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Solo Artist

Jason Graham grunged up blues in his viscerally heightened melodic alt-rock hit, Trust

Posted on 9 February 2023

Tucson, AZ born, New Orleans-based singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Jason Graham added a refreshingly melodic vernacular to grunge with the bluesy standout single, Trust, taken from his LP, Soul for Sale.

With touches of Nine Inch Nails in the sporadically distorted vocals and Godsmack in the viscerally heightened outcries, which hammer home the intensity of the frustration stemming from dishonesty and deception, Trust amplifies the evocative immersivity with every high-gain progression.

The seamlessness of the tonal and vocal transitions stand as a monumental testament to Graham’s songwriting ability, which has already seen him go far in his career. The classic rock outro solo is yet another affirmation of his virtuosic flair that is nestled within his songwriting chops that are discernibly at the core of who he is as an artist.

Stream Trust, with the rest of Jason Graham’s LP, Soul for Sale, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freak of the Sea provided the ultimate fix of pacifistic solace in his alt-indie anti-gun anthem, The Bullet

Posted on 28 January 2023

It is a disillusioning and confusing era for pacifists to be enveloped in; substantial consolation ebbed and flowed from the Avant-Garde-tinged indie single, The Bullet, from Freak of the Sea (Christopher Jacques).

The anti-gun anthem, which lyrically revolves around the resonant reprise of “I’d rather take a bullet than shoot a gun”, is, unfortunately, a necessity given how we’re numbed to the horrors of gun violence through over-exposure to massacre.

While the guitar melodies run in a crystal-clear vein, dark and torrid effects disrupt the quiescence to a disarmingly conceptual effect. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Modest Mouse drifted into the waters of post-punk, you will get an idea of what the Portland, Oregon-based artist triumphantly achieved with The Bullet.

When Jacques isn’t crafting aural comfort, he runs the Dandy Warhols’ recording studio, The Odditorium. He’s worked with everyone from The Shins to The Dandy Warhols to Slash to Cowboy Junkies and countless other icons of alt music. Yet, notably, his associations are one of the least impressive facets about him.

The Bullet will officially release on January 26th; hear it on YouTube. The new EP, Out to Pasture, which The Bullet was taken from, will drop on February 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sound Animal stirs souls with her spiritually awakening experimental release, See No See, Know No Know

Posted on 18 January 2023

Taken from the ambiently spiritual world music album, By Voicelight, the standout single, See No See, Know No Know, from the disarmingly compelling California-hailing artist Sound Animal will awaken senses you never knew you had.

With elements of dreamy synth-pop synthesised around the scintillating Eastern tones that nuancedly appear around Sound Animal’s harbingeringly celestial vocal timbre, the soundscape can comfort the disturbed as much as it can disturb the comfortable. The Clannad-Esque yearning vocal lines atop the rich instrumental tapestry that breaks the monocultural mould are nothing but unforgettable.

Listen to See No See, Know No Know on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Wilkins delivered riff-driven vindication in his latest hard-rock hit, STRANDED

Posted on 3 January 2023

San Diego-hailing guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Mike Wilkins is back on fervid form with his latest hard rock hit, STRANDED, inspired by the cathartic freedom of cutting toxic ties.

It is a sure-fire hit of vindication for anyone who has had to disconnect from negative bonds. For people who need a little extra convincing to step into their own light away from the shadow of insidious others, the face-melting riffs, reminiscent of the ones carved by Glenn Tipton, George Lynch, and Phil Collen, will give you a positive shove forward with the force of a juggernaut.

With hints of 80s hair metal in the riff-driven hit, the choruses are easy to get caught up within, while the monolithic breakdowns crafted by the one-man powerhouse, who has previously worked with Tim Owens (Judas Priest), bind you even more tightly into this breakneck helter-skelter ride through virtuoso-level talent and relatable emotion.

The official video for STRANDED is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Derek Vaden – Eating My Words: Blisteringly Hot Indie Blues Rock

Posted on 31 December 2022

The sex appeal isn’t the only thing that’s visceral in the swaggering alt-rock single, Eating My Words, from Derek Vaden’s 2022 EP, The Recreational Experiment. The Chicago-based musician and songwriter salaciously straddles the line between blues rock and indie to deliver a hard and heavy rhythmic revival; if Velvet Revolver and Muse had an aural lovechild, it would undoubtedly go under the moniker, Derek Vaden.

The winding blues rock increments are overdriven to the nth degree to give the riotous release anthemic appeal, but none of the vintage blues rock tones lost their bluesy bite. If anything, teeth have been sharpened in this confrontationally volatile release, which was written, performed, and recorded by Derek Vaden’s reverently rock n roll hands in his own studio.

Check out Eating My Words on YouTube and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt-rock thespian Lucifers Beard worked his histrionic magic in the conceptual sequel single, Lady Loser

Posted on 18 December 2022

After we rolled with the punches in Lucifers Beard’s single, The Guy with a Black Eye, we’re stoked to sink our teeth into the conceptual follow-up, Lady Loser, which takes place years after the antihero’s skirmish, where the arrogance has subsided to themes of loss, regret, forgiveness, and hope.

Until the outro, the brashy tumultuousness has been dialled back to give way to the crooned vocals that envelop you over the theatrically psychedelic rock opera-Esque score that still emits electrifying energy, but there’s a remorsefulness spilling from the thespian rock arrangement, mastered by Ed Ripley (NOFX, Frank Turner, Goat Girl).

As the song concludes, after the swan song-ish ensemble, we hear Lucifers Beard’s maniacal charisma get a last burst of juggernautical creativity. It is enough to make you desperate for the story to become a trilogy.

Lady Loser will officially release on December 15th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Alt-90s Cinematically Lives and Breathes Through Agent Envy’s Grungy Industrial Rock Single, No Friend

Posted on 9 December 2022

San Diego artist and producer Agent Envy is fresh from the release of her sultrily fierce single, No Friend, which cinematically amalgamates trip-hop, industrial rock, grunge and metal. Under the wide-spanning influence of acts including NIN, Tool, Massive Attack and Deftones, Agent Envy found her own striking sonic aesthetic that is nothing short of iconic in itself.

Any fans of Warpaint and Wolf Alice will want to sink their teeth into this demurely powerful protest against life’s prolific protagonists who guise their usury entitlement as friendship to take what they can, and guilt trip you when they’ve bled you dry of your empathy but still haven’t quite had their fill.

“No Friend is about finally saying, “enough is enough,” and captures the triumph and catharsis of setting a boundary. The track explores a powerful side of my vocal range not previously featured in my earlier songs, along with the deep, sultry vocals that my audience is familiar with.”

No Friend will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from December 9th. Catch in on Spotify & YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tontine elevated UK alt-electro-pop with his dynamically soul-rendered debut EP, ‘I’

Posted on 9 December 2022

Alt-electro-pop artist, Tontine grabbed a pack of matches and set hearts alight with his debut EP, I. For all the diehard romantics out there, come and feel the heat of this evocative triumph of a 3-track release which radiates stylised soul.

The opening single, If I Could, goes in heavy on the exotic euphoria in the uniquely layered single. As the bass oscillates around the reverb-heavy synth lines and soft angular guitar work, the romanticism within Michael Walden’s vocal lines elevates the release to transcendent heights.

In track two, NIFE, Tontine revolutionises and reforms the pop ballad with the ethereal textures, flurries of intricate piano keys and yearning vocals that meld into the blossoming synthetics to prove the beauty in vulnerability. Grief is a deeply personal experience, but the losses mourned in NIFE share a universal resonance.

The concluding single, Only the Once, is a glitchy avant-garde dream-pop lullaby that allows soul to simmer through the complex chord progressions and lyrics, which crave a repetition of an act never destined to become a reprise.

“This is the first of three EPs I’ll be putting out over the next 12 months consisting of music I’ve been working on for a few years now. I want to showcase what I can do as an artist who writes, records, produces, and mixes everything themselves. This first collection of songs is centred around the theme of loss in various forms, and is a taste of bigger things to come.”

Tontine’s debut EP was officially released on December 9th. Catch it on SoundCloud & Spotify.

Follow Tontine on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The alt-rock originator, djamesk13, struck again with his grungy proto-punk single, And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun

Posted on 26 November 2022
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/and-thats-where-it-ends-and-so-it-all-begun

“And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun” is the latest tonally sublime single released by the London-based alt-rock originator djamesk13 (David Kemp).

If Dinosaur Jr veered away from grunge and towards proto-punk and made a pit stop at 90s Britpop to pick up a bit of extra guitar swagger, the sonic result would be in a similar vein to this nostalgically produced hit.

The distortedly and poetically orchestrated single provides a definitive discourse on the nature of our lives which runs through like pre-determined chapters of destiny. Lament it or live it to the max, but that’s the nature of being, captured in the lyrical hooks in this epitomisingly sludgy earworm.

And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun was officially released on November 19th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andrew Curtis disrupted the stagnancy in the rock scene with his viseral-with-fervour alt-rock hit, Unholy Smoke

Posted on 12 November 2022

Running in a similar alt-rock vein to Highly Suspect with added Pixies Trompe le Monde era grit in the melodically brashy guitars that weave through the expertly carved hooks, Andrew Curtis’ latest single, Unholy Smoke, packs a raucous punch. Undeniably, it’s a visceral-with-fervour hard hitter that any staunch rock fan will want colliding with their eardrums.

The UK-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter is also revered in the cinematic world after writing and acting in three feature films. Away from the silver screen, Curtis (AKA Motel Ghost) is working on his debut LP to rectify the contemporary issue of stagnancy in the rock scene. If it contains the thematic energy of Unholy Smoke, it’s set to be a resounding success.

Unholy Smoke dropped on October 30th; check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast