Browsing Tag

Indie Singer Songwriter

MER reached the pinnacle of cathartic intimacy with ‘When I’m Alone’

Posted on 18 May 2023

With a touch of Adrianne Lenker to the vocals and a lo-fi ethereal guitar atmosphere which will placate the staunchest Elliott Smith fans, the NYC-residing singer-songwriter, MER’s latest artfully vulnerable single, When I’m Alone, reaches the pinnacle of cathartic intimacy.

The descent into Avant-Garde indie bedroom pop obscurity just before the track fades to a close gives you the compulsion to dive back into the passionately elevated arrangement while pulling in reminiscences to Mitski. But make no mistake, When I’m Alone is no feat of assimilation.

The visceral soul which emanates from the experimentalism is a testament to the originality of MER. The lyrical experience of fierce independence as a coping mechanism may be a relatively universal phenomenon, but MER is one in an expressively eloquent million.

When I’m Alone hit the airwaves on May 12. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Americana Meets British Acoustic Indie in Champagne on the Rocks’ Sentimentally Cinematic Single, Golden Hour

Posted on 9 May 2023

UK singer-songwriter, Champagne on the Rocks, tantalised timeless Americana tones and tinged them with British acoustic indie in his latest cinematically rendered single, Golden Hour.

With choruses that made me nostalgic for Semisonic, Deep Blue Something and The Calling while simultaneously affirming that Champagne on the Rocks has what it takes to become a sonic legacy in his own right, you’re damn right we were arrested by the elevated weight of Golden Hour. When the winding Americana guitar solo hits, the stripped-back sentimental hit which will allow all of your most-cherished sun-soaked memories to manifest in your mind, the track transformed into a virtuosic triumph. Repeat attention is practically mandatory.

Golden Hour is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Welcome Stranger set an intimately artful indie-folk score with ‘You Need Me’

Posted on 31 March 2023

From chamber strings to honkytonk Americana tones to indie art-rock crescendos, Welcome Stranger rolled with all the evocative punches when instrumentally composing their latest single, You Need Me.

After taking inspiration from the likes of Ben Howard and Justin Vernon, the devilishly talented duo scribed their own eloquently indie folk signature in You Need Me, the lead single from the debut album, Running Out of Miles. The LP title is heartbreak material alone.

With the whisky and melancholy-soaked vocal lines, you will lock into the lyrics from the first hit of this stunningly orchestrated single, which definitively proves that beauty still thrives in the world, regardless of the entropy and disillusion that so easily manifests whenever the full picture is in view. Yet, with this poetically candid single, Welcome Stranger exhibits that intimacy and intricate detail is everything.

You Need Me will officially release on March 31st. You can hear it via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Dolly Mavies – I’m All Sugar: Get Your indie Anthem Fix

Posted on 24 March 2023

Oxford, UK singer-songwriter, Dolly Mavies, set the indie anthem bar impossibly high with her latest single, I’m All Sugar, which surges with the same rhythmic and vocal energy of Somebody to Love by Boogie Pimps in spite of the folky flavour.

Taken from her debut album, The Calm & The Storm, the stellar single from the artist who takes influence from the likes of Patti Smith, The National and Daughter, created a uniquely exhilarating listening experience that makes no bones about pulling you through an ardently visceral arrangement where a curveball lies on the edge of every progression.

If Dolly Mavies isn’t as big as Mumford & Sons by the end of the year, someone may as well scorch the earth of the music industry so we can start again. It’s punk as fuck, yet, Mavies still maintains that ever-addictive girl-next-door appeal.

I’m All Sugar will officially release on March 24th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lindsey Black came ‘Undone’ with superlative grace in her sublimely evocative indie rock record

Posted on 11 March 2023
flight by Lindsey Black

Indie rock siren of a songstress Lindsey Black borrowed a few shoegaze elements to amplify the arrestive beguile in her latest independently released single, Undone, which hit the airwaves on February 3rd. As the single progresses, tinges of Americana amplify the sincerity of the soul exhibited in the candourous serenade that features on her second studio album, flight.

Any fans of Desperate Journalist and The Twilight Sad will easily succumb to the pensively sublime orchestration of Undone, which also carries hints of the Manic Street Preachers’ more soulfully reaching records. With Graeme Young in the iconic Chamber Studios in Edinburgh in charge of the recording for the sophomore album, it was never going to fall flat, but only a voice as serenely vulnerable as Lindsey Black’s could reach so transcendently high.

Undone is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Romanticism picks up in the airy American breeze in Ewan Jackson’s debut single, Counting Houses

Posted on 29 January 2023

Using real estate as a parable for the sanctity of emotional warmth was an ingeniously affectionate move on behalf of the singer-songwriter, Ewan Jackson, in his debut single, Counting Houses.

As sentimentally pure and rhythmically compelling as Elliott Smith’s iconic work, the single is a sweet ticket to a higher plateau, where love transcends the physical realm and becomes a meta phenomenon with few constraints.

Romance isn’t dead, it is picked up in the airy Americana breeze of this quiescent indie lullaby, which will rhythmically rock you into contentment while the vocals find the enamouring balance between playfulness and cupidity.

Counting Houses officially released on December 16th; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Scottish indie innovator Cameron Ferguson delivered a kaleidoscope of choral indie colour in his energising anthem, Jungle

Posted on 27 January 2023

After a string of successful singles released through 2022, the Scottish indie singer-songwriter Cameron Ferguson is here to show us what the future of indie sounds like with his latest single, Jungle.

With colourfully choral tones that will spill serotonin into the synapses of any fans of The Stone Roses amidst Ferguson’s quintessentially melodic distinctive brand of indie written with live performances in mind, Jungle is a rhythmically addictive triumph of a release.

The untraditional structure that throws a mind-melter of a curveball in as an outro is a testament to the artist’s ingenuity and boldness in bringing a new wave of indie into the arena. He could easily give Capaldi a run for his money.

Jungle will officially release on January 27th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

solos has unveiled his innocently sweet star-crossed indie-pop single, only mine

Posted on 17 January 2023

Recently, there has been a lot of demonising rhetoric about people crushing on their friends; the up-and-coming Boston-based artist and producer, solos, proved that it is completely possible to respect the friend you want to go further with through his single, only mine.

The melodic indie-pop single that pushes the accordance from the acoustic guitars to the front of the mix is an extension of resonance to everyone who finds themselves lamenting over the lack of mutual attraction but maintaining gratitude for the friendship.

The ornately mellow short and sweet track, complemented by the music video, is one of the purest things you will see and hear all year. His crystal-clear RnB-tinged pop harmonies against the mellifluous flow of the instrumentals are wholesomely transcendent.

The official video for only mine premiered on January 13th; watch it yourself on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Australian alt-indie singer-songwriter Greg Barnett advocated for nature in his existential serenade, ‘The C-Bomb’

Posted on 15 January 2023

Starting his single with clips of Donald Trump’s cognitive dissonance was a bold choice, but his obnoxious tones will always evoke a visceral reaction from the minds Greg Barnett aimed to compel with his standout single, The C-Bomb.

Taken from his massive 30-track debut LP, The Flat White Album, the single reminds us of the role we all need to play in salvaging the planet before it burns hotter than the temper of a right winger when expected to find a modicum of empathy or awareness.

The orchestrally laced alt-indie-folk soundscape that will make any Elliott Smith fans feel instantaneously at home delivers a shot of vindication through the affirmation that you’re not alone in your climate anxiety. Which is as warranted as it is a necessity if we want to take back our world from the disaster capitalists who would be happy to walk in the ashes as long as there are enough 0s in their bank balance before the curtains close on humanity.

The C-Bomb is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Scherdel narrated the descent of the ‘BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH’ in his artful indie-folk piano ballad

Posted on 6 January 2023
Sam Scherdel

2022 saw a cascade of hit singles from the superlatively talented indie singer-songwriter Sam Scherdel; to round off a perfect year, he eked new melancholy from Fairytale of New York with Harri Larkin. If there was any cultural justice in the UK, it would have made it to number one.

Now he’s starting 2023 with a bitter-sweet bang with the release of his live recorded single, BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH. It shares a few of the sombre tones of his Christmas release, but this emotionally layered piano ballad, complete with orchestral strings, stemmed from his own compassion-gifted mind.

As much as we adored the indie anthems, this folky turn that gives a more intimate view into a mindset that resonates with the contemporary atmosphere of collective ennui is just as seminal.

The live recording efficaciously captures every ounce of vulnerability pouring from the vocals that inhibit nothing to deliver a sincerely profound experience. Between the artfulness of Radiohead’s High and Dry and the hammering keys of Elton John’s Rocket Man rests this tender sonic narration of the boy who fell to earth. Prepare to be viscerally disarmed.

BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH will be available to stream and download on all platforms from January 6th via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast