Browsing Tag

Sam Fender

Alley Eyes Mainlined Digital Exhaustion Through Stadium-Sized Indie Euphoria in ‘Punisher’

Posted on 6 June 2026

Alley Eyes are unrivalled when it comes to sticky-sweet supersonic indie hooks, and yes, that includes Sam Fender. In their latest single, Punisher, the band launch their own adrenalized-to-the-nines philosophical inquiry, digging into how nihilism has become the crux of the collective psyche, as our overstimulated minds try to keep pace with relentless stimuli, propaganda, and the digital pointlessness of modernity.

Born in the band’s home studio, Punisher captures the isolation-craving desire to escape it all while still turning that tension into a release built for live rooms. The chorus lands like a cathartic rupture, transforming modern dread into the kind of alternative anthem that feels engineered to open a set and detonate the room before anyone has time to brace themselves.

With sharp enough songwriting chops to slice their way to the top of the indie charts, the sheer force of the vocals sugars the serious swagger of the stadium-ready instrumentals. Alley Eyes are a rare band whose talent translates into pure euphoria-laced adrenaline, turning frustration, exhaustion, and existential static into something dangerously playable.

Punisher is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘All I Want’ by Freebozzy Carried Stadium-Sized Tenderness Through Indie Rock Euphony

Posted on 9 September 2025

If you fused Sam Fender with Elliott Smith, Mumford and Sons and Slowdive, you’d be left with the same paradoxical blister of euphoric heartbreak that bursts in Freebozzy’s latest single, All I Want. After gentle angular guitar notes lull you into the quiescence of the opening, Freebozzy tears the stillness apart with full-bodied choruses that crawl behind your ribcage, catch in your throat, and surge conflicting emotions into your veins.

There’s a melancholic heft behind the proclamation of “it’s you that I want, nothing else”, where the diehard vulnerability bleeds through the radio-ready polish, as though the recognition of not holding the cards is tangled with the surrender of giving everything you had to the admiration of another. The textures and timbres shift like tides, euphoric and stirring where they need to be, tender and unguarded in all the rest.

Behind the moniker Freebozzy is Freeborn Eguabor, a multidisciplinary artist whose foundations in science and public health contrast the raw self-expression found in his songwriting. After discovering his passion for writing in 2016, he refined his craft into a form of musical medicine, channelling themes of hope, healing, and human connection. Already championed by BBC Introducing, All I Want solidifies Freebozzy’s place within indie by offering a track that balances lyrical vulnerability with stadium-sized energy.

All I Want is now available on all major streaming platforms – including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Noah Nordman Constructed an Indie Pop Rock ‘Paradise’ with His Latest Raw Revelation of a Release

Posted on 1 April 2025

Noah Nordman perceptibly shares melodic DNA with Sam Fender, but within his sound lies far more than sonic assimilation; he delivers stridence twined seamlessly with indie sensibility. His latest single, ‘Paradise’, is cultivatedly twee, presenting Nordman as an artist who wears both his heart and his digressions openly on his guitar strings and soaring vocal lines.

As the rhythm section steadily feeds the track’s pulse, all peaks and valleys emerge courtesy of Nordman’s elastic vocal range, contracting and extending to flood the track with endless nuance. This melodic confession bursts with blistering emotion, subverting the stereotypical tranquillity of summery indie-pop-rock into an intimate canvas that vibrantly colours Nordman’s vulnerability and candour.

Based in Indianapolis, Nordman made his initial impact through the 2022 release of his debut, two-part album, SHIPWRECKED!. Following live performances across breweries and distilleries, he transformed his ambition into reality by diving headfirst into home production. With ‘Paradise’—the first of multiple planned 2025 releases—his powerful, clean vocals align effortlessly with impactful lyricism that blends indie-pop immediacy with singer-songwriter introspection.

Nordman’s music invites listeners into a world where emotional sincerity bursts free from indie-pop convention. ‘Paradise’ confidently positions him as an artist unafraid to colour outside the lines, providing listeners with a melodic outpouring as authentic as it is unforgettable.

‘Paradise’ is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Caught in the Current: The Manor Born Push Against the Tide in ‘Catch Up’

Posted on 24 March 2025

With their debut single, ‘Catch Up’, Tucson’s The Manor Born cement their stake in the indie rock soil with a release that thrums with urgency, yet never forgets to carry the melody. The verses pulse with pent-up tension, simmering beneath euphonic layers of saturation until the chorus tears through with cathartic clarity—each note a release valve for the emotional pressure that precedes it.

There’s a lo-fi warmth in the production that refuses to disguise itself as something it isn’t. It holds back from slickness and opts instead for truth—proving pretence, polish, and posturing have no place when the aim is to reach people, not impress them. Every line lands with weight, held together by panoramic progressions that refuse to sit still, and guitar tones as iridescent as the potential behind this project.

For anyone whose playlists are lined with Sam Fender or bands that know how to channel introspection without losing drive, ‘Catch Up’ won’t just resonate—it’ll leave a dent. The Manor Born understand how to translate emotional turbulence into something solid, tangible, and wildly listenable. The lyrics don’t beg for understanding—they offer it, through the universal disorientation that settles in when we try to find sense and self in a world always in flux.

There’s no promise of ease in their sound, but there is affirmation. And with this calibre of expression, The Manor Born have set a tone worth following.

Stream Catch Up on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The country rock rapture arrived through The Whiskey State’s latest single, Where I Need to Be

Posted on 14 March 2024

In the valleys of Hampshire, The Whiskey State, comprising Tom Stride and Jordan Tate, has distilled a sound that resonates with the soul of country and the riotous heart of rock. Their latest single, “Where I Need to Be,” is a testament to their journey from college companions to creators of exhilaratingly sticky-sweet euphoria.

Imagine extracting the quintessence of The Manic Street Preachers, Bruce Springsteen, and Sam Fender, then blending it into a musical elixir. The result? A flavour profile as affecting as “Where I Need to Be,” a song that pays homage to the sanctity of country surrounds. It’s a track that stirs the soul so profoundly, that you might find yourself questioning if any roots-reverent rock track has ever touched it quite like this before.

The song encapsulates tender homecoming yearning through the guitar chords that wrap you in nirvana and endlessly ensnaring vocal hooks which make it impossible not to want to make The Whiskey State your sonic poison of choice. The songwriting prowess of the duo is as evident as their ability to catapult listeners into the soulful aura of their music.

Few things feel better than returning to whatever constitutes home, but this track comes a close second. With their debut EP “Welcome to…”, The Whiskey State not only showcases their distinctive blend of country and rock influences but also cements their place as one of the most captivating country-influenced rock duos in the Uk and beyond..

Stream the official music video for Where I Need to Be via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Welsh Singer-Songwriter, Samuel Evanson, changed the indie anthem game with ‘She Was Blind’

Posted on 5 March 2024

Samuel Evanson’s sophomore single, ‘She Was Blind’, is an intricate weave of sharp instrumental hooks and indie rock melodies that echo the infectious energy of The Vaccines. Yet, Evanson carves his own niche with a vocal performance that is both evocatively charged and endlessly affecting. His voice, rich in vibrato, effortlessly traverses a wide range, carrying the weight of heavy emotion with a finesse that is as haunting as it is exhilarating.

The track is more than just a wounded love song; it’s a raw, emotional outpouring that rages with a fervour akin to Sam Fender’s passionate narratives. His ability to convey deep-seated emotion while maintaining a distinct sonic signature is a clear sign Samuel Evanson has everything it takes to cut through the noise and climb the charts.

As a prelude to his upcoming debut LP, We Are Meant to Break the Rules, which is due for release in June 2024, ‘She Was Blind’ is a tantalising glimpse into Evanson’s artistic soul which was born in the heart of Denbighshire and honed in the vibrant music scene of Liverpool. Evanson’s journey resonates through every note of this emotionally charged anthem.

Watch the official music video for She Was Blind via YouTube or add the single to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s FOURA.M mainlined livewire energy into their alt-rock debut, Bombers

Posted on 11 August 2023

With a scuzzed-up and brashy guitar intro that will throw you right back to At the Drive-In’s moment of glory when their live performance of One-Armed Scissor on Conan became a global phenomenon, the intro to the debut track, Bombers, from FOURA.M, will capture your attention in an equally as visceral way.

Marketing themselves as ‘Dad Rock straight outta London’ scarcely does the frenetic fourpiece justice. Their influences reminisce with alt 90s and 00s tones, but nothing about Bombers feels remotely dated; the evocative pulls of the Foo Fighters-esque melodies and touches of Royal Blood in the production sealed FOURA.M a place amongst the other acts who are giving rock a fighting chance of surviving the Gen Z obsession with electronica.

If you see as much potential in FOURA.M as we do after bearing witness to their strong debut, keep your eyes peeled for their live tour dates around London.

Bombers hit the airwaves on July 28; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skinny G Radio showed trauma the door in his euphoric indie-pop anthem, Pain, Go!

Posted on 9 June 2023

Fans of The Airborne Toxic Event, Sam Fender and Mark Ronson will want to grab themselves a slice of the latest single, Pain, Go! from the indietronic pop innovator, Skinny G Radio.

In contrast to the high-energy production, which rivals the euphonic records under the deft touch of Jon Bellion, the lyrical themes tread through the darker waters of our deeply personal relationships with trauma.

Anyone who has lived through it will know the fear of not being able to recognise themselves without it, as much as they want to show it the door for the final time. The Connecticut-born and raised songwriter, producer and performer, with his John Mayer-ESQUE songwriting chops, paid euphoric homage to that conflicting experience while orchestrating the ultimate indie pop earworm you can turn to time after time for the solace of the stabbing synth lines, soul-soaked vocal harmonies and layers of funk wrapping around the pop hooks to alchemise the perfect aural remedy for ennui.

Pain, Go! will be available to stream from June 9th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast