Browsing Tag

Psych Pop

KennethWayne laced the airwaves with indie lo-fi psych-pop soul with ‘Sound of Regret’.

Posted on 31 July 2021

US alt-indie artist KennethWayne’s experimental sound is constantly in flux; taken from his LOOK UP mixtape is the best introduction to his eccentrically affable style. Sound of Regret is a sweetly kaleidoscopic hit of lo-fi psych-pop that retains soul despite the retrospective melancholy.

Between the kicking percussion, accordant guitar chords and the masterful straight-off-the-tape-deck vibes, if Sound of Regret fails to leave you feeling endeared, you can assume your soul is defunct. Fans of Elliott Smith, the Beatles and Nick Drake definitely won’t want to miss out on this release.

Sound of Regret is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Follow the artist on Instagram. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jane Allison proves why she’s the next soul-folk sensation with her single, ‘Don’t Spill Water’

Posted on 23 July 2021

Soul-folk sensation Jane Allison has released her latest single, Don’t Spill Water; with disco, funk, psych-pop and blues-rock written into the mellifluous mix, it’s impossible not to get swept up by the vibrant energy.

The Welsh singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actress seems to emanate as much magnetism on screen as she does through her captivatingly narrative singles. She may stay true to the storytelling roots of Folk, but when it comes to her sonic style, that is where the bold experimentalism grips you.

Through the choppy staccato chords and rich ABBA-Esque vocals, Don’t Spill Water is an intoxicating invitation to strip yourself of the resentful weight you carry through life. That’s a reminder that we all need from time to time.

Don’t Spill Water is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rob Quo leads the conversation with his vintage psych-pop single, ‘Talkin’ Bout the Truth’.

Posted on 8 July 2021

London-based Singer-songwriter and emissary of soul, Rob Quo, has released his EP, Let It Spin, which captures his vintage-inclined style at its most accordant and psychedelic.

If you can imagine what it would sound like if the Zombies covered ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, you’ll get an idea of the hazily sticky-sweet vibe Rob Quo orchestrated with the lead single; Talkin’ Bout the Truth.

The EP marks the singer-songwriter’s transition away from folk and blues and into the realm of experimental aural eclecticism. With an LP in the works, due for release in 2022, the old school crooner is well worth a spot on your radar.

Talkin’ Bout the Truth is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Follow Rob Quo via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a kaleidoscopic trip with singer-songwriter Louie Miles’ latest ethereal indie psych-pop hit, ‘City Living’.

Posted on 6 July 2021

‘City Living’ is the latest ethereal lo-fi psych-pop track from up and coming independent singer-songwriter Louie Miles. With tinges of 60s psych-pop, the same arcanely evocative air as artists such as Mazzy Star and Elliot Smith, it’s a blissfully kaleidoscopic hit from start to finish.

Between the mellow accordance of the guitars and the choral vocals, you will find an overarching sense of detachment that comes via the lyrics that allow you to resonate with the sense of directionless and cityscape detachment.

Louie Miles’ single, City Living, is now available to stream on YouTube. Follow him on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lee Smythe raises a smile with ‘It’s Me’

Posted on 25 June 2021

How to describe Lee Smythe; well, if there’s a word somewhere specifically for that  anachronistic blend of quirky indie vibe perfection and total mainstream pop hit, then that would be a starting point to jump off.

‘It’s Me’, the follow-up to recent EP ‘King Of Cups’, is exactly that – something indescribably great that doesn’t quite fit into any pigeonhole you might have set aside for it. In the same vein as artists like the Urban Voodoo Machine, The Great Malarky, or the Jim Jones Revue, Smythe seems to straddle stylistic boundaries without ever really even noticing they’re there – part old-time London pub sing-along, part indie-pop cool, part alt-jazz musicality.

There’s touches of Daniel Powter, Jamie Cullum, and Harry Connick Jr. in here, but all with a mainstream pop take, and some cute-as-hell little vocal asides-to-camera; it’s just catchy as hell cool-as-fuck indie-pop awesomeness, and it’s absolutely grin-inducing.

Perfection in 4 minutes 12 seconds.

Check out Lee Smythe on Spotify and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Take an Avant-Garde Psych Rock Trip with Chase Hagerman’s single, ‘Scarlet, Crimson, Purple and Blue’

Posted on 19 June 2021

‘The Rainbow Opus’ is the ground-breaking debut album from the up and coming, classically trained psych-rock artist and producer Chase Hagerman. Through each single, the Californian artist brings kaleidoscopic colour, yet, ‘Scarlet Crimson, Purple, and Blue’ is irrefutably the best introduction to Hagerman’s eccentric post-punk-tinged style.

Starting with a cutting and angular intro that wouldn’t be out of place on a Legendary Pink Dots single, the entrancing feat of psych-rock smoothly shifts into a sonic smorgasbord of avant-garde psych-pop, post-punk, 70s electronica. By mixing light accordant tones with harsh fuzzy synth notes, immersing yourself in Scarlet, Crimson, Purple, and Blue is as close as you will get to falling into a rabbit hole aurally.

The Rainbow Opus is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Television Of Cruelty go out of this world with ‘The Winchcombe Meteorite’

Posted on 18 June 2021

Eclectic is a word that gets overused in music reviews, but there are few that fit The Television Of Cruelty better; unexpected, often eerie and unsettling, ‘The Winchecombe Meteorite’ is a narrative tale telling the story of a big chunk of space debris which landed on the driveway of a house smack in the middle of Suburban England in February 2021, amongst the lockdown of the Coronavirus pandemic and the echoing divisions of Brexit and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Musically, there’s a mixture of folk, prog, and out and out rock; guitars, yes, and drums, but also flutes and a melodica. It sounds a little like New Model Army back in their ‘Vengeance’ and ‘Thunder and Consolation’ perfection heyday, mixed with ‘Space Oddity’-era Bowie and dashes of Pink Floyd and Yes. It’s gentle, poetic, storytelling folk-prog that’s a perfect introduction to the ToC’s new album ‘England’s Wyrding’. Stellar (sorry).

Check out ‘The Winchcombe Meteorite’ on Soundcloud; follow the Television of Cruelty on Facebook and Twitter.

Review by Alex Holmes

Edi Aztec has made Dusty Springfield’s ‘Spooky’ even more psychedelic than before

Posted on 9 June 2021

24-year-old Greek guitarist, songwriter and producer, Edi Aztec showed his virtuosic stripes in his latest single, Spooky, featuring Sofia Hole. Reworking a classic and rekindling the same magic is a rarity, but this Dusty Springfield cover is just as indulgent as the original.

The Brighton-based artist’s cover carries the same mesmeric marks as Dusty Springfield’s original, but with the faster tempo and even more kalaedoscopic psych elements worked into the sultrily iconic single, he well and truly made Spooky his own.

If Spooky gives you a newfound infatuation with Edi Aztec’s ability to add finesse to the already flawless, you will want him on your radar for his upcoming album release.

Spooky is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

California’s most profound alternative artist Zpextre has released his spacey indie psych-pop earworm, Save it for the Kids.

Posted on 4 June 2021

Hit play on Oakland, California-based alternative artist, Zpextre’s latest single, Save it for the Kids and end the self-obsessive cycle of naval-gazing.

Save it for the Kids is an infectiously feel-good track that serves the awakening reminder that the world is bigger than you’ll ever know, but no matter how small you feel, you still have a part to play. Rather than sending you down an existential hole while imparting that wisdom, Zpextre laced the indie psych-pop earworm with plenty of funk and soulfully distorted grooves.

Zpextre may always run unapologetically with his eccentricity but the commercial potential of his sound never takes a hit. Even with avant-garde defiance of constraint and ideas of aural perfection, the single that was produced by Kool Kojak has all the marks of a summer high-vibe playlist staple.

Here’s what Zpextre had to say about the single:

“The innocence of a child allows them to discover themselves both physically and mentally. It is paramount to the development of love, compassion and humanity. For, in the end, humanity made this world. We have to save this innocence; we have to leave this world better than we found it. Save it for the Kids!”

Save it for the Kids is now available via SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple music.

Connect with Zpextre via Facebook or Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andy Blecher has released his multidecade-spanning folk single, ‘One’.

Posted on 31 May 2021

Indie pop-rock artist Andy Blecher has worn his Gordon Lightfoot influence on his tonal sleeve in his latest single, One. The single spans across genres and decades to bring you a timelessly enamouring soundscape filled with raw affable emotion.

The lo-fi yet chorally charming folk single pays lyrical old to the storytelling style of folk from the ’30s and 40s while instrumentally, the single will psychedelically send you back to the 70s with the kaleidoscopic melodies and nuances of surf-pop carried in the acoustic guitar progressions.

Reminiscences may be plentiful in One, but Andy Blecher didn’t fail to establish himself as an authentic radio-ready artist.

One is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast