy to sink your teeth into.

You can check out The Ritual for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast