Browsing Tag

The 1975

Max LaMont captured the vibe of Hollywood in the summer with his latest single, The Last Day of June

LA alternative artist, Max LaMont, didn’t hang around bringing the summer vibes this year; his latest single, The Last Day of June, which traverses bitter-sweet teen romance tropes through an alt-bubble gum pop tonal palette, debuted on March 31.

Fans of The 1975 and the Weeknd won’t want to miss out on the intoxicating 80s RnB pop vibes that are superlatively synthesised in the intoxicating hit, which teases what is to come from his forthcoming EP.

The magnetically shy artist’s charisma is undoubtedly a major part of his appeal; everything he turns his talents to is raw and definitively the real sincere deal. Beyond his relatability lies his classically trained virtuosic flair; he is trained in operatic and musical theatre; as a result, he’s been in a myriad of live productions, including Oklahoma, La Boheme and MASS.

Stream The Last Day of June on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Marnelakis laid bitter-sweet affection intimately bare in his pop hit, I Can’t

Greek singer-songwriter, Mike Marnelakis, released the most superlatively bitter-sweet love song with his latest pop hit, I Can’t – definitively proving that the line of light and dark appears within us all, every emotion, and every phenomenon.

Starting with an acoustically strummed and stripped-back intro, the prelude and first verse laid affection down with intimately bare candour. His loaded with emotion vocals harmonically drift into the chorally polished tones, allowing you to drink in every ounce of apathy that inspired the carresively pensive single.

After the proclamation that there is no truth without pain, the progressively seamless single builds into an 80s jangle pop hit that will swell the hearts of The 1975 fans.

I Can’t is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

One More Weekend will meet you at the crossroads in their latest alt-rock hit, Opportunity

Melbourne’s premier alt-rock outfit, One More Weekend, has unveiled their latest chill-inducing single, Opportunity. The opening pop-rock vocals are thick with insular malaise but there is plenty of sanctity in the jangle pop guitars that counter the ennui before the progressive track bursts into a fervid feat of riff-driven rock that will reel you in, overdriven hook, line, and sinker.

The only thing more visceral than the emotion within Opportunity, which offers an olive branch of resonance to the disenfranchised, is the distinction in their sound. The luminary outfit pays homage to Birds of Tokyo, Foo Fighters and The 1975 before stratospherically blasting into a distinctively refreshing pop-rock amalgam.

After performing hundreds of shows across Australia and racking up their streaming stats to achieve almost viral status, One More Weekend is one to watch.

Opportunity will officially release on January 19th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tontine releases new alt-pop single “If I Could”

Tontine is a musician based in South East London. Their focus is incredibly diverse, and being an independent artist allows him to explore different ideas and expand their creative portfolio pretty much without restrictions. Tontine’s upcoming release happens to be their debut EP, which stands out as a good indication of what it means to make music with no compromise but still keeping the audience’s flow at the core of its vision. People who enjoy the sound of artists as diverse as The 1975, Francis Moon, London Grammar, Bonobo and Massive Attack should definitely check this out. The UK-based artist is onto great things, and this release is a huge accomplishment and an outstanding debut in its own right.

Find out more about Tontine, and do not miss out on the artist’s debut EP, which is going to be available on some of the best streaming services on the web from December 9th, 2022.

Freak out with the anthemically resonant single, Trauma, from the Atlanta indie powerhouse, yin.

Discussing inter-generational trauma no longer has to be confined to the therapy sessions you can’t afford, and posting statuses online that will result in a cascade of patronising care reacts. Atlanta’s most relatable alt-indie three-piece, yin, is here to make sure of it with their latest single, Trauma.

The infectiously maniacal high energy lets you ride the rare peaks that intersect the depth of the isolated lows. Strap yourselves in for the most anthemic indie jangle pop guitars you’ve ever heard as they sail through the dynamism that brings Take on Me to mind with the eccentrically soaring climactic choruses that leave the 1975 and Bleachers in the archetypal dirt.

In the style of Yung Blud, yin pair euphonic sonics with dark lyrics that make no bones about alluding to the dark places we drift into and all of the even darker thoughts that keep us company during the bouts of anxious madness that late-stage capitalism has left us to linger in. With their debut LP, Someone Who Isn’t Me, set to release on November 22nd, all eyes and ears should be on yin right now.

“There’s something really wonderful and terrible about being human in the modern age. We’re all struggling with the mere fact that waking up and convincing ourselves that we don’t hate each other is normal, and there’s always this emotional and spiritual push to try and love and cherish the little that we have to call our own. We just want to be honest about all of the sad parts as well as the really amazing happy parts.”

Trauma is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Expectation meets self-preservation in Aleandro Valente’s blissfully tropic indie pop hit, Not O.K.

The up-and-coming NYC-residing pop artist Aleandro Valente tore off his façade in spectacular fashion in his single, Not O.K. to expose the duality of his determination of being what others perceive him to be and staying true to himself.

The angular indie jangle pop guitars around the sun-bleached tropic RnB pop keys create the perfect platform for the high dynamic stretches of Aleandro Valente’s smooth vocal timbre that pulls you right into the battle of self-preservation and will.

It is Ariana Grande meets the 1975 in this vulnerable earworm that will see the Italian artist and his candour go far. It will undoubtedly be resonant for plenty of his listeners that feel the expectation to amplify their true nature to tick boxes that we never agreed to fill in the first place.

Not O.K. is now available to stream along with the debut album it was taken from, Bite on a Lemon, on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Soup and Cigarettes sweetened the sound of summer in their single, ‘Flower Dress’.

Here to make sure that 80s indie pop retains modernity is the Bristol, UK four-piece, Soup and Cigarettes, with their new album, UK DUTY PAID. The standout single, Flower Dress, makes a melodic indie ode to summer with its jangly kaleidoscopically colourful guitars, dreamy vocals, and sticky-sweet synths.

1987 had Sally Cinnamon; in 2022, we have Flower Dress, which effervesces around the lust for amorous life that magnifies in the heat of the summer. Fans of the 1975, PEACE and Jaws will also want to consider Soup and Cigarettes as a playlist staple band.

Check out UK DUTY PAID, which was officially released on August 19th here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Revel in the lovesick euphoria in Analog Beach’s synthpop-meets-indie-rock single, See You Tonight

80s synthpop grooves against angular indie-rock in the NJ-based up-and-coming duo, Analog Beach’s latest convergence of the past and future, See You Tonight. The vocal lines in the chorus easily become the sharpest of hooks, and that’s before you even get to the instrumentals that put white-hot guitar solos against colourful retro synths.

Fans of The Midnight, Wolf Club, and FM-84 will easily make a playlist staple out of this sweet affectionate hit, which doesn’t sugar coat affection. Instead, Analog Beach thrives while narrating just how emotionally crippling infatuation can be. Not all artists succeed in combining reality and romanticism, yet notably, Analog beach is anything but your average artist experimenting with tones and coming up with catchy lyrics. There’s substance by the smorgasbord in this euphorically bright hit that is sure to see the duo go far in 2022 and beyond.

The radio edit of See You Tonight is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bad Weather delivers an anthemic alt-pop reminder with ‘Caring Is Cool’.

Perth’s most promising alt-pop artist, Bad Weather, has released his stickiest earworm to date, Caring is Cool, which merges anthemic nuances of power-pop, pop-punk, 80s pop and contemporary indie-pop in the same vein as M83 and The 1975.

The sonic eclecticism is one thing, but Bad Weather (AKA Callum Robertson) has plenty more in his aural arsenal than just crumbling genre constraints with his sound. His ambition to bring the best out in people through his music rather than attempting to emanate the cool indie rock stereotype will leave you instantly enamoured. I can only imagine how hard the choruses of sticky-sweet high vibes, overdriven guitars and galvanising synths hit when hearing them live.

Caring is Cool is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cherry Vynil has released their optimism-imparting indie rock single, ‘Lights’.

Cape Town’s most promising indie pop-rock outfit Cherry Vynil released their latest single, Lights, which explores the meaning of life through shimmering melodies, vibrantly uplifting vocals and an anthemic level of energy.

With a sound that sits somewhere in between Bastille’s and the 1975, they’re seamlessly in line with the jangle-pop trend, but with their optimism-spilling lyricism, they well and truly set themselves apart on the airwaves.

Lights officially released on June 25th; you can check it out on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast