Browsing Tag

Indie Release

Claire Martine put classical strings against Slowdive-esque Shoegaze with ‘Better safe than sorry’

Posted on 31 March 2026
Claire Martine

Claire Martine has launched an indie dream pop single you won’t want to wake up from with Better safe than sorry. Born and raised in Milwaukee and now based in NYC, the singer-songwriter and producer brings her classical violin background into alternative music with a natural feel for atmosphere and arrangement. That musical grounding has already helped her build real momentum, from repeated support on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee to a Summerfest Studio Milwaukee session and strong traction online, but this release says far more than any stat line could.

Reverb and chorus-laden guitars are accentuated by the cinematically ornate timbre of violin strings, marking Claire Martine as a commanding force in instrumental layering, using texture to deliver shoegaze transcendence to a crowd who probably thought they had already heard it all before.

It’s alt-90s with a tender touch of contemporary grace and ingenuity that should see Claire Martine thriving in 2026, thanks to its hazy semi-lucid dreamscapes that invite listeners to melt into them and temporarily forget the weight of their souls. And, no review would be complete without mention of the sheer sublimity of the vocal harmonies, which sit perfectly within the balance of distortion and diaphanous scintillation. She’s a rare talent, it’s only a matter of time before she’s an immensely revered one.

Better safe than sorry is now available on all major streaming platforms. Find your preferred way to listen via the artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brooke Hall Sent Sepia-Soaked Longing through the Indie Americana Warmth of ‘Waiting’

Posted on 30 March 2026

The indie-folk warmth of Brooke Hall’s single, Waiting, is a temperature made for fans of Bonny Light Horseman, Hiss Golden Messenger and Big Thief. The indie Americana harmonic drifts are the epitome of swoon-worthy, matching the magnetic mesmerism of the vocals, which deserve to put Brooke Hall in the same league as Stevie Nicks; she’s got that organic depth to her vocal timbre that instantly makes her a confidant at first acquaintance. In a vapid world, Brooke Hall’s timeless sepia-soaked sound is the oceanic antidote to superficiality.

The melodies seem to catch in your throat as your soul is scintillated by the longing in the reflective release, which exposes how much of life is spent in a state of stasis, yearning for something to add colour to our worlds.

Brooke Hall, a singer-songwriter rooted in Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana, spent years behind the drum kit before stepping forward with her own material, and that sense of restraint serves the release well. Waiting marks her first fully produced single, and it may seem like she left no room for improvement, but we’d put money on her surprising us with her sophomore release.

That ability to hold space inside uncertainty gives Waiting its staying power. It’s the perfect aural elixir for anyone who has ever sat in the in-between, hoping life would shift shape before the lights went out.

Waiting is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

heaven // alone Let Vulnerability Breathe Through the Post-Hardcore Rupture of ‘escaping myself’

Posted on 29 March 2026

heaven // alone refuse to sit still inside any neat genre tag. Emo, post-rock, grunge, metal, post-hardcore, whichever pigeonhole gets dragged out, their sound pushes straight past it. On escaping myself, that viscerally expansive, evocatively intense aesthetic lands with the force of a bad thought looping at 3 am, then mutating into a primal communication with the void. For an artist working with this much emotional exposure, there’s nothing mild-mannered about the way they let the weight of the track speak for itself.

Opening with an augmentation on the sludgy Seattle grunge sound, escaping myself winds into a melodic post-rock intersection where the vulnerability the title so cuttingly alludes to gets the room it needs to breathe. That sense of emotional suspension soon gives way to the point where the screamo vocals bleed across the adrenalised volition in the post-hardcore instrumentation, tearing through the track with a fevered urgency that you’re bound to catch.

For anyone who has ever felt plagued by their own consciousness and pleaded for a way to disconnect from their past, present, and future, this will hit hard enough to warrant a GBH charge.

escaping myself is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TRANCES shaped a chorally crystalline alt-indie ascent in Last Devotion

Posted on 31 January 2026
Last Devotion by TRANCES

From the depths of Seattle’s DIY scene, TRANCES have unleashed the sonically diaphanous ecstasy of Last Devotion; the first single from their upcoming EP, beyond the glow. With their name as a manifesto and a sound forged in lucid disarray, they’ve mastered the art of letting experimentation lead the way without veering into indulgence. If you imagine a more chorally crystalline aesthetic caressing the slacker spirit of Britpop at its most gorgeously unbothered, you’ll get a sense of the sonic alchemy TRANCES summon here. Their expressive zeal lands somewhere between Pavement’s playfulness and something altogether more transcendental; the only issue being that it didn’t arrive on the airwaves sooner.

Rather than grappling for a sense of authenticity, it’s embedded in every one of their creative impulses, from the oscillating guitar harmonies to the centrifugal rhythm section that steers the kaleidoscopic progressions into new off-kilter territories. There’s a quiet confidence in the production, recorded by Don Farwell at Earwig Studios and polished by Matt Bayles, that lets the more fever-dream elements unfurl without ever losing shape. With a lush post-punk glaze and flashes of shoegazey friction, the track feels like a product of both longing and propulsion — constantly renewing itself without ever starting from scratch. It’s a full-body immersion into emotive disorientation.

With the rest of beyond the glow due to land in March, and with mastering credits from Rachel Field at Resonant, the pieces are in place for TRANCES to cut through the noise with an alt-indie sound that defines this generation of alt-indie.

Last Devotion is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. 

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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Boxwood Ivy planted kaleidoscopic calm into indie folk with ‘Time Begins’

Posted on 19 January 2026

While some song crafters chase the spotlight, BOXWOOD IVY remain enigmatically in shadow, planting sonic seeds in the din of an industry where egotistical marketing often shouts louder than the music itself. Their latest release, Time Begins, feels like an auspicious way to start the new year. Rather than pushing listeners into motion through urgency or ambition, the track leans into stillness. With lush harmonies, timeless indie singer-songwriter trappings and kaleidoscopically weightless production that lends itself to artful quasi-psychedelic transcendence, Time Begins draws you inward. It unfolds as a serenade of pure consolation, guided by lyrical imagery, softness in the layered harmonies and a deep understanding of the universal idiosyncrasies that make us sink all too easily.

Immediately greeting you with a sense of aural assurance and tenderness, the soft-hued indie release pulls you into an artfully choral arrangement, where melodic swells register more in the soul than the air. There’s a patience to the pacing, a quiet confidence in how each harmony finds its place. Boxwood Ivy’s evocative approach to songwriting and their instinctive play with instrumental and vocal synergy creates a serendipitous sensation of synchronicity, as though everything arrives exactly when it should.

If you’ve long gravitated towards artists in the vein of Fleet Foxes, Boxwood Ivy will feel instantly at home on your playlists. The project operates with an intentional sense of mystery, releasing music quietly but consistently, supported behind the scenes by an acclaimed Nashville producer and a Grammy-winning engineer based in Los Angeles. That restraint only deepens the impact. Time Begins feels less like a statement and more like a gentle hand on the shoulder, offering reassurance, reflection and space to breathe.

Time Begins is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Teddy B and the Bum Shufflers bottled festive absurdity and warm fuzzies in ‘The Christmas Song Song’

Posted on 23 November 2025
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=w59Q29p_soM&si=zL36NAP3qx9OC5Vd

Teddy B and the Bum Shufflers hurled one more dose of absurdity into 2025’s cultural clutter with The Christmas Song Song. Once you push past the artist’s moniker, which sparks images of rogue Build-a-Bear escapees making a break for pop supremacy, you’ll hook straight into the ultimate guilty pleasure and stay lodged there long after the sleigh bell-swathed earworm curls into the outro.

Adorably, the song came to life after one-man powerhouse Mark Rose teamed up with his five-year-old son, whose expansively quirky imagination nudged the single into one of the most wholesome Christmas singles you’ll stumble across. It is sugary, silly, and strangely moving, the kind of track that sneaks its way into your system before you even realise you’re humming along.

Rather than leaning on tradition, the lyricism zooms in on the dizzying buzz of the build-up, that moment when festive melodies creep back onto the radio, when the air feels fizzy with anticipation, when the cold perks up your cheeks but the headspace stays warm and fuzzy. You can catch tiny nods to All I Want for Christmas tucked in as cultural shorthand, though the originality is present in every snow-dusted contour of the arrangement.

Rose built this project from the ground up after years of driving the nationally recognised Ten Year Vamp, bringing his pop sharpness into a new chapter shaped by childhood imagination and modern studio freedom. Now, three releases deep, Teddy B and the Bum Shufflers have carried their family-born vision into a full-length Christmas album crafted to hook kids and charm adults at the same time. The Christmas Song Song feels like its playful centrepiece, a reminder that alternative music still has room for joy-fuelled silliness when the season hits.

The Christmas Song Song is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tahoe’s Nick LaBella drops journey-filled debut song ‘California’

Posted on 26 October 2020

Tahoe’s Nick LaBella drops debut song ‘California‘ and this is a lovely listen. With indie-folk love and stories attached, this is a song to pay full attention to.

With percussion and digital processing added to his vocals and guitar, its always good to have an extra little boost, Nick creates a signature sound that is sure to be warmly received all over the world. Burnt out after a successful career in the Corporate world, Nick decided that he needed a change. A new start which has music at the core. Being happy is so important.

Nick LaBella is quite inspiring on his debut song ‘California‘. The Tahoe-based musician shows us his journey here. He writes and plays a multi-generational & eclectic mix of folk, blues, rock and pop. Nick draws on a wide range of musical inspiration that touches the soul and warms the heart. This is the story of the underdog, driving southbound to find the next gig. With simmering vocals, Nick LaBella is quite brilliant on‘California‘.

Click here for the Soundcloud link.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

‘Talk’ from JJL & GLEV is a story of lost love that is now gone

Posted on 17 October 2020

‘Talk‘ from JJL & GLEV is a story of lost love that is now gone and you can’t even talk about it to each other now. This is a fine new school Hip Hop/R&B journey that will keep you entertained throughout.

Recorded, mixed, mastered by JJL, this is a new school love journey from these two conscious musicians. This is a mellow ride through working about what happened in the relationship. The trust was there but then it was gone so quickly. You were so loyal but sadly, your partner wasn’t and its time to move on.

‘Talk‘ from JJL & GLEV flourishes with the official visualizer. This feels like two artists who are just getting started and they have so much to offer. With great production and a vibrant vocal experience, this is a great listen and a warning to us all. Communication and trust is so important and without these two core components, things can turn dark really quickly.

Click here for the YouTube link.

Head through to the Spotify page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Australian rapper Rivilin rips on emotion-charged ‘I Am Nothing’

Posted on 16 September 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31RXuAHSX1c

The Australian rapper Rivilin comes through charging with emotion on the new Hip Hop laced single called ‘I Am Nothing‘.

This is all about being with someone you really care for, things are great at first. However for whatever reason, things haven’t worked out and now it’s over. You thought that this would be different but its turned out just like before. In heartbreak. The raging raw emotion is something to behold here as we have vocals that are so fiery and raps that tell the whole story. You now think that that person hates you as they are cold towards you now. Then you are together again but you know that she doesn’t want you in the bed when she wakes up. Things are messy now and you need to work out what to do.

‘I Am Nothing‘ from Rivilin is a wild ride into the emotion of a relationship that goes up and down, it’s fun and emotional but so tough to work out. This is a new school Hip Hop track with trap-filled influences that fire in with passionate vocals and lyrics. The young Australian artist has brought out a top track and the video is terrific.

Click here for the YouTube link.

Here is the Spotify page for more.

Head through to the Facebook link.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

 

da22 intrigue with debut single ‘callingallcars’

Posted on 6 September 2020

Here is an energetic single to greet our ears so nicely from da22 as they smash through on ‘callingallcars‘.

Inspired by a misheard lyric, da22 (Dead At Twenty Two) explores existentialism in modern youth. In 2020, friends Sebastian Quintero, Destin Johnson, Ryan Denis, and Christian Carcamo formed the American alternative group, marking its debut with the single ‘callingallcars‘- a look into different perspectives and misinterpreted situations. This is a punk rock song that hits all the heights here.

“While all four of us are obsessed with the immediate captivity of a really obvious pop hook, I have an affinity for everything to the left of that.” says da22’s frontman Quintero. “The intensity of distortion, the ambiguity of an indefinable tempo or melody; traits perfected by the likes of Brian Eno and Sigur Rós, are ones I greatly admire. The marriage of both notions has always intrigued me. I think ‘callingallcars’ is a testament to that, which is why we went with it first.”

‘callingallcars‘ is a fun song that certainly jumps the heart into speeding off into the night. The power and skill here musically from da22 is a marvel to lock our ears onto like a comfy pair of headphones.

Click here for the Soundcloud link.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen