Browsing Tag

Indie Pop Rock

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

Hungarian indie-pop-rock Dirty Slippers pioneers stole the show and our souls with ‘Honest Kid’

Posted on 8 March 2023

Dirty Slippers made history as the first Hungarian band invited to record in Abbey Road Studios with George Shilling (Oasis, Mike Oldfield) and Tim Palmer (U2, Bon Jovi). Just one hit of their latest single, Honest Kid, was enough to affirm why they are a multi-award-winning outfit with three charting albums under their belt in their home country. FYI, NOTHING is lost in translation.

The indie pop-rock outfit, fronted by singer and guitarist Lázár Lobó-Szalóky, who knows just how to put your heart in your throat as you feel the full force of the emotion projected through every facet of the arrangement, songwriting and lyricality, are unparalleled in their captivatingly evocative presence on the airwaves.

Reminiscent of the 00s indie-pop-rock legacy acts, yet intrinsically unique with their folky baroque beguile, Dirty Slippers stole my soul from the first hook in the single that looks back on childhood from middle age with nostalgia in the pensive rearview mirror.

Honest Kid was officially released on February 21st. Hear it on Spotify & Follow Dirty Slippers on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennings Couch speaks for the overtly headstrong in his Americana-Esque Indie-Pop-Rock amalgam, No Hands

Posted on 27 January 2023

NYC-born, London-residing alternative artist Jennings Couch is putting every artist in the assimilation game to shame with his viscerally unique approach to genre-fluid ingenuity.

If you can imagine what it would sound like if Post Malone and Imagine Dragons met somewhere in the middle, you will start to get an idea of the innovation that melodically sparks through the entire duration of his transfixing track, No Hands.

The Americana-Esque instrumental amalgam of indie, pop and rock, creates a solid platform for the deadpan yet rhythmically sharp vocals that will tattoo themselves in your mind from the first hit. Lyrically, the track is for the overtly headstrong so intent on making their own way they don’t realise the distance they’ve created from the people that leave their hands outstretched to hold. The way the singer-songwriter approaches the lyrical concept is nothing short of genius.

No Hands will officially release on January 27th. You can catch it yourself on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Spheres packed their alt indie synth-pop debut, The City of Lights, with evocative kryptonite

Posted on 16 November 2022

If it’s been a while since a debut single has left you utterly obsessed, delve into The Spheres’ alternatively inclined amalgam of 80s synth pop, indie-rock, and dance, The City of Lights. From the suburbs of Toronto, the duo lit up the airwaves with their infectiously hook-rife account of the frontman’s complicated relationship with his city of birth, Karachi, Pakistan. “In the city of lights, you die just for dreaming”, is cuttingly efficacious in alluding to the toll it took on the singer-songwriter and producer Reza Habib.

With the vibrato in the vocals spilling evocative kryptonite across the catchy synth-pop melodies, The City of Lights will blind you with its luminous soul before the solid riffs and punchier vocals conclude the track on a raucous high that will leave you itching for more. Thankfully, that itch will be scratched as more singles from the debut album will drop before its full release in Spring 2023.

Stick The City of Lights to your synapses by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hana Katana pierced through the veil of plastic pop tropes with her pop-rock anthem, Friends Don’t Make You Cry

Posted on 6 November 2022

California-born, Austin-raised artist Hana Katana tore through the plastic pop cliches with razor-sharp precision to deliver the emboldening indie pop-rock single Friends Don’t Make You Cry. Turns out, wholesome content can sit hand in hand with kickass volition.

The lyric “friends don’t f**k you with their eye” is all proof you need that Hana Katana, who took her adapted adage “the tongue is mightier than the sword” for her moniker is one of the wittiest rising artists on the airwaves.

With touches of Paramore with the sonic glam of Marina and the Diamonds around the gorgeously angular indie guitars, Friends Don’t Make You Cry is a triumph. Kathleen Hanna would be proud. Especially, as the rising artist is doing stunt training while working on her visual album that will feature fight scenes to represent the conflict in each song.

Check out the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Real Zebos captured the banality ‘Indie Girls’ struggles in their latest single

Posted on 10 September 2022

Humility goes a long way in the indie scene, which is just one of the reasons The Real Zebos haven’t failed to amass a staunch following on their journey from Craigslist strangers to a 5-piece garnering over 3 million hits on their most popular tracks.

I’ll be honest; I thought I was going to hit play on their latest single, Indie Girls, and hear yet another cringe exposition on Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Thankfully, the garagey pop-rock jam is an addictive continuation of the same playful hubris found on Pavement’s seminal album, Brighten the Corners, with hilarious observations on the trends of try-hard e-girl vampires and the banality of their struggles. Admitting to loving this track is probably the most un-feminist thing I will ever do, but I can think of infinitely worse hills to die on.

Indie Girls is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eat your dissonantly superficial heart out to Red Wine Talk’s latest single, Anti-Romance

Posted on 10 September 2022

With an opening lyric as strong as “I don’t need to tattoo your name on my arm, you’re already under my skin”, we were immediately hooked on Red Wine Talk’s latest single, Anti-Romance, which aired after the 9-month hiatus they clearly used to mature their indie rock sound to the nth degree.

Far from your average boy meets girl cliché-fest, Anti-Romance affixes its lyrical lens on the wanton disregard with which we throw away the latest object of affection before searching for another; between the lines underpinning the irony of fawning over Hollywood and pop lyric romances.

I just hope that the cognitive dissonance of the quick sex aficionados out there can fully appreciate this reservedly poignant antithetic ode to love (or lack thereof) in our modern age. The instrumental minimalism truly stands as a testament to the power of the songwriting by this UK outfit headed by vocalist and guitarist Edward Brookes.

The official music video for Anti-Romance will premiere on September 9th. Catch it on Vimeo.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Theo Sawyer created the ultimate rebound pop hit for the modern age with ‘Forget Your Ex’

Posted on 12 August 2022
Theo Sawyer

With the emotional gravity of 00s emo, the theatrics of Queen and a cuttingly contemporary indie pop edge, I practically forget about everything listening to Theo Sawyer’s latest single, Forget Your Ex – let alone my ex. The progressively momentous hit builds to the heights of a rock opera, carrying all of the ascending euphorias with none of the dust from decades past.

‘Moving on’ tracks may be somewhat archetypal in pop but few sonically say it better than Theo Sawyer and his intense vocal dynamism, which makes being ambivalent towards him non-optional. Put it this way; he could have done the vocals to Lets Marvin Gaye and Get It On infinitely better than Charlie Puth,

Forget Your Ex will officially release on August 12th; hear it for yourselves on the Auckland-hailing artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gemïny has unveiled his electrifying soul-pop reflection on destruction, ‘Hesitation’

Posted on 27 July 2022

Stoking the soul-pop fire that he started with his debut and sophomore single, the Columbia, US-hailing artist, Gemïny, has added even more fuel through his third single, Hesitation.

Around the snapping beats, the kaleidoscopic glow of the delayed guitars, and funk basslines that amplify the amorous energy, Gemïny’s soulfully forceful vocals drive the single forward through its myriad of expressive progressions.

Lyrically, Gemïny spoke to everyone who knows how it feels to lose composure and descend to the depths of destruction in affection-inspired mania, which proves that love & lust are some of the most powerful drugs of all.

After racking up over 50k streams on SoundCloud with his sophomore single, Too Close, there is seemingly little in the way of Gemïny’s ascent to soul-pop fame.

Here is what Gemïny had to say on his third single:

After the heavier content in my previous two releases, with Hesitation, I used a lighter narrative while addressing the story at hand. It speaks to everyone that has done crazy things for a crush (if you haven’t, please keep it to yourself, the thought helps me sleep at night).

It draws from when I uncharacteristically got into a fight at a house party over a girl. I’m extremely prideful, but there I was, a 12-shots-in freshman, breaking walls and smashing tables. A bad look overall, but it encapsulates the essence of hesitation. The juvenile way you impress a crush in grade school; that conflicting mix of excitement and fear that reeks of teen spirit.

Hesitation will release across all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud and Spotify on July 27th.

Follow Gemïny on Facebook and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Andy Hobson brought ascending melodicism to sonic meditation with his latest single, Rise

Posted on 8 July 2022
https://soundcloud.com/andyhobsonmusic/rise/s-P1ghFdxlrW2?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The London, UK-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and spiritual teacher Andy Hobson is so much more than a diamond in the rough. With his latest single, Rise, he is the calm in the ever-calamitous storm that can’t seem to break away from our shores.

From the outro, you will feel some Nick Drake nostalgia. From there on out, the ethereal orchestral strings under the vibrantly ascending acoustic strings deliver heightened emotion exclusive to Hobson’s meditatively inventive take on alt-rock.

If you merged the plaintive sting of The Verve, the unrelenting compassionate tenacity of Nada Surf in their Let Go era with Radiohead-style gravitas and a burning sense of responsibility to spill the equanimity, the end result wouldn’t be too far away from the profound alchemy in Rise.

Here is what Andy Hobson had to say on his latest single:

“This is a bittersweet song about the passing of time and seeing the ups and downs of life as the same thing. Both can lead to new adventures. The song started as a dance track with big drums and a groovy bass line, but the emotion of the melody and lyrics didn’t really fit, so I stripped it back to acoustic guitar and wrote a haunting string section to give a final lift in the outro.”

Save a spot on your radar, as Hobson’s debut LP is due for release in 2023.

Rise, which was mastered by Stefano Ferracin and features Tom Meadows (Kylie/Will Young) on drums, is due for official release on July 8th, 2022. Check it out on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast