Browsing Tag

The Beatles

Rosso Rosso echoed the paradox of euphoria and ennui through their tender Tour De Force, Niamh

The Brooklyn-based fourpiece, Rosso Rosso’s discography could only be described as mercurially eclectic. When they’re not extending the legacy of NY punk, they’re enchanting the airwaves with their sticky-sweet evocations of melodic classic rock and conjuring aurally affecting alchemy in the same vein of the Kinks, Big Star, and ELO.

With their latest release, Niamh, the band that has been honing its sound as a collective since 2022, debuted a release that will tie your heartstrings in knots while allowing your soul to transcend with the endlessly ascending melodies that will be a hit with fans of the Beatles, Grandaddy and Elliott Smith alike.

With multi-layered vocal harmonies which give the Beach Boys a run for their money and lyricism that proves how deeply Rosso Rosso delves into the phenomena they explore, Niamh is a tender Tour De Force that will pull you back and forth between the brink of tears and the cusp of euphoria.

With the promise of more releases to follow in 2024, Rosso Rosso is more than worth a spot on your radar. Even if they can manipulate your emotions as efficaciously as a Patrick Bateman-esque narcissist.

Niamh is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The troubadour of die-hard romanticism, Andy Smythe, struck aural gold once again with ‘Out of My Mind’

Andy Smythe teased the aurally amplified eloquence caged in his forthcoming album, Poetry in Exile, by unveiling the standout single, Out of My Mind, which captures the toil of finding ‘the one’ in a sprawling metropolis.

The psychedelic and sporadically spacy pop hit, which oscillates in the middle ground between the Beatles, Bowie, and Buckley, brings brand-new meaning to an endeavour being a labour of love while allowing you to fall head over heels for the London-based troubadour of die-hard romanticism.

The kaleidoscopic melodies vortex around the horn stabs, which bring an infectious and enrapturing bluesy stridency to the release, ensuring that Out of My Mind will never be far from your own psyche after you have succumbed to the rhythmic magnetism. The stunningly rendered release is the ultimate testament to Andy Smythe’s talents in prising sentiments from his soul and visualising them through his tenor harmonies and lush arrangements that will effortlessly become your new crush.

The official music video for Out of My Mind was officially released on January 26. Stream it on YouTube and follow Andy Smythe on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with the launch of his upcoming LP, which is poised for a March 1st release.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

How Rock n Roll Legacy Bands Are Bringing in the Future with AI and AR

If the Download 2024 line-up drama which has left rock and metal boomers crying because they won’t see Metallica or Iron Maiden headlining again has taught us anything, it is that rock fans aren’t too partial to change. But that hasn’t gotten in the way of two of the biggest legacy bands bringing in the future by embracing modernity with rapidly evolving AI and AR technology.

If you have been on any social media platform this week, you are probably already aware of the controversy, condemnation and clamouring praise falling around the AI-assisted new release from The Beatles, but The Rolling Stones using Augmented Reality (AR) might have slipped you by. On this page, we’ll cover all that and more to prove that the existential threat of AI may be ever-looming, but for now, it is helping to facilitate creativity and bring bigger and more immersive experiences to fans.

How AI Brought Back the Beatles

With a superlatively unbeatable track record of number 1 hits and a legacy of being one of the most influential bands in history, it would be nothing short of a miracle if any contemporary artist or band beat the Beatles in that regard in today’s music industry. Especially as the mainstream has divided into endless streams of creativity music fans can use to float their sonic boats.

That didn’t stop some from bemoaning The Beatles for using AI to polish a demo which was recorded 45 years ago. One writer for the digital rag, UnHerd, even went as far as to say that the release of ‘Now and Then is a sign of our cultural doom loop’. Josiah Gogarty attempted to be damning in his exposition of the captivatingly haunting single and only succeeded in making it seem infinitely more appealing by describing it as “less a song than a séance, calling forth the warbling and jangling of the dead”.

Was it lost on Gogarty that AI did little more than clean up Lennon’s vocals from a rough demo by separating the background noise? There was nothing artificial about the distinctive rock n roll soul that rang through the release. In fact, it reaffirmed why the world fell head over psychedelic heels for the Beatles when they shot to fame in the early ’60s. Furthermore, McCartney has already confirmed Now and Then will be the final Beatles song; I think we can let the Beatles have one final chart-topper for all they’ve done for the music industry. Even if you aren’t overly fond of their music, which I can’t claim I am, the Beatles still paved the way for and gave inspiration to everyone from Nirvana to My Bloody Valentine to The Smashing Pumpkins to Bowie to Radiohead to Oasis.

The Digitalisation of the Rolling Stones

Seeing the Rolling Stones in a stadium or an arena may take a massive chunk out of your pay packet with most of their standard ticket prices falling above the £100 mark. Thanks to Augmented Reality, their loyal fans can bring them into their living room for a fraction of the cost, all thanks to Snapchat’s AR Studio. Which has been pulling out all the stops for the promotion of the band’s new LP, Hackney Diamonds. How much of a success it will be is yet to be seen. I can’t imagine there is much cross-over on the Rolling Stones fans and Snapchat users’ Venn diagram. Regardless, it is a great opportunity for Stones fans across the globe to be part of this seminal event.

The band’s creative team has worked closely with Snapchat’s AR studio in Paris to unlock an AR experience which will project 3D bitmoji avatars of the band. If you feel inclined, you can get up and dance next to them or ‘snap up’ some digital band tees, because what would a gig be without merch?

This new marketing venture won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and if it isn’t to your taste, that’s fine – they’re hitting the road in 2024, you can catch them then. But don’t let your technological cynicism get in the way of celebrating this landmark move which can allow Stones fans who won’t be able to attend a show in person.

The Dandy Warhols are Psyched Over the Potential of AI

The Dandy Warhols, a band with a rich history in the psychedelic rock scene, expressed excitement about the potential of AI in the realm of art and music in a recent interview with the Dallas Observer. This enthusiasm stems from their long-standing practice of incorporating various tools into their creative process, viewing each technological advancement as a new instrument to enhance their work.

Courtney Taylor-Taylor, the band’s singer-songwriter, likens AI to any other tool that has been invented, suggesting that it should be used to create great work. The band’s latest single, “Summer of Hate,” showcases this embrace of technology with its AI-generated music video, demonstrating the band’s willingness to experiment with new methods of expression.

Despite some concerns about the effects of AI on the recognition of artists’ contributions, The Dandy Warhols remain hopeful about the opportunities AI presents for independent artists to innovate and push the boundaries of their art.

To keep up to date with future evolutions of the music landscape, keep following our blog. For advice on how to keep pace with the music industry in 2024, contact our consultancy team, which can show you the cutting-edge ropes you should be using to keep pushing your career forward.

Article by Amelia Vandergast

Slip into the hazy catharsis of No Lonesome’s Indie-Psych-Folk single, It’s

With tones that will do as much for your nostalgia-seeking soul as songs from The Beatles, The Maccabees, and The Violent Femmes, the debut album, Flowers Recomposing, from the Chicago-hailing alt-folk outfit No Lonesome is a Tour De Vintage Force.

Between the blissful timbres of the harmonies and the serotonin that spills from the foggy with euphoria horn stabs, the standout single on the album, It’s, is the perfect introduction to the ingenuity of No Lonesome, which can be tracked through the distinction in the production that melds the quirky intimacy lo-fi with higher fidelity instrumental recordings.

If you were under any illusion that fresh alchemy can’t be squeezed out of amalgamating folk, 60s psych-pop and indie Americana, the seminally sticky-sweet LP will prove you otherwise as soon as you slip into the hazy catharsis.

The debut album from No Lonesome is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tom Rogers resurrected psych blues in his single, Rise Again

From the first nostalgic note in the debut single, Rise Again, from Tom Rogers, you will bask and revel in the Beatles and the Doors reminiscences and find something brand-new in Rogers’ reggae, blues, folk and psych amalgam.

While the groove-pocketed rhythms take a firm grip of your rhythmic pulses, the kaleidoscopic tones abstract you from the 21st century as the visceral with bluesy soul vocals light a fire under the vintage production.

With Pawala Ariyathilaka on lead guitar, Will Fraser on Drums, Dan Wakeling on bass, and Steve Burholt on keys, Tom Rogers and his backing band delivered a superlative slice of psychedelic blues rock reverence that will allow you to slip back in time and across the Atlantic. They didn’t reinvent the wheel with Rise Again, which carries a flood of second-coming redemption, but the way they gave you a ticket back to the 70s era of blues rock via a route never taken is something to celebrate. If you’ve got the Black Keys and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on your radar, you have room for Tom Rogers on your playlists.

Rise Again was officially released on August 4th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christo Mondavi reversed the laws of gravity with his psychedelically transcendent single, Daisy’s Gone Electric

Christo Mondavi firmly implanted psychedelic soul back into rock n roll with his latest single, Daisy’s Gone Electric; the hazily lofty single brings brand-new and literal meaning to the concept of dancing on the ceiling.

With the colourful melodies and Mondavi’s honeyed harmonies resonating as though they have been pulled into this atmosphere from a far higher plateau, Daisy’s Gone Electric isn’t a single you can slip into; it is a single that instantaneously reverses the laws of gravity while paying homage to the tones popularised by The Doors and The Beatles.

For an extra lick of authenticity, there are also touches of Bowie to the spacey Odyssey-esque progressions and Zappa to the zanily pure vocal and lyrical presence, which proves Mondavi has a soul of solid 60s psych pop gold. Perfection may often be seen as an unattainable ideal, but if anyone can claim to sonically come close, it is Christo Mondavi.

Daisy’s Gone Electric is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Number One Babe Team delivered spiritual salvation in their alt-indie single, The Final Hallelujah

With subversive references to While My Guitar Gently Weeps in the lyrics and a touch of Neil Young to the lightly timbered sentimentality in the vocals, the standout single, The Final Hallelujah, from Number One Babe Team’s debut LP, See You Later, is a euphonic reverie of nostalgia, which more than has its place on contemporary airwaves.

As alluded to by the indie band’s moniker, Number One Babe Team doesn’t take itself too seriously, making their soundscapes, which also incorporate shoegaze-y guitars and touches of Elliott Smith in the songwriting, infinitely sweeter.

If Neutral Milk Hotel honeyed their soundscapes to the nth degree but still maintained the quaint humility, the result wouldn’t be too far removed from the sonic signature scribed by the Salt Lake City premier act, which has become an integral part of the touring circuit since their 2022 debut.

Stream the full LP, which hit the airwaves on June 9, via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

When life gives you lemons, drink James Sebastian’s 70s rock-infused lemonade in Life’s Tasting Good

Proving that there are few things sweeter than sun-kissed optimism and soundscapes which kaleidoscopically pop with the raw energy of 70s rock and soul of 60s pop, James Sebastian put love in the air with his latest single, Life’s Tasting Good.

The wild with zeal vocal lines that will arrest you with the same cuffs of Robert Plant fused with psychedelic pop hues, which paint with the same tonal palette as The Beatles, this horn-infused rock revival revels in the future as rock as much as the past.

It isn’t the first time the UK-based singer-songwriter has appeared on our radar. We weren’t quick to forget his seminal hit, Love is Only Love; Life’s Tasting Good has just as much staying power from the first time it snakes between your synapses with the slickly sensational melodies. It’s far from your average archetypal summer single, but anyone with a soft spot for the eras rock n roll reigned supreme will undoubtedly want to make a staple of it.

Life’s Tasting Good was officially released on the second of June; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Partisan Way gave hope to the hopeless romantics in their indie synth-pop sugar rush, I Know What You’ll Say

It may have been almost two years since we heard Partisan Way, but there was no forgetting the artisanal sonic sugar that emanated from their blissfully affectionate indie-pop hit, Borrow Me.

In 2023, they’re back on the airwaves with their single I Know What You’ll Say, which starts in the middle ground of The Beatles and Elliott Smith before there is a smooth transition into a synth-kissed summer bop, which celebrates the agonising pain of pre-emptive anxiety before a romantic proclamation.

Ultimately, I Know What You’ll Say is a waltz-y indie psych-pop invitation to embrace the beauty of vulnerability. The entire single is a testament to that very beauty; hopeless romantics may even gain some hope by the time the big synth outro comes around, following the honeyed high vocal lines atop the pop instrumentals that meld classic and contemporary songwriting. Wayne Coyne himself couldn’t have hit those notes better.

Just when we thought we couldn’t have any more predilection towards the indie outfit fronted by Dan Tierney, I Know What You’ll Say, in all its polyphonic synthy glory, allowed our soft spot to become infinitely softer under the duress of the unassured soul in the vocals.

Stream I Know What You’ll Say on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeff Livingstone augmented Americana in ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You’

Jeff Livingston

In his latest single, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You, the Cypress, California-hailing folk-rock singer-songwriter, Jeff Livingstone, augmented Americana to pay an ode to quintessential country while giving the roots a kiss of life.

With the rapturous riffs and energy of All You Need is Love by the Beatles against the heart-on-sleeve influence from the icons Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Jerry Garcia, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You is a riot of twangy sentiment-heavy soul that won’t fail to pull you right into its visceral core. With vocal cords that connect with your heartstrings with every harmony, you’re damn right I shed a tear over this stellar feat of virtuosic songwriting.

I don’t whip out the V word for just anyone, but after bringing his extensive vocabulary in music theory and strong musical foundation together in a tapestry of ingenuity, I can’t think of many other contemporary artists worthy of that accolade.

Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You will officially release on April 28. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast