Browsing Tag

London Singer Songwriter

Jakob the Liar – H E A R T B E A T: The Only Heartbreak Hit You Need to Hear This Year

Posted on 19 March 2023

Considering that we’re living in a post-truth world, we may as well tune into a reality falsifier, especially if they’re as endearingly magnetic as the alt-indie singer-songwriter Jakob the Liar.

His latest single, H E A R T B E A T, is his first contribution to the airwaves since the successful launch of his 2020 EP, Crystallised in Moonshine, and it is a melodic dream. The concept of running away from your own heartbeat won’t be foreign to anyone that has known heartbreak, but few can bring that world-shattering sensation into poetic motion as well as the Danish London-residing artist.

If The National, Bon Iver and Springsteen had a riff-soaked lovechild, the sonic result would be just as sweet as the anthemic intimacy in H E A R T B E A T.

H E A R T B E A T is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mariele Jankowski sang ‘The Long Song of Mary Green’ in her folky feat of beguile

Posted on 3 March 2023
https://soundcloud.com/mariele-jankowski/sets/the-long-song-of-mary-green-radio-edit/s-OdOKTKKMffi?si=6275f7fbaf144e95a35971da75ba80b0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The latest single, The Long Song of Mary Green, from the London-based singer-songwriter Mariele Jankowski keeps the true storytelling roots of folk blossoming in blissfully melodic beguile.

Around the vivid imagery that spills over the acoustic guitars, which rhythmically guide you through the release beneath Mariele Jankowski’s timelessly mesmeric vocal timbre that lends itself well to distinction, is a compelling tale that is worth heeding.

As we all embark on endless quests for eternal happiness, and we fail to account for the world’s tendency to throw us curveballs as it turns, upending the promise of eternal bliss. Mariele Jankowski delivers the soulfully resonant reminder that for any real shot of happiness, we need to master the art of letting go and enjoying the journey instead of fixating on the destination.

I can honestly say I haven’t been this taken with a folk artist since discovering Amigo the Devil, and that isn’t an accolade I part with easily. Yet, the euphorically euphonic outro is one that I will delve into this extended release time and time again for.

The Long Song of Mary Green will be available to stream from March 3rd on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennings Couch speaks for the overtly headstrong in his Americana-Esque Indie-Pop-Rock amalgam, No Hands

Posted on 27 January 2023

NYC-born, London-residing alternative artist Jennings Couch is putting every artist in the assimilation game to shame with his viscerally unique approach to genre-fluid ingenuity.

If you can imagine what it would sound like if Post Malone and Imagine Dragons met somewhere in the middle, you will start to get an idea of the innovation that melodically sparks through the entire duration of his transfixing track, No Hands.

The Americana-Esque instrumental amalgam of indie, pop and rock, creates a solid platform for the deadpan yet rhythmically sharp vocals that will tattoo themselves in your mind from the first hit. Lyrically, the track is for the overtly headstrong so intent on making their own way they don’t realise the distance they’ve created from the people that leave their hands outstretched to hold. The way the singer-songwriter approaches the lyrical concept is nothing short of genius.

No Hands will officially release on January 27th. You can catch it yourself on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s True Being pulled us from polarity and put us ‘Back on Track’ with his alt-pop jam

Posted on 22 November 2022

True Being took us back in time with their latest single, Back on Track, which reminisces on the less polarised and partisan days when we could see the world in full colour instead of through the divisive prism of black and white.

What it will take for people to get back there isn’t quite clear, but Back on Track is certainly a step in the right direction. The quirky alternative single which plays with mystical eastern rhythms and playfully polyphonic electro-pop layers is an efficacious reminder that things haven’t always been this way, and there is no good reason why they are engrained in our modern cultures the world over.

The London-based artist makes a habit of holding a mirror to the absurdist facets of our world through his assertion that artists have a role to play in the shaping of our future to take the power away from Musk and his kin, politicians and celebrities. He’s been likened to LCD Sound System, Nick Cave, Talking Heads and John Grant, but all reminiscences in his flamboyantly eccentric sound are incredibly fleeting.

Stream Back on Track on YouTube and Spotify.

Review by Amelie Vandergast

Simona-Valentina compels her listeners to follow their dreams in her confessionally quaint country pop-rock single, Head Outta Washing Machine

Posted on 2 November 2022

London-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Simona-Valentina, gave her listeners an intimate view into how her creative life began with her country-tinged pop-rock single, Head Outta Washing Machine, which officially released on October 22nd and spilt 90s nostalgia onto the airwaves.

With a similar snappy melody to Avril Lavinge’s game-changing earworm, Complicated, in the intro, along with a few nods to the 90s, Head Outta Washing Machine is an immersive unravelling of the singer-songwriter’s humble and adorable beginnings as a singer-songwriter. You only have to hit play to see how far she has come as an expressive advocator of following your dreams.

Head Outta Washing Machine is the 12th single released by Simona-Valentina after she made her debut with her single, Unspoken Love, in 2019. She’s also one-half of the acoustic duo SVRPoole, who are melodically enlivening the London music scene.

Here’s what Simona-Valentina had to say about her latest release:

“I used to sing with my head in the washing machine when I was around six years old. This is my genuine and retrospectively funny music story, and what I am basically confessing with this new song.

I was shy and introverted at that age, lacking the confidence and courage to sing in front of people; hence, the darkness and intimacy of singing with my head inside the washing machine appealed to me greatly.”

Listen to Head Outta Washing Machine on Spotify.

Follow Simona-Valentina on Facebook and Instagram

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Empowerment calls in BLOOM.’s latest RnB Pop single, RING RING

Posted on 7 October 2022

After making her debut during the first lockdown, the London-based RnB Pop artist, BLOOM. has made strides in her career and fought for young LGBTQ+ representation along the way. The up-and-coming artist has a new weapon in her arsenal with her latest single, RING RING.

Running with the same emboldening lyrical attitude as Lady Gaga’s Telephone, BLOOM. created a hit that you’ll want to play on repeat until the lyrics tattoo into your mind, along with the slick style of the instrumentals that modernise the RnB genre. The single is one small step in the artist’s career and a giant leap for womankind.

With the help of producer Rich Mello, BLOOM. created a seductively emboldening anthem for every woman that has ever wasted their time, energy and emotions on a lost cause instead of allowing their own feminine energy to direct them to self-worth. It’s as hot as any track in Usher’s discography, and it is easy to see how BLOOM., with her fervidly fresh RnB pop style, will take over the airwaves.

Here is what BLOOM. had to say about her latest release:

“I’ve heard so many love songs where the girl falls for a guy she would do anything for. It made me wonder where is the music that says, girl, you are too good for him. Ring Ring conveys that emotion and empowerment.”

The official music video, which was directed by Aiden Thomas, will premiere on October 7th. Watch it on YouTube or add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: I, Harappan. unveiled his celestially unshackling dance pop meets folk single, THE FREE ONES

Posted on 24 September 2022

Splicing ancient spirituality with dance-pop, the London-based experimental artist, I, Harappan. describes his upcoming debut album, The Harappan & The Devil, as a genre-bending epic, combining cosmic horror storytelling with funk, disco pop and RnB.

The celestial single, THE FREE ONES, is an unforgettable introduction to his strident mystique, which uses traditional progressive house structures around a folkish sense of beguile, which resonates through the soulfully beckoning lyrics and the profound command of his vocal timbre which scarcely seems of this century. While the beats appeal to your rhythmic pulses, the lyricism unshackles you from the illusory chains that keep us all grounded in antipathy. It is a sonic awakening like no other.

Here’s what I, Harappan had to say on his debut release:

“A long ago, in the forgotten city of Harappa, in the land of river and stone, there was a child forged of bronze. The tribe of the Unicorn lived amidst the broken and beautiful Himalayas, birthing fortress worlds of twisted screens and dead white light; though lost to time, their stories live on.

Free Ones is the first release from my debut album, “The Harappan & The Devil”, an uplifting cosmic pop experience about never giving up, inspired by ancient mysticism, Tolkien & Diana Ross.”

THE FREE ONES is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christelle brings out her inner-saboteur in her urban dance-pop single, Piccadilly

Posted on 1 August 2022

After a break from the airwaves, London’s Christelle is back to remind indie synth pop fans why she’s the Kate Nash of this generation with her latest single, Piccadilly. Keeping the pace with her hyper-dancey beats is the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s cleaver-sharp wit, which juxtapoxingly exhibits her relatability and iconic lyrical flair in the same breath.

Piccadilly is for every one that falls hard and runs just as fast when their inner saboteur takes control. It may be the most self-aware single we have heard this year with its increasing depth and playful self-effacing personality, amplified by the magnetic sense of expressive vulnerability. Few artists deserve to climb the charts more. She’s the whole package.

Piccadilly was officially released on July 29th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s Savannah Gardener obliterated the boundary between country and soul in ‘City of Cowboys’.

Posted on 11 May 2022
https://soundcloud.com/savannah-gardner-music/city-of-cowboys-2/s-ar9HC1kMc9r?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Her sound may scream Nashville, but Savannah Gardener’s roots are implanted in London’s landscape; she’s captivated audiences across the breadth of it, and she’s set to swoon plenty more with her latest single, City of Cowboys.

How many songwriters have perpetuated the myth that making one single entity your ENTIRE world is romantic? Millions? All it took was one soulfully demure single from Savannah Gardener to dispel it. Her emboldening approach to lyricism on the subjects of heartbreak, adversity and triumph carries an intuitive resonance that makes her soundscapes captivating from the first breath.

The twang of the bluegrassy resonator guitars, the accordance of the gentle chords and her anachronistically sweet vocals pull together to deliver the ultimate urban county redemption story that you’ll want to aurally turn the pages of time after time.

City of Cowboys is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tim Jackson reached the pinnacle of tender tenacity in his alt-indie single, An Unusual Time

Posted on 26 April 2022

With his standout single, An Unusual Time, taken from his sophomore album, Litter in the Park, the London-based singer-songwriter Tim Jackson, proved that the most consoling tracks don’t evade the grittiest facets of our existence, they encompass them and deliver us from them with pure transcendent panache.

An Unusual Time is so soothing it’s practically medicinal for the way Jackson contends with the unrelenting uncertainty in all of our lives with infectious ease. Sure, there’s been no short supply on exports of lockdown-inspired singles, but Jackson’s Elliott Smith-Esque vocals and tender tenacity are something to behold time and time again. There is as much nuance in the endlessly unravelling lyricism as in the mellifluous complex time signatures that bring an organic dynamic to the indie alt-rock meets jazz sanctum of a soundscape.

Here’s what Tim Jackson had to say about An Unusual Time

“This song is something we can all relate to after several years of once in a lifetime events; it speaks to the sense of bewilderment I was feeling when I wrote it. The title is both lyrically straightforward and cheeky, given the odd 5/8-time signature.”

Litter in the Park is now available to stream in full via Spotify.

Keep up to date with the latest releases from Tim Jackson via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast