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Diehard Romantics Will Meet Their Match in Kaleb Cohen’s Bluesy Indie-Folk Release, Our Eyes Met on Friday

Posted on 26 July 2024

Kaleb Cohen is set to become the second biggest Cohen in folk after the release of his bluesy indie single, Our Eyes Met on Friday.

After opening with an introspectively tender extended prelude, inviting listeners into a defining moment that captures the essence of a soul finally finding its home the song unfolds through increments of upbeat folk elements reminiscent of the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons which surge through the ingenuity within the genre-bending energy.

This release showcases Kaleb’s profound ability to make loungey piano keys bleed pure raw emotion, complemented by his seraphically timbered vocals that masterfully blend the gruff with the smooth. The continuous sonic reinventions throughout the track play havoc with rhythmic expectations, yet each new arrangement is as euphonic as the last, exhibiting the devilishly playful innovation of an artist who could easily skate by on his larynx of gold but chooses instead to go the extra aural mile to beguile.

Kaleb Cohen, an indie-folk-rock prodigy from Connecticut who writes, records, and self-produces his music is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Television Production. As an omen of the illustrious path he is destined to pave, his first-ever show in New Haven was a sell-out with fans coming as far as Pennsylvania to witness one of Indie Folk’s most promising names etch their legacy.

Our Eyes Met on Friday will be officially released on July 26; stream the single on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nsilo – Peterbilt: A Truck-Sized Tale of Unreckonable Grit

Posted on 25 July 2024

Nsilo’s latest single, Peterbilt, revved onto the hip-hop scene with a force as unstoppable as the eponymous truck it salutes. The narrative arc in the artist and producer’s hit may seem unconventional, yet the juggernaut of the road became a powerful parable as it becomes the centre of the track that positions Nsilo as a fearlessly untouchable contender in the annals of old-school hip-hop.

When Nsilo waxes lyrical, it’s impossible not to feel the force of his bars that have been honed by his love for 90s hip-hop greats and classic poetry alike. Yet, Peterbilt exhibits the up-and-coming artist as so much more than just an adept lyricist with a razor-sharp ability to find the perfect cadence to make every bar bounce with maximum impact.

The track’s production is a masterclass in balancing dark, layered textures with lighter elements. Waves of caustic reverb slice through the beat, resulting in an atmosphere which haunts as it uplifts and exhilarates. The meticulous synthesis attests that Nsilo knows exactly when to cast shadows and when to let the light in, mirroring the complexities of his storytelling which reflects on the values of blue-collar work, ensuring every hit is infused with authenticity and grit.

Stream Peterbilt on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Changing Tymz eviscerated anxiety by bringing the hard rock hammer down in ‘The Fear is Gone’

Posted on 20 July 2024
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDpOE5glmM&si=1YFe7soOmWljtAqM

With their seminal single, The Fear is Gone, the breakthrough powerhouse, Changing Tymz delivered a sonic behemoth that firmly established them within the modern hard rock pantheon.

The track ensues from distortion-heavy chugging guitar riffs; an immediate clarion call for anyone who seeks sanctuary within the volition of hard rock. From there, a Metallica-esque aura of power and intensity takes hold of the auditory assault that is cast in introspective gold, encasing the most affecting elements of hard rock and metal.

Meticulous yet menacing, the rhythmically tight and explosive transitions that would leave any hard-rock fan broadsided become the perfect vessel for the deep-penetrating lyricism. By the time the song reaches its tumultuous outro, it has already awakened an indomitable spirit within.

The efficacious melodic hooks work in synergy with the haunting tinges of dark gothic glamour which manifests through the Evanescence-esque vocal stylings, affirming that few hard rock outfits can overpower the juggernautical entity which is Changing Tymz.

With their debut LP, Finish the Race, riling the airwaves, it’s time the world tuned into their cultivated, conscious command.

The Fear is Gone was officially released on July 5th; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

khokkosh. incited an industrial art-pop riot with ‘pelicaning’

Posted on 16 July 2024

Exhibiting the artistic freedom of a mind that knows no creative constraint, the 20-year-old dark electro-pop producer and visual artist khokkosh. used her seminal single, ‘pelicaning’, prised from her sophomore two-track release, ‘pelicaning./a duck, a bear, and I.’ to conjure a macabrely avant-garde aural installation that haunts the middle ground of Poppy and Billie Eilish.

By mainlining the harsh elements of industrial into a hypnotically warped earworm which sonically mimics the effects of a trance spiral, the Indian artist found her place at the vanguard of the art pop revolution.  The self-written, produced, mixed, and mastered computer-adjacent, thematically visceral synthesis of caustic beats and scathing synths explores the self-invented phenomenon of pelicaning; the act of caging words inside you until they are forced to erupt.

With this two-track release feeding into khokkosh.’s merciless agenda of piercing through the veil of inhibition, regardless of how ugly we may appear to others we expose our true unfettered autonomy, the revolutionary isn’t just one to watch, her fearless authenticity makes her an artist to admire and emulate.

Stream the official music video for pelicaning, which premiered on July 8th on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tact rendered ‘Catharsis’ in their neo-classic homage to human resilience

Posted on 15 July 2024

Tact, led by the visionary Franco Tartaglia, has earned a revered reputation for kindling their compositions with heightened emotion since their 2009 formation. With their latest jazz-infused neo-classic soundtrack, Catharsis, they reached the pinnacle of evocative poignancy while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.

Ensuing from a diaphanously ornate feat of cultivated ambience, the instrumental arrangement, as suggested by its name, leads the listener over the brink of emotional release through a strikingly thematic crescendo of jazz-instilled rhythmic complexity.

Leading up to the crescendo, the delicate touch of minor key piano notes hit deep, stirring the senses before the addition of fluid, finger-picked classical guitars injects palpable warmth into the piece. Wordlessly, the piece reflects the often-overlooked beauty within humanity; our ability to physically, psychologically, and spiritually endure atrocity in the tumultuous human experience and take it within our stride.

Catharsis stands as a vibrant testament to the band’s journey and evolution; recorded at Temple Studios and accompanied by a film crafted by Kenneth Scicluna and Klara Vassallo, the release is the ultimate homage to inner strength and dignity.

Stream the official video for Catharsis on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Vice Club is a red-hot new flame in the alt-rock fire with their seminal single, Call It What You Want

Posted on 7 July 2024

From the underbelly of New York’s gritty music scene, the NYC icons of innovative immorality, Vice Club have unleashed ‘Call It What You Want’; a track that’s drenched in the raw, visceral energy of grunge, infused with the kinetic seduction of Deftones’ breakdowns, and tinged with the raw emotionality of Silverchair and Thrice.

Rather than play it safe with the vocal performance, Vice Club transgressed expectation with the chameleonic execution by experimenting with pseudo-trap cadences and pop hooks around the gruff deliverances of ennui, creating an alchemically dynamic track with swathes of cross-over appeal. The soaring, intuitively technical guitar solo assures that even rock traditionalists can take something from the evocatively heightened anthem.

Every motif and progression is a testament to Vice Club’s determination to become the architects of a brand-new alt-rock wave and ensure their sound goes untainted by anyone else’s touch. Their DIY philosophy extended from the writing into the recording and production; swathing every aspect in their unique soundprint that will undoubtedly leave an army of alt music fans kneeling at their hedonic altar.

Call It What You Want was officially released on May 31; stream the single on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Explore the cosmos with the indie folk-punk Starchild, Charlie Diamond, and his latest single, Magnetic Love Atomic Romance

Posted on 29 June 2024

Charlie Diamond, the self-professed alien on Earth, has shifted sonic form to transmit his latest single, Magnetic Love Atomic Romance.

The rugged and raw folk elements from his previous releases are enmeshed within the release which blends the anthemically augmented aura and massive vocal hooks of The Courteeners with the subversive folk-punk edge of The Violent Femmes. The spacey Bowie-esque middle-eight adds another dynamic to the expansive release. The juxtaposition of the ornate violin strings and cosmic textures allows you to get lost in transmission as you’re prised away from the grip of gravity.

Rather than diminishing the raucous high energy of the release, which signifies that Charlie Diamond is stridently coming into his own, the gritty DIY aesthetic of Magnetic Love Atomic Romance immerses you deeper into the expressively exhilarant release which sees the singer-songwriter stridently wearing his heart on his guitar strings.

If the unfiltered amorous candour of Neutral Milk Hotel never fails to evoke affectionate emotions, prepare to fill your soul with Magnetic Love Atomic Romance which attests to love’s ability to abstract monotony from our mortal coil and liberate us into a higher form of consciousness.

The official music video for Magnetic Love Atomic Romance will premiere on YouTube on June 29th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Riverman opened a doorway to 60s psychedelic pop summers with his alt-indie single, Somnambulism

Posted on 26 June 2024

Once you grab an oar with Riverman’s seminal single, Somnambulism, taken from his Summer Up / Summer Down LP, you’ll be reluctant to ever put it down. Riverman, the moniker of the Winston-Salem, NC-residing singer-songwriter Steve Hedrick, has earned his place in the pantheon of indie greats with this epoch-traversing genre-fluid installation of nostalgic euphony.

With sticky-sweet harmonies that pull at the heartstrings as fervently as Elliott Smith’s dreamy timbres juxtaposed with an exuberant indie-pop production which interweaves Johnny Marr-esque jangle-pop guitars and opens a doorway to 60s psychedelic pop summers all the while embracing brash, garage rock-infused licks, Somnambulism, which introduces Riverman as a ‘soporific spectre’ is a release that will send serotonin firing through your synapses.

The metaphorical exposition of sleepwalking is a masterclass in nostalgic synthesising. Riverman effortlessly infuses motifs from a broad sonic spectrum to pour a cocktail of aural summer haze that will quench your thirst for fresh indie sounds. It’s a lush escape that’s impossible to resist.

Stream Somnambulism on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ludvik Langholm orchestrated an installation of anachronistically opulent alt indie reverie with ‘A Parody’

Posted on 25 June 2024

For their latest release, A Parody, the eclectic Leeds-based sound sculptor, Ludvik Langholm, emerged as a polymath producer and vividly histrionic narrator of burning desire to give fans of Roar, Vunderbar and Sir Chloe a perennial playlist staple.

The latest baroquely alt-indie single is a parallel universe and a few centuries away from the preceding release, Empty Parking Lot, which painted an intimate portrayal of a psyche torn between reaching and retreating in tender lo-fi brushstrokes. The Jane Austen-esque lyricism captures intense yearning as the intentional abstractions make room for personal reflection; the score gives the listener the freedom to implant their own melodramatic coveting affections into the superlative release.

Langholm tears through space and time by allowing A Parody to open on an installation of old-school Hollywood filmic reverie with their chanteuse-esque vocal lines lighting up the production until the lush layers of instrumentation deliver swathes of anachronistic opulence, which is perfectly balanced and moderately modernised with their signature introspective alt-indie warmth filled melodies that we’ll never tire of hearing.

A Parody was officially released on June 20; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Remilekun delivered another divine experience with the live recording of ‘Miracles, Signs and Wonders’

Posted on 23 June 2024

Remilekun’s live performance of her latest single, Miracles, Signs and Wonders, is nothing short of a transcendent experience; the studio recordings of her performances are impressive, but the live renditions elevate her music to a whole other sanctifying level.

Joined by a band whose talent knows no restraint that infuses 80s pop rock aesthetics into gospel, and supported by the uplifting Sound of Gospel Choir, the single reaches the epitome of an inspiring release. If you were waiting for a divine intervention, here it is.

Unlike your ordinary sonic deliverances of euphoria, Miracles, Signs and Wonders stand out by grounding its feel-good essence in its lyrics. Listen once, and you’ll find yourself basking in the power of gratitude and opening your mind to the possibility of miracles awaiting you. The pure, unbridled soul within the release serves as a reminder that embracing a rose-tinted view of the world can lead to personal reality blossoming.

Recorded live in the Netherlands, this single leaves you with soulful beats that evoke joy, hope, and love. The performance’s authenticity and arcanely unfiltered energy resonate profoundly, enabling listeners to forge a genuine connection to the music. Remilekun’s celestial timbres, cradled effortlessly by the choir, make this live version a must-listen for gospel fans or anyone who simply needs a reminder that the world is an illusion filtered through perception.

Watch the official music video for Miracles, Signs and Wonders, which was recorded live in the Netherlands on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast