Browsing Tag

emo

Eguie5 turned up the heat in the Latin American alternative scene with his solo project debut, One Last Dance

Posted on 19 June 2023

Eguie5 became a conduit of post-rock and pop-punk alchemy in his anthemically hooked debut single, One Last Dance, which efficaciously captures the bitter-sweetness of goodbyes before bringing in the cacophonous drums that pay homage to the superlative skin-beating style of Taylor Hawkins.

After spending two decades cutting his teeth as one half of the alternative duo, TUNNL19, the Puerto Rico singer-songwriter reconnected with his artistic roots via his solo venture, which keeps expressive experimentalism at its core.

The emotively melodic structures in One Last Dance made the heart-in-throat choruses all the more riotous, in the same way Linkin Park allowed their audience to feel the sense of resonant vindication while screaming the reprise of “I’ve given up”, One Last Dance became the silver lining of heartbreak. The atmospherically intuitive hit struck all the right chords to affirm that Eguie5 is a one-man monolith of innovation.

One Last Dance hit the airwaves on June 14th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lewis Shepperd sharpened the teeth of his alt-rock hooks for his latest single, Bite

Posted on 27 May 2023

Forget the latest single from Royal Blood; Southampton’s Lewis Shepperd is more highly suspect than, well… Highly Suspect in his bass riff-driven, grunged up, and modernistically garagey track, Bite.

Entwining melodicism in the same vein as Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box around the higher-octane elements of this spectrally sublime feat of more Emo than Placebo alt-rock resulted in a multi-faceted incarnation of accursed seduction.

The guttural vocal breakdown towards the outro is a stark contrast to the placid harbingering harmonies that led to the fierce middle-eight that could give Frank Carter a run for his money.

After recording and mixing Bite at home, it was none other than Pete Maher (Pixies, Linkin Park & The Rolling Stones), who mastered the monolithically sharp release that will impale you on the hooks.

Bite was officially released on May 25; stream it on Spotify, or check out the official video featuring model & actress Ola Johnson on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Donny Meowz concocted a cocktail of cats, pop-punk and entropy in his latest single, Kitty Crushed

Posted on 21 April 2023

After spinning a charming pop-punk tale about a cat and its psych ward-frequenting owner, Donny Meowz will be irresistible to crazy cat ladies the world over after the launch of his latest music video, Kitty Crushed. You can probably count me among those enamoured masses.

No longer is Plea from a Cat Named Virtue the best track that traverses themes of mental health and feline affection. Donny Meowz hit all the right notes with his insanity-encompassing hit that rolls with all the entropic punches. Keep your next mental break at bay with the stellar ode to 00s emo.

Check out the official video for Kitty Crushed by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jesus B. has unleashed his grittily twee emo love song, Love Means

Posted on 11 April 2023
https://soundcloud.com/jesus_b/love-means?si=7a223ab548a34f31860509338b3ea1d6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

If two things on the airwaves never get enough respect or recognition, they are ukuleles and emo alt-rap; the up-and-coming alternative artist Jesus B. fused the two in his latest single, Love Means, which unravels as the ultimate scripture of bitter-sweet affection.

Bliss and agony are two sides of the same coin when it comes to love, and the diehard romanticism evolving into dejection in Love Means is the ultimate affirmation. Your breakup playlists won’t be the same without the gritty yet twee lo-fi single from the Alaskan artist, who is picking up where Lil Peep left off with his command over moody melodies. His authenticity is one thing. His ability to project intimate emotion so that it resonates with universal commonality is another entirely. We can’t wait to hear what comes next from Jesus B.

Love Means is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pharsalia defied physics in their pop-punk revamp, Gravity Killer

Posted on 26 February 2023

Here to prove that emo was anything but a phase is the Delaware-hailing pop-punk revampers, Pharsalia, with their latest physics-defying single, Gravity Killer.

The catchy heart-in-throat choruses have kept their original form, and there’s plenty of punch in the dynamically bouncy guitar riffs, which keep you palpitatingly sweet in the lead up to the euphoric chaos in the pit-worthy choruses. The 5-piece has made a name for itself in the local scene and beyond with its fan-first lyrical relatability and approachability. This track is only going to take their renown to the next level.

If any single has what it takes to tear your attention away from the new album material from Fall Out Boy it is this scintillatingly scorned anthem for the disenfranchised that is super-charged with earworm-y energy.

Gravity Killer hit the airwaves with the force of a hadron collider on January 27th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: EM$o turned on the bright lights in his redemptive reggaeton release, Dark Rooms

Posted on 10 February 2023
EM$o

The candid uncut nature of EM$o’s debut LP, Differences, was a promising sign of more expositional visceral hits in the pipeline. He more than delivered with Dark Rooms. The rhythmically disarming reggaeton single strips the glorification from self-destruction and glamourizes growth. You can’t afford not to have him as a role model. In 3-minutes, EM$o takes you on the emotional journey of a lifetime.

After growing up in one of the most dangerous cities in Europe, EM$o knew he had to break away from the past, but distance and growth weren’t enough to cut the haunting ties forged through anxiety, depression, and addiction. His latest single, with the accompanying music, video artfully unravels his redemption arc. From insular isolation to embracing gratitude and willingness to make the most out of his life, the bright lights were turned on. Dark Rooms shows you how to find the switch.

“Dark Rooms is a tribute to a very special woman who went through hell trying to prevent me from doing something stupid and fatal. After my past life in the streets, I was severely depressed. Days would pass I did little more than drink in my house to numb the pain.

She walked into my life, everything became easy and moments of happiness were achievable – while sober. She empowered me to get healthier, better, stronger, and more resilient. As much as this is a tribute, it is also an ask for forgiveness and acknowledgement that she walked through the fire for me, despite the burns from her past.”

The song was written, recorded and mixed in EM$o’s home studio and mastered by Slade Templeton at Influx Studios. The official video was shot and produced by Tec. and Film.

The single and the official music video will release on February 10th. Check it out on all major streaming services via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drive By Cinema wrapped their hooks around toxic party culture in the 00s pop-punk hit, Drink On

Posted on 30 December 2022

The Palmdale, CA pop-punk outfit Drive By Cinema launched a scathingly hooky attack on party culture in their latest single, Drink On, featuring the NY pop-punk band, Ronx.

In their own nihilistically hedonist words, “Drive By Cinema makes pop punk for when you want to party, but you also want to die”. On that basis alone, we adore the five-piece that is bringing back the sound of Fall Out Boy, Blink-182 and Hawthorne Heights with a modern twist.

While the lyrics cut you deep in Drink On, the choruses will wrap you up in their boisterous momentum before the verses melodically wind it back down to ensure every lyric makes maximum impact. The independent outfit might wear their heart on their sleeves but there’s plenty of room in the hit to brand their sonic signature through the contrasts in tempo, which encapsulate the rollercoaster life when you’re always chasing the highs, numbing the pain and crashing right back down with less serotonin than when you started.

Following Drink On, Drive By Cinema is priming their album release with Johnathan Mireles (audio engineer for Travis Barker & Machine Gun Kelly). Stay tuned.

Drink On will officially release just in time for New Year’s Eve revelry on December 30th. You might want to rethink your plans after hearing it. Spin it on Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Buzzkills be damned in Nothing but a Nightmare’s post-pop-punk single, She Always Ruins a Good Time

Posted on 26 October 2022

The Philly-based alt-rock innovators, Nothing but a Nightmare notably sharpened their pop-punk hooks for their third studio album, The Salvation, which features the playfully protestive single, She Always Ruins a Good Time. If any single could take down the boss-level Karens out there that seem to be becoming increasingly prolific, it’s this riotous earworm, which comes complete with frenetically witty verses and choruses that will absolutely consume you in their euphoric pit-worthy energy.

With hints of Fallout Boy and Panic at the Disco woven into the sticky-sweet 00-Esque tapestry, Nothing but a Nightmare delivered a smorgasbord of modernised nostalgia that proves that there’s never any really growing out of an emo phase.

The Salvation officially released on October 14th across all major platforms; check it out here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Loud For This One: 9dreamz drops speedy new sizzler to chomp on called TURNT

Posted on 23 October 2022

Dancing with the ladies and getting the party started with a jagged beat that might shred your skin, 9dreamz throws the hands up and gets things all TURNT.

9dreamz is an Atlanta, Georgia-based indie emo hip hop artist who started his career when he was just 18 years old and hasn’t looked back since.

Arched back and ready to take us on a ride filled with memorable lyrics and a catchy persona, 9dreamz is ready for anything and is taking things up a notch. Searing with heat and pulsating the eardrums is the order of the day, on a soundtrack to when you feel invincible from any bullets flying.

TURNT from Atlanta, Georgia-based indie emo hip hop artist 9dreamz is a storming song that might set off a few car alarms. Packed with a self-assured attitude that will probably take him far, this is the kind of single that will set the mood alight with that extra match and get you feeling like anything is possible.

Life is about turning up the temperature when you know it’s time.

Listen up on Spotify and see more vibes on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The Softest Sound explore cyclical torment in their slowcore anti-folk single over again

Posted on 10 October 2022

The Dayton, Ohio duo, The Softest Sound, unveiled their debut album, an idea can’t just go away, on August 26th and simultaneously introduced the airwaves to a brand-new manifestation of slowcore anti-folk experimentalism.

The standout single, over again, delivers vocals which find a timbre between AJJ and Jack Johnson, while the instrumental arrangement mashes up the melodiously soft guitars in the desert-y atmospherics with discordant electronic effect as an all too efficacious exposition on the turbulent ennui of cyclical torment and having an intangible relationship with identity.

It’s a spacey resonant-soaked release for anyone that has ever felt at odds with their own mind. Given that we’re in 2022, that demographic should make up the majority.

over again is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast