Browsing Tag

indie folk pop

Jakob the Liar – H E A R T B E A T: The Only Heartbreak Hit You Need to Hear This Year

Posted on 19 March 2023

Considering that we’re living in a post-truth world, we may as well tune into a reality falsifier, especially if they’re as endearingly magnetic as the alt-indie singer-songwriter Jakob the Liar.

His latest single, H E A R T B E A T, is his first contribution to the airwaves since the successful launch of his 2020 EP, Crystallised in Moonshine, and it is a melodic dream. The concept of running away from your own heartbeat won’t be foreign to anyone that has known heartbreak, but few can bring that world-shattering sensation into poetic motion as well as the Danish London-residing artist.

If The National, Bon Iver and Springsteen had a riff-soaked lovechild, the sonic result would be just as sweet as the anthemic intimacy in H E A R T B E A T.

H E A R T B E A T is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lindsey Sampson – Sand: An Elemental Folk-Pop Triumph.

Posted on 27 January 2023

With frenetic synth sequencing that made us nostalgic for the soundscapes from Alan Vega, the pop singer-songwriter, Lindsey Sampson’s latest single, Sand, is an elemental triumph.

Oceanic momentum flows through progressive rising tides in the un-archetypally structured single that harnesses deep reverence for natural phenomena and articulately observes how nature often works to reflect introspective sensations.

Lindsey Sampson, who spends her time between Nashville and New England, marries the soul of country with a contemporary indie folk pop edge that is definitively hers. We can fully attest to her ability to appeal to the spirituality that lies within us all – regardless of whether we nurture that relationship or not.

Since her humble beginnings, the singer-songwriter has been nominated for the award of Best Female Performer at the New England Music Awards and received many other accolades along the way while performing solo and as part of her folk-rock band, Visiting Wine. 

Sand will officially release on January 27th. Dig your toes in on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Aayushi has released her captivatingly cosy ukulele-led lullaby, I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing

Posted on 5 January 2023

Daringly opting to use a ukulele as the main melody driver in a single that encompasses the nostalgia sparked by Christmas paid off in spades for the Birmingham-based folk singer-songwriter, Aayushi in her latest single, I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing. The artist’s background in poetry and literature also owed itself to the quiescent track, as Aayushi reclaimed the term ‘snowflake’ away from those who wish to abstract from the beauty of compassion and uniqueness.

The stripped-back sonics did little to detract from the disarmingly arrestive power of the cosy lo-fi lullaby, which rekindles the warmth of childhood Christmases in the snow while reminding us that, as autonomous adults, we get to choose how we reignite that magic.

Released on December 23rd, the quaint serenade quickly amassed ample attention, including placement on several staunchly followed Spotify playlists. It is a single her fans will undoubtedly turn to year after year to stave off the threat of festive melancholy.

I Ran Out Into the Snowflakes, Laughing is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chloe Southern painted the portrait of a morally grey romantic in her immersive folk single, Oil & Water

Posted on 4 December 2022

The 22-year-old neo-folk singer-songwriter and producer, Chloe Southern, goes beyond making honesty her brand through the motto, “the more alone I feel in an experience, the more I know I need to write about it”.

The Boulder, CO-born, Brooklyn-residing artist is fresh from the release of her debut EP, Last Man on Earth, which contains five singles, all orchestrated to give a confidant to anyone drifting along the same wavelength. One of the standout singles, Oil & Water, is a quiescent aching lullaby. Atop gentle acoustic guitar strings that weave rich Elliott Smith-Esque melodies, Southern finds her resounding voice as she heightens the emotions to the nth degree through the climactically gentle vocal progressions.

All too often, singer-songwriters paint themselves as flawless protagonists in their own stories. Southern switched the narrative by creating a morally grey character of herself in the single that traverses how she stole someone from the arms of another. But she pulls the romanticism back around by alluding to her ability to love him like no other. We’re officially rooting for her in the romantic saga.

Oil & Water is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Love persists in Matilda Pratt’s tender indie pop love letter, Dear You

Posted on 14 October 2022

Swift fans will want to flock around the latest single, Dear You, to come from the 20-year-old indie pop songstress, Matilda Pratt, who studies law at Oxford University by day and lights up the airwaves by night with her classic yet quirky pop vocal dynamism. The vocal layering is nothing but a work of art in Dear You, which act as an open love letter to a departed and distant lover.

While the lyrics are straight-up bubble gum pop, Pratt’s husky harmonics bring them alive with a sense of old soul over the simple sporadically rugged folk-pop acoustic guitar progressions. How Pratt is still an unknown artist is utterly beyond me. Her vocal talent is as matchless as her capacity to draw you into a compelling narrative.

Dear You will officially release on September 30th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Layman.TV sings a ‘Harmony Eternal’ in his ethereal indie folk pop single

Posted on 30 August 2022
https://soundcloud.com/user-534530743/harmony-eternal-1

Bridging the gaps between Glen Hansard, James Yorkston and Richard Hawley, The London-based singer-songwriter, Layman.TV released his latest ethereal indie folk single, Harmony Eternal.

The flourishing chamber strings against his harmonised spoken word reflections on nature and all the parallels they create within our lives pull together to create a poetically celestial sensory experience in Harmony Eternal. It is almost enough to guilt trip you for not sharing the same romantic lust for life. I say almost; the sublime appreciation for natural phenomena becomes infectious. Especially when the nuanced rock guitars start to bolster the passion in the otherwise graciously otherworldly soundscape.

Harmony Eternal is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Intuitively spiritual rhythm meets sensual folk in DORA GOLA’s latest single, Dance with Danger

Posted on 17 June 2022

If any track is going to tempt the weary and wary out of their comfort zones after sanity diminishing lockdowns, it is the artfully fierce electronic folk-pop earworm, Dance with Danger, from the spiritually magnetic singer-songwriter, DORA GOLA.

With the intuitiveness of the rhythm, you scarcely need her bio to tell you that she’s a dancer. Her connection to music is enviably strong, but at least she’s had the grace to share her natural gift with the world through emboldening hits that tease your rhythmic pulses as much as they stir the soul.

Following the release of Dance with Danger, the Poland-born, West Ireland-based artist will continue to make her discography a rediscovery of ancestral roots, mystery and sensuality. We can’t wait to hear what follows. She shines luminously bright in a sea of ego-driven artists.

Dance with Danger will hit the airwaves on June 17th. Stream it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Max Minardi took us to Northern California with his folk-pop single, Young & Green

Posted on 13 May 2022

North California’s folk singer-songwriter, Max Minardi, wore his heart on his sleeve and gave us all his shirt in his latest narratively spellbinding indie folk-pop single, Young & Green.

The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons may have given folk-pop a bad rep, but the pop hooks and Americana roots in Young & Green is more than enough to restore the reputation with a single sonic hand.

The intricately spirited piano melodies and the orchestral layers bring the instrumental gravitas to the same level as his naturally magnetic vocals, which carry the same timeless beguile as Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, and Ben Howard, while up against the effortlessly synergistic female vocals.

Young & Green is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gian Majidi explores the amorous side of ‘The Moon’ in his latest single

Posted on 27 April 2022

Before releasing his self-titled 2022 pop album, the uniquely inspired multilingual Helsinki-based singer-songwriter and composer Gian Majidi has given us a taste of what is to come by giving us a sneak peek of his single, The Moon.

Through his love of 60s pop and 70s rock, he’s orchestrated a nostalgic yet passionately refreshing take on music from decades past. The Moon comes with artfully supple vocal harmonies, intricately picked Spanish guitars and butterfly-evoking progressions that won’t fail to pull you into the colourfully rich release that will undoubtedly put Gian Majidi on the map.

You can check out Gian Majidi for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Dhali took feel-good indie-folk to stratospheric new heights with his latest single, Taste

Posted on 20 March 2022

With caressing crescendos and swells of soul by the smorgasbord, the indie-folk singer-songwriter, John Dhali’s latest release, Taste, definitely isn’t an acquired one.

What starts as a gentle and euphonic offering of indie art-pop bliss transcends into a rock-licked all-consuming aural entity as you’re left to face the untamed passion in the lyrics and vocals and the equally as robust production.

When Taste reaches its anthemic peak, it is enough to rival Mr November by The National. Yet, I’m not sure The National could get away with the sweet and lofty ukulele melodies that John Dhali uses to amplify the high vibe soul. When he says his sound marries the feelgood accessibility of George Ezra with the evocative depth of Buckley, he more than backs it up with his viscerally euphoric discography.

It comes as no surprise that the Northwest, UK-born, London-based artist has already garnered attention from BBC Radio 1 and 2 and won regional awards for the best solo artist. We can’t wait to see his career blow up after the launch of his forthcoming album.

Check out John Dhali’s latest single, Taste, on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast