Browsing Tag

Joy Division

The Vouchers struck a raw nerve with the melodic malaise in their alt-post-punk seminal release, Dead History

Posted on 24 April 2024
OYEZ! by The Vouchers

The Vouchers’ standout single, Dead History, from their debut album OYEZ! doesn’t break the post-punk mould; it is a sublime continuation of the disorder initiated by Joy Divison, infused with the melodic malaise of Dinosaur Jr.

Driven by the creative synergy of Mark Langston, Tom Brown, and Matt Clifton, the three-piece intertwines satirical observational poetry with a distinctive North East twang, resulting in unapologetically raw, eloquently monochromatic chemistry.

Dead History captures the essence of The Vouchers’ distinct approach; the track is a sonic labyrinth where angular hooks meet the cold tonalities of an ennui-laden atmosphere, and sparse lyrics become poignant bursts of clarity. The minimalist lyricism of Dead History might initially seem understated, but every word hangs in the air of the release that ticks all the right post-punk boxes.

If you’re looking for a new indie band to get behind, you’ll need to keep the pace as The Vouchers make their inevitably rapid ascent.

Stream and purchase Dead History on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Strange Cities bled a kaleidoscope of light and soul through the monochromatic prism of post-punk with ‘Where Stars Collide’

Posted on 26 February 2024

Just when I thought I’d seen every scene in the post-punk landscape, Strange Cities appeared on my radar and shattered my aurally jaded heart with Where Stars Collide from their debut album, Moments Stolen.

With the Interpol-esque angular guitar lines cutting through the warmth in the atmosphere that proves post-punk melancholy doesn’t always need to be monochromatic, the San Francisco-hailing visionaries amalgamated a soulful new trajectory of the genre, giving it a definitive place in the contemporary music industry.

As the palpitatingly sweet melodies in the dynamically sepia-tinged production evoke energy and give you kinetic rhythms to move to, the vocals make no bones about relaying the achingly raw lyricism and inciting bitter-sweet desolation in your soul. Versing about cheating death, watching your friends taking their final breath and seeing their faded faces framed in memories was always going to hit hard, but the impact in Where Stars Collide is a collision you’ll never forget.

Imagine if Editors in their An End Has a Start era hired Marin Hannett as a producer and radiated the hues of New Order’s Temptation, and you’ll get an idea of what Strange Cities constructed in Where Stars Collide. Or, you can get acquainted with the band renowned for their live performance, who have recently opened for Sisters of Mercy and Gene Loves Jezebel.

The Moments Stolen LP was officially released on February 2nd; stream the album on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Tearless Life – Conversations with Angels: Heart-String-Tearing Post-Punk Transcendence

Posted on 14 August 2023

In the same way, Suicide, Joy Division, and Echo and the Bunnymen singles stir scintillating alchemy into melancholic souls, The Tearless Life’s seminal single, Conversations with Angels, is capable of the very same heart-string-tearing post-punk transcendence.

The cleverly intended imperfections in the production of the release from the East Lancashire outfit, which was founded earlier this year, only serve to add to the glitchwavey artfulness of the disjointed by dissonance single, which unravels as a lost-in-transmission call into the void.

While some howl into the void, others seek comfort in the realm of the celestial for comfort. If you can relate to the latter, your aural voyage into Conversations with Angels is guaranteed to be a visceral one.

Conversations with Angels was officially released on July 22nd; stream the official music video on YouTube, or purchase the single with the B-Side, Your Just Touch, via Bandcamp.

To keep up to date with the band by following them on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shackles Unbind in Ellery Twining’s Experimentally Liberating Single, WHAT’S GONNA SET YOU FREE

Posted on 24 June 2023

If Sonic Youth prolonged Kim Gordon’s spoken word verse in Kool Thing and played with post-pop and post-punk sensibilities, the result would be as coldly electrifying as the standout single, WHAT’S GONNA SET YOU FREE from Ellery Twining’s 2023 LP, RESULTS.

With a Joy Division-esque atmosphere ringing in the background of the stellar production by Eric Lichter of Dirt Floor Recording Studio, all the right motifs are in place to bring a tonal sense of familiarity, while Ellery uses his distinctively exasperated devil-may-care vocal energy to set the listener free from sonic monotony.

The soundscapes were compiled to reflect the childhood and coming-of-age experiences of Gen X kids, with themes of popular culture, childhood survival tactics and the ramifications of living in an era when divorce became socially acceptable at its core. Forget the Coupland novel, for nostalgically vindicating resonance, delve right into RESULTS.

Stream WHAT’S GONNA SET YOU FREE with the rest of Ellery Twining’s LP, RESULTS via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London Graffiti put the writing on the wall in their art-rock tour de force, These Words

Posted on 2 April 2023

Keeping the soul of grunge but stripping back the sludge, the Oxford, UK-based alt-indie rock outfit London Graffiti unleashed the ultimate aural eye-prickler with their latest single, These Words.

If you melded the pensive folky panache of Frightened Rabbit with the art-rock arrangements of Radiohead and the progressively dark atmosphere of Porcupine Tree, you’d get close to the evocative mark made on the indie rock landscape by the band that has already won the favour of plenty of mainstream radio stations, including BBC Introducing.

It is impossible not to be choked by the emotion-fuelled energy in the single, which also pays tribute to the National, Joy Division, and the Doves. Originality oozes from every effortlessly cool pore of These Words, yet never to the detriment of the projection of frantically inhibited dejection.

These Words was officially released on March 16th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post-Punk urgently bites back in Night Gallery’s single, Suddenly

Posted on 14 October 2022

Post-Punk is back with vengeance in Night Gallery’s new album, Caught Hiding, which features the standout single, Suddenly.

The Peter Hook-Esque stabbing basslines and chaotically kaleidoscopic sonics of Poison Ivy pull together to create the ultimate anthem for those ailed with the kind of off-kilter psyche that is so accurately portrayed in the lyrics. The portrait of the tendency of mental tilts creeping up on you at whiplash speed and the toll that takes is as striking as it is resonant.

Night Gallery found the perfect balance between emotionally raw and sonically finessed with Suddenly. Few post-punk revivals hit the mark as urgently and viscerally. Ben Nelson’s ability to vocally boomerang from Ian Curtis to Julian Casablancas-style energy is something no one will be quick to forget.

Caught Hiding will officially release on October 14th. Check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s Lemonade Sin defied gravity with their elevated dream pop single, Melanie Nods

Posted on 7 June 2022
Melanie Nods by Lemonade Sin

Following the saturated-in-tape-delay indie dream pop intro, Lemonade Sin’s latest single, Melanie Nods, unfolds as a transcendentally playful aural crumble of the definitive UK sounds from the 80s to the 00s. The hazy shoegaze textures, chilling nods to post-punk and the Manic Street Preaches-Esque riffs in the middle eight pull together to form a sonic trajectory that you will want to follow time and time again.

With vocal reminiscences to Joy Division’s Atmosphere and the Human League’s Mirror Man happening simultaneously, Lemonade Sin is for every 80s fan out there looking for artists innovative enough to pull new aesthetics out of the synths, unmistakable percussion, and vocal layering.

Melanie Nods is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marcel Schechter has released his decadently dark pop single, Circle.

Posted on 24 March 2022

Ahead of the release of his third album, Circle, the German artist and sound engineer, Marcel Schechter, has released the title single. it intriguingly sets the euphonically pensive tone and welcomes new listeners to Schecter’s bold arrangement style that effortlessly resonates as artfully distinctive without needing to veer into the Avant-Garde territory.

With hints of Echo and the Bunnymen and New Order in the melancholic cascading progressions, and the plaintively dynamic vocals atop the mash of dark, fluid aural alchemy, this moody yet intrinsically hopeful single doesn’t fail to hit the evocative spot.

The single also features the revered artists Ben Jud (bass), Jan-Philipp Wiesmann (drums), Thomas Langer (guitar) and Andreas Pohr (lead vocals).

The single, Circle, is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Schoolboys have released their very 2022 new-wave-meets-proto-punk love song, Think About It

Posted on 2 March 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjps0bKXZZ0

So many of the greatest songs have been written on hard and fast infatuation. The Schoolboys evaded all the usual tropes that have long since been outdated in their latest new-wave-meets-proto-punk single, Think About It.

If I told you the track itself was as sweet as the lyrics, “Isn’t this just what you asked for? I see you give up too fast, you should never walk away when there’s still something you want” would you even believe me?

The Schoolboys originally formed in 2021 as an alt-rock band in Reading, England, under the influence of the Strokes and the Smiths. Based on Think About It, the nostalgically-minded outfit had no trouble finding their own warmly overdriven sonic signature. Any fans of the Violent Femmes, Joy Division and Modest Mouse will undoubtedly want to pay attention.

Think About It is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt indie newcomers 20-LD have unleashed their foreboding dark earworm, ‘Feel It Now’.

Posted on 21 May 2021

Alt-indie newcomers 20-LD have released yet another transfixing track onto the airwaves with the release of their latest single, ‘Feel It Now’. It comes with the same atmospheric chill as Joy Division, Covenant-style darkwave beats and static choppy guitar progressions that cut through the reverb that bleeds from the synth notes.

With a few psychotropic tones laced into the dark earworm under forebodingly magnetic vocals that will be a hit with any fans of the Editors, it’s safe to say that 20-LD’s sound holds as much distinction as it does commercial potential.

The optimism that rings through in the higher notes feels like the ultimate feat of defiance in this timely melancholic release that pulls sheer ingenuity out of the dark. We can’t wait to see where this lockdown-born artist takes their sound next.

Feel It Now is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast