Browsing Tag

Portishead

Shift your perception on affection with TIBIBI’s ethereal neo-classic single, Remind Me.

Posted on 1 August 2021

‘Remind Me’ is the latest artfully ethereal release from alternative singer-songwriter, producer and engineer, TIBIBI; whose neo-classic works carry the same haunting weight as Portishead while registering as enticingly authentic.

The single melodically spins the story of a person falling in love but not falling deep enough to lose their head. The suitably meditative semi-orchestral synth-pop single allows the lyrics to resonate as a mantra, a promise to yourself that you won’t descend to the depths of love you can’t pull yourself up from.

Remind Me starts as a neo-classic piano loop before classical strings weave into the mix with reverb-swathed analogue synths. TIBIBI’s gently layered vocals meld succinctly into the single which is conceptually powerful enough to shift your perception of love.

Remind Me is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lucy Burke has released her hauntingly intimate ambient acoustic pop single, Please Stay.

Posted on 30 July 2021

It is practically a given that any artist drawing influence from Radiohead, Portishead and Norah Jones and pouring the inspiration into an ambient acoustic pop-jazz soundscape is going to leave you floored but Lucy Burke’s latest single, Please Stay, surpasses all expectation.

The haunting grip of the intimate single breathes through the entire duration. The gentle melodic guitar and piano notes cradle the Sydney-based singer-songwriter’s succinctly urgent vocals that hit with bruising evocative impact.

Please Stay is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OFFtrack – Too Dumb for Your Guns: Trippy Ethereal Alt-Electronica

Posted on 12 July 2021

‘Too Dumb for Your Guns’ is the electrifyingly ethereal latest trip-hop single from the mesmerising alternative artist OFFtrack. The Bahrain-based band formed in 2019 to rapturous acclaim before COVID-19 called time on the live music scene.

Their love of post-punk and trip-hop classics worked its way into the latest release which captures the disjointedness we feel trying to connect in anything in our dystopic world through trippy rhythms pulled together with dreamy guitar melodies, cutting overdriven shoegazey discord and glassy synths.

The single questions the ulterior motives of those driving society to destruction through seductively demure vocals and strikingly dark meta poetry serving as lyricism.

Any fans of Warpaint, Policia and Portishead will want to make room on their radar for OFFtrack.

Too Dumb for Your Guns is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

OurNova reached the pinnacle of dark electro-rock with ‘Nicotine & Nosebleeds’.

Posted on 15 June 2021

OurNova’s latest EP, Bloodlines, Vol. 1, finds the middle-ground between lo-fi alt-rock and synth-pop; the perfect introduction to their dark electronic rock style is the ambiently plaintive standout single, Nicotine & Nosebleeds.

With the tempo of a Portishead track, chilling mechanical electronica tones reminiscent of NIN and the evocative sting of Blue October, Nicotine & Nosebleeds sits on the more melancholic side of the emotional spectrum. Yet, with the refreshingly honest lyrics and the sharp angular guitar progressions that cut through the dark atmosphere of the single, there’s no danger of falling into an existential hole while listening to the reflectively powerful single unfold.

Check out Nicotine & Nosebleeds for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mined Music extends an invitation of intimacy with ‘Let Me In’ featuring Amanda Power.

Posted on 14 June 2021

Munich-based singer-songwriter, artist and producer, Mined Music’s latest single, Let Me In, featuring Amanda Power, is a trippy feat of indietronica that extends an invitation of intimacy that you’ll find impossible to decline.

Through dark yet delicate synth-driven progressions and glitchy percussion, Mined Music created a hypnotic atmosphere for Amanda Power’s spoken word vocals to command. Despite the deadpan tone of the vocals as they verse the lyrics that capture the beauty of closeness and the subsequent danger of trust, you will still feel the vulnerability that manifests around intimacy. It’s a stunningly seductive single that is more than worth a spot on your ambient electronica playlists.

Let Me In is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Mined Music via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Atlanta indie artist Sarah Rae explores the multifaceted nature of love with her new single, ‘Poison Ivy’.

Posted on 7 June 2021
Sarah Rae

With her latest alt-indie single, ‘Poison Ivy’, Sarah Rae explores the contrasting layers of love, melodically shifting between light and dark transitions in the Shoegaze single that will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Hooverphonic, Portishead and Slowdive.

It is singles like Poison Ivy that remind you that there’s no such thing as a realistic ‘happy’ love song. They’re about as true to life as superficially stretched smiles in social media posts that are aimed to deceive people into believing that your life is a 24/7 soirée of aesthetic euphoria.

Poison Ivy starts with chilling angular notes that feed into the stylish trip hop-style soundscape that allows the vox to find perfect synergy with the reverb-swathed instrumentals as they bleed into them, still allowing the poignancy of the lyrics to haunt the progressively enthralling track that gets better with every listen.

Poison Ivy is due for official release on June 9th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Up and coming electronic pop Lara offers us a lifejacket with her latest single, ‘Drifting’.

Posted on 20 February 2021
Lara

After spending a year torn between countries and familiar faces, Australia’s up and coming alt-pop artist and producer, Lara, penned and produced her latest single, ‘Drifting’.

If you’ve been feeling like sentient flotsam and jetsam recently, you’re sure to find resonance and catharsis in the hauntingly ethereal mix which pulls in nuances of RnB, pop, trip-hop and alt-electronica.

Lara may lend from an eclectic array of genres, which for many artists results in an inaccessible smorgasbord of mismatched textures thrown together for the sake of ‘innovation’, but at the heart of her transcendentally melodic sound is accessibility. Drifting is the perfect testament to her ability to ooze commercial potential while avoiding assimilation.

Under the tutorage of Berklee Music college, Lara became adept in the art of bringing her sonic visions to life. Any fans of Portishead, Massive Attack and Hooverphonic will want to pay this release some serious attention.

Drifting will be available to stream on Spotify from March 5th. In the meantime, you can check out her earlier releases and connect via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Chords of Eve bring in the future of psych-pop with their intimately ambient single ‘Butterfly Machine’

Posted on 10 February 2021

Psychedelia comes in a spectacular array of guises, making the genre less about the sound and more about the sensation, under Chords of Eve’s nuanced prowess, it’s a meditative foray into electronically-crafted ambience complete with vivid sci-fi imagery.

The delicately inviting vocals meld into breath-arresting synth-led progressions, and despite the sonic quality of the soundscape, there’s a magnetic sense of intimacy which allows you to follow suit and feel without pretence as you listen.

Chords of Eve may have only been conceived in 2019, but the American multi-instrumentalist, Atlas Cage, is already making massive waves with their unique fusion of alt-electro-pop and trip hop.

Butterfly Machine is available to stream via Spotify.

Follow Chords of Eve to stay up to date with news of the forthcoming LP of the same title which is due for release in Summer 2021.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

apatternimperfect – Entrance: Disqueitly Ambient Alt Eltronica

Posted on 14 January 2021

Give your Portishead records a rest and delve into the ethereal tones in Alt Electronic Rock artist, apatternimperfect’s, standout single ‘Entrance’.

With a Post-Punk style prelude, Entrance starts to unravel to the tune of cavernously haunted vocals and trepidation-laden beats. The deftly-placed static amplifies the disquiet energy of the release as it builds to a climax of jarring buzzsaw riffs to mesmerisingly hypnotic effect.

apatternimperfect is the latest creative project by English producer, composer and songwriter, Rob Wacey. After honing-in on his talent in a myriad of successful bands, he put his accumulated talent to work, orchestrating deeply emotional tracks which offer a cathartic formula of ambience, pulsating rhythms and haunting vocals.

You can check out apatternimperfect’s single Entrance for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Le’lani brings evocative obscurity to Pop with “Can’t Wait 4 U”

Posted on 2 November 2020

Musician and performance artist Le’lani is acclaimed as a paragon of performativity in LA. Her latest solo single “Can’t Wait 4 U” is provocative enough to make her name internationally recognisable.

The track kicks off with beats which bring an enticing level of anticipation and energy while you’re treated to a recording of doubt-laden introspection. After a tantalizing instrumental segment, Le’lani’s hypnotically alluring vocals finally breeze into the mix and bring a sense of tranquillity to the soundscape. Any fans of Portishead definitely won’t want to let this release pass them by.

You can check out Can’t Wait 4 U which was released on October 16th for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

With an EP due to drop in 2021, you’ll definitely want Le’lani on your radar.

Review by Amelia Vandergast