Browsing Tag

Electro Rock

Templemind reached the pinnacle of life-affirming alt-rock anthems with, More to This Life

I don’t make a habit of head-banging alone at home but I’m only human, and when Templemind’s latest single, More to This Life, flooded the room with visceral energy and hooky guitar riffs, getting caught up in the cathartic momentum was non-optional. The meditative yet rhythmically arresting propensities of the monolithic alt-rock track started to make a little more sense upon learning the single was tuned to 432Hz, which is proven to lower heart rates and heightens perception.

Starting with a disconcerted scratchy prelude that threw me right back to my teen days obsessing over Linkin Park’s raw introspection and catapulting into an alt-rock soundscape which raises the vibe with funky angular guitar chops around the massive synth lines and grittier tones, More to This Life is a life-affirming lesson in vindication.

I’m going to throw professionalism out of the window and confess to fucking ADORING Templemind. Although I guess I’m not alone. After his 2022 debut, the mastermind behind the project, Philipp Schardt, amassed over 500,000 streams.

More to This Life is now available to Stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fearless Liars bring the groove in their alt-electro-rock promise of perpetuity, Always

Electro alt-rock provocateurs, Fearless Liars have remained a firm fixture of the Denver music scene since 1999. With their 2021 self-titled debut album, their groove-led guitar music gave international aficionados of experimentalism something to sink their melody-loving teeth into.

Retaining their alt-90s sound, the standout single, Always, made a playful promise of perpetuity through the rolling basslines, funk-chopped guitars and analogue synths that will be a hit with any Bis fans. Fearless Liars may not sound like a loveable outfit but after just one hit of Always, we’re obsessed with their enigmatic energy, which makes it easy to see why the independent DIY outfit has never fallen short of adoration in their long-spanning career.

Check out Fearless Liars on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marked Since Day 1 has unleashed his dirty electro-rock earworm, Dirty Little Lips

‘Dirty Little Lips’ is the latest sultry industrial electro pop-rock track from the renowned multimedia artist and model, Marked Since Day 1. By matching the galvanising sex appeal in She Want Revenge, Mindless Self Indulgence and Alec Empire tracks, apathy isn’t an option once the fiery track builds to full momentum.

If Taylor Swift is the lyrical angel that sits on your shoulder, the Chicago hailing alternative artist, Marked Since Day 1 (David Gabriel) is the devil that sits on the other. The macabrely meta lyrics allude to the nefariousness that comes to the surface in modern dating etiquette while never letting the realism slip. The devilishly twisted single hits the spot in every conceivable way.

Dirty Little Lips is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Twin Flowers blossom in their protestive electro-rock debut single, Greed.

Twin Flowers

The freshly formed Melbourne-based rock act Twin Flowers graciously treated us to a sneak peek of their anti-capitalist debut release, Greed. No artist has sold socialism this well since the Manic Street Preachers went on a revolutionary mission in the 90s. Even then, aural anti-capitalism has never been *quite* this sultry before. The only people that could conceivably hate the bass-dripping synth lines and euphoric drops in Greed are the ones caught up in the phallic space race.

Twin Flowers was conceived after the songwriter, James Toohey, spent a gap year in Bristol. We can only live in hope they hop back across the pond to treat us to some live renditions of their blossoming sonic sound.

Greed is an exceptionally promising debut that proves that even in the darkest and most dystopic times, dancey indie rock escapism will be one of the tragically rare saviours for the socially minded. If you are always on the hunt for the next big thing, it doesn’t get much bigger than the production in Greed.

Greed will be available to stream and purchase from October 22nd, 2021. You can check it out for yourselves via Bandcamp.

Follow Twin Flowers on Facebook and Instagram.

Existentially meta lyricism meets emotive alt electro-rock in Observe the 93rd’s latest single ‘awareness of death’

What Davey Havoc started in the 90s, Observe the 93rd are finishing with their latest atmospheric electro-rock release ‘awareness of death’.

With hints of Reznor in the darkly mesmerising single perfectly rounding off the duo’s eccentric and sporadically caustic sound, awareness of death isn’t a single that you can listen to half-heartedly.

The symphonic layers wrap themselves around the existentially meta lyricism which serves up lyrics such as ‘We all know that this is more abstract than any dream’, making it all too easy to get lost in a mind hole as you listen to this contemplatively artful single unfold.

Catch the official video which premiered on February 5th by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Embrace your insanity with House of Weirdos’ timely Alt Rock hit ‘Climbing up the Walls’

On Christmas Eve, the adept alchemists of Alt Rock, House of Weirdos, delivered the ultimate antidote to the claustrophobic restlessness with their Psychedelically-layered Garage Rock track ‘Climbing Up the Walls’.

If you could imagine what Queens of the Stone Age would sound like if they incorporated more absurdity, chaos and psychotropic synths into their sound, you might be able to get an idea of what is on offer. Yet, Climbing up the Walls could easily enamour fans of everyone from the Misfits to The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

Climbing up the Walls is façade-less, it’s relentlessly ingenious, it’s a visceral invitation to shake off pretence and relinquish shame for the fact that 2020 did a number on your mental health.

The playfully despondent track was made even sweeter with the pairing of the music video which will fill you with gratitude for House of Weirdos, just one of the irreplaceable artists who looked into the stir-crazed frustration and found inspiration so we could be hit with that invaluable feeling of connection and resonance.

You can check out the official video to Climbing up the Walls by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Voyce Memos’ forthcoming single ‘West Girl’ is dizzyingly eclectic indie electro rock at its most psychedelic

Voyce Memos

Texan electronic rock artist, Voyce Memos, is set to release their sophomore album ‘Chronology’. We’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the dizzyingly eclectic standout track, ‘West Girl’.

With popping Post-Punk & New Wave-tinged guitar melodies and Voyce Memos’ soulfully enrapturing vocal timbre, West Girl is a consciousness-consuming exhibition of how transfixing Indie Rock can be when orchestrated under dynamic vision.

The matured high-vibe Indie hit incorporates elements of Post Rock, Synth Rock and Psych. As it runs through, you’ll be hit by aural curveballs from every direction. Even more pertinently, you’ll be inclined to be taken on the rhythmically psychotropic journey time and time again. It isn’t your archetypal Indie Pop earworm, it’s something far more infectious which leaves you inclined to get repeat hits of the euphoria which you’ll easily squeeze out of the melodic hooks.

From funky syncopated guitars to mesmeric garage rock frenetic thrashing, West Girl doesn’t just paint across the tonal palette, it ravenously claws at influences spanning through the decades to create a timeless hit.

West Girl will be available to stream from February 5th along with the rest of Voyce Memos’ forthcoming album ‘Chronology’. In the meantime, you can head over to Spotify to check out their earlier releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

People Of The Parallel drop classy new single ‘Eyes And See’

Electro-pop in a dubstep/dance-pop style from Nashville Tennessee, People Of The Parallel is the brainchild of vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Justin Michael, and new single ‘Eyes And See’ is a properly mature, extremely well-put-together piece of work. A mix of styles and influences here, but not jarring or lacking in cohesion, Michael takes inspirations as diverse as Billy Joel, Skrillex, Dr. Dre, and Glitch Mob, mixing them up to create a cracking piece of EDM-pop.

The production skills on display are masterful, the track rising and falling to create an airiness and space whilst never dropping away or losing energy, the vocal-line carrying the track alongside the synths and beats to create a track oozing personal style and character.

Check out ‘Eyes And See’ on Spotify, and follow People Of The Parallel on Twitter and Instagram.

Explore the human condition with Red Barnett’s stunningly composed single “Astronaut”

After Reykjavik-based artist Red Barnett scooped up the Icelandic Music Award for Best Alternative Album with their debut release ‘Shine’ in 2015, we couldn’t help but be excited by the release of their sophomore album Astronauts.

The perfect introduction to Red Barnett’s viscerally vibrant style is undoubtedly ‘Astronaut’. It’s chilling through the dystopic comfort it offers. It perfectly coalesces with contemporary anxiety and uncertainty, but with the warm and exuberant tones in this finely crafted release, it’s impossible to let existentialism creep in.

With sonic synths around neo-classic keys along with elements of Rock and Electro Pop, the singer-songwriter, composer and arranger offers an intoxicatingly fresh taste of retro-futurism. It’s easy to see why so many find solace in their unapologetically expressive yet accessibly immersive sound.

You can check out Astronaut for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

STUNTDRIVER – FUGITIVE: Sultrily Volatile Electro-Rock

As someone who grew up on Garbage before delving even deeper into Riot Grrrl and dabbling with Industrial Metal and Rock, STUNTDRIVER’s latest track FUGITIVE was always going to set my synapses alight. It’s super-charged with playful Punk energy and there’s plenty of theatrical flair to well and truly set the artist apart from the rest.

It’s fierce, but the ferocity doesn’t dilute the sultry and playfully sardonic approach which STUNTDRIVER took with FUGITIVE, which may just be the most volatile track I’ve heard this year. If you’re a fan of the Distillers, you’ll definitely want the LA artist on your radar. With their album SAGA due to drop in 2021, expect to hear plenty more from this trailblazing captivatingly trashy artist.

You can check out STUNTDRIVER’s track FUGITIVE for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast