Browsing Tag

Avant Garde

Jessamine Barham exhumed a ‘Shallow Grave’ to speak on the violent oppression of women in her latest single.

Posted on 12 October 2023

Jessamine Barham released her most striking single to date when she read the harrowing tale in her latest single, Shallow Grave. The haunting vocal harmonies atop the staccato acoustic guitar strings and as the centrefold within the quiescent orchestral swells of chamber pop strings brought the solemnity within Shallow Grave to spectral life in a way that assures us that even though Jessamine Barham’s dark pop stylings are niche, her talents of a sonic narrator of feminine tragedy should never be underestimated.

The days of the Salem witch trials and being sectioned with hysteria may be behind us, but the violent oppression of women will always be a tale as old as time. It was no feat of hyperbole to lyrically infer that feminine acts of rebellion can incur the death penalty. Some may say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but life hath no tyranny like the men determined to keep us chastised.

Shallow Grave was officially released on September 24; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Roo Elizabeth – Ready to Die: A Dream Pop Redemption Story

Posted on 25 September 2023

Etherealism drifts through the latest avant-garde dream-pop installation, Ready to Die, from the Irish artist, songwriter, and fledging producer, Roo Elizabeth who has been taking the live circuit by storm after opening for Wyvern Lingo and Mary Coughlan and appearing on the bill at Electric Picnic and Forest Fest.

With a soundscape that bridges the gap between the melancholic intimacy of Bill Ryder-Jones, the hazy production techniques of Cigarettes After Sex, and the artful expression of Kate Bush in her The Kick Inside era, Roo Elizabeth gave her sophomore single a timelessly beguiling nocturnal quality, perfect for slipping into when you want to relish in introverted introspection.

The track title may appear macabre but the sonic experience itself couldn’t be more tender in its advocation for sanctity, acceptance, and authenticity. By illustrating the beauty of tragedy, in the same vein as Cultdreams, Roo Elizabeth rendered one of the most affirmingly inspirational singles of 2023.

In her own words:

‘READY TO DIE’ is about radical love. It’s about fighting for your own joy. Like a lot of others, I have grown up surrounded by addiction. It buries the spark in the people we love. This song is about cutting the ties of self-sabotage and rising to meet yourself in your own authenticity.

Ready to Die is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chase Hagerman augmented the avant-garde in his galactically galvanised single, Love You ft MEV

Posted on 21 June 2023

Taken from his ingeniously titled 2023 LP, The Avant Guardian, the standout single, Love You, from Cali’s Chase Hagerman, is an artfully visceral explosion of pure sonic devotion.

Those three little words seem even smaller after experiencing the riotously rapturous soundscape, which unravels as a progressive medley of sheer experimentalism. From euphonic disco-funk grooves to hits of hip-hop to interludes of cosmic space folk to hyper pop, it would probably be easier to name the genres which were excluded from the high-octane melting pot, which picks up stratospheric mind-bending momentum to ensure the listener feels the love in mind, body and soul.

It is one thing to create such a massive sound and another thing entirely to make it so impactful with meaning simultaneously. Clearly, Chase Hagerman (AKA Chase the Composer) is as far from being pedestrian as the NASA Space Station.

Prior to releasing his solo material, the eclectically-styled classically-experienced composer, drummer, producer and pianist cut his teeth in college marching bands, orchestras, rock bands and theatre troupes; his collective experience became the sum of his avant-garde tenacity and anthemic subtlety.

Stream the album in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Liverpool’s most Machiavellian post-punk jazz outfit, Laz Berelow, did Friedrich Nietzsche proud in God is Dead

Posted on 15 May 2023
Dives by Laz Berelow

Laz Berelow’s latest single may decree that God is Dead, but Glenn Branca lives and breathes through the histrionically cold feat of post-punk capable of giving your speakers frostbite.

The complex time signatures of the guitars with the obscure jazz nuances and polyphonic chaos is a pairing that ensures God is Dead is a sonic deliverance of comfort to the disturbed. If you’re pious to the Machiavellian experimentalism of Mike Patton, you’re sure to get your kicks from God is Dead. Friedrich Nietzsche would be proud.

When GetIntoThis were tastemakers on the scene before Peter Guy shamed himself during my tenure as an editor, Laz Berelow was dubbed one of the best acts of 2020; they easily lived up to that accolade with God is Dead.

Stream and purchase God is Dead via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nico David – Turn Your Magic On: A Renaissance of the Age of Innocence

Posted on 5 May 2023

The Avant-Garde artisan of evocative contemporary folk-pop tones, Nico David, created a renaissance of the ages of our respective innocence with his latest alt-piano-pop piece, Turn Your Magic On.

Starting as a tender ballad with chamber orchestral strings, the single amasses momentum within the ascending progressions and ardent vocal lines to pay a fitting ode to the endless power we possessed as children, granted to us by our limitless imaginations.

The process of maturity strips our senses of wonder and gift of naivety before replacing them with weary cynicism unless you’re lucky enough to find someone you feel safe enough to reignite that spark around. Turn Your Magic On is the ultimate sonic solace.

The lyrical depiction of a conversation between a man and an imaginary child is a reminder that our younger versions exist within us all, and they all need nurturing. It’s a stunning release through and through; the euphonically diaphanous beauty is equally matched by the tender sentiments expressed.

Stream the official music video of Turn Your Magic On via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trip-hop goes baroque in Lakitah’s latest bullet to the monocultural mould, The Fall ft. EvenstAr

Posted on 18 March 2023

Lose yourself in the fantastical atmosphere of Lakitah’s latest single, The Fall, featuring EvenstAr; the baroquely histrionic brand of trip-hop melodically works to create a mise en scene of isolation and introspection.

The international collaboration project, led by vocalist and guitarist Dominika Zdrodowski, started as a lockdown-born endeavour, but as the struggle for hope is still as endemic as it was when we were commanded to keep distance between each other, and just as insular in our alienation, the project still thrives. You only need to slip into the artful opulence of the Fall to affirm that for yourselves.

The featuring artist EvenstAr takes influence from trip-hop acts, such as Portishead and Massive Attack; put against the monocultural-mould smashing beguile laid out by Lakitah, The Fall is an Avant-Garde emblem you will want to treasure for as long as you want to keep hold of your sanity.

Stream EvenstAr on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Growing Boi made a malady of sentimentality in his psychedelically experimental single, Overflow

Posted on 24 February 2023

After years of success as a touring artist, session musician, songwriter and producer, Chris Matthews obliterated the notion of genre with his exploratively alternative single, Overflow, under the moniker Growing Boi. The artfully melancholic track makes a malady out of sentimentality while exhibiting the same instrumental alchemy and ingenuity as the Legendary Pink Dots and the vocal gravitas of Leonard Cohen.

The spacey amalgam of psych, folk, electronica, trip-hop and 70s pop is devilishly clever, but never to the detriment of the accessibility of the intimately bold score that will stay with you for long after the complex chords have faded into silent obscurity. From honkytonk piano keys to motifs you’d expect to hear in a Tame Impala production, Overflow is a treasure trove of artful beguile that allows you to drift to a higher plateau.

Overflow will drop on February 24th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Pinwheel Valley transcendentally reflects in his accessible Avant-Garde ambient EP, What If I

Posted on 3 February 2023

On February 3rd, the superlatively talented songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Pinwheel Valley will unveil his most experimental EP to date, What If I, as a departure from his indie-psych hits. Bar spoken word philosophical verses in the title single, the instrumental EP allows the dynamic instrumentals to set the tone, atmosphere, and sonic ideology.

The opening single, R.E.M. State, reaches the pinnacle of tranquillity as the lush reverb counters the visceralism of the trip-hop-y backbeats. Before track two, Honey Ripples, gives you an oceanic opportunity to slip away from the fray and enter a subaqueous paradise.

The concluding title single is a disarmingly poignant invitation into the psyche of Pinwheel Valley. The spoken word verses compel you into matching the deep state of reflection while the experimentalism of the Avant-Garde rhythmically complex arrangement provides a serene atmosphere you will want to visit time and time again. The soulfully accommodating release is inexplicably unparalleled from what any other artist is putting into the ether.

The alchemic feat of audio engineering definitively proves Pinwheel Valley’ ability to take phenomenological fragments and create sonically serene worlds from them. If I could permanently exist within them, I would take up perpetual residence in their artistic confines.

Pinwheel Valley Said:

“R.E.M. State is inspired by the absorbingly rejuvenating instrumentals in KAYTRANADA’s single, Bus Ride. I wanted to leave a mark on the canvas of mankind’s universe by flowing into rhythmically complex territory without becoming inaccessible to my audience.

Honey Ripples was written on a rainy day, envisioning how water droplets collide with the body of a lake before reflecting the impact through the warm and creamy honey texture of the Rhodes piano, also experimenting with dolphin samples to create an underwater soundscape haven.

What If I traverses themes of revival. The instrumental track with spoken vocals speaks from the dark abyss of mortal defeat. The protagonist weighs up letting his soul disintegrate or summoning an unforeseen strength to claw out of his pit to bring about his soul’s resuscitation.”

What If I will officially release on February 3rd. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oxfordshire sound designer Mosa has unveiled his poetically postmodernist score, helicopter

Posted on 2 February 2023
https://soundcloud.com/soundofmosa/helicopter/s-SzrHmsEv6VP?si=900e2a959dbd4e68829de9048b7cfe3f&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Game composer by day and sound designer by night, the Oxfordshire-based artist Mosa evidently has a talent for creating immersive worlds. If anyone can exhibit the intrinsic beauty in melancholy, it is Mosa; his latest single, helicopter, is the ultimate testament to his ability to build poetry and a bitter-sweet neo-classic electronica score from scorned emotion.

Juxtaposingly creating an even balance between etherealism and visceralism, helicopter is an achingly artful aural memoir of ennui. The postmodernist reflective piece enmeshes you within the lyrical and vocal vulnerability, while the intricately weaved cinematic layers conceptually depict curtains closing. It is the ultimate consolation for outliers through the sonic resonance and affirmation that whatever you’re sinking into has sunk many of the beautiful minds that came before you.

Helicopter will land on February 3rd. Get onboard via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Paper White and the Lake goes for baroque in their single, My Love, ft. Teresa Ann & Nicole Limle

Posted on 24 November 2022

For their standout single, My Love, the up-and-coming Avant-Garde originator Paper White and the Lake collaborated with Teresa Ann & Nicole Limle to create a striking piano-led score that will easily arrest any Evelyn-Evelyn and the Legendary Pink Dots fans.

The theatrically baroque piano keys and Brian Viglione-style percussion fuse in absolute synergy with the beguile of the art-house chanteuse vocals, which implant aching amorous soul into the soundscape that resonates with a touch of coldness and isolation.

My Love efficaciously proves that nothing can rival the presence of love, and nothing can be as inhospitable as a world without it. To say that you will feel all of the emotion as My Love unfurls around the reprise of “you don’t want my love” is far from a mascara-ruining understatement.

Stream My Love on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast