Browsing Tag

Indie Jazz Pop

Spotlight Feature: Ella Rossi negated adorated anxiety in her ethereal indie soul pop sophomore single, Linen

Posted on 16 June 2023

After finding her voice as a jazz singer, the LA-born, Montreal-based artist Ella Rossi has flourished as one of the most seminal RnB Pop singers of her generation. With a vocal timbre as rich as the staccato guitar chords, few ethereal indie RnB Pop soundscapes spill as much tonal sanctity as her sophomore single, Linen, which explores the sensual highs and the tormenting lows of a relationship you can’t leave in the rearview mirror, despite never knowing where you stand in it, or how the severe the wounds will be when time finally closes on it.

With a vocal range so luxe and rich it would make Elon Musk feel inferior, Ella Rossi is a diamond in the rough; it is only a matter of time before major record labels want to mine her. Her capacity to captivate with her honeyed harmonies and so-radiant-they-glow soundscapes is second to none. Rossi is the ultimate proof that if you stay in your own creative lane, there will be no one out of your expressive league.

Ella Rossi said:

“Linen is about a passionate but complicated relationship and being unable to resist the attraction, despite the potential consequences. The lyric, “wrapped in this linen”, represents a sense of comfort and intimacy while alluding to a feeling of entrapment in a dynamic where there is no longer a clear view of how the other person feels.”

Linen will release ahead of Ella Rossi’s debut EP; stream it via Spotify and SoundCloud from June 16th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Amor crooned us onto a higher plateau with his indie-folk-pop serenade, 109 Days

Posted on 9 May 2023

Brandon Amor’s single, 109 Days, which concludes his LP, The Waltz of 109 Days, is a sonic odyssey; orchestrated by the dreamy layers of indie-folk-pop and waltz-y rhythmics under his 50s-style jazz crooning that almost makes a lullaby out of this sentimentally spacey outpour of intricately impassioned soul.

Any fans of Trudy and the Romance will be effortlessly swooned by the kaleidoscopic melodicism of the single that cushions his visceral vocal lines, which amplify in conviction until the track quiescently fades out on gentle guitar strings and birdsong.

I’m not one that believes that good artists always need to have an X-Factor-winning set of vocal cords, but when they complement such a stunning instrumental arrangement, it certainly takes the aural experience to the next transcendent level. It is safe to say that 109 Days will leave you on a higher plateau from the first hit, and believe me when I say you won’t be able to resist repeat spins.

109 Days will be available to stream from May 9th. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Elin Grace artfully enticed her listeners into meditation with the sophisticated tranquility of her alt-indie single, Breathe

Posted on 26 October 2022

Escape to the country with the rural poetry in Elin Grace’s latest quirky jazz-infused piano pop single, Breathe. With the same ephemeral grace of The Anchoress paired with her own celestially graceful beguile, the lullaby-esque single that artfully and unexpectedly entices you into meditation after a confessional outpour of emotion is a flawless triumph.

The mid-Wales-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has mastered the piano, saxophone, cello, and ukulele, has been lauded by the likes of Adam Walton from BBC Radio Wales and has seen her music commissioned for London Fashion Week. Clearly, Elin Grace has a promising future ahead. She’s one of a kind, yet drinking in the tranquil sophistication of her melodies is, ironically, as easy as breathing.

Breathe is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Art Crimes Band painted in metropolitan soul in their latest jazzy synth-driven single, Neon Skyline

Posted on 10 October 2022

The Art Crimes Band have been lauded as Cork’s most promising new band; their latest single, Neon Skyline, affirms just why so much hype has been amassing around their soul-driven indie synthwave sound. If you can envisage Nina Simone’s vocals fused over The Midnight’s soundscapes, you may get a fair way to imagining what the Art Crimes Band have stirringly amalgamated in Neon Skyline.

To the tune of seductively jazzy sax, shimmering synths and ambient funk dripping rhythms, Neon Skyline metropolitanly unravels around the timeless female vocals that could have been recorded at any time in the last century, but they fit right into the juxtaposing classic temporary timbre of this artfully consuming serenade, which calls out into the cruel cold world to make it infinitely more accommodating and less alienating.

Neon Skyline is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spener blurred the lines between indie-rock and neo-soul in his compassion-driven single, Dial Away

Posted on 21 September 2022

North of England-born, Barcelona-based artist Spener blurred the lines between indie-rock and jazzy neo-soul in his slickly smooth seminal single, Dial Away.

I’m not entirely sure what is more enamouring in Dial Away, the euphonically consoling soundscape or the lyrical compassion that extends a sense of unconditional empathy that is scarcely found elsewhere to the listener.

While the mainstream media leaves us inclined to believe that artists like Amy Winehouse only come around once in a generation, Spener blows that notion out of the water with the sheer visceralism of his down-to-earth candour that can easily become addictive through his hook-laden vocal lines.

Dial Away is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Canadian originator, Ethan Mark opened his jazzy neo-soul in his album ‘The Concept of You’

Posted on 23 June 2022

After teasing us title single from his 2022 album, The Concept of You, we eagerly awaited the full length of Ethan Mark’s sophisticated psychedelic-soul experimentalism.

With the opening single, The Unravelling of Every Day, equally as sublime as the openers on your favourite 90s Shoegaze albums (surely, everyone has some of those!), it is instantly affirmed what kind of production the Canadian artist constructed. One that is defined by its quiescence and the ability to hold your attention through the jazzy indie-soul juxtapositions.

Track 3, Gunslinger, is a trippy ethereal masterpiece, colourful enough to rival the fantasy-like escapism in tracks from Cosmo Sheldrake. Reminiscences fall by the wayside in the boundlessly experimental world music title single which breaks the monocultural mould with the percussion and throws in some flamenco guitars around the RnB grooves.

Not that The Concept of You has any skippable tracks, but special attention should be paid to Weight of it All. The lofty intricate work is a sublime pool of lyrical vulnerability, Avant-Garde ambience, and quintessential folk escapism. It is gravitas sonically personified.

Here is what Ethan Mark had to say on his album

“The Concept of You, and the upcoming album, came about from a challenge from my partner. She, a listener of neo-soul and jazz, challenged me to pare my usually elaborate and busy musical style down to something more organic, soulful, and pretty.

The result was a series of love songs encompassing many facets of love. The title single refers to her, the sepia-toned memories of summers, the roots we have put down together, and the love for home.

These themes felt especially important after a long period punctuated by isolation, introversion, and cabin fever. It’s accentuated by nylon guitar strings, cascading violins, gentle pianos, and the frailties of harmonised vocals.”

Concept of You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the silver lining in A-Mar’s bluesy indie single, Raining in New Orleans.

Posted on 20 September 2021

Even though using the weather as a parable for complex emotions isn’t exactly novel, independent bedroom pop artist A-Mar’s single, Raining in New Orleans, proves there’s still plenty of poignant poetry to be pulled from our stormy, unpredictable weather systems.

Vocally, there is plenty of reminiscence to the likes of Jack Johnson, but it is in the instrumentals where A-Mar truly comes into his own. His soulful infusion of indie, blues and jazz in the cathartically laidback single sets him leagues apart from his contemporaries and icons alike. If this is what he can achieve alone in his bedroom, we’re all too eager to hear where the future takes him and his tender, instantly magnetic expression.

Raining in New Orleans is now available to stream along with the artist’s debut album, Around El Mundo, via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fall into Crawford Mack’s Hauntingly Poetic Chamber Pop Single ‘The Art of Losing You’

Posted on 24 March 2021

Following on from the success of their debut album, ‘Bread & Circuses’, Glasgow-hailing, London-residing alternative artist, Crawford Mack has lavished the airwaves with their chamber pop single, ‘The Art of Losing You’.

With hauntingly poetic lyrics falling into the smoothly sparse production which teases nuances of jazz and folk, Crawford Mack exhibits an inimitable style, but more importantly, he doesn’t fail to appeal to the softer and more sentimental side of the human condition. Any fans of Father John Misty, Benjamin Clementine and Gabriel Kahane will want to delve in.

The single marks a new chapter for Crawford Mack who has shared stages with the likes of The Paper Kites, Damien Dempsey and Tom Walker. It’s a page-turner. Get him on your radar.

The Art of Losing You is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Slay – Cherry Wine: Nostalgically Warm, Stylistically Captivating Alt Indie Neo-Soul

Posted on 8 May 2020

Nashville-based Indie RnB artist Alex Slay’s upcoming single “Cherry Wine” may be a melodiously soft, soulfully captivating slow jam, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more hard-hitting Indie Soul track.

Their completely distinctive sound fuses nostalgically warm Neo-Soul Jazz Pop tones around roots-deep RnB and light melodic Blues in a way which I can guarantee you’ve never heard the like of before. But despite the uniqueness of Alex Slay’s signature sound, Cherry Wine is one of the most accessible Indie RnB tracks we’ve heard this year. And those are just a few of the reasons you’ll come to love Cherry Wine once you delve into the soulful creative catharsis.

You’ll have to wait until May 20^th to check out Cherry Wine for yourselves. In the meantime, you can check out the artist’s previous releases via SoundCloud and keep up to date with news of the release via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast