Browsing Tag

Soul Rock

LUCID LIP soulfully speak on disillusion in their alt-rock single, Who Would Notice?

Posted on 30 July 2022
LUCID LIP

New York’s smoothest and synth-heavy alt-rock outfit, LUCID LIP, has unveiled their latest heartbreakingly smoky single, Who Would Notice? which taps into the same sense of disillusioned isolation that everyone with any degree of self-awareness has battled with lately.

The lyric, “What the hell does anyone want anyway?”, efficaciously captures the frustration of the irrationality of most of the people you encounter. While “I’m not here to sell my soul, but who would notice?” pulls you into the darkened ennui of depression’s grips. Metaphorically, of course.

Far more remarkably, nothing about the single resonates as self-piteous; there’s a comforting sense that the candour was used as a means of solidarity with the listener.

Who Would Notice? left the same evocative imprint as Incubus did on me back in my slightly less jaded teen years, with a touch of Faith No More’s The Real Thing (I don’t make Mike Patton references lightly).

Who Would Notice? will officially release on July 29th. Check it out on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget the ‘new normal’ embrace Firebug’s nostalgia-rich rock single, Change

Posted on 15 June 2022

Given that nothing is a given except the unrelenting presence of change, Firebug’s latest rock single on the very subject of it is perhaps one of the most universally resonant tracks you can drift into.

The Joshua Tree-hailing artist left enough ambiguity within the lyrics to let you implant your own meaning and laments of the ever-influx facets of existence that can turn nostalgia into mourning and grief. Yet, through Juliette Tworsey’s haunting-in-spite-of-stridence vocals and the dusty blues-rock guitars, Firebug was in complete control of your emotional impulses as you listen to the plaintively painted in sepia single.

Every time we hear Firebug, we’re even more assured that they are amongst the few artists worth following in the time we’ve found ourselves within. In gorgeously subversive fashion, Change shows us how naive we were to ever anticipate ‘the new normal’.

Listen to Firebug’s latest album, No Return, for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marco Pastoré Cammarino delivered a smoky plaintive soul serenade with his latest single, Empty Bus

Posted on 4 June 2022

Remorse may be the overarching emotion within the Italian, Lisbon-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Marco Pastoré Cammarino’s latest single, Empty Bus; sonically, it progressively drifts across the tonal spectrum to stand as a testament to the artist’s aptitude for melodic expression.

After a plaintively sparse intro that suckers you into the melancholy, the smoky jazz horns, Nile Rodger-Esque guitar chops and seductive keys make for an aphrodisiacal platform for Marco Pastoré Cammarino’s just as knee-weakening vocal timbre.

Towards the outro, Marco Pastoré Cammarino’s rock influences collide with the soundscape in an entirely unexpected, indulgently appreciated style. In short, Empty Bus is a single that never stops giving the gravitas.

Empty Bus is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Flying Oceans lit up the Manchester music scene with their soul-stirring funk-rock fusion, Circles

Posted on 26 May 2022
Flying Oceans

The Manchester music scene became infinitely richer for the latest release from the funk-rock pioneers, Flying Oceans. If you can imagine what it would have sounded like if Incubus abstracted their plaintiveness and implanted unbridled soul, you will get an idea of the stirring alchemy that Circles delivered.

With the guitars consistently transitioning between roots-deep funk chops and jangly Marr-Esque rhythm and the seductively low basslines bringing just as much gravitas as Mr Bungle’s, Circles has all the makings of a playlist staple for anyone that wants to find a slice of aural solace in our disjointing times where it’s all but impossible to find rhyme or reason away from the airwaves.

Hear Flying Oceans’ latest single, Circles, here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Malo Daniels gave indie Americana pop-rock a soul injection with ‘Waiting for Roses’

Posted on 15 February 2022

After the successful launch of his debut single, Down, Out and Up, in 2022, the singer-songwriter, Malo Daniels, proved that he was worthy of a place on listeners’ radars with the launch of his debut album, Waiting for Roses, which fuses pop, soul, rock and Americana – to swoon-worthy effect.

With a team of Nashville musicians behind him and acclaimed producer, Dallas Dudley, polishing the album, Waiting for Roses is a triumph of romanticism, sun-soaked talent and powerfully mature songwriting. The title single is as hooky as Faith by George Michael, as indulgently indie as Kurt Vile and as soulfully compelling as Prince’s sweetest serenades. With the warm over-driven guitars greeting the horn stabs and Daniels’ honeyed vocal timbre, you’d be hard-pressed finding a track that takes you higher than this unadulterated feat of romanticism and longingly panoramic expression.

Waiting for Roses is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

HEwas give us a new, bang up-to-date take on a classic with ‘2 + 2 = ?’

Posted on 7 May 2021

Ok, so first things first; yes, this is a cover of Bob Seger’s classic anti-war song, from Seger’s ‘Ramblin, Gamblin Man’ album in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war and as anti-war sentiment in the US was growing. It’s interesting to see how much, and yet how little, has changed in the intervening 53 years – anti-war feelings still run high, race-related civil rights issues still grace the news seemingly every day, and LGBT rights are still abused and debated daily.

Into that mix comes HEwas, singer, songwriter, activist and LGBT campaigner. Already a ‘million stream’ artist with his first two releases, ‘Lemon’ and ‘WHOLEthing’, which featured Grammy nominee Afroman. Now, with ‘2 + 2 = ?’, HEwas has taken that old Seger classic, with updated instrumentation but no change to the feel and groove of the original, making a perfect homage meets timely update to a pertinent and completely relevant song, to produce an utterly modern take on a song that’s as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.

You can hear ‘2 + 2 = ?’, and the rest of HEwas’ releases, on Spotify, and follow on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Andy John Jones has released their fiery feat of soul-rock ‘Closer’

Posted on 23 January 2021
Andy John Jones

If you’re sick of vapid rock n roll, melt into the ardent grooves of Andy John Jones’ latest funk-infused soul-rock serenade, ‘Closer’.

By channelling 70s-era Stones vibes while laying their affable soul down around bluesy hooks, Closer is the ultimate testament to the Birmingham-born artist’s talent when it comes to creating indulgent explorations of romantic frustration to timelessly enamouring tones.

The production may be smooth, but that didn’t stop plenty of lyrical grit entering the track which became an exposition of the danger of sex traps which ensnare us and keep us trapped in toxic dynamics. It’s tragically rare to hear ‘real talk’ when it comes to sex within lyricism, here’s to hoping that Andy John Jones starts a trend.

Closer is due for official release on January 22nd, you can check it out by heading over to their official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

M.O.S. 73 Project pays ode to 80s soul with their guitar-driven serenade ‘Don’t Speak to Me’

Posted on 16 January 2021

After a successful 2020 debut, Italian guitarist and compositor under the moniker of M.O.S. 73 Project released their third soul-infused indie rock single ‘Don’t Speak to Me’. The track title may set you up for confrontation and dejection, but it contrasts the amorous soundscape which carries the same passion as tracks by Seal, Beck and Billy Ocean.

With elements of old school rock and soul spilling from fresh talent, you’ll be simultaneously hit with nostalgia and awe at the virtuosic modernistic prowess which seems so effortlessly exuded by M.O.S. 73 Project.

If you don’t feel something when you hit play, you may be dead from the soul down.

You can check out M.O.S. 73 Project’s latest release via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ysabel Bain has released their soulfully commanding RnB single ‘Control’ (Feat. Afro Ori)

Posted on 25 November 2020
https://soundcloud.com/ysabelbain/control-1/s-6ZI12st25eG

‘Control’ commences with a beautifully delicate and twisting legato guitar line, at once both soulful and almost Country, and with a flourish that wouldn’t feel out of place in the ‘Young Guns’ soundtrack, before Ysabel Bain’s exquisite, tender-yet-smoky voice carries us into the soul of the first verse, rising with the cadence of the drums to a funky, soulful track. Characterised by the syncopated off-beat guitar and deep funk bass, ‘Control’ grooves and sashays its way out of the speakers, rising and falling between up-tempo R&B sexiness and that slower, perfectly flourished guitar-and-voice pairing.

And Bain really DOES have a voice; sonorous, mellow yet powerful, with the warmth of Gospel and Soul yet the raunchy edge of rock. Soaring and potent yet touching and beguiling all at once, ‘Control’ is the perfect taster for Ysabel Bain’s debut EP.

Filmed and recorded live at The Clarendon Centre, Ysabel’s “We Are” EP is available from the end of November. ‘Control’ is available on Soundcloud or via Ysabel’s Facebook page.

Review by Alex Holmes

Prepare for your soul to ascend with Zach Robinson’s ardently eclectic single “Change”

Posted on 17 October 2020

With Zach Robinson’s aural inspirations ranging from Rush to The Police to Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Billy Joel, you’ll get a serious hit of soulful nostalgia when you hit play on their standout single “Change” on their 2020 EP “Evolve”.

It kicks off with smooth seductive popping grooves before the Alt Rock elements start to dominate the soundscape and replace the funky ska rhythms with ardent licks of Rock which add an overwhelming amount of intensity to the track.

Change is a stunning release. The energy. The urgency. The passion. The talent. Each aspect combines to leave you feeling like your own soul has transcended when you get to the outro of this inherently stylistic mix.

You can check out Zach Robinson’s single out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast