Browsing Tag

Jangle Pop

The Night Alone have released their cinematic indie-pop jam, Took My Breath Away.

Posted on 11 August 2021

With each new release being a refreshingly arranged amalgamation of pop, indie and rock, guessing what will come next from The Night Alone is an exercise in futility. Their latest single, Took My Breath Away, transcends both the synth-pop and indie pop-rock trends.

If the Editors brightened their tonal palette and opted for atmospherically euphoric vocals, you can get a sense of what The Night Alone brought to the airwaves with Took My Breath Away. The infectiously hook-filled earworm is prime material for your indie-pop summer playlists.

Took My Breath Away is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Modern Day Miracle has released their sonic indie power-pop sophomore single, Falling in a Dream.

Posted on 5 August 2021

Modern Day Miracle’s sophomore release, Falling in a Dream, has already racked up over 370k streams on Spotify alone. The electronic indie pop-rock single errs on the side of melancholy lyrically but the feisty anthem energizes you away from apathy as you listen to the effervescent jangle pop guitars, playful synth-pop melodies and power-pop hooks.

If someone sugar-coated and stripped the years off the Strokes, we’re fairly sure that the aural result wouldn’t be all too far from Falling in a Dream. Even from just listening to one single, we’re filled with that instinct to back the blossoming powerhouse that could easily have main festival stage crowds eating out of their deft hands.

You can check out the punchy pop-rock hit for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sign of Angelo – Future Finds Us featuring Bethii.

Posted on 13 July 2021

The mix of indie jangle pop and 80s synthpop is a common cocktail in 2021 but Sign of Angelo succeeded in creating a release that piques your interest in the intro and leaves you captivated by the outro.

His latest single, Future Finds Us, was created in collaboration with Bethii; it is just one of the melodically sweet singles that preceded the release of the debut album, To TheHuman. Sign of Angelo is a relatively new name to the airwaves but the solo artist behind it has been honing his talent for over ten years since releasing music with the popular synthpop outfit Muchuu.

Sign of Angelo’s debut album, To The Human, is due for release on July 16th. Fans of Coldplay, Bastille, M83 and Imogen Heap won’t want to miss it.

The official music video is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jord has released his indie dream-pop pride anthem ‘(Gay) Teenage Dream’.

Posted on 27 June 2021
https://soundcloud.com/jordan-barhydt/gay-teenage-dream-1/s-f7llP4A90nl

Following on from his chill electropop debut single, ‘Fuck, I’m Not Famous’ that hit the airwaves in May 2021, Chicago-born, NYC-based artist Jord has released his sophomore single, ‘(Gay) Teenage Dream’.

The single that was released for Pride month is a stunning feat of indie-pop with intricate shoegaze nuances found in the cutting angular guitar notes that pop around the danceable electropop beats, tender piano melodies and the deep sense of soul that won’t fail to fill your own.

Given that most queer people’s teenage years aren’t anywhere near as idyllic as the tones you will hear in the release, (Gay) Teenage Dream is a stunningly consoling single that allows your imagination to run rampant through sweet hazy possibilities.

The lyrics, “I don’t care if I’m not 17, I just want to live the gay teenage dream”, are profoundly reflective of the sadness and sense of loss felt by many members of the LGBTQ+ community as they come of age and have little affection to look back on. He’s the queer pop artist we never knew we needed.

There will be plenty more from Jord throughout 2021 and beyond. iI he isn’t already on your radar, make room.

(Gay) Teenage Dream released on June 25th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post-punk pioneers, Tube Amp 101, are set to release their single, ‘Strawberry Smile’

Posted on 15 June 2021
Tube Amp 101

Perth, Australia’s most promising indie post-punk outfit, Tube Amp 101 are set to release their sophomore EP, True Friend which features their mesmerising lead single, Strawberry Smile.

Fans of Echo and the Bunnymen, Desperate Journalist, Big Thief and the Smiths are sure to appreciate the overdriven tones overlapping snappy, fervent percussion to create a bed for the dream pop-style vocals that add a stunning sense of vulnerability to the release.

Living in Manchester UK, I’ve heard my fair share of post-punk and indie jangle pop, but it is safe to say that nothing flows in the same lusciously dark vein as Strawberry Smile.

You will be able to check out Strawberry Smile from June 18th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kama Tala has unleashed their Caribbean funk-soaked jangle-pop single, ‘Honore’

Posted on 6 April 2021

If you could imagine what it would sound like if the Smiths was a Caribbean pop outfit, you will be able to get an idea of the jangly magnetism contained in Kama Tala’s recently released single, ‘Honore’.

The Chicago-hailing artist crosses borders and merges everything from soul to rock to pop to jazz in their sun-soaked tracks, but that’s not the most notable facet of Kama Tala’s talent.

The ingenuity largely stems from the seamless melding of the genres while never detracting from the accessibility of his sound. But the true distinction comes through their heartfelt vocal delivery. In a time when physical communities are inaccessible and social media has become a minefield of toxicity, tracks such as Honore are utterly priceless for the way they reach out to you and offer freshly orchestrated positive connection.

Honore is available to stream via SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Katanak want us to be their ‘Valentine’

Posted on 3 April 2021

After supporting Pete Murray on his 2019 Summer Seasons Tour, Brisbane indie-pop artist Katanak was having a pretty stellar growth year prior to Covid-lockdownery; a ‘People’s Choice Award’ at 2020’s QUBE Effect awards, working with LMSUKmedia in the UK, and international radio play for his last single ‘Take Us Back’ are all justly deserved rewards for this upcoming indie-groove roller.

There’s a definite pop-influence to ‘Valentine’, like someone’s distilled all those harmonising boy- and girl-bands of the 90’s and 00’s, mixed them all together, and pushed them all through a blender of Wombats, 1975, and Vampire Weekend. With a beautiful, jangle-pop chocky-strummed guitar part and some delicious stop-start keys, all underpinning Katanak’s bouncy, upbeat vocal. Lockdown’s ending, spring is springing, and Katanak might have just delivered the first of this summer’s big indie-pop hits.

Check out ‘Valentine’ on Spotify; follow Katanak on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Did I Hear Dare? – timeless alt-rock with ‘I Can Feel (You And I)’

Posted on 7 February 2021

Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Did I Hear Dare? smash out that brand of mid-Western alt-rock that seems timeless and at the same time bang up to date. ‘I Can Feel (You and I)’ could just as easily be from 2001 as the first month of 2021, and that’s no bad thing at all. Think Killers, Kings of Leon, and maybe a little Arcade Fire for good measure. There’s a definite Brandon Flowers touch to the vocal, a cracker of a bouncy lead guitar line, and a perfect pop-indie-rock lift coming into the chorus, itself an absolute earworm of a radio-friendly-unit-shifter.

The follow-up to their 2020 EP ‘The Ghost Stories’, ‘I Can Feel (You And I)’ is a perfect prelude to 2021 for Did I Hear Dare?.

You can check it out on Spotify now, and follow on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Youth Antics grab ‘This Moment’ with some seriously catchy Indie New Wave glory

Posted on 26 January 2021

Poppy, upbeat, sparkling, jangly, and utterly, indecently catchy, ‘This Moment’ is the new single from Floridian quartet Youth Antics. Unabashedly retro yet bang up to date, wearing a bunch of 1980’s influences on its presumably pushed-up-suit-jacket sleeve, ‘This Moment’ is that rare beast of simultaneously ear-worm pop song and seriously credible indie-rock track.

Riding on the sunny, neon-and-dry-ice-loving tide of Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Cure, and their ilk, ‘This Moment’ is a proper New Wave track, trebly guitars to the fore, bouncy rhythm parts, and reverb-laden deep baritone vocals. Easily equally at home on any number of indie festival stages this summer as in a John Hughes or Daniel Waters film soundtrack, ‘This Moment’ is a genre-crossing, time-defying banger of a track; if ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ had a drunken night with ‘The Broken Hearts Gallery’ over cocktails and a couple of Blockbuster Video’s VHS finest, then ‘This Moment’ might well be the musical love-child outcome.

Listen to ‘This Moment’ on Spotify and follow Youth Antics on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Lance Houck swings back to the 60s with their single ‘With All My Heart’

Posted on 1 January 2021
https://lancehouck.bandcamp.com/track/with-all-my-heart

Upbeat, poppy, light and airy, with a distinct sixties/seventies vibe, carried in on a wave of woo-hoo-hoos and jingly clean guitar, comes ‘With All My Heart’, the new single from Californian singer-songwriter Lance Houck. Sunny, uplifting, and full of those happy West Coast vibes, ‘With All My Heart’, from Houck’s seven-track album ‘Unborn’, is a gem of a single, catchy, vibey, with as-you-might-expect elements of the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and The Lovin’ Spoonful.

There’s some nice guitar work too, Houck playing all instruments as well as taking on vocal duties, pushy drums, and a cute little rolling bassline, Houck’s vocal is well-delivered and tuneful, the track overall a proper little summery ear-worm which might be a nice little antidote to current UK Tier 4 Lockdown restrictions.

You can hear ‘With All My Heart’ on Bandcamp, and follow Lance Houck on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes