Browsing Tag

Pavement

Psychosomatik showed their psych-rock ‘Roots’ in their progressively electric single.

Posted on 19 March 2023

Miami psych rock pioneers Psychosomatik warmed up the vintage overdriven tones to match their sun-bleached climate in their latest progressively surfy single, Roots.

If Pavement saw a little more sun, I’m entirely convinced that Brighten the Corners would have emanated the same colourful radiance of Roots, which hit the airwaves on March 13th. The influences of The Doors and The Beatles are also easy to note in the kaleidoscopic grooves of the release from the independent duo, which amalgamates influences from a wide range of artists and genres to orchestrate a sound that couldn’t be more authentic.

Experimentalism and accessibility don’t always come hand in hand; it stands as a testament to Psychosomatik’s songwriting chops that Roots is a hit that you’ll want to dig deep to immerse yourselves in from the first hit. The vibe couldn’t be sweeter.

Roots is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London indie-rock renegades JW Paris shared their lascivious appetite for destruction with ‘She’

Posted on 14 November 2022

The shimmer of wavering Pavement-esque guitars meets the indie anthemics of Blur in the standout single, She, from the London indie trio JW Paris’ debut EP, Stuck in a Video, which implanted off-kilter killer hooks into the airwaves on October 28th.

Reminiscences aside, the band that has sent distinction ricocheting through the underground since their 2017 debut always bring a potent shot of their own renegade indie-rock flavour to their tracks. The critically acclaimed act has a habit of drawing you right into the swaggering melodicism through the lyrics that will smother anyone who has ever felt the odds stack against them with resonance.

Never ones to toy with cliches, JW Paris found a gritty way to pay ode life’s protagonists who sell sanctuary to us amid our appetite for destruction with She. With “she tried to run me over, she blows my mind” written into the lyricism, JW Paris cut to the marrow of the human proclivity to gravitate to modern-day sirens. If you haven’t been there, in the words of Bukowski, what truly horrible lives you must lead.

Stream JW Paris’ debut EP, Stuck in a Video, in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Real Zebos captured the banality ‘Indie Girls’ struggles in their latest single

Posted on 10 September 2022

Humility goes a long way in the indie scene, which is just one of the reasons The Real Zebos haven’t failed to amass a staunch following on their journey from Craigslist strangers to a 5-piece garnering over 3 million hits on their most popular tracks.

I’ll be honest; I thought I was going to hit play on their latest single, Indie Girls, and hear yet another cringe exposition on Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Thankfully, the garagey pop-rock jam is an addictive continuation of the same playful hubris found on Pavement’s seminal album, Brighten the Corners, with hilarious observations on the trends of try-hard e-girl vampires and the banality of their struggles. Admitting to loving this track is probably the most un-feminist thing I will ever do, but I can think of infinitely worse hills to die on.

Indie Girls is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

West Ridge Circle – Stuck in This Chair: The Ultimate Off-Kilter Alt-90s Ode to Ennui

Posted on 20 April 2022

Taken from their debut EP, Nobody Home, West Ridge Circle’s standout single, Stuck in This Chair, is an eclectic array of era-spanning rock nuances and modernist lyrical vulnerability.

Fans of Pavement, Pixies and Nirvana will want to drink up the 21st-century melancholy that drips through the lyrics and captures the frustration that lingers in unrelenting ennui. It’s tracks like Stuck in This Chair that prove there’s a beauty in collective misery, that now, we can hear lyrics, and it isn’t an Olympian stretch of the imagination to get on the same level. Granted, that isn’t always a given, but West Ridge Circle are thriving on the funk that is writhing through our existential hive minds.

With the J Mascis-style guitar chops, the despondent Americana blues-rock vocals that come with a tinge of the Seattle alt-90s sound and the eerily relatable lyrics, Stuck in This Chair has all the makings of a melancholy alt-rock playlist staple. We hope there’s another release nestled in the pipeline.

Stuck in This Chair is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Winternom – True: Meet your new existential alt-indie playlist staple

Posted on 8 March 2022

The alt-indie-folk-rock newcomers, Winternom, are set to bring souls in from the cold with the standout single, True, from their sophomore album, The Cold or the Crowd. Sonically, the hazily sweet single sits between Elliott Smith and Pavement, with a few proto-punk-meets-psych-pop nuances.

Lyrically, the Ottawa, Canada-hailing artist comes into their own with their witticisms that walk the line between existentialism and affection in a way that pays ode to the Alt 90s while still delivering emotive modernism. Despite its overarching lo-fi vibe, the dreamy textures in True never resonate as brash. Instead, they keep the tones bright to contrast the less than sunny, deeply relatable vocal disposition.

True is now available to stream along with the rest of Winternom’s triumph of an album, The Cold or the Crowd via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

djamesk13 has released his sludgy stargazing alt-indie hit, Then We See Our Stars

Posted on 21 February 2022

Then We See Our Stars is the latest lo-fi feat of alt-indie from the London-based experimentalist, djamesk13, which will instantly instil alt-90s nostalgia in any self-respecting no-wave fan.

The hooky grungy track may be too harsh and discordant to be everyone’s cup of tea, but for anyone who wants to revel in cathartic sludge fed through plenty of wobbly and echoey tape delay; Then We See Our Stars will hit the sludgy spot. Its Half-Man Half-Biscuit meets Pavement meets Swans. What more could you possibly ask for?

Then We See Our Stars is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The LA alt-indie duo, Doxy, speak to the psychologically detached in their debut single, Autopilot

Posted on 19 February 2022

“Autopilot” is the latest jazzy avant-garde feat of lo-fi surfy punk rock from the LA duo Doxy. It’s a refreshing reprieve from the earnest tracks that force your subconscious into a state of lament; Doxy’s playful yet pessimist flair mixed with their ability to offer something that is truly euphoric and endearing, make them utterly infectious. Autopilot should be on every Pavement fan’s playlist. The angularly off-kilter guitar notes are just absorbing – if not more.

They poured plenty of the LA sun into the synthy jangly bop-worthy track. The discernible sweet spot hits when they declare a “freak out” interlude and follow with an absorbingly obscure breakdown which allows you to truly appreciate the jazzy nuances in this hazily blissful defiance against depersonalisation and detachment.

Check out Doxy on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

North Carolina’s Snatch the Snail are set to release their warped and wavy surf punk single, Sunk

Posted on 6 January 2022

North Carolina’s most psychedelic retro surf outfit, Snatch the Snail, is set to release their warped and wavy alt-rock track, Sunk. Instead of sending you under as the track title suggests, the Avant-Garde nuances in the colourfully mellow track feed the dopamine with the same generosity of Pavement’s album, Brighten the Corners.

While the bent to the point of distortion guitar notes ring through plenty of wobbly echo and delay, the deadpan vocals sweeten the track that has all the hallmarks of a vibe-out playlist staple. With the experimentalism of Mike Patton and the punk surf vibes of Fidlar, it doesn’t take a genius why Snatch the Snail are thriving in their niche.

Check out Snatch the Snail on their website, Bandcamp and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Jersey indie outfit Rabbit Dream delivered swathes of alt 90s nostalgia in their debut album, The Golden Gone.

Posted on 12 December 2021

New Jersey’s most promising alt-indie rock outfit, Rabbit Dream, have released their debut album, The Golden Gone, which pulls in nuances of grunge, indie, art rock, garage rock and unravels as the ultimate alt 90s fan’s aural wet dream.

The standout single, Stander, is the perfect introduction to Rabbit Dream’s indulgently distorted tones, massive stadium-filling guitars that are just as robust as the licks in the National’s most anthemic tracks and the vocals that embed authenticity in the progressive single. Before the first instrumental buildup, the vocals are honeyed and sweet; after, they start to gather reminiscence to Julian Casablancas as the guitars dial up the frenetic energy. It isn’t your average indie rock earworm, but you’ll be more than inclined to return to it and give it repeat attention. Rabbit Dream is definitively one to watch; for your own sake as much as theirs.

Stander is now available to stream along with the rest of Rabbit Dream’s debut album via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

We’re infatuated, while Fred Whitacre, JR is ‘Less Smitten’ in his sonic Grunge single.

Posted on 22 June 2021

Fred Whitacre, JR’s latest indie grunge earworm, Less Smitten, acts as a TARDIS with one destination, the alt 90s. The over-driven distorted guitars eclipse the Seattle sound as Whitacre lends from heavier genres to ensure that the sticky-sweet melodies in Less Smitten hit with bruising impact.

If you could imagine the sweetly sentimental sound of Nada Surf, the disquiet chaos of Nirvana and the experimentalism of Pavement all rolled into one high-octane anthem where the buzzsaw riffs cut with a hint of pop-punk, you’ll get an idea of what is in store when you hit play. Quite honestly, I couldn’t be more infatuated with Less Smitten, which feels like quite the paradox, but it isn’t every day new grunge artists emerge with sludgy tones that lead to a spike of serotonin.

The official music video for Less Smitten is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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