Seemingly, no genre was off-limits in The Violet Nines’ latest single, Dancing with Fire, which melds angular indie guitars with fiery soul-pop vocals, disco grooves, jazzy sax stabs and funk-to-the-core basslines.
It is rare to find an outfit that oozes talent and euphoria in equal measure; the rhythm-led Minneapolis-hailing ensemble is a dynamic exception to that rule. The record is rampant with that irreplicable live music feel; we can only imagine the energy when they are bringing their collaborative alchemy to life. It feels purely accidental that their sonic signature is so commercial, but that strips none of the gloss from their enlivening distinction.
The official video for Dancing with Fire will premiere on August 12th. Sample the funk for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.
Cueing up his next theme song with his rather stylish ways, LAKRITS feels like the sun is heating his imagination up beyond what was possible before on Hot Boy Summer.
LAKRITS aka Alain Gholmi is a Stockholm, Sweden-based, Copenhagen, Denmark-born indie funk/pop solo singer-songwriter and model who is known as one of the most charismatic figures around.
”LAKRITS adopts a larger-than-life personality, delivering even larger hooks that encourage listeners to have a good time no matter who tries to stop them.” ~ LAKRITS
Impressing with a fantastic new single that will have you lathering that sunblock all over your body, LAKRITS is feeling hot and wants the world to know about it. Letting the steam in is the mission here, from an artist who is only interested in having the best time imaginable.
Hot Boy Summer from Stockholm, Sweden-based indie funk/pop solo singer-songwriter/model LAKRITS is a hot new release about keeping your shine burning bright. He’s in love with this moment as the stars seem perfectly in line to where he is headed. Flying rather high and taking the rest of us with on this important mission, as we are swept into a movie-like dream of a single you’re hardly likely to forget quickly.
Listen up this new single on Spotify and see more via the IG page.
Connoisseur of melodic indie funk pop hooks, The Royal Leisure has tackled the human tendency of indecision with his latest nostalgically sweet single, Pastries. It will groove you right back to the synth-driven culture of the 80s, only after taking a pitstop in 90s noise rock.
The Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter (AKA Horace Tam), started the project with the inclination to offer a reflection point to listeners looking for a sense of perspective on themselves, the world, and all the connections we make along the way.
One thing is for sure; Pastries is a refreshing reprieve from the contemporary sonic trends. Its playful approach to aural nostalgia and even more affable inclination to drip some colour into your psyche while it forces you to question your tendency to want your cake and eat it won’t fail to stir your soul. The reprise of “this could be the only thing I want” around the endlessly ascending melodies makes for one hell of an oxytocin rush.
Take a bite for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.
Sending our moods into an enlightened marvel to behold, Steve Hensby Band shows us their world class quality that uplifts the vibe that rockets in the night on ‘Jamtown In Mukinbudin‘ (feat. General Justice).
Steve Hensby Band is a Perth, Western Australia-based indie 9-piece band who fuses in various elements of funk, soul, ska, with their delicious sprinkle of folk.
”Steve Hensby is a Berklee College of Music graduate and WAMI nominated musician who also works as a session player in the Perth area. He has played with the likes of Tim Minchin, Steve Poltz, Randy Feltface, WASO, Perth Symphony Orchestra and Taasha Cootes.” ~ Steve Hensby Band
Warming up our hearts with an honest release that represents our time just right, Steve Hensby Band is the type of band that will get your feet tapping in delight with a terrific blend of soothing vibrations to get your whole body moving all night.
‘Jamtown In Mukinbudin‘ (feat. General Justice) from Perth, Western Australia-based indie 9-piece band Steve Hensby Band is a tasty track to stimulate the appetites of those who love that extra groove in their morning coffee. Filled with an unreal amount of quality that has horns aplenty, this is a song to get wrapped naturally inside for hours on end.
When you find that real jam inside your soul that uplifts you, there is no turning back.
Listen up to this new track on SoundCloud and see more on the IG.
Taken from his brand new 11-track album called ‘Drive All Night‘, Jake George is at his illumination-filled best on the deep thinking new single about that vivid journey beyond the present with ‘Your Ghost‘.
Jake George is a Melbourne, Australia-based alternative psychedelic funk/rock solo singer-songwriter, music producer, and sound engineer.
Returning with a song that should be in all of our playlists when we need some true introspection, Jake George takes us back to a time that we have all possibly hidden away inside a locked cupboard. Lifting us into a whole new world that seems to strike your soul with that feeling – which is so hard to explain – this is a delicately emotional release made with so much love.
‘Your Ghost‘ from Melbourne, Australia-based alternative psychedelic funk/rock artist and music producer Jake George is the type of single you play loud when you are floating in that deep reflective state of mind. He performs with a realness that is so rare these days and takes us into a better place and time. Vocally advanced and with so much deepness, this is a track that will have your heart beating so much faster than before as you delve through your darkest emotions.
Finding your way will take as long as it needs to until you are conclusively ready for the next step.
Check out this new single on Spotify and see more via the IG.
Interest in the LP format may have waned in recent years. If anyone can make a case for them in 2022, it is the Sydney singer-songwriter Robbie Maroon, with his riotously eclectic blend of funk, pop, RnB and rock in his third album, Reckoning.
The opening single, The Fighter,doesn’t set the tone for the album that throws everything from soulful ballads to rock anthems to groove-led jams. Instead, it throws you head-first into the captivating energy and expressive soul that Reckoning was created with. The consistently evolving nature of the release never allows you to get complacent with the unpredictable transitions in tone, style and lyrical influence. Yet, each visceral piece of the puzzle binds together seamlessly.
After the early Faith No More meets Go West opener, the album careers into funkier and playfully synthy territory with Track 2, Cyberlovestory, which will resonate with everyone who had the displeasure of experiencing the surrealism of dating during the lockdowns. Crafting the track in the form of an 80s synthwave love song was cunningly clever. I think the extent of the ridiculousness of the past few years finally just hit me with its full force.
After two infectiously protestive tracks, in track 3, Maria, Maroon delivers the indie funk-pop ballad, which celebrates the sanctuary that only certain people can open the door to. The upraising vocal layering, Men at Work-reminiscent horn stabs, and the sticky sweet melodious essence is enough to make you pick up your phone and tell your favourite person you love them.
Track 4, Rewind, is the perennial soul-pop earworm of the album that gives you a view into just how much command the Prince-inspired artist has over funk-bridled rhythm. From rap bars to vocal lines that would give Seal’s soul a run for its impassioned currency, the vocals stick to your synapses like superglue.
Track 5, My Love, allows Maroon to wear his James Brown and George Michael influences on his sleeve through the slick-with-salacious-funk-disco-grooves. The hand claps against the Nile Rodgers-Esque chops bolster the nostalgic euphoria, while the smooth vocals and equally as smooth lyrics scribe Maroon’s unrelentingly sonic signature.
With track 6, Falling out of Love, Maroon proves that love goes as quickly as it comes in quick to burn love affairs before he grooves into the striking funk aesthetics of Stand. Track 7 gives plenty of limelight to the female backing vocals that raise the energy throughout the album with their shimmering old-school soul.
Track 8, I Won’t Be Doing That, leaves a similar question springing to mind as Meatloaf’s I Won’t Do That. The intriguing ambiguity in the rock-licked track grips onto grooves reminiscent of Hall & Oats, and there is plenty of room for the unpretentiously virtuoso solos. Strangely, they amplify the sense morality mystery while you wait for more clues.
In Track 9, Maroon is out of his funk in the harbingering 80s rock title single, which grieves the normalcy that forgot to get a return ticket after the pandemic. I can quite honestly say that listening to The Reckoning was one of the most vindicating and affirming aural experiences I’ve indulged in this year. While the mainstream media keeps trying to sell us fear and hate, the masses find new brands of tribalism, and everyone secretly loses their sanity in the privacy of their bedrooms; it is impossible to find a voice of reason. Thank god one exists on my playlists now.
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the closing single, Take a Bow before, but my tear ducts still opened the floodgates to the ode to Prince. Simultaneously a celebration of his legacy and an illustration of the impact that inspirational people have on us, the subtle and quiescently yearning single is a tribute like no other. Hell, it’s a ballad like no other.
The Manchester music scene became infinitely richer for the latest release from the funk-rock pioneers, Flying Oceans. If you can imagine what it would have sounded like if Incubus abstracted their plaintiveness and implanted unbridled soul, you will get an idea of the stirring alchemy that Circles delivered.
With the guitars consistently transitioning between roots-deep funk chops and jangly Marr-Esque rhythm and the seductively low basslines bringing just as much gravitas as Mr Bungle’s, Circles has all the makings of a playlist staple for anyone that wants to find a slice of aural solace in our disjointing times where it’s all but impossible to find rhyme or reason away from the airwaves.
Showing us that profound moment that such a reflective mind-bending experience can cause a kind soul, Fillerhook guides us to that picture which isn’t ideal right now as you lust for that warm embrace on, ‘Delaying Tactics‘.
Created by bassist and vocalist Christian Kerwin, Fillerhook is a Greensboro, North Carolina-based indie-alternative band that makes a cinematic blend of music to really delve deeper into.
”Lacing heavy bass grooves, gritty guitars, catchy hooks with influences of punk, funk, progressive rock, jazz, and reggae.” ~ Fillerhook
Taken off their recent 5-track release called ‘Pressure Of Progression‘, Fillerhook shows us their incredible precision and intricately deep soundscape that shall take your breath away at times.
‘Delaying Tactics‘ from Greensboro, North Carolina-based indie-alternative band Fillerhook is a meditative single that shall have you looking into the mirror to find yourself again. There is so much to look into here as you wonder about that soul who isn’t around right now, no matter how much you want them to be next to you so you may both connect wholeheartedly again. Sung with a passionate energy that might have you reaching for the full volume button, this is a welcome addition to any playlist in 2022.
With the debut track off their upcoming EP, ‘The Bedroom Sessions‘, Strutman Lane glance in the direction of that new romantic companion and beams glowingly on the foot tappin’ wonder that is, ‘Our Love‘.
Strutman Lane is a Washington, DC-based indie funk/pop outfit that was formed by a group of UMDjazz school classmates who assemble those crisp classy vibes for us to be completely enamoured by.
”A high energy, funk/pop love song about the rush of a new relationship, and the feeling of unwavering support and love so desperately needed in the face of the pandemic.” ~ Strutman Lane
Drenching our sad souls with some splendid harmonies to change our moody frowns into cheeky smiles again, Strutman Lane leads the way when it comes to fresh-sounding music that actually has that proper soul wrapped inside with a bow. They are a collective who have us dusting off those candles to set the correct ambience, that gets you feeling all joyful again and sensing that everything is about to become a lot brighter.
‘Our Love‘ from Washington, DC-based indie funk/pop group Strutman Lane, is a bass-slapping treasure of a single that features some of the smoothest vocals and grooviest soundtracks you will probably hear today. There is an air of optimism that is rather remarkable here, as we start to understand – or be reminded – what it takes to connect as one plug point that sparks alive with that wonderful feeling you can’t get enough of.
This is a heart-warming story about making sure that your souls are at one as you take it to the next level, which will have you feeling that this romance is something that could last forever.
Listen in to this new single on Spotify and check out their IG for more news.
“Rewind” is the latest jazzy rock-licked funk-pop track from the raw-soul-peddling Australian singer-songwriter Robbie Maroon. After being introduced to his sombre and spacey sound in 2019 through his single, Stepping Stone, this new profoundly hopeful approach to production is quite literally music to our ears. You can’t help but catch the positive vibes that radiate through the release that captures the chaos of our lives and releases us from it with the era-spanning old school grooves.
With vocals that sit somewhere in between Shinedown and the sultry timbre of George Michael, it’s all too easy to find yourself in the heart of the hook-filled track which comes complete with stabbing horns and layers of funk-riding progressions which pull together to deliver a nostalgia hit you’ve never tasted before.
Rewind was officially released on March 18th. You can check it out for yourselves on Robbie Maroon’s website or via Spotify.
