Browsing Tag

Incubus

Farehaven Harnessed Post-Rock Humility to Subjugate Souls in Believe Me Now

Posted on 20 June 2025

Few can turn alternative post-rock guitar tracks into a cinematic reel of catharsis, but Farehaven can count himself among the stringed savants who pour salvation through speakers. In Believe Me Now, David Sizemore doesn’t veil anguish or inflate ego; he strikes a balance between raw expression and refined composure. His vocal presence carries the punch of Grohl’s primal delivery, tempered by the melodic sensibility of Incubus.

The guitars are where the emotional deluge truly hits. Forged in the fire of Sabbath-style weight and shaped by the intricacies of progressive rock, they collapse into moments of stripped-back vulnerability before swelling with compositional intent. Each movement in the track is a pivot towards something more personal, more perceptive. You’re not simply listening, you’re absorbing every shift in momentum through your skin.

Farehaven, founded in 2010 by Sizemore, has never fixated on following alt-rock conventions. He’s already made an impression with airplay on over 40 radio stations, a nomination from Indie Music Digest for Album of the Year, and coverage from publications including Music Connection. His lyrical approach, both urgent and unpretentious, offers no barriers between the message and the listener. There’s weight, but it never becomes burdensome.

Believe Me Now is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube. 
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andrea Sandruvi Scored a Lament into the Strings of Post-Grunge in ‘Fate’

Posted on 3 May 2025

With his third single, Fate, Andrea Sandruvi went beyond tuning into the tones of post-grunge —he dredged the stylings from a place where anguish clings to melody like silt to skin. Inspired by a tragic incident in Piemonte, where a young man succumbed to despair and drowned in the cold indifference of a river, Fate kindles the dark side of kismet into an ocean of post-grunge emotion; you’ll struggle to keep your head above the waves as visceral vulnerability crashes over you.

The ethereal backing harmonies lend euphony to the production, which could have been torn from a tape deck cradling an alt-90s demo if it weren’t for the polish that swathes the agony in the progressive instrumental transgressions. With nods to artists in the same vein as Incubus and bluesy guitar motifs to temper the raw tendrils of grunge, there’s no denying the independent artist’s authenticity. Nothing in the instrumental arrangement feels borrowed. Every melodic movement sways under the weight of lived experience and a mind glazed with melancholia.

From picking up a guitar after a bolt-of-lightning visit from cousin Alessandro to playing countless covers in dimly lit clubs, Sandruvi’s roots in alternative and grunge run deeper than stylistic mimicry. Now, after cutting his teeth rearranging rock and pop in acoustic formats, he’s filtering that raw emotionality into original compositions, each track springing from something felt rather than forced. Fate doesn’t ask to be understood—it makes sure you feel every ache of it.

Fate is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Immerse yourself in the artfully metamorphic instrumentals in Blinded By Hope’s seminal prog-rock release, All We Know

Posted on 5 December 2023
Blinded by Hope

Emotion charters the path through the artfully metamorphic instrumental arrangement in one of the standout singles from Blinded by Hope’s debut LP, The Darkness That Surrounds Us.

The Australian innovators found their signature sound between the landscapes of prog-rock, melodic rock, and art rock to allow the seminal single, All We Know, which unravels as an emotionally resonant and sonically complex piece which takes you through the dark depths of human emotion via a backdrop of artfully progressive instrumentation.

From the opening notes, All We Know draws the listener into its profoundly reflective aura which swells around the alt-metal roots in the complexity of musical structures. But don’t let the gravitas in the release fool you, the track is as accessible as it is resonant as it vies for your attention through technical prowess and the emotional odyssey it represents.

The vocals echo the tender yet powerful style of Incubus, adding a soulful depth to the track. This vocal gravity anchors the song’s tumultuous ebb and flow, creating a captivating tension that is both stirring and poignant. The band’s focus on crafting a meaningful song, rather than just showcasing technical skill, shines through every note and lyric, making All We Know a superlatively compelling listen.

Stream Blinded by Hope’s music on Spotify, and keep up to date with news of the release via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Infatuation takes the wheel in Amenazar’s latest slice of seductive soul rock, Get It On

Posted on 29 May 2023

If Incubus emanated the riff-driven raw sex appeal of Velvet Revolver and the soul of Chris Cornell, their records would run in the same red-hot vein as Amenazar’s latest single, Get it On.

The Kansas City prodigal sons of soul rock are renowned for their high-energy live shows; perceptibly, their alchemic approach to new-era rock n roll resonates just as well on the airwaves, given the intoxicatingly impassioned magnetism of Get It On, which allows the seduction to run as an undertone in the single which lets romantic infatuation take the wheel and drive.

The working-class emissaries of reverent alt-rock records should be on the radars of every rock aficionado keen to savour the best of contemporary rock. We can’t wait to hear what innovation they unleash next.

Get It On was officially released on May 19; check it out on YouTube and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robots! Attack! break free through a bitter-sweet epiphany in their melodic rock hit, Tangled

Posted on 18 January 2023
Robots! Attack! by Robots! Attack!

Taken from their debut eponymous LP, the standout single, Tangled, from the Memphis-based fourpiece, Robots! Attack! is a reverently evocative rhythmic trip back to the alt-90s.

The breeze of the midwestern melodies is brought down to earth by southern grit in the grungy amalgam of punk, rock and harder-to-pin-down alternative inclinations that allow the outfit to carry fleeting reminiscences to Incubus and Deftones in their magnetically imploring vocal harmonies and the softly angular guitar lines that are never all too far away from an off-kilter breakdown.

While the lyrics allude to our tendency to fictionalise the characters in our own stories and give them far greater roles than they were destined for, the accordance-soaked instrumentals abstract any bitterness from the bitter-sweet epiphany of realising that time with some protagonists is always finite.

Tangled is available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LUCID LIP soulfully speak on disillusion in their alt-rock single, Who Would Notice?

Posted on 30 July 2022
LUCID LIP

New York’s smoothest and synth-heavy alt-rock outfit, LUCID LIP, has unveiled their latest heartbreakingly smoky single, Who Would Notice? which taps into the same sense of disillusioned isolation that everyone with any degree of self-awareness has battled with lately.

The lyric, “What the hell does anyone want anyway?”, efficaciously captures the frustration of the irrationality of most of the people you encounter. While “I’m not here to sell my soul, but who would notice?” pulls you into the darkened ennui of depression’s grips. Metaphorically, of course.

Far more remarkably, nothing about the single resonates as self-piteous; there’s a comforting sense that the candour was used as a means of solidarity with the listener.

Who Would Notice? left the same evocative imprint as Incubus did on me back in my slightly less jaded teen years, with a touch of Faith No More’s The Real Thing (I don’t make Mike Patton references lightly).

Who Would Notice? will officially release on July 29th. Check it out on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lighters in the air for Phatt James’ latest melodic grunge single, Ahead of Line

Posted on 27 May 2022

The evocative rock raconteurs, which form the melodic grunge powerhouse, Phatt James’ are fresh from the release of their latest single, Ahead of Line, which is a sublime convergence of the styles of Incubus and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, with plenty of their own distinction injected in between. Production-wise, the instrumentals gravitate around inexplicably intricate gravitas while the vocals expose nothing but raw soul.

It is still early days for the Bridgeport, Connecticut hailing outfit after releasing their debut EP, Circle Bent, in 2019, but notably, if any new band has what it takes to stir the hearts of 90s and 00s rock fans, it is Phatt James with their familiar yet sincerely original sound.

Ahead of Line is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Flying Oceans lit up the Manchester music scene with their soul-stirring funk-rock fusion, Circles

Posted on 26 May 2022
Flying Oceans

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.

Hear Flying Oceans’ latest single, Circles, here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cagri Raydemir bites the hand of ego-greed in his single, Attention Hunger

Posted on 8 January 2022

Attention Hunger is the latest intellectually scathing alt-rock track from the Munich, Germany-based artist, guitar virtuoso, songwriter and producer, Cagri Raydemir. With vocal reminiscences to Serj Tankian and an instrumental atmosphere that carries similarities to Incubus, any true alt-rock fan will allow Attention Hunger to resonate as a smorgasbord of dynamic alt-rock innovation.

It’s been a while since I had a quite literal jaw-drop moment at an instrumental interlude, but the one that brings in the outro in Attention Hunger gives Mr Bungle an Avant-Garde run for their money.

After releasing 12 albums and 3 EPs, Munich Germany-residing alternative artist has discernibly honed in on his craft to the point of peerlessness. It’s beyond refreshing to hear an artist with the ability to catch you broadsided by their talent.

Attention Hunger is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Darling Overdrive sprinkle some magical songwriting ‘Stardust’ with new EP ‘Cosmic Autumn’

Posted on 23 March 2021

Denver’s Darling Overdrive describe themselves as ‘rekindling the fire of late 20th Century Rock & Roll’. ‘Stardust’ initially has a little bit of a Goo Goo Dolls feel to it, opening up with some gently picked clean guitar over closed hi-hat sixteenths, before building, holding a little suspense before rocking out on the chorus with some nice staccato guitar chords and drum fills.

It’s reminiscent of The Calling, Hoobastank, or Lifehouse, that subtle blend of rock that’s an absolute shoo-in for acres of epic radio play right through the summer. That’s no criticism, either – it takes a very special kind of songwriting skill to maintain rock & roll credibility whilst generating mass-appeal, and to hit that perfect niche without falling into overblown Guns n’ Roses balladeering pomposity or Nickleback cheese takes some doing. Darling Overdrive seem to have done that effortlessly with ‘Stardust’, and the second track on the ‘Cosmic Autumn’ single ‘Surf’; top notch stuff.

Hear ‘Cosmic Autumn’ on Spotify; check out Darling Overdrive on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes