Browsing Tag

R.E.M

Giant Killers delivered fatalistically sweet indie jangle pop blows in their alt-90s time capsule, Around the Blocks

Songs for the Small Places by Giant Killers

Tracks originally written and recorded in 1995 by Brighton’s Giant Killers when they were signed to MCA Records have finally reached the airwaves. The standout indie jangle pop single, Around the Blocks, from their forthcoming LP, is an authentically nostalgic dream. With hints of Coffee and TV within the R.E.M.-esque college radio rock production, which sees the choruses endlessly ascend and the verses pull you in deeper through the affectionately sharp hooks, Around the Blocks is a tonic for the melancholic soul.

With a frenetic closing sonic chapter which echoes the palpitating pacing of the hit Brimful of Asha, Giant Killers clearly know how to make an ever-lasting impression with their sound, which doesn’t go as far as sticky-sweet; there’s far too much indie rock renegade grit within their compassionately confrontational lyricism.

With their ‘songs for the small places’ LP, Giant Killers aren’t only delivering melodic salvation to the ennui-inclined. £2 of every sale of the LP will be donated to Campaign Against Living Miserably, a charity dedicated to saving lives through suicide prevention. Given the gravitas of Around the Blocks, which will see your soul sweep higher than the transcendentally tight melodies, you shouldn’t need any additional incentive to partake in the nostalgically euphonic bliss. But it’s incredible to see an artist not solely skating by on the signals of their virtue. Giant Killers are putting momentum behind real tangible change.

Hear Around the Blocks on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Todd Michael Chapman’s latest melodic rock hit, Mesmerized, is enlivened through heart-on-riff soul appeal.

Romance isn’t dead; it was raucously revived through Todd Michael Chapman’s latest single, Mesmerized, which gives all the heart-in-throat electricity of Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing while channelling a fervid authenticity that stays true to the singer-songwriter’s rustbelt inspired melodic rock edge.

The confessional lyricism narrated through the strident vocal lines that will stir your soul as the bluesy rock hooks feed infectious appeal in the sublimely produced record ensured that the New York-born and-raised raconteur delivered a timeless hit that will resonate through the ages. With a touch of R.E.M.’s college radio rock nostalgic appeal laced with Chapman’s ability to make the old feel brand new, Mesmerized will leave you exactly what it says on the tin.

After hearing it once, I know it will be a sonic landscape I return to time and time again to be enlivened by the uninhibited heart-on-riff soul appeal.

Mesmerized was officially released on January 5th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Steady Owl melancholically howled into the cosmos with his orchestrally elevated alt-90s hit, MOONDOG

If anyone has what it takes to reignite the mainstream momentum of indie, it is the melodic fire starter Steady Owl with their debut album, They Are All Bastards Except Us, which is due for release on October 20.

As an appetiser, the alt-indie revivalist revealed the single, MOONDOG, which pays a mellifluously fitting ode to the icons of the 90s Britpop era. The orchestrally elevated melodicism echoes the legacies of Mansun and the Manics while the cosmically compelling single drips in Transatlantic magnetism with the striking reminiscences to the more melancholic work of R.E.M.

It feels as though the entire alt-90s aural ecosystem underpins this gravity-defying release, yet at the same time, the superlative song crafter conjured something completely new to render the hearts of all indie rock nostalgists raw. Lyrically, it will throw you right back to when Pearl Jam broke your heart for the first time with their single, Black, while the cosmos is torn through by the stunning angular guitars, which know which evocative impulses to strike with every pitch and pace-perfected progression.

MOONDOG was officially released on September 14; stream it on Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Groovy Shirt Club chiselled a modern edge into rock n roll nostalgia with ‘Electric Flowers’

With Groovy Shirt Club on the scene, no one can claim ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’. Their latest single, Electric Flowers, chiselled a modern edge into a vintage sound, captured through a live euphonically melodic performance.

The vocals in Electric Flowers are enough to give you the Chris Isaak chills, and elements of the psych originators (the Beatles, obviously) can also be noted in the kaleidoscopic soul that spills across the entire sonic landscape that you will want to visit time and time again to affirm that rock n roll isn’t dead, it’s still alive and kicking on the underground. There’s also an undeniable touch of the college radio rock sound that R.E.M. defined with their creamy chords and ruggedly sugared harmonies.

Electric Flowers is available to Stream on Spotify.

Join the Groovy Shirt Club gang on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jimmy Nebula has unleashed his indie psych pop serenade, Take It All

If the Stone Roses hailed from LA instead of weathering the grim up North UK weather, their indie hits would have been as euphonic on the ear as the Cali-residing artist, songwriter and producer Jimmy Nebula’s latest single, Take It All.

Just one of the singles to feature on the forthcoming LP due for release this Spring, Take It All is tinged with psychedelically sunny heat to warm the blisters of melancholy that pop in the same vein as Joy Division’s in the soul stirringly pure release, which also carries a touch of the Pixies and R.E.M.

Beyond any reminiscences, Take It All is a triumph in its own melodic right; through Nebula’s ability to meld light and dark, soul-stirring and heart-tearing feels. If emotion doesn’t flood to the surface while you’re listening to Take It All, you may want to check if you still have a pulse.

Take It All is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Country hooks up with 70s cosmic pop in Marcus Liuzzi’s latest single, 2 Night Stand

Country meets 70s cosmic pop in the Massachusetts-hailing singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Liuzzi’s latest single, 2 Night Stand.

The deeply candid and narrative track spins the whiskey-soaked tale of a hook-up that left the hook firmly embedded itself far beyond the hungover sunrise. If there is any definitive proof that the loss of the object of our lust is as crushing as the loss of love, it is this humbly honest track. It wears its heart on the shimmering guitar progressions, Americana-influenced basslines, psychedelically warm keys, and the occasional orchestral sing motif.

There are hints of R.E.M. in the vocals that rest atop the country twang and influence from ELO, Bowie and the Beatles. Only an insanely talented artist could pull that off in such an endearing fashion. It is safe to say that we are pretty hooked.

You can get down with a 2 Night Stand for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fendahlene – High and Low and Back Again: Alchemically Evocative Alt Indie Post Punk

With an intro which carries the same aural weight as a quiescently morose melody from Nils Frahm, Alt Indie trailblazers Fendahlene’s single kicks off “High and Low and Back Again” with a teasing start before settling into an intricately masterful feat of Indie Power Pop.

Any fans of the National, R.E.M., Bon Iver, Arcade Fire and Interpol will definitely want to pay attention to the band’s latest release. There’s no replicating that Alt 90s sound, Fendahlene didn’t have to, the Australian-based artist has been crafting alchemically evocative tracks since their inception in 1994.

With the cuttingly angular Post Punk guitar tones weaving around the resolving vocals, High and Low and Back Again unfolded as an unforgettably soul-filling stylistic Indie hit. We’re already stoked to hear what is next.

You can check out High and Low and Back Again for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

There will be plenty more to come from the band in 2020 and beyond. Keep up to date with the artist’s latest news and releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast