Browsing Tag

Debut Album

Elisa Winter – Summer Spent Dreaming: orchestrally apocalyptic post-grunge resonance

Posted on 9 July 2022

While many artists desperately wrestled with their creativity during the first lockdown only to reveal trite lyricism the performer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and baroquely phenomenal recording artist, Elisa Winter foresaw the new normal before the modern plague was on our door.

Finally, her debut album, Summer and Smoke, which was officially released on Summer Solstice 2022, is here to spill orchestrally apocalyptic post-grunge resonance. The LP tracks across the tensions between truth, reality and gaslighting, with the engrossingly stunning highlight, Summer Spent Dreaming.

Lush yet tumultuous. Visceral yet encompassing the detachment we all felt in some capacity, Summer Spent Dreaming is the most authentic aural depiction of the frustration and entropy I’ve heard yet.

Everything changed, in a way it is almost impossible to put in words. I say almost because Elisa Winter discernibly succeeded with “speak to me please, what has happened to you? Searching for you in your eyes, you won’t let me in.” There’s been a disconnect that we’ve kept our heads in the sand about. Thankfully, Elisa Winter is here to vindicate the confusion in our alien relationship with reality and each other.

Elisa Winter’s latest album, Summer and Smoke, is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spectoral wonders if the intentions are pure on ‘LOVESICK’ (ft. Megadead and Tusanxmi)

Posted on 6 July 2022

After two years of building up his debut album that will feature 15 unique artists, Spectoral shows us what quality music sounds like in 2022 with ‘LOVESICK‘ (ft. Megadead and Tusanxmi).

Spectoral is a Melbourne, Australia-based SlideUp Records-signed music producer and singer who has released 3 EPs and is now taking the next step in his career.

”The plants thrive off the music, and my creativity thrives off the plants, so we have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship.” ~ Spectoral

With soothing vocals, relatable lyrics, and a busting beat that you will inevitably find hard to forget, Spectoral might be one of the most lively artists to come out of Australia for ages. There is so much to like here as our minds are taken to the moment that will determine if we let our heart out of its safe box, or let it fly free like a curious bird looking for a permanent nest.

‘‘I also consider myself a collaborator at heart, which is why I’ve got so many underground names featuring alongside me on the album.” ~ Spectoral

‘LOVESICK‘ (ft. Megadead and Tusanxmi) from Australian-Mauritian-Slovakian producer and singer Spectoral is a superb track that will pulse the very core of your veins. A story for all those who have slight trust issues after being let down before is on offer here and shall thud your whole soul awake. Sung with a heightened velocity and filled with excellent features throughout, this is a reminder that we need to be extra careful who we let into our lives.

Sometimes, people want us for their own selfish reasons after all.

Listen up to this hot new single on Spotify and see more news on the IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Eldad Ben Naim has delivered his hypnotic electro-jazz fusion score, Welcome Night

Posted on 13 February 2022

With a score that feels like a jazzier and smokier version of Bladerunner’s aural phonoaesthetic, Eldad Ben Naim’s seminal single, Welcome Night, is a hypnotic introduction to the jazz fusion virtuoso’s gift when it comes to laying down beguilingly elegant arrangements.

The electro-jazz instrumental soundscape puts a polyphonic spin on the blazing solos that you’d expect to blast from a sax or guitar, giving the score a playfully eccentric edge, but never compromising on the high-brow alchemy which keeps flowing your way throughout the entire duration of the 6-minute release. If you’re not left entranced by the outro, you should be pretty worried about the state of your soul.

You can check out Eldad Ben Naim’s single, Welcome Night for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Henry Friedman De Miguel takes us around the world with the standout single, ‘Ghost Orchid Has Many Pollinators’ on his debut LP

Posted on 15 January 2022

The 22-year-old Atlanta-based singer-songwriter, Henry Friedman De Miguel, has made his official debut with the release of his LP, The Witch’s Guide to Ecology & Other Times the Earth Has Impressed Me. That may not be the most memorable name for a debut album, but the album itself is sonically unforgettable.

In the jazzy standout single, Ghost Orchid Has Many Pollinators, there’s a touch of the Doors in the psychedelically kaleidoscopic textures and hints of Jim Morrison in the vocals. Yet reminiscences are always fleeting in the cinematic feat of world music that ends with Spanish guitars and art folk harmonies after delivering beguiling Eastern rhythms against tribal drums. If you could imagine what the sex and the city soundtrack would sound like if it pulled in culture from all corners of the world and was complemented by nature-celebrating lyrics, you’ll get an idea of what you’re in for here.

Ghost Orchid Has Many Pollinators is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Getting Tired: Sanchez waits for the right moment to take charge and ‘Knock Them Down’

Posted on 14 January 2022

Bringing us the first of his new releases that he has been cooking up briskly for us to sample sweetly, Sanchez is in no mood to mess around as he looks to ‘Knock Them Down‘.

Oisín Magee aka Sanchez is a South Korea-based Lurgan, Northern Ireland-born indie alternative solo artist who brings you back to the classic ’90s with his sensational sound.

”For the past 12 months, he has been recording his debut album, Burgundy, mastered by Pete Maher. Maher, of course, has worked with the likes of U2, Damien Rice, Jack White, and Snow Patrol.” ~ Sanchez

There is so much to like about an underground musician who sings with a flourishing edge that is often hiding in this plastic world, as Sanchez drops one of the most nostalgic tracks you will hear all year.

‘Knock Them Down‘ from the resolute South Korea-based Lurgan, Northern Ireland-born indie alternative artist Sanchez is that must-hear single which has you feeling in a mood to dominate your enemies. After biding your time and looking at others shining for too long – this is the type of track that has you unearthing your own opportunity – to leverage into a position where you can make that all-important move. Knowing when that correct moment is, could define what the future holds.

Hear this new single on Spotify and see more via the IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The UK-based artist, Bobby Bluff is set to make his bleak smitten-worthy avant-folk debut

Posted on 11 January 2022

If any new 2022 release can help you turn a smile, it’s the eccentrically enamouring release, The Cat of Cruickshank, by the UK-based singer-songwriter and artist Bobby Bluff. With fleeting reminiscences to Billy Bragg, The Residents, The Legendary Pink Dots and John Cooper Clarke, the gritty yet sonically exuberant vignette is the ultimate existentialist’s playlist staple.

Paradoxically, The Cat of Cruickshank is elevated in its Avant-Garde style and as rough as the plot to a Ken Loach film. Coming across it almost felt like an act of serendipity in our dystopic world-weary times. The Cat of Cruickshank leaves you with that rare sense of eagerness to find out where Bluff will take his innovation next. Even if the rest of 2022 disappoints, you can place your faith in the stout-hearted ingenuity of Bluff.

The Cat of Cruickshank is just one of the singles on Bobby Bluff’s debut album, Introducing Bobby Bluff, which will release in April 2022.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lina and the Lions – This Fire: 80s Synthpop with a K-Pop Kick

Posted on 30 January 2021

‘This Fire’ is the first single to be released from the forthcoming debut album ‘Second Nature’ by UK-based artist Lina and the Lions which revives the New Wave 80s Pop sound with a K-Pop kick.

With shimmering glassy synths and melodic hooks, sharp enough to ensure that this entrancing earworm isn’t easily forgotten, fans of 80s Pop and contemporary dark Pop alike are going to encounter a playlist staple when they delve into this amorously visceral and stylistic release.

The instrumentals may be cutting and atmospheric, but Lina Lane’s soulfully effervescent art-pop vocals burst through and demonstrate her ability to make higher pitches resonate with infectiously high-energy soul. It’s hard not to get excited about the potential of Lina and the Lions. They’ll be releasing their album gradually over 2021. Get them on your radar.

This Fire is available to stream via Spotify now. For more information on Lina and the Lions head over to their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘Our Numbered Days’ album review: The incomparable multi-talented Queens musician Lauren Kidd drops her incredible debut full album release that finds her dealing with the final stages of grief

Posted on 28 December 2020

‘Our Numbered Days‘ from the Queens singer-songwriter Lauren Kidd is her debut full album release and this was certainly worth the wait. We find a musician who knows herself now deep inside and is flourishing with each passing moment.

Lauren Kidd is a New York City-based writer, singer-songwriter, dreamer and ever-evolving creative who has her eyes set for the stars above and nothing less. When you set big goals, sometimes you fall down and scratch yourself, but its how you pick yourself up, that truly counts long-term.

After reviewing her excellent lead single ‘I Want It To Be You‘ recently which is now track eight, we are treated to the full experience which more than lives up to expectations.

You feel a weight lifted off your tired shoulders when you turn on this concept record and you know you are in safe hands.

With ‘Make You Smile’, there is a happy energy that is pushed through and the overwhelming feeling is that she is looking for that love again and just wants a chance to show that is ready again. The Pop pureness is such a blessing on the ear and the melodic rhythm is a welcome addition to a wild year.

Other highlights are, and there are so many, are definitely ‘Our Numbered Days‘ as this should be the theme of 2020. The days are so short and who knows what tomorrow will bring so we need that special feeling now, to get that love rush back into our veins.

‘Still‘ is such a gorgeous delivery and the hard hitting beat just makes it so much better. This is the chronicle of how you want them so badly when they aren’t around and the haunting vocals fills your soul. I imagine this to be a future music video for Lauren.

‘Ours‘ is a song my mind wandered far away on. I got lost in the track and reminisced about previous relationships and those happy memories and what went right. The sadness of losing someone to a breakup hurts hard and it can consume you but you have to keep those good times locked away and never forget them.

They say that class is permanent and this is absolutely true on this occasion. Lauren is such a talented musician who puts in the extra hard work to make her stand out and doesn’t expect any freebies. Its this type of attitude that will see her go far in the music world as that is what it takes to be the best at what you do. A lot of friends won’t understand and there will be some lonely nights but if you want it bad enough, you gotta go and get it. Its your life after all and you walk the road that choose, not anyone else.

Lauren Kidd’s ‘Our Numbered Days‘ is one of the best releases of 2020 due to the meaningful lyrics, her excellent vocal projection and with her determined mindset, she is an example for others on how to do things with your music career. There are no fillers on this album, nothing you can skip, and this is so rare these days in a ‘quick and forget’ society where it’s easy to be forgotten.

If she can stay focused and keep on having a small but loyal team around her that always has her back, Lauren can go wherever she wants to go with her music. Form is temporary but class remains forever and with a secret track inside, this is an album that will inspire so many and warm their hearts.

Stream the new album on Spotify and see her adventures on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

A story of transformation: Nashville based C.A Jones shows his class on the excellent ‘A Southern Sentiment’

Posted on 18 November 2020

Taken off the recent debut full album called The Velvet Hour, this is a fine addition to 2020 as it has a peaceful and thoughtful undertone. With the world going way too fast and in danger of skidding off the road at any second, we are blessed to have an intelligent voice like C.A Jones to help us relax a little bit, even for a short time. ‘A Southern Sentiment‘ is the new single and this is something special.

With a pure sound that is a rarity these days, this is an artist that working all the time to be a better person. He believes in his music and wants to learn. With so many artists showing their selfish side at times, this is a welcome change and one that inspires hope in these dark times. A ray of sunshine however creeps through the clouds as you listen to this new single.

Gosh, the class is so evident and you become so curious with each passing second. A singer-songwriter with a voice that pierces through like a tattoo artist making a sculpture on your body, this intertwines in the heart and make the blood flow so much smoother.

With a silky style that has so much brilliance attached, C.A Jones is top quality on ‘A Southern Sentiment‘. This is the story of finding yourself in a new town, a new experience and having that fresh mindset to succeed. Music that means something is always welcome.

Hear this peaceful song here on Spotify and follow the journey here on Insta.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen