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Pavement

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

Snatch the Snail

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.

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.

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

Alt 90s outfit, Selfish Gene made a comeback with their melancholically mellifluous single ‘After the Rain’

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClsKwIvXMi2oLMKONImH-cg

Decades may have passed since alt-rock outfit, Selfish Gene garnered rave reviews and joined Sonic Youth on their Washing Machine album tour in 1996, but the Tel Aviv-hailing artist’s despondently transfixing sound is just as transfixing in the 21st century.

‘After the Rain’ is the first single to be released from their forthcoming album, produced 20 years after the original line up disbanded. With vocals which carry reminiscence to Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) and J Mascis against distorted winding guitar hooks which may as well have been played on your heartstrings, the melancholically mellifluous single is as evocative as it is innovative. Anyone who can’t get enough of alt-90s indie may finally find themselves sated by this sweetly optimistic-in-spite-of-nihilism release.

After the Rain is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

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

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

Heavy Salad have given ‘cult hit’ a brand-new meaning with their debut album “Cult Casual”

The debut album from Manchester’s finest soulfully-blessed Psychedelic trailblazers Heavy Salad has finally dropped.

Cult Casual hit record stores on September 25th and affirmed that the optimism that I’ve held since hearing their eccentrically resolving sophomore single Battery Acid in 2019 was entirely well placed.

Some records, you put on the turntable and know you’ll be apathetic about letting the needle hit it again. Others, you know you’ll delve right back in for the successive hits of emotion which manifested the first time around. Cult Casual is firmly in the latter camp.

Track 1, Death is a gentle Surf Pop easing into the colourful chaos which ensues in the form of their cult hit (in the most literal use of the phrase) Battery Acid. Track 3, The Wish is the feat of feisty grunge which blows every other Garage Rock artist in Manchester out of the water while simultaneously giving artists such as Dinosaur Jr a run for their money.

Track 4, Inner Versions carries the same bite as The Wish, but this time the playful angst is projected over punchy Indie Rock licks, leaving plenty of space for guitarist Rob Glennie to humbly unveil the virtuosic talent he’s been hiding all along. Track 5, Reverse Snake is Heavy Salad’s psych Rock scathing attack on the ideocracy which led us to Brexit. Arcanely, they actually succeeded in creating a high-vibe Anti-Brexit track.

Fans of Avant-Garde will be suitably enraptured in the album from Track 6 where the experimentalism truly starts to take hold. After you’ve enjoyed all the juicy Psych Pop earworms, it’s time to immerse yourselves in the unpredictable yet pragmatic progressive nature of High Priestess and This Song is Not About Lizards. Unapologetically, the tracks take seismic shifts in tone and ferocity, leaving you at the mercy of their rhythmic prowess and whatever celestial magic the Priestesses are serving up in the form of their intoxicating vocals.

Whichever plateau you’ve floated to with the former singles, Routine Dream will allow you to crash down to earth with the scuzzily confrontational track which serves an aggressive yet compassionate reminder that you’re probably living blind. Thankfully, there’s plenty of aural comfort in Slow Ride which will make sure that you’re in the best possible mindset for the evocative assault which follows.

The final track It’s OK to Bleed will break my heart over and over again. In a time where people are more likely to invest in bitcoin rather than their emotional intelligence, it’s utterly priceless. Straight from the intro, the tenderness rings through the guitar progressions, then, the vocal and lyrical empathy bring torrid emotions to the front but there’s plenty of solace to be found in the track which unravels as gospel for the impious.

In short, it’s a cosmic rollercoaster and easily up there with the best things to happen in 2020. Listen to it.

You can check out Cult Casual via Spotify & Bandcamp or you can (and you definitely should) treat yourself to a CD or vinyl copy of the album released via Dripped in Gold Recordings.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Heavy Salad are sharing the good vibes with their rapturously Grungy Pop track “The Wish”

Ever since the earworm contained in Heavy Salad’s Psych Pop sophomore release Battery Acid made itself right at home, I’ve been psyched by the promise of the debut release by the Manchester-based masters of good vibes.

The wait is almost finally over. The Cult Casual LP produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys) is due for release on September 25th via Dipped in Gold Recordings. Ahead of the LP release, they’ve released their psychedelically rapturous grungy Pop teaser track The Wish. It’s so timely it is almost serendipitous.

The Wish is an accessible introduction to the debut album which promises a smorgasbord of enlightenment-aiding experimentalism. The driving punchy Rock rhythms possess a convictive bite and drip with a bravado-less Alt 90s-style cool which will appeal to any fans of Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and Weezer.

With the feisty instrumentals perfectly paired by the exuberantly high-vibe vocals offering mantras such as “I cannot save you, I can’t even save myself”, it will be hard to determine what you fell in love with first, the powerful lyrics or the tone which shatters the Manchester mould.  So many Manchester-based artists succumb to the ease in the process of assimilation for their sound. But with Heavy Salad, their sound is so revolutionary that if they were handing out invites to their cult, you probably wouldn’t need to think twice before accepting.

The massive choruses in the Wish go down like a euphoric storm as they allow you to consider the futility in attempting to rescue everyone in a world where we’re all without a compass in the chaos. If you’re as afflicted with empathy and nihilism as I am, you can consider the Wish a playlist essential.

You can check out the official video to The Wish via YouTube, add the track to your Spotify playlists, or download the single via Bandcamp.

Image may contain: text that says "HEAVY SALAO CULT CASUAL"

Cult Casual will be available to stream on all major platforms from September 25th, or you can pre-order the album here.

Keep up to date with future releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt Rock Artist Hellwaffles has released their most relatable single yet with “CoronaRock”

Hellwaffles

On their never-ending mission to make us all feel a little better about the chaos we’re living in, Hellwaffles has released their most relatable single to date “CoronaRock”.

With snarling tones which is sure to appease fans of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr, Corona Rock offers a nostalgic escape from our absurdist reality which is plagued with profound disappointment.

I’ll never get tired of hearing artist’s unique perspective on the lockdown. I always hit play in the hopes that I’ll find connection in the lyrics which I’ve been unable to find elsewhere. I struck gold with CoronaRock. On the grand scale of things, our 2020 plans being scuppered may feel like a first world problem. But CoronaRock reminds you that your disappointment is ubiquitous and valid while feeding you punchy anthemic Garage Rock.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can hear CoronaRock for yourselves. It will be available to stream via Spotify from the date of the release.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Irish Indie Rock Duo Mute The TV have made their debut with their unique Brit Pop revival track “With You”

Up and coming Indie Duo Mute The TV’s debut single “With You” invites you to delve back into the nostalgia of Brit Pop whilst putting a brand-new sticky-sweet psychedelic spin on the iconic 90s sound.

With the increments of symphonic melodicism, the Irish duo’s dynamic approach to production and their tongue-in-cheek romantically enamouring lyrics, it’s impossible not to warm to this accordant tonally cathartic track. Any fans of Blur will definitely want Mute The TV on their radar.

We’re already stoked to hear what comes next. It’s not all too often that we get to hear debut tracks which are expressive as they are infectious.

You can check out Mute The TV’s debut single With You which was released on April 17th for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Crow Quilled Confessions Release Fascinating Track ‘A Human Being on the Planet Earth’

A Human Being on the Planet Earth by Crow Quilled Confessions

I recently attended a De La Sol set at a festival in Queens. I enjoyed an interlude in which a voice from the trio said that sometimes you just need to let the beat play. It’s always nice to hear how artists feel about the things they make and how they make them. It’s also nice to see how artists whose styles vary greatly can agree on certain sentiments. Such is the case with Crow Quilled Confessions. Their track A Human Being on the Planet Earth perfectly demonstrates a group who know how to let the beat play when it needs to.

For the first half of the song, there are several elements introduced that seem to orbit around the catchy, strongly-mixed beat. You might miss some details along the way if you aren’t careful, but one thing is for certain, you will feel that beat. It doesn’t seem like a drum part that needs much elaboration. It may not have much to say. This doesn’t stop Crow Quilled Confessions from letting it lead the charge into the second half, which quickly but organically reinvents its status quo with fuzzy guitars and a bass that triumphantly makes its presence known.

From here, the track becomes a ride. Suddenly the beat has taken a backseat for the exploration of all the other themes that had previously been allowing it to lead. For such a dramatic change in priority to occur while holding onto the mood and tone of the song is a major challenge. Even as the song fades out in its last 30 seconds, you can’t help but feel the beat play on in your mind. This is a song that leaves the speakers and really does affect your mind for moments at a time. It’s not overly complicated, but it’s certainly a fascinating track.

-Paul Weyer