Browsing Tag

power-pop

ATR pushed the boundaries of punk to its limits in It’s Not Enough, featuring Kellii Scott

Posted on 7 July 2022

For their latest volatile slice of off-kilter power-pop, It’s Not Enough, ATR borrowed the percussive flair of Kelli Scott (FAILURE) and used the extra set of hands to push the boundaries of punk further to its limits.

The unsated howl into the void is undoubtedly something that will resonate with many in our new normal, which notably has never known anything of normalcy. The noisy overdriven discord wrapped around the punchy melodies and modernist discontent of doom scrolling as a pacifier and other worrying symptoms of our times provided 3-minutes of the sweetest catharsis I’ve felt all day. We knew it was worth saving a space on our radar for ATR.

It’s Not Enough will officially release on July 7th. Check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Back to the Point brought mindful maturity to pop-punk with their single, YOU!

Posted on 17 April 2022

Just like Neutral Milk Hotel, Back to the Point, make it effortless to fall in love with their punchy sound and quaintly sweet charisma – especially based on their indie power-pop hit, YOU!

The track instantly affirmed that I haven’t left my pop-punk days far behind me for the way I got suckered in by the emotional vulnerability that is cleverly paired against less-than-archetypal instrumentals that bring everything from jangle-pop angular guitars to frenetically chopped synths into the anthemically sugared mix.

Lyrically, YOU! wraps itself around themes of self-acceptance and coming to peace with the past while exploring others’ apprehension and fear around authenticity and ridicule. Quite honestly, my soul needed to hear this matured evolution of the genre. Back to the Point has exactly what it takes to put Suffolk on the pop-punk map.

YOU! is now available to stream on Spotify.

Resonate with the fear in RAIANE.’s woundingly honest indie power-pop single, scared

Posted on 5 April 2022

Rio-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter RAIANE., has recently released her instantly affable indie power-pop track, scared, which unravels as an energised yet intimate exploration of the boundaries between physical and emotional vulnerability.

The searing hot guitar solos blazing around her bubble gum poppy, anthemic vocals make for an electrically alchemic combination. It is only when the short and enrapturing bitter-sweet track fades to a close, you realise just how invested you got in the bop-worthy feat of faultlessly raw pop. By all accounts, it is an exceptionally promising debut.

You can check out scared, along with the rest of the debut LP, shapeshifter, from RAIANE. for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the difference between night and day in the US indie-pop artist Hyde Park’s standout single, The Insomniac’s Lament

Posted on 16 March 2022

Few new 2022 releases have resonated with us quite as much as Hyde Park’s composition, The Insomniac’s Lament. After an evocatively loaded neo-classic prelude, the cutting minor-key piano melodies flourish into blossoming progressions and the poetically-titled single transitions into an orchestrally-scored power-pop single that glistens with optimism.

The evolutionary nature of The Insomniac’s Lament marks just how significant the shifts in our psyches can be. It brings brand-new meaning to the expression “it’s like night and day”.

The Insomniac’s Lament is just one of the singles on the indie-pop singer-songwriter’s debut EP This is Just a Simple Song. Even the US-based artist’s humility leaves us excited about his potential for success.

The Insomniac’s Lament is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Cravings Band made an anthemically charged proclamation of passion in their power-pop single, I Wanna See You

Posted on 4 March 2022
https://soundcloud.com/jan-frederick-setya-kasih/i-wanna-see-you-added-strings-version/s-uu3HnyTD3J1

Cravings Band put the power in power pop in their latest riff-charged, electrifyingly upbeat single, I Wanna See You, which captures the urgency of sating romantic desires.

As a narrative of hot pursuit for passion unfolds, the dynamic pop-rock mix animatedly transgresses from scuzzy classic rock increments to hooky pop choruses that will linger long after this fervent proclamation of unrelenting affection has faded to a close. It’s not your average perennial pop earworm; it’s an anthemic one. The orchestral strings are the perfect finish to I Wanna See You, which is as fitting for an epic rock opera as it is for the airwaves.

I Wanna See You will officially release on March 4th, 2022. You can hear it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tim Nova turns plight into passion in his anthemic indie power-pop single, Far Away

Posted on 25 January 2022

The North West, UK-hailing indie power-pop pioneer, Tim Nova, is fresh from the release of his single, Far Away, which proves that there are few things in life more romantic than long-distance affection. It’s a beautiful testament to the fact that love perseveres despite peripheries; it’s a refreshing change to be confronted with the more positive aspects of the human experience instead of the negative.

Far Away merges Nova’s love for massive guitars and stridently balladlike vocals that make no bones about dialling the evocative potential up to 11. Anyone feeling a little love/person/homesick, couldn’t ask for a better track to seek solace in. Damn, it’s almost enough to make you embark on an international affair to truly appreciate this 80s-rock inspired earworm.

Far Away is due for official release on February 21st. It is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gunpoint Alibi deliver the evolution that alt-rock fans have been waiting for with their latest single, Bury Me

Posted on 23 January 2022

‘Bury Me’ is the latest fierce slice of alt-rock from the Denver, Colorado-based powerhouse Gunpoint Alibi. What started as a garage-punk cover band in 2019 evolved into a gnarly post-hardcore outfit complete with ensnaring high-octane instrumental hooks and harsh pop-punk vocals that fall away from the Hayley Williams mould (thank God!) into raucous new territory.

Morgan Elizabeth’s vocal confidence runs in parallel to the levels of conviction and dynamism; she could smash through a screamo track just as well as a Taylor Swift hit. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the infectious sense of playfulness she uses as she attacks the lyrics with her versatile vocal timbre. We can’t wait to hear how they follow on from this monster of an alt-rock evolution.

Bury Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Proto-punk bites back in Underdog’s seminal punch-drunk alt-rock track, Over and Over

Posted on 10 January 2022

Over and Over (Northern Lights) is the seminal proto-punk track from Boston’s most boisterous alt-rock powerhouse, Underdog. It may be harder for new artists to register as obsession-worthy from the first hit, but the college radio rock vibes mixed with the lo-fi scuzz and energy that stems from the frustration that resounds around monotony makes a riotously magnetic track out of Over and Over.

Thankfully, the band that has been charting as the top alternative band in Boston since establishing in 2013 didn’t allow their creativity to buckle during the quarantine. Their album, Trans Global Amnesia, is due for release in the Spring of 2022. Any fans of the New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers and the Ramones will want Underdog on their radars – it is only a matter of time before their moniker becomes unfitting.

Over and Over is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

billon dailey is set to make his hook-filled alt-indie-pop debut with ‘Pull on My Heartstrings’

Posted on 3 December 2021
billon dailey

If the Beach Boys made their debut in 2021 and picked up some Midwest Emo tendencies, their bright and instantly infectious melodies would have plenty in common with the ones found in singer-songwriter, billion daily’s triumph of a debut single, Pull on My Heartstrings.

The intricately and anthemically layered single breezes through the whole tonal spectrum as it runs through the frenetic choruses and verses where you can drink in the lush accordance of shimmering notes. It is anything but your average debut, which has plenty to do with the artist cutting his teeth as a songwriter under the moniker, iamsleepless, for years. After turning away from music to explore faith, having an existential crisis from that decision and returning to music armed with weed and a guitar, he started work on his debut release; we’re beyond glad that he did.

Pull on My Heartstrings is available to stream from December 3rd 2021. You can catch it for yourself on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nemos has released his Italian 90s revival album, La leggenda del soldato gentile

Posted on 1 December 2021

Italian aural visionary, Nemos, has released his expressively eccentric third album, La leggenda del soldato gentile.
With the title single carrying a similar rhythm to Blur’s Song 2 along with choral-orchestral stylings and Hanson vibes, the punchy high energy track is a European twist on the sonic palettes that we came to love in the 90s.

Even if the instrumentals fell flat, La leggenda del soldato gentile would still be a bop-worthy hit thanks to the unfaltering passion in the vocals as they verse the Italian lyrics. La leggenda del soldato gentile doesn’t just permit you to share the energy of the soul-sating track; it practically demands it of you.

Nemos’ third album, La leggenda del soldato gentile, is now available to stream in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast