Browsing Tag

pop punk

Horizons lose all meaning in the ennui of Hello London’s indie rock reinvention of pop-punk, Garden

Posted on 25 December 2023
Patterns by Hello London

How infectious can melancholy be? Hit play on the latest standout single, Garden, from the Buffalo-hailing indie songwriter Hello London (James Froese) and feel the earworm burying into your psyche.

Embodying the same lamenting energy that made I Miss You by Blink-182 a cult phenomenon while experimenting with a fusion of pop punk, power pop, jangle pop and 00s indie ensured that Garden is a modernised sonic sign of the disenfranchised times.

As we all mourn that the landscapes of our lives appear the same but no longer bring us the same sense of meaning, we can all find ourselves in the resonance of the work of the solo artist, who has remained prolific since his 2021 debut.

3 EPs, an LP and a series of shows across the Northeast opening for the likes of Crimson Riot, Sincere Engineer and Covey down, the only way is up for Hello London and his command over nostalgically reinvented melodic lines. With a new LP in the works and ready for release in 2024, everyone who never fully grew out of their emo phase will want to save a space for Hello London on their radar.

Garden is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp as part of the Patterns EP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

igor fused rhythmic ferocity and tender vulnerability in his alt-rock hit, My Own Way

Posted on 22 December 2023

Self-reservation cascaded away when igor stridently proclaimed, “The rumors are true – I just went insane”, in the opening lyric of his latest strident and evocatively raw single, My Own Way.

If people still held their lighters in the air, there are few better calls for an inferno of flame than this reclamation of the 00s alt-rock sound. After a short and sweet prelude, which could easily have given way to a Springsteen anthem, pop-punk signatures sink their teeth into the anthemic production that takes you on a cataclysmic ride through a confessional vignette of how much we give away to meet the expectations of someone that was inching away from us the entire time.

With guitar hooks as viscerally sharp as My Chemical Romance’s under igor’s engrossingly distinctive vocal lines, which refuse to forego authenticity for assimilation, My Own Way is a testament to the Ukraine-born, Russia-raised, NY-residing singer-songwriter and his determination to wear his heart on his sleeve.

While earworms that delve deep into scarred psyches to expose the commonalities of agony are a rarity, igor achieved all of that and more in the symbiosis of rhythmic ferocity and tender vulnerability in My Own Way.

My Own Way was officially released on December 1st; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post-Hardcore goes Pop (Punk) in Secular Era & Drexl Bowie’s single, Master Morality

Posted on 8 December 2023

Two juggnautical entities in their own sonic right, Secular Era and Drexl Bowie, converged to show mere mortals what ‘Master Morality’ sounds like with their latest release. With guitars augmented in the same vein as the hooks in MCR’s I’m Not Okay fused with Slipknot-esque nu-metal percussive proclivities and synthy melodies to keep the down and gutturally dirty track upbeat, Master Morality is an adrenalizing slice of ingenuity that will swallow you whole and spit you out drenched in rancorous euphoria.

While many heavier outfits turn their nose up at the tones of pop-punk, Secular Era & Drexl Bowie saw the potential within it. By using the stickiest and sweetest elements and infusing them into a tumultuously electrifying sequence, they made it impossible to find a track that hits harder while simultaneously keeping their finger on the guilty pleasure pulse. Putting Master Morality into words is no easy feat, but if you can imagine Nena’s 99 Red Balloons fused with Sugar We’re Goin Down and tasked Static X to pay ode to the cross-genre synthesis, you’d get an idea of the engrossing, ingenious, uninhibited insanity delivered via Master Morality.

Master Morality was officially released on December 1st; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Project Revise tended to the wounds of scene victims with their nettled with emo nostalgia single, Take the World

Posted on 11 November 2023

After we joined the Worcestershire, UK three-piece pop-punk powerhouse, Project Revise, in ‘Free Fall’ with their previous release, we’re stoked to announce that they’re back on the airwaves with their nettled with emo nostalgia latest single, Take the World.

Fans of Taking Back Sunday, Funeral for a Friend and New Found Glory will easily find a place on their playlists for the caustic cuts of the guitars, chugging basslines that leave you psyched for the gravity-defying choruses and adrenalizing infectious vocal lines which soar through the lyrics that run through the pitfalls of staying loyal to toxicity within a scene.

Project Revise’s tracks have previously been heard on BBC Introducing and seminal Spotify playlists, including New Punk Tracks, Pop Punk’s Not Dead, Skatepark Punks and Punk Unplugged. Given that Take the World is some of their viscerally viral-worthy work to date, we expect this rancorous hit to take them to the same heights as Hawthorne Heights.

Take the World will be released on October 20; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jump Jump Joan made sparks fly in their vintage tone-wrapped pop-punk hit, This Night

Posted on 6 November 2023

Jump Jump Joan cruised in on a riptide of surf punk with their stylistically exhilarant standout single, This Night, taken from their debut EP, This is Us, which hit the airwaves on September 1st.

By the time the palpitatingly sweet chorus hits, you’ll be wishing that all pop-punk hits were as vintagely hued as This Night; as momentum drives through the overdriven guitar lines, the lead vocals drape seductively magnetic harmonies over the rancour to create a natural anchor amidst the chaos.

There aren’t many outfits that can hold vocal candles to the likes of Debbie Harry and Dolores O’Riordan, but if any powerhouse can hold their own against the icons, it is the Somerset-hailing ensemble who are already making major waves across streaming platforms and winning favour from the likes of Blitzcat Records and Honk Magazine. We’re stoked to see Jump Jump Joan hold dominion over the UK punk scene in 2024.

Stream This Night on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Visit the neon-lit metropolis with LockdAwg’s sticky-sweet alt-rock vignette, These Streets

Posted on 2 November 2023
https://spotify.link/6tqvKKE2bEb

With their latest self-released single, These Streets, the up-and-coming artist LockdAwg bridged the gap between acoustic pop-punk, synth-rock and classic rock to deliver an authentic heart-on-riff hit that is all too easy to succumb to the raw and intimate power of.

With every progression a revelation and a testament to the artist’s refusal to fall in line with other people’s expressive styles, the level of distinction is only as visceral as the potency of the emotion.

LockdAwg clearly has the vocal and instrumental talent and determination to make it in the industry; by honing the song structuring and instrumental layering to bolster the rhythmic cohesion and flow, their name will be up in lights as much as the metropolis explored in the synthesis of classic and experimental rock styles in no time.

These Streets was officially released on October 9th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast 

Clear the cobwebs of contempt with Laura Musgrave’s pop-rock hit, Rent Free

Posted on 22 October 2023

As rock ‘n’ roll as Joan Jett, as infectious as Taylor Momsen, as authentically captivating as conceivably possible, Laura Musgrave has the talent, charisma and songwriting chops to put the music industry at her feet after she released her latest single, Rent Free.

The track efficaciously alludes to how cutting ties with someone is only the first stage of letting go, making sure that they’re no longer living rent-free inside your mind and unshackling yourself from the anger which only serves to hurt you is a far harder feat. With this electrifyingly unforgettable track on your playlists, you’ll find all the motivation you need to clear the cobwebs of contempt.

We can’t wait to hear the latest installation of confessional guitar-driven pop-rock from the award-winning artist who picked up the International Female Singer of the Year award at the 2023 International Singer Songwriter Association Awards in Atlanta.

Rent Free was officially released on October 13; get your kicks from it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The UK pop-punk powerhouse Project Revise is in ‘Free Fall’ in their latest music video

Posted on 5 October 2023

Fans of Thrice, Glassjaw, and Reuben won’t be able to resist the hooks which punch with 00s emo volition in the latest single from the UK pop-punk powerhouse of a trio, Project Revise.

The ragged with rancour basslines wrap their snarls around the cacophonously tight drum fills beneath the nostalgically crunchy guitars as the vocal lines mainline antagonised adrenaline into Free Fall. There are high-octane hits, and there are releases that make you wonder if the instruments were plugged into nuclear reactors instead of amps, Project Revise is well and truly in the latter camp with Free Fall, and they’ve been there ever since they crashed into the scene in 2017 and started snagging accolades left, right, and centre.

They’ve been lauded by Kerrang, shot music videos with the Bowling for Soup frontman, Jaret Reddick, landed themselves on editorial playlists, and received endless BBC Introducing airplay. If they keep on releasing hits in the same vein as Free Fall, we’re pretty sure their career highlights will become infinitely more incandescent.

Watch the official music video for Free Fall on YouTube or add the track to your pop-punk playlists on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The emerging outfit, Hound, is spectre hunting in their debut post-hardcore-meets-pop-punk hit, Ghost in the Grey

Posted on 31 August 2023

Here to prove that emo isn’t a phase is the antagonistically enticing up-and-coming outfit, Hound, with their nostalgia-driven post-hardcore anthem, Ghost in the Grey.

The debut single is – almost – enough to tempt you to chop your hair into a side fringe and whip out the checked sweatbands, skinny jeans, and studded belts. Failing that, you’ll get to relive the glory days when Hawthorne Heights, Dashboard Confessional and Senses Fail reigned supreme in the alternative music charts, and it only felt like your internal sanity was failing instead of society as a whole.

Describing themselves as five 30-somethings with dodgy knees and broken dreams scarcely does their heavy pop-punk/emo mashup justice, especially with the sharp hooks, tight instrumentals and choruses that you will want to scream as though you’re performing your own exorcism. But it just goes to show how committed the powerhouse is to providing an escape from modern maladies and melancholy by creating pretension-less atmospheres in their music and at their live shows.

Ghost in the Grey riled up the airwaves after its debut on August 21. Stream it on Spotify.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grand Nights descended with his demons in the orchestral pop-rock masterpiece, Falling

Posted on 8 August 2023

Render your heartstrings raw with the latest single, Falling, from the alt-pop evocateur, Grand Nights. The orchestral pop-rock outpour of artfully uninhibited emotion takes you on a cinematic cruise through the kind of introspection that only dares to visit you in the dead of night; hang onto the ornately atmospheric nostalgia tight as you’re driven through the 80s and 90s via a route never taken.

After cutting his teeth as a drummer in a metal band, honing his talents in rock, punk and pop bands, the one-man powerhouse behind Grand Nights was ready to take to the centre stage and exhibit his heart-in-throat lyrics that amplify in visceralism to the tune of his panoramically immersive melodies.

With his EP, South of Everything, in the pipeline, there has never been a better time to implant Grand Nights on your radar.

Start the descent with Falling, by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast