Browsing Tag

Modest Mouse

Freak of the Sea provided the ultimate fix of pacifistic solace in his alt-indie anti-gun anthem, The Bullet

Posted on 28 January 2023

It is a disillusioning and confusing era for pacifists to be enveloped in; substantial consolation ebbed and flowed from the Avant-Garde-tinged indie single, The Bullet, from Freak of the Sea (Christopher Jacques).

The anti-gun anthem, which lyrically revolves around the resonant reprise of “I’d rather take a bullet than shoot a gun”, is, unfortunately, a necessity given how we’re numbed to the horrors of gun violence through over-exposure to massacre.

While the guitar melodies run in a crystal-clear vein, dark and torrid effects disrupt the quiescence to a disarmingly conceptual effect. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Modest Mouse drifted into the waters of post-punk, you will get an idea of what the Portland, Oregon-based artist triumphantly achieved with The Bullet.

When Jacques isn’t crafting aural comfort, he runs the Dandy Warhols’ recording studio, The Odditorium. He’s worked with everyone from The Shins to The Dandy Warhols to Slash to Cowboy Junkies and countless other icons of alt music. Yet, notably, his associations are one of the least impressive facets about him.

The Bullet will officially release on January 26th; hear it on YouTube. The new EP, Out to Pasture, which The Bullet was taken from, will drop on February 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The UK orchestral folk duo River Knight is on melodious form in their sanctuary spilling single, Unsprung

Posted on 25 December 2022

The folk duo River Knight has been fairly quiet since their 2021 album, Grow. They are back on melodious form in their latest orchestral folk single, Unsprung, which borrows fractions of the melody to Take on Me, but with such a stunning orchestral string ensemble and hints of the Verve and 90s Britpop in the verses, who is complaining?

The earworm brings the ragged and rough timbres through the acoustic guitar strings and percussion while the smooth can be found in the gloss of the orchestral crescendos, which are as close to heaven as the impious are likely to get.

Each new progression is a brand-new opportunity to fall in love with the duo who banded together in 2017 as a form of therapy for Darren Knight after the tragic passing of his wife. Stone River was there for unwavering support and to offer the Ying to Knight’s songwriting Yang. The duo are well known on the London, Portsmouth and Southampton live circuit, but it’s only a matter of time before they take their international-level approach to indie folk rock to the status it beckons.

Unsprung officially released on December 16th. Catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Captain Lo-Fi reached the serotonin-spilling pinnacle of feel-good music with his genre-fluid hit, ‘Joker’

Posted on 24 November 2022

With eccentrically sweet vocals that will instantaneously steal the hearts of any Modest Mouse and Grandaddy fans over some of the most genre-fluid instrumentals that you have ever heard, Captain Lo-Fi’s seminal single, Joker, is almost tear-jerkingly sweet.

The Germany-hailing musician and producer has been fine-tuning his sound in his own studio since 2013, working with artists from various genres and producing beats for artists and companies, including Loopmasters.

This goes a fair way in explaining the organic ease of the experimentalism in Joker, which throws all sense of pretence to the wayside to deliver funky, indie hip-hop-meets-pop instrumentals that his sunny-side-up vocals drift above. Creating authentically ‘feel-good’ music is no easy feat, but Captain Lo-Fi’s willingness to let his endearingly pure soul spill across his productions allowed him to reach the serotonin-spilling pinnacle.

Stream Joker on Spotify and follow Captain Lo-Fi on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Left of the Slash take us to the alt 90s with their latest single, ‘Never Let Go’.

Posted on 10 June 2021
Left of the Slash

LA’s prodigal sons of alt-rock, Left of the Slash, are set to release their hotly anticipated psych-laden, grunge rock single, Never Let Go. The rising artist may take their sound seriously, but they made the track infectious from the first hit. The vocal personality is just as enticing as Cobain’s during his 1993 unplugged performance of Plateau.

With fleeting reminiscences to everyone from Modest Mouse to Pixies to Sonic Youth to Queens of the Stone Age, Left of the Slash refreshingly eclipse the golden era of grunge and no-wave while adding one of the freshest new takes on sludge pop that we have heard this year.

It would be no surprise to see Left of the Slash’s name added to the roster of artists at Sub Pop or Ipecac Records. Has someone informed Mike Patton that they exist yet?

Never Let Go will be available to stream from June 11th. Check out Left of the Slash via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shared Image Redefines Who Does What on their superb new single.

Posted on 25 December 2020

Soft, jangly indie-pop is overdone at times these days, but ‘Redefined’, the first single from Shared Image’s new album ‘Who Decides Who Does What?’, is a cut above the usual ‘three lads with Telecasters from Crewe’, with a charm and style all of its own.

Shared Image – hailing from Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is a little more exotic than Crewe for sure – have pretty much answered their own album-title question here – this is the brainchild of Craig Delin, a 20 year veteran of bands now forging his own path by writing, creating, performing, and producing ‘Who Decides Who Does What?’ all by himself. So it seems he decides pretty much who does everything, and on the basis of ‘Redefined’, that’s working to extremely good effect.

Vocals, guitars, keyboards, drums and programming, and synth parts are all down to Delin, the whole track sitting together beautifully; there are elements of old school alt-rock indie goodness in the likes of Pavement, a little of Johnny Marr’s guitar work and certainly some Modest Mouse, coupled with a little of They Might Be Giants and maybe a touch of Crowded House in the mix too. That’s a pretty heady mix, and on ‘Redefined’ it works extremely well. Based on this, Delin deciding Who Does What is a pretty sensible plan.

‘Who Decides Who Does What?’ is out now across all major streaming platforms. You can hear ‘Redefined’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify, and follow Shared Image on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes