Browsing Tag

radiohead

Roderick Jaynes take us to ‘The Bridge’ with his latest indie-folk single.

Posted on 30 May 2021
https://soundcloud.com/roderick-jaynes

San Francisco’s rising singer-songwriter Roderick Jaynes is set to release his most versatile single to date, The Bridge. With a grungy interlude that will make any fans of Dinosaur Jr prick up their ears, The Bridge is an indie chamber folk-pop track that keeps on giving.

As the progressive single picks up momentum and discord, the nuancedly psychedelic soundscape shunts you further down the rabbit hole as the descending piano keys and apathy-ringing chord progressions transgress into a form of aural gravity.

Any fans of Elliott Smith, Nick Drake Radiohead or Phoebe Bridgers won’t want to miss out on this evocatively haunting, stylistically artful release.

The Bridge is due for release on May 28th; you’ll be able to check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nightbird Casino has released their hotly-anticipated sweetly psychotropic earworm, ‘The Town’.

Posted on 23 April 2021

If you’ve found yourself wondering if you will ever hear an alternative track that holds any authenticity ever again, find yourselves pleasantly surprised with the sweetly psychotropic earworm, ‘The Town’, by art-rock Oakland-residing duo, Nightbird Casino.

With elements of artfully composed jazz, grunge, space rock, psych-pop and classical all melting in the alchemically intoxicating pot, you will practically feel the rabbit hole opening beneath you as you listen to the descending cadence of the jazzy improv instrumentals.

The existentialist air to The Town paired with the playfully avant-garde approach to production allows the track to become the ‘everything is burning down around me, and I’m totally fine’ meme, personified. And something tells me that if Bukowski was still around, he would have Nightbird Casino on his playlists; they share the same downtrodden but subversively charismatic appeal.

On this track, you’ll hear dual harmonic vocals from the founding members, James Moore and Don Shepherd. Instrumentally, you’ll hear session musician Nicolas Ocampo (clarinets, flute, saxophone, oboe, bassoon), James on bass and ondes martenot and Don on guitars, piano, organ, and drums.

With their sophomore album, ‘Rusian Carpet‘, due for release this summer, any fans of Radiohead, Sonic Youth or Mr Bungle will want Nightbird Casino on their radar.

The Town officially released on April 23rd; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Wade wants us all to ‘Dance Again’

Posted on 20 April 2021
Brandon Wade

Sometimes, the choice is between doing what’s easy, or doing what’s right. That’s the story behind Brandon Wade’s ‘Dance Again’, a gentle, uplifting acoustic ballad carried by Brandon’s sublime picked guitar parts and stunning vocal. There’s a touch of ‘The Bends’ era Radiohead about it, if Radiohead hadn’t started playing around with all the electronics, some Kevin Garrett, maybe a helping of James Bay, Michael Rosenberg/Passenger, or Hozier, too – think airy, space-filled contemporary acoustic guitar and a vocal delivery that flirts at times with falsetto, but never gives anything but exquisite delicacy.

Brandon Wade wants to write music that inspires people, and to be a ‘voice for those too afraid to speak or who think their words have little meaning’. With ‘Dance Again’, he’s produced a beautiful single about love, loss, and learning that really does have a voice all of its own.

You can check out Dance Again here.

Follow Brandon Wade on Instagram.

 

Review by Alex Holmes

Christian Wannerwall – Be Free: Artfully Meditative Alt-Indie Folk

Posted on 21 February 2021

With solitude as a muse, Christian Wannerwall delves deeper into the human psyche than most artists when orchestrating his consolingly empathetic takes on indie alt-folk. Within the Gothenburg-based singer-songwriter’s lyricism, you’ll pull out meditative wisdom which allows you to connect to a less contrived and artificial reality than the one we’re sold on a daily basis.

Within the melodic complexity of his artfully textured indie folk single ‘Be Free’, a cathartic simplicity resounds. As Christian Wannerwall’s evocatively piercing vocals, which share the same poignant sting as the likes of Elliott Smith and Thom Yorke, meet the neo-classic piano-led melodies, you’ll succumb to the notion that freedom is a state of mind and find that the weight of existential dread has already lifted.

Be Free is now available to stream via Spotify. For your sanity’s sake, hit play.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brian Perrone – Be This Way: Soul-Satingly Powerful Indie Folk Pop

Posted on 10 January 2021

If it has been a while since you’ve heard a truly authentic voice, fall into Detroit singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Brian Perrone’s, moody alt-indie folk sophomore release, ‘Be This Way’.

If you could imagine the vocal stylings of Morrisey, Peter Murphy, Chris Isaacs and Elvis all melding over a piano-led art-rock instrumental arrangement, you’ll get an idea of what is in store when you hit play on this evocatively potent release.

The slight vocal vibrato ensures that the single resonates with as much raw emotion as it does with resolving aural comfort while the atypical progressions will leave you utterly transfixed. Quite honestly, Be This Way is up there with Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ and Cat Stevens’ ‘Wild World’ in terms of tracks which can leave you in a catatonic stupor with the sheer soul-driven power.

You can check out Be This Way for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Superflush deliver a bitter-sweet romantic kick with their Alt Indie debut single ‘Answer’

Posted on 19 December 2020

Californian Alt-Indie trio Superflush have made their 2020 debut with the stunningly hazy Shoegaze single ‘Answer’, expect plenty more than just another My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive derivative as Superflush weave their way right across the tonal palette.

With a progressive feel to the ode to the Alt 90s sound, the dreamy melodies synergise with the lucid vocals which come with a bitter-sweet romantic kick. Everyone from fans of Radiohead to fans of Porcupine Tree will want to jump on this authentically crafted, served straight from the soul feat of Alt-Indie. As far as debuts go, they don’t come much more promising than this.

You can check out Answer for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sky Changes – New Shoes: An Instantly Engorging Melting Pot of Art Rock, Dream Pop and Shoegaze

Posted on 13 July 2020

From the first angular notes in the latest track “New Shoes” from Chicago Alt-Rock outfit Sky Changes, we were hooked. Their unique amalgamation of Art Rock, Dream Pop and Indie Shoegaze will leave fans of Radiohead and Slowdive alike enamoured.

Not only did the dreamy soundscape allow Sky Changes to assert their distinction and ingenuity on the airwaves. New Shoes is also an instantly engorging melodic masterpiece where every evolution will leave you with an even more potent dose of awe.

With every progression, the tight yet chorally accordant instrumentals seem to gain intricacy and amass alchemy while the hazily-blissful vocals remain a beguilingly soft constant. The muted vocals magnetically draw you deeper into the track to extract the meaning behind the New Shoes metaphor.

It isn’t every day we hear such a fresh revival of Alt 90s sounds. We’d recommend getting Sky Changes on your radar sooner than later.

You can check out Sky Changes’ latest single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud or Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Treva and the Mojos release relevantly single “In the Ditch”

Posted on 13 June 2020

With Italian roots and currently in majestic Melbourne, Australia. You will want to turn up Treva and the Mojos real loud. The distorted sound at the beginning reminds me of a Radiohead song and then the vocals hit right in the stomach.

The band created this indie pop track back in 2012 and released it only now to inspire as it felt relevant and real during these times of COVD-19.

This is a band forging their own path and doing it their way. “In the Ditch” is all about getting ourselves out of that ditch and struggling to make it happen due to all the ugliness out there. I’m so inspired by this track as it’s so real. Millions have hidden away and might never emerge again as they are too scared to come out. It’s so important not to lose your mind right now and stay strong for whoever you care about in the world. Keeping your eyes open and looking to the stars for inspiration is the only way to survive and for our souls to be saved. This is a band with a massive future and their realness is for all to see and their music so stunningly crafted with love.

Stream this soulful band right here on their Spotify page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

8udDha bl0od – W3Y3D: Progressively Dynamic Alt Rock

Posted on 17 May 2020
8udDha bl0od

W3Y3D is one of the most mesmerizingly intricate manifestations of 8udDha bl0od’s aural ingenuity we’ve heard so far. Their ability to accordantly merge such a dynamic array of nuances into one soundscape will never fail to astound us.

W3Y3D starts off with quiescent Neo-Classic-infused Alt Rock prelude before the mellifluous keys fall back in the soundscape and are overtaken by stronger elements of Grunge, Alt Folk, and Blues. As W3Y3D progresses, it shifts into a smoky feat of Rock n Roll with colourful tinges of psychedelia before closing as a stunning offering of Art Rock.

You’ll need to wait a little longer before you can listen to W3Y3D. In the meantime, head over to SoundCloud where you can catch their earlier releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

We all have a ‘’Fighting Chance’’ thanks to Brighton’s 8udDha bl0od

Posted on 15 May 2020
https://soundcloud.com/william-orpen/fighting-chance/s-Ip0lUTKPLeY

I have never listened to a band like 8udDha before. Ever. They sound completely different on each song which is such a terrific feat, there should be an award for it. 

Released on 4th May 2020, ‘’Fighting Chance’’ is a journey song, best played on a train journey or road trip in the car. I feel very at ease listening to the song and it shows a completely different sound from the band. 

I almost get a Radiohead type of vibe and have just realized that ‘8udDha bl0od’ would be the perfect opening act for a gig. The melody is catchy, hauntingly sad but not depressing enough to turn off. 

Let’s see what comes next from the fantastic band from Brighton in the rest of 2020 and beyond.They are forging their own path and it’s enjoyable to see the journey.

Hear more from ‘8udDha bl0od’ on their SoundCloud page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen