Browsing Tag

Pop-Rock

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

Hungarian indie-pop-rock Dirty Slippers pioneers stole the show and our souls with ‘Honest Kid’

Posted on 8 March 2023

Dirty Slippers made history as the first Hungarian band invited to record in Abbey Road Studios with George Shilling (Oasis, Mike Oldfield) and Tim Palmer (U2, Bon Jovi). Just one hit of their latest single, Honest Kid, was enough to affirm why they are a multi-award-winning outfit with three charting albums under their belt in their home country. FYI, NOTHING is lost in translation.

The indie pop-rock outfit, fronted by singer and guitarist Lázár Lobó-Szalóky, who knows just how to put your heart in your throat as you feel the full force of the emotion projected through every facet of the arrangement, songwriting and lyricality, are unparalleled in their captivatingly evocative presence on the airwaves.

Reminiscent of the 00s indie-pop-rock legacy acts, yet intrinsically unique with their folky baroque beguile, Dirty Slippers stole my soul from the first hook in the single that looks back on childhood from middle age with nostalgia in the pensive rearview mirror.

Honest Kid was officially released on February 21st. Hear it on Spotify & Follow Dirty Slippers on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brigton’s Sadie Nix reached the pinnacle of candourous conviction in her piano pop-rock hit, Oblivious

Posted on 6 March 2023

With the minor piano keys, stridently pensive vocal harmonies, and depth of vulnerable emotion in the lyricism in the latest single from Brighton-based aural originator, Sadie Nix orchestrated a superlatively immersive alt-pop score with Oblivious.

With maturity, confidence and her ability to paint pain through melodies all transcending her years spent as an artist, Sadie Nix is a sensation that cuts through the superficiality of pop-rock while carrying all of the instant accessibility of it. What Kelly Clarkson was to 2004, Nix is to 2023.

Traversing the frustrations of invisibility and unaccountability through a lack of caring, Oblivious is one of the most powerful records we’ve heard this year. On the basis of it, I pity anyone that finds themselves on the wrong side of Nix’s conviction.

Oblivious hit the airwaves on February 3rd. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christian & Gospel sensation Remilekun radiated redemption in her latest single, WORTHY

Posted on 5 March 2023

80s-ESQUE Pop-rock and Christian & Gospel rarely converge, but the up-and-coming celestial soulstress, Remilekun proved that spellbindingly redemptive things happen when they do in her latest single, WORTHY, which officially released on February 24th.

With guitar solos that will stir the souls of anyone pious for Prince against the salvation-soaked high harmonic stretches and the lyrics that work with the sole aim of reaching out to anyone feeling the sting of self-perceived worthlessness, the single is an essential extension of hope.

Feeling unworthy is a dangerous trap to fall into, but one that depression and unlucky circumstances can dangle a carrot in front of and allow us to plunge into the murky depths of, but as so elevatedly exhibited by Remilekun, stepping into the light is always an option. No matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done.

Stream the official lyric video for WORTHY by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sparks in the Garden reached the pinnacle of picturesque pop-rock in their latest single, Colorado

Posted on 25 February 2023
https://soundcloud.com/sparks-in-the-garden/colorado/s-HD7ekLyw1da?si=4a78309658e14db3b67788bd18f37155&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

‘Colorado’ is the latest scenically striking sonic score from the emotion-driven singer-songwriter duo, Sparks in the Garden. The Jacksonville, Florida brother-duo’s affectionately positive brand of Americana Pop-Rock is as refreshing to the soul as pulling the top down and hitting the road.

With the rich naturalist lyricality fused with the major piano keys and guitars that will be a hit with any fans of James Taylor, John Mayer and Jason Mraz, Sparks in the Garden reinvented nostalgia with this stellar slice of Pop-Rock that effortlessly spills serotonin as the poised progressions unfurl around the immersive virtuosic songwriting chops. You just can’t help falling in love with the duo when you’re in the midst of their ingenuity.

Colorado will be available to stream from February 24th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Solya is deep in devilry beguile in her alt-indie single, Endlessly

Posted on 23 February 2023

It isn’t every day that we come across 16-year-old alt-indie singer-songwriters with the cinematic grace of a Parisian Chanteuse, and that’s just one of the reasons why you’ll want to immerse yourself in the filmic world orchestrated by the West Texas teen, Solya.

Her debut 3-track single, Fever Dream, is a beguilingly baroque amalgam of rock, pop and electronica; every guitar, synth and piano note was contributed by the triadically gifted virtuoso.

With lyrics that cut right to the core of disillusioned darkness and vocal lines that compel you to lean in so deeply that you’ll forget to come up for air, the standout single, Endlessly, is a tear-jerkingly stunning score that puts Solya in good stead for her aural icon. She’s half my age, but I’d still bow down to her iconic artistic vision.

Hear Solya’s debut release via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Noah Tuesday melodised moving on paralysis in his pop-rock single, ‘Leave a Light On’

Posted on 19 February 2023

If candour and inclination to expose their souls got artists to the top of the charts, there would be few sitting above the Michigan-born, New York-residing alternative artist, Noah Tuesday.

His seminal pop-rock single, Leave a Light On, puts his training as a concert and church pianist to melodically immersive use as he allows the lyrics to outpour of all the guilt that amasses around inaction, introversion and moving on paralysis. Everyone has been there, leaving lashes on their own backs for their need to take time; Noah Tuesday universalised those alienating sensations.

Even if Leave a Light On was an instrumental piece, the piano-led sonic piece of panache would have been as upliftingly luminary. Between the evocative magnetism in his vocal lines, his songwriting chops and his lyrics that transcend most artists’ expressive capacities, he’s one to watch.

Leave a Light On is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Coz looked ‘Between the Lines’ in his romantically rugged Americana pop-rock debut

Posted on 16 February 2023

Keeping the timeless romanticism of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and David Gray alive, the Nova Scotia-hailing singer-songwriter Alex Coz’s debut single, Between the Lines, will stir souls as cogently as a tornado ripping through a neighbourhood.

With whiskey-soaked poetry that will win over any Bukowski fans against the orchestrally-cut piano pop-rock ballad, Coz knew exactly where to implement nostalgia between the striking minor piano keys and orchestral crescendos to subjugate his audience into affectionate submission.

As far as debut releases go, you would be hard-pressed to find one as evocatively rich as this sonic feat of beat poetry. We’re officially stoked to hear what the singer-songwriter delivers next. If we still gave artists the opportunity to reach the same heights as Springsteen, Coz would have sealed his fate in the hall of fame with his debut 3-track single.

Between the Lines was officially released on February 7th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

One More Weekend will meet you at the crossroads in their latest alt-rock hit, Opportunity

Posted on 19 January 2023

Melbourne’s premier alt-rock outfit, One More Weekend, has unveiled their latest chill-inducing single, Opportunity. The opening pop-rock vocals are thick with insular malaise but there is plenty of sanctity in the jangle pop guitars that counter the ennui before the progressive track bursts into a fervid feat of riff-driven rock that will reel you in, overdriven hook, line, and sinker.

The only thing more visceral than the emotion within Opportunity, which offers an olive branch of resonance to the disenfranchised, is the distinction in their sound. The luminary outfit pays homage to Birds of Tokyo, Foo Fighters and The 1975 before stratospherically blasting into a distinctively refreshing pop-rock amalgam.

After performing hundreds of shows across Australia and racking up their streaming stats to achieve almost viral status, One More Weekend is one to watch.

Opportunity will officially release on January 19th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CLOUDS OF CLARITY took us ‘Back to Sanity’ with their pop-rock optimism-fuelling single.

Posted on 28 December 2022
Superficial Society by CLOUDS OF CLARITY

Lamenting modern times is easy, and truth-depicting snapshots have their place, but to fuel optimism while serotonin supplies are running low for everyone with the slightest view of the bigger picture, as CLOUDS OF CLARITY did with their single, Back to Sanity, is nothing short of exhilarating.

The soaring seminal single taken from the Swedish-based alt-rock band’s album, Superficial Society, comes with a euphoria guarantee. As the newly formed outfit deliver the funk, grooves and guitar riffs that are so out of this world they deserve their own Sci-Fi franchise, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the sanctum orchestrated by one of the most theatrically out-there outfits on any scene.

If any artist deserves the accolade of the 21st-century version of Queen, it is CLOUDS OF CLARITY. When histrionic flair is on par with lyrical intellectualism and juicy choruses that can spill light into the most melancholy souls, putting them on your playlists is the ultimate act of self-care.

Stream and download Back to Sanity on all major platforms via this link. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast