Browsing Tag

Indie Jangle Pop

Dandelions by ST4RR: A Sundrenched Bloom in Indie Pop

Posted on 18 February 2025

With all the dreamy reverie of coming-of-age infatuation wrapped up in the warm, hazy hues spilling from the jangle pop guitars and her organically hypnotic vocal lines, ST4RR will leave you as lovestruck as the lyrics with her single, Dandelions.

Allowing you to imagine The Smiths and Sabrina Carpenter intertwining their sounds, the track effortlessly appeals to both new wave indie faithful and contemporary pop fans. Her songwriting chops, effortlessly seraphic sonic signature, and ability to envelop listeners in an aura of emotion result in a sticky-sweet earworm born through an effortless amalgamation of style and substance

Behind the ST4RR moniker is Trinity Rutledge, who has nurtured her devotion to music since childhood. After finding her voice in choruses and mastering guitar and piano, she is well on her way to achieving her lifelong dream of appearing on major stages and reading audiences across the globe.

As the opening single on her debut EP, Circle of Love, Dandelions positions ST4RR in prime territory to reach the top of the indie pop charts. Every note lingers in your mind, retaining a mellifluous spark that sets her apart from the standard singer-songwriter formula.

Stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lie awake in the illusory land of Mindless Crowd’s new wave seminal release,  ‘Dreamscape’

Posted on 15 September 2024

With their desperately anticipated LP, Wanderlust, released on 30th August, Mindless Crowd stand as innovative new-wave indie architects; if you’re always looking for new ways to explore this vain of sonic nostalgia, let Mindless Crowd be your guide with the standout single, ‘Dreamscape’.

‘Dreamscape’ may not deliver your quintessential dreamy ambient aesthetic, but who decided dreamscapes are unanimous in tonality anyway? Mindless Crowd orchestrated their own chimaera with the reverie of angular jangle pop guitars that resonate with the perpetually influential rhythms of Johnny Marr and echoes of Iggy Pop through gruff, spoken-word style vocals that strikingly juxtapose the vibrant tones of the instrumentals.

As the track evolves, the guitars transition in the middle eight, creatively adorning the track in veritable rock n’ roll stripes. The vintage-toned lead work ascends to what can only be described as guitar porn, embodying the perfect melodic narrative switch for indie fans always on the lookout for boundary-pushing new-wave indie sounds.

Emerging from Geneva, Mindless Crowd has evolved from covering rock titans like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to crafting their original material. Formed in 2012 by school friends and driven by a blend of nostalgia and innovation, the band—comprising Alex, Julien, Gaël, and Lucas—has grown a significant following, propelling them forward with over 150,000 listens on Spotify.

The album ‘Wanderlust’ encapsulates this growth and exploration, offering a mix of motivation, disillusionment, success, and failure, reflecting the winding journey of introspection the band describes.

Mindless Crowd’s LP, Wanderlust, is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

In Our Sea electrified the airwaves with their rhapsodically eclectic alt-indie single, When You Kissed Me I Went Numb

Posted on 15 July 2024

The third album, Flowers! Swallow Me!, from the inimitably rhapsodic and harmonically euphonic outfit, In Our Sea, has landed, introducing one of the most infectious singles to date from the architects of unpretentious alt-indie.

If you took the jangle pop guitars of Johnny Marr, the sticky-sweet synthy sensibilities of Yo La Tengo, the kaleidoscopic colour of the Beatles and the innovatively rhythmic flair of The Violent Femmes, you’d be left with a soundscape as electrifying as the standout single, When You Kissed Me I Went Numb. The lyrically avant-garde celebration of pure and innocent passion hits as hard as any of the tracks on Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea LP. With the unbridled self-effacing energy that’s poured into the single by the smorgasbord, it is impossible not to fall for In Our Sea, melodic hook, line, and sinker.

When You Kissed Me I Went Numb was officially released on July 5th with the Flowers! Swallow Me! LP; stream it on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gavin Cole pierced the pop veil with the razor-sharp hooks in his dynamic hit, FRNDS

Posted on 31 May 2024

The hooks in Gavin Cole’s latest single, FRNDS, don’t just impale, they implant an addiction to his vibrantly visceral approach to contemporary pop.

The sharp bursts of rock renegade intensity within the rhythmically dynamic single which synthesises nuances of funk in the guitar lines, galvanises through dance-pop energy in the beats, and keeps the anticipation for the choruses high with the synth-carved layers of indie jangle pop ensures FRNDS will hit the airwaves with maximum impact.

As an artist who always leans into the messy and often hedonistic nature of relationships, Gavin Cole isn’t your average purveyor of unrealistic romantic expectation-imparting pop, he’s as real as it gets, exemplified by FRNDS, which explores how temptation and lust can tear friendships apart.

With an immense vocal presence that allows Gavin Cole to become a supernova in the spotlight and the studio, he isn’t an artist to underestimate. Since his debut, he’s created a community around his music, evidenced by the success of his crowdfunding campaigns.

FRNDS will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from May 31st.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From Envy to Altruism: The Rhythmic Rapture of Lemonade Sin’s New Single, Having A Better Time

Posted on 22 May 2024

The London/Devon-based indie quintet Lemonade Sin is an elixir we always look forward to pouring; they’re just as euphonically delicious as ever in their latest nostalgia-quenching cocktail, Having A Better Time taken from their forthcoming album, Deadly Sins.

Having A Better Time puts the 6th deadly sin, envy, under a scrupulous lens to vindicate anyone who has revealed a friend as a foe through the glow of jealousy while simultaneously drenching you in the new wave of era and genre-spanning rhythmic rapture.

The chameleonic guitars progress from winding blues into the stellar production to delivering a rancorously brashy standoff against disingenuous protagonists to raising the energy in the jangle pop choruses, working in seamless synergy with the ABBA-esque keys which inject elation into a bittersweet allegory of how being blind with envy and social media-imparted FOMO is an efficacious way of ensuring your world is rooted in negativity and moral decay. Yet, instead of chastising the envious, Lemonade Sin chose a sweet not sour approach to remind listeners of the bliss which lies in altruism; you just can’t help surrendering to the soul in the lush dualling harmonies

Having A Better Time was officially released on May 17; stream the single on Spotify or purchase the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find out why the city never sleeps in snailosaur’s indie rock vignette, Apartment Boxes (nyc poem)

Posted on 18 January 2024

Forget what you know about New York from the over-romanticised depictions and acquaint yourself with the true nature of the cityscape, which juxtaposes grit and grime with the monolithic architecture and the egregious egos of Wall Street wolves. snailosaur’s standout single, ‘Apartment Boxes (nyc poem)’, taken from their indie rock LP, Talk Therapy, paints a fond vignette of the infamous city over the luminous tonality of their angular guitar lines, which weave elements of new wave into the nostalgia-kissed release.

While the upbeat melodies embed the single with a light and dreamy air as they cruise through the Pavement-esque progressions, the vocals act in contrast with their nonchalant drawls, adding depth to the track as they allude to the sins and cultural salvation of the city that never sleeps – and now, thanks to snailosaur, we know why; the working class are confined to coffins as they live and breathe. Yet, suffocation is a small price to pay to walk the streets that become portals in time, if you know which avenues to take.

Apartment Boxes (nyc poem) is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Giant Killers delivered fatalistically sweet indie jangle pop blows in their alt-90s time capsule, Around the Blocks

Posted on 15 January 2024
Songs for the Small Places by Giant Killers

Tracks originally written and recorded in 1995 by Brighton’s Giant Killers when they were signed to MCA Records have finally reached the airwaves. The standout indie jangle pop single, Around the Blocks, from their forthcoming LP, is an authentically nostalgic dream. With hints of Coffee and TV within the R.E.M.-esque college radio rock production, which sees the choruses endlessly ascend and the verses pull you in deeper through the affectionately sharp hooks, Around the Blocks is a tonic for the melancholic soul.

With a frenetic closing sonic chapter which echoes the palpitating pacing of the hit Brimful of Asha, Giant Killers clearly know how to make an ever-lasting impression with their sound, which doesn’t go as far as sticky-sweet; there’s far too much indie rock renegade grit within their compassionately confrontational lyricism.

With their ‘songs for the small places’ LP, Giant Killers aren’t only delivering melodic salvation to the ennui-inclined. £2 of every sale of the LP will be donated to Campaign Against Living Miserably, a charity dedicated to saving lives through suicide prevention. Given the gravitas of Around the Blocks, which will see your soul sweep higher than the transcendentally tight melodies, you shouldn’t need any additional incentive to partake in the nostalgically euphonic bliss. But it’s incredible to see an artist not solely skating by on the signals of their virtue. Giant Killers are putting momentum behind real tangible change.

Hear Around the Blocks on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Negate your way through the chaos with Midamerican Elevator’s jangle pop compass, Turn Left

Posted on 18 November 2023

With jangle pop guitar melodies reaching the epitome of effervescence under the dreamy vocal honey which tastes just as sweet as the harmonies that ensured Debbie Harry’s name would never be lost to history, the latest single, Turn Left, from the Chicago Indie Rock outfit, Midamerican Elevator is a resonant revelation.

By lyrically tracking how hard it can be to keep pace with the tumultuousness of modernity and how easy it can be to go around in circles, Turn Left speaks volumes to anyone who knows how it feels to be consumed by the franticness of society that leaves so many of us without a compass.

Between the killer chord progressions which elucidate that Midamerican Elevator will never be pedestrian at best and their capacity to fuse soul with style, they’re ones to watch out for. We’re stoked they’re back on the airwaves following the successful launch of their 2022 debut LP, Moon Ruler.

Turn Left will give indie rock fans a sense of direction on November 17th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Coming Up Milhouse’s debut single, Not Over You, is a riot of candied curveballs

Posted on 14 May 2023

Even though the track title leaves little room for guesswork in regards to the sentiments that flow through the swoonsomely crooned pop hit, the debut single, Not Over You, from Coming Up Milhouse, is a riot of candied curveballs.

With vocal lines that could tender the heartstrings of Elliott Smith, synths that create an odyssey of retro mutant pop in the same vein of Trudy and the Romance, and indie jangle pop melodies which add to the trending trajectory which spawned from revivalists such as the Midnight, Not Over You is a debut which plateaus above indie landfill releases.

The self-described soft boy indie rockers from Birmingham know just where to find the sweet spot when balancing lyrical melancholia and earwormy indie hooks.

Not Over You was officially released on May 5; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget your ex, fixate on Good Time Locomotive’s debut new wave pop-rock hit, Lines of Symmetry

Posted on 13 May 2023

The London-hailing prodigal sons of jangly new wave pop-rock, Good Time Locomotive, put the silver lining on your last sanity stripper of a relationship with their debut single, Lines of Symmetry, which allowed them to more than stay true to their moniker.

If you thought that Stranger Things delivered a potent shot of 80s nostalgia, you’ll be wishing your hair was bigger from the first time the crooned-over chorus hits in Lines of Symmetry. This wholly relatable dance-worthy hit is the nearest thing to closure that most disenfranchised hopeless romantics out there will get; consider the absolute earworm of a melody as bonus material.

Good Time Locomotive may be a fresh-faced outfit, but it comprises a collective of seasoned musicians who have enough musical chops between them to officially dub themselves as a powerhouse. We can’t wait to roll with the emotional punches in their forthcoming EP, due for release this summer.

Lines of Symmetry will officially release on May 13; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast