Browsing Tag

London Alt Rock

The Serenity Club liberated from indignation in this alt-rock release, Heaven is a World Without You

Posted on 22 March 2024

With lyrics you instantly lock into and hooks you can’t unimpale yourself from, The Serenity Club hit an alt-rock homerun with their latest single, Heaven is a World Without You. The single warps sonic timelines, pulls the 90s Seattle sound into modernity and has all the makings of an alt-rock earworm that The Serenity Club deserve to go down in history for.

Knowing that we all have antagonists in our lives that ‘trap us in cages of resentment’, the band gave the key to freedom from indignation to everyone who tunes into the hit which synthesises grunge with the infectious appeal of bands in the same vein as Rise Against. If the single is this affecting while it is blasting through your speakers, the effect of the live performance would be cathartically unholy.

Every instrumental in the hit works to perpetuate the rapture of the release and assert The Serenity Club as one of the tightest alt-rock outfits in London’s underground alt-rock scene – it is only a matter of time before they make their ascent and stand at the vanguard of the post-grunge movement. Tune into the breakdowns so you don’t have to have one yourself.

Heaven is a World Without You will hit all major streaming platforms on March 22; hear it on SoundCloud first.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

djamesk13 weaved scathing socialism into a grungy dreamscape with ‘Everything Is Certain – Your Majesty’

Posted on 8 February 2024

The London-based solo artist, djamesk13, is no stranger to the arenas of Avant-Garde alt-rock, but for his latest release, Everything Is Certain – Your Majesty, he went deeper into the domain than ever before while exploring our strained relationships with high society.

While we used to look at royalty and other figures of the elite ruling class with awe, the tables are gradually turning on the perception shared by the masses. Simply put, Everything Is Certain – Your Majesty is a socialist masterclass, but instead of running in the same vein as the Manic Street Preachers, djamesk13 orchestrated a dreamy grungy dreamscape to run his reflective lyricism through.

“How can you be magnificent when we can buy you” will go down as one of my favourite lyrics of all time, and for the way the instrumentals and ethereally sludgy vox juxtapose the lyrical sting, Everything Is Certain – Your Majesty became an unforgettable release; a paragon of the post-grunge movement.

Everything Is Certain – Your Majesty was officially released on January 28th; stream the single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dissolved Girl syncopated 90s trip-hop into mechanised alt-rock mesmerism with ‘Silt’

Posted on 6 February 2024

After a ground-breaking debut that set the bar obscenely high, the London-based fourpiece, Dissolved Girl, obliterated it with the mechanised mesmerism within their sophomore release, Silt.

Sonic odes have been paid to the trip-hop pioneers countless times before, but few outfits have what it takes to take the alt-90s aural aesthetics and syncopate them into a soundscape that sits ahead of the contemporary curve. Dissolved Girl’s success in this arena is just one testament to their commercial appeal.

Mastered by Matt Colton (Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood), the production of Silt resounds with cavernous reverberations within the industrially-tinged indietronic alt-rock hit as the glassy lead vocals provide a vulnerable juxtaposition to the abrasively immersive instrumentals that will course through your rhythmic pulses and pull you into the centre of gravity, strong enough to send the airwaves out of kilter.

Seductive and ensnaring in equal measure, Dissolved Girl and their commitment to exhibiting raw emotion through sophisticated aural expositions are set to become one of the most promising up-and-coming outfits of 2024, especially with the imminence of their debut LP, which has been four years in the making.

Silt was officially released on February 2nd; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The alt-rock originator, djamesk13, struck again with his grungy proto-punk single, And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun

Posted on 26 November 2022
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/and-thats-where-it-ends-and-so-it-all-begun

“And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun” is the latest tonally sublime single released by the London-based alt-rock originator djamesk13 (David Kemp).

If Dinosaur Jr veered away from grunge and towards proto-punk and made a pit stop at 90s Britpop to pick up a bit of extra guitar swagger, the sonic result would be in a similar vein to this nostalgically produced hit.

The distortedly and poetically orchestrated single provides a definitive discourse on the nature of our lives which runs through like pre-determined chapters of destiny. Lament it or live it to the max, but that’s the nature of being, captured in the lyrical hooks in this epitomisingly sludgy earworm.

And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun was officially released on November 19th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

djamesk13 plays with discordant ethereal phenomena in his latest single, ‘An Angel- The Devil’

Posted on 5 April 2022
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/djamesk13-an-angel-the-devil

London alt-rock solo artist, djamesk13, came in with his scuzzy Champagne Supernova-ESQUE latest single, An Angel- The Devil, which plays with ethereal phenomena and no-wave-y discord that will throw you right back to the alt-90s.

The lo-fi production caustically compliments the overarching moody energy of An Angel- The Devil as djamesk13 uses his magnetically deadpan vocals to deliver the hooky meta lyrics. There’s no room to wonder why so many alt-rock fans have already jumped on the singer-songwriter’s fourth release. We hope number 5 is already in the pipeline.

An Angel- The Devil is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DAAY makes the disillusionment of adulthood relatable with his alt-indie single, ‘Little Foot’.

Posted on 28 May 2021
DAAY

Take a walk through relatable growing pains with the third alt-indie single from South London-residing artist DAAY that emanates the same chaos as Oh Sees alongside a James Brown-Esque serving of soul. Little Foot is an intoxicating mash of ingenuity that proves there’s plenty more to art-rock than Radiohead.

With sax solos that scream with the same visceral furore as Pete Wareham’s strident howls, nostalgic bluesy licks, and a general state of inhibition and instability running right through the release, Little Foot is for every music fan who thrives on finding authenticity alongside relatable insanity.

Little Foot conceptually shares the frustration of needing to answer endless questions as we navigate our dark and often fetid landscapes as adults while it imparts the nostalgia of childhood simplicity and ignorance. In the process, DAAY paints the process of disillusion with the world as a universal one. If the world ever needed a reminder that no one’s life – regardless of social media statuses – is a bed of roses, it’s right now. DAAY discernibly delivered with this consistently volatile aural exploration of style.

The release of Little Foot was an efficacious way of creating an appetite for the solo artist’s forthcoming singles, due for release in 2021. Save space on your radar.

Little Foot will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from May 28th.

Check out DAAY on Spotify, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Young Fatigue attack aesthetic obsession with their single Am I Pretty Now?

Posted on 6 May 2021

After forming in 2019, London-based three-piece powerhouse Young Fatigue is gaining all the right attention and are on track to take the Alt-Rock scene by storm in 2021, especially with the release of their latest single, Am I Pretty Now?

With crystal clear nods to Daniel Kessler’s lead work in the intro giving way to the grungey carnage in the first verse combined with throbbingly ominous post-punk basslines, Am I Pretty Now? hooks you in, right from the start. As the single continues to evolve, pop-punk biting energy transgresses into post-hardcore-style-furore, delivering an angsty scuzz that you are unlikely to forget.

Tune into the lyrics, and you will find that Young Fatigue attack aesthetic obsession with the same poignancy as Richey Edwards. If Richey was around to witness the Instagram generation, I do not doubt that his lyrics would be reminiscent of Young Fatigue’s.

You can hear Young Fatigue via their Website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast