Browsing Tag

UK power pop

downers took us down ‘twenty thousand streets’ in their feat of power pop perfection

After launching their debut single, Messages, earlier this year, downers have released another feat of power pop perfection in the form of their EP, twenty thousand streets. The title single carries the same infectiously melodic punch as Placebo while simultaneously throwing nuances of post-punk and proto-punk down your ears; the earworm will undoubtedly linger.

The UK-based outfit didn’t break the wheel with twenty thousand streets; they perceptibly milked out of it an exhilarated sonic signature that won’t fail to get the adrenaline coursing to the tune of their punk nostalgia rousing energy.

I knew the chances of my jaded soul gelling with an artist under the moniker downers was high. What I failed to anticipate was the sticky sweet vocal affability as the witty lyrics are made larger than life around the rhythms, which any fans of The Buzzcocks will undoubtedly get a buzz from.

twenty thousand streets is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trashy Power Pop Went Nuclear with Continental Lovers’ EP, Dale Arden Vs the World

Articulating thoughts on the UK provocateurs Continental Lovers with any degree of objectivity got shunted out of the realms of possibility with the release of their affably trashy power pop EP, Dale Arden Vs the World.

The dopamine rush is as sweet as the visceral vintage bursts of audiophilic guitars creating a nuclear reaction with the infectiously hooky lyrics. Amplifying the dynamic animation between the six tracks to the nth degree is the sheer vocal stridency that does away with the tired clichés and the banal sense of indifferent pretension that somehow ended up in trend.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Joe Maddox is as intuitively clever with subverting his lyrics for resonance as he is with his guitar solos that bend your mind as much as the strings. As the perfect testament, the concluding single, Dale Arden, unfolds as a raucous whirlwind of empathetic affection for Flash Gordon’s love interest. The celebration of feminine strength, also evident in St. Joan, is enough to make anyone with a functioning soul emotional.

If there was any justice in our clusterfuck music industry, the Dale Arden Vs the World EP would be hot enough in the charts to make Prince Andrew sweat.

Snag it on Bandcamp or add it to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast