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Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Etherdene – Summer Dreams: An Indietronica Ode to Seasonal Longing

Etherdene’s latest single, ‘Summer Dreams‘, is a masterstroke in indietronica, blending the magnetic allure of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with the Smiths’ jangle-pop melodies, all while infusing a shoegaze and retro-futuristic electronica reminiscent of Tiny Ghosts.

Since her solo debut in June 2023, Etherdene has been an indomitable force in the music industry. Each release has solidified her place in the hearts of listeners and playlist curators. Her music, an affectingly arresting cocktail of empowering messages and evocative soundscapes, resonates deeply on every conceivable level.

‘Summer Dreams’, released in the heart of February, initially strikes as a paradoxical choice. However, the track’s lyrical yearning for the warmth and sticky-sweet hues of summer, set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest’s rainy winters, unifies through the affirmation that we’re all in it together, and now we have the ultimate soundtrack to our unified longing.

We didn’t think there was much scope for improvement from Etherdene’s previous single, You Are My World, but the complexities within Summer Dreams that reveal a new reason to fall head over heels for the single with every listen prove that Etherdene is poised to become an indietronica firebrand in 2024.

Summer Dreams was officially released on February 9th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The gloves are off in Sarah Shafey’s latest indie-electro hit, Competitor

Fans of Shiny Toy Guns, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and She Wants Revenge will find just as many reasons to get addicted to the heavy production in the Toronto-based singer-songwriter, producer and mixing engineer Sarah Shafey’s latest single, Competitor.

The gloves are officially off in the stylishly fierce indie-electro hit, which is a harbinger of even more visceral things to come from her upcoming fourth album, Blackbox Universe, which is due for release in September 2022. With her tendency to meld genres outside of the electronica spectrum, there’s an immersive tapestry of original layers to her sound, which not only lends itself to the originality, but also to the synapses that will fire upon registering the unadulterated expression that knows very little, if anything of assimilation.

Competitor released in May 2022. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wynona Bleach deliver distortedly euphoric feel-good Alt-Pop with ‘Glimmer’

Hailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Wynona Bleach have, under a previous title (R51), already had the kind of impact alt-rock bands dream of, releasing two critically acclaimed EPs and playing the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds, supporting Feeder and Alice In Chains, performing on the BBC’s Introducing anniversary show at Belfast’s Ulster Hall, and embarking on a 12-date headline Russian tour before adopting their new moniker and decamping to an abandoned warehouse in central Portugal to record their debut album under the production oversight of The Coral’s Bill Ryder-Jones.

Lead single ‘Glimmer’ is a gorgeous sliver of distorted feel-good alt-pop, all searing-yet-bouncy guitar and thumping bass ‘n’ drums stunningly capped by Melyssa Shannon’s killer vocal take. There’s a touch of the Hayley Williams there, for sure, along with some Smashing Pumpkins, a smattering of Wolf Alice or the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, and maybe even the poppy harmonies of Haim in places, with a definite blast of old school swirling, swooping indie like Garbage, Curve or Swervedriver added into the melting pot for an extra measure of cool.

Shannon’s delivery is delicious, alternately fragile and raucous, merging effortlessly with guitarist Jonny Woods’ backing vocals, poppy and dreamy on the verses before the belter of a stadium-anthem chorus kicks ass with its gang-vocal shoutiness, the twin-pronged guitar of Woods and Aaron Black delivering both a crunching, overdriven power-chord belter and an insanely catchy single-note melody over the crashing tightness of Carl Gilmore and Matty Killen’s rhythm section.

Wynona Bleach’s debut album ‘Moonsoake’ is released next month, and available to pre-order now; the self-filmed video for ‘Glimmer’ can be viewed from Wynona Bleach’s website, or via Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes