Browsing Tag

Indie Synth Pop

Hands in Shadow has released their avant-garde indie hit, Hater, Fighter…Lover?

Posted on 23 July 2021
https://m.soundcloud.com/soundboard_music/hater-fighterlover

Hands in Shadow’s latest single, Hater, Fighter…Lover? is an ingenious mash of indie post-punk, funk, grunge and avant-garde. The prelude delivers Nirvana-Esque sludgy tones before the playfully polyphonic keys allow you to imagine the aural result if the Residents and Kraftwerk produced together.

Hands in Shadow found the perfect balance between obscurity and melody, the eerie magnetic pull of the single makes you feel at a loss when the short and sweet psychedelic indie hit suddenly comes to a close. We will definitely be keeping the Yorkshire-based artist on our radar for future releases; we advise everyone with a penchant for avant-garde indie to do the same.

You can check out Hands in Shadow’s latest single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rorys Aspect has diversified Manchester’s music scene with his seminal single, Social Anxiety.

Posted on 23 July 2021

Manchester-based alt-indie electropop artist and producer Rorys Aspect has released his arresting EP, Lifesaver, featuring the standout synth-pop track, Social Anxiety, which comes with spacey 80s vibes and the most candid lyricism you will hear this year.

With shoegazey guitars and just as much reverb on the vocals, the raw nature of the lyricism loses some of its sting in the choral trippy tones that are prolific in tracks from Manchester’s greats such as the Stone Roses, the Chameleons and the Charlatans.

The self-produced track is unequivocal proof that Manchester has another revolutionary in its midst. As a fellow Mancunian, it is all too refreshing to hear an indie artist not falling into the process of assimilation.

You can check out Rorys Aspect’s latest EP by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sabreen Islam breathes indie-pop euphoria onto the airwaves with, ‘Glow’.

Posted on 10 July 2021
Sabreen Islam

‘Glow’ is the latest indie synthpop single by up and coming singer-songwriter Sabreen Islam whose sound has already reached the pinnacle of fun, life-affirming pop. At the age of 18-years-old, the Auckland, New Zealand-hailing artist has already mastered the art of creating infectiously euphoric melodies and serenading serotonin levels.

With a little help from Auckland-based producer Will Henderson, Glow carries all the earmarks of a summer bubble gum pop playlist staple. Fans of Selena Gomez, Carly Rae Jepsen and Rebecca Black will definitely want to keep Sabreen on their radar for her future releases.

Check out Sabreen Islam on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Greska has released his eccentrically introspective indie-folk-pop single, ‘The Big Hill’

Posted on 6 July 2021
John Greska

If Bowie picked up some folky Midwest charm, his Ziggy Stardust days would have run in the same vein as John Greska’s eccentrically psychotropic single, The Big Hill, which explores the pace at which the sands of time slips by.

With the playfully polyphonic synths and keys paired with John Greska’s quaint yet charismatic vocal timbre, this indie-folk-synthpop-single couldn’t be more endearing. Rather than leaving you in an existentialist catatonic state as you ponder just how fleeting your existence is, The Big Hill leaves you with the same ardour for life as exhibited in the reminder that the days will slip by you if you let them.

The Big Hill will officially release on July 19th; you can check it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

T.I.G.Y. have made an ethereal ambient dream-pop debut with ‘Only Way to Let the Light In’

Posted on 23 June 2021

The UK alt-pop duo T.I.G.Y. have released their ethereal dream pop debut single, Only Way to Let the Light In; the timely release utilises meta poetry to spark a connection amongst listeners battle-scarred by depression and anxiety.

It is singles like this that highlight the trite nature of archetypal-feel good pop that mostly just over faces and alienates the serotonin-deprived. With elements of shoegaze and art-rock weaved into the release that outros on a steady heartbeat, the instrumentals match the consoling nature of the vocals. The steady downbeat rhythms entwine with your rhythmic pulses as Only Way to Let the Light In unfolds; allowing the succinct crescendos to lift you as they tonally soar.

T.I.G.Y.’s moniker came from a diary that had been passed down through Bailey’s family. Since their inception, they have written a collection of songs that became an expression of those diary entries. Only Way to Let the Light In is the first single to be released from their collection of songs that will periodically follow the diary entries.

Only Way to Let the Light In released on June 18th. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Connect with T.I.G.Y. via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

California’s most profound alternative artist Zpextre has released his spacey indie psych-pop earworm, Save it for the Kids.

Posted on 4 June 2021

Hit play on Oakland, California-based alternative artist, Zpextre’s latest single, Save it for the Kids and end the self-obsessive cycle of naval-gazing.

Save it for the Kids is an infectiously feel-good track that serves the awakening reminder that the world is bigger than you’ll ever know, but no matter how small you feel, you still have a part to play. Rather than sending you down an existential hole while imparting that wisdom, Zpextre laced the indie psych-pop earworm with plenty of funk and soulfully distorted grooves.

Zpextre may always run unapologetically with his eccentricity but the commercial potential of his sound never takes a hit. Even with avant-garde defiance of constraint and ideas of aural perfection, the single that was produced by Kool Kojak has all the marks of a summer high-vibe playlist staple.

Here’s what Zpextre had to say about the single:

“The innocence of a child allows them to discover themselves both physically and mentally. It is paramount to the development of love, compassion and humanity. For, in the end, humanity made this world. We have to save this innocence; we have to leave this world better than we found it. Save it for the Kids!”

Save it for the Kids is now available via SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple music.

Connect with Zpextre via Facebook or Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Endless Wires made his stridently electrifying synthwave debut with ‘Accept to Enter’ featuring Kabelle.

Posted on 25 April 2021

UK-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, Endless Wires (Tom Evans) established themselves as one to watch in the Vaporwave scene with the release of his arresting debut single, Accept to Enter, featuring vocals from Kabelle.

With vocals that will take you right back to the 90s and remind you of the forcefully resounding timbre of Cher, Whitney Houston and Madonna falling into the synthwave reverb-laced soundscape that kicks off with moody synth notes and transgresses into a stridently electrifying aural experience, it is an entrancing and evocative ride from the start. The addition of the classic rock guitar solos in the tense build-up to the highest crescendo was undoubtedly the cherry on the cake.

Accept to Enter is available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA indie darkwave duo Darkplay have released their latest single ‘Only You’

Posted on 28 March 2021

Ahead of their forthcoming album, LA indie darkwave duo, Darkplay unleashed their entrancingly atmospheric synthpop single, ‘Only You’ which takes the listener on a trip to the murky depths of 80s post-punk while never sacrificing the melodic gravity of the single.

With a similar revivalist nature to bands such as Spector, Darkplay succeeded in teasing nostalgia while putting a brand-new spin of a familiar sound. Each crescendo comes laden in reverb for the ultimate psychotropic effect, and to sweeten the track, the perfect balance of light affability and dark despondency was found. Just imagine what it would sound like if Joy Division and the Human League had an aural lovechild.

Only You can be heard on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyon Tide are set to make a stunning debut with their tender Indie Synth Pop track ‘Closure’

Posted on 5 January 2021

Birmingham, UK Pop-Rock artist, Lyon Tide are set to make their debut on January 1st, 2021 with their entrancingly affectionate synth-led track ‘Closure’. If Lyon Tide set the precedent for music in 2021, it could prove to be the most exciting year for music since 1991.

The sensual-through-its-tenderness track serves a beautiful reminder that closure doesn’t have to come from the person you’ve parted ways with. It can come through the resolving lyrics, such as those penned for Closure, which affirms that our deeply personal pain and amorous tribulations are pretty much universal.

Any fans of Radiohead will undoubtedly appreciate the synthy reverb-laden throbs which create the arrestive heartbeat of the single which will remind you of your capacity to feel. If you’re not left an emotional wasteland of ennui after 2020, that is.

You’ll be able to check out Closure via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Broken Bricks deliver a faultless slice of chartable pop with ‘Slow Down’

Posted on 24 November 2020

Stripped back yet full-on ‘Slow Down’, the new single from electronic luminaries Broken Bricks, is a perfect blend of ‘real’ instruments, programmed drums and sequenced melody lines, and beautiful, fragile vocals. There’s a touch of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs to the chorus, maybe a smattering of Friendly Fires or Bat For Lashes across the track, and an element of Little Boots to the (mostly) female vocal delivery. A charming, perfectly-formed piece of electronica, dancey without being ‘dance’ and immediate without being throwaway, with ‘Slow Down’ Broken Bricks have delivered a faultless slice of chartable pop which insinuates itself firmly into your head, sets up camp, and simply refuses to leave.

Hear ‘Slow Down’ on Spotify. Follow Broken Bricks on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes