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Alpine Jubilee Inch Closer to the Indie Folk Pop Throne with ‘Fiver on the Favourite’

Posted on 19 March 2025

Alpine Jubilee won us over with their debut, but with Fiver on the Favourite, they well and truly conquered. Folk-tinged indie pop has rarely sounded this expansive, with flourishes tinged with psychedelia and melodies that seem to ascend endlessly. The single instrumentally invites you to a state of transcendence, while the abstract lyricism filters in, almost serving as another instrument, adding texture to the euphonic tonal masterpiece that progressively enthrals with each new nuanced transition.

Born from the creative partnership of brothers Trevor O’Neil and Glenn O’Neil, Alpine Jubilee stretches across continents, with Trevor based in Toowoomba, Queensland, and Glenn in Geneva, Switzerland. Their sound pulls together an eclectic mix of instrumentation, featuring acoustic guitar, violin, trumpet, harmonies, ukulele, mandolin, mando-cello, tin whistle, harmonica, bass, percussion, synthesisers, and even a zither. Their influences range from 80s new wave and darkwave to twee-jangle pop, contemporary nu-folk, and alt-country, and it shows in the depth of their arrangements. Joining them on the track are Flavia O’Neil on trumpet and backing vocals, Nelson O’Neil on drum programming, and Oliver Liang on violin.

If you’re sick of folk artists who bring the same old pale imitations to the table, Fiver on the Favourite is a surefire antidote to monotony.

Fiver on the Favourite is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. For the full experience, watch the official video on YouTube. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Seungmin Jung’s ‘Acadia’ Smokes Out Complacency with Sophisticated Jazz Fluidity

Posted on 16 March 2025

For 12 minutes, Seungmin Jung and his virtuosic ensemble take easy listening jazz and give it a smoky revival with Acadia, a composition that reaches the epitome of fluidity. The time signatures refuse to leave room for complacency, locking listeners into a state of mesmerised anticipation. It’s textural tonal alchemy at its finest—low reverberating basslines create a striking contrast against ascending brass notes and the ornate chimes of piano keys, threading together a soundscape as suave as a tailored suit.

Jung’s journey into jazz began in Seoul, where a spontaneous purchase of a double bass at 17 set the course for his future. Now based in New York, he has studied under some of the biggest names in the scene, including Buster Williams and Ingrid Jensen, earning his master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His career has seen him grace renowned venues from Korea’s Giwon Art Museum to Dizzy’s Jazz Club in New York, and his talent has been recognised with a second-place win at the Hyunsik Kim competition.

Acadia showcases a musician who understands the elegance of timeless jazz while fearlessly pushing its parameters. Jung orchestrates moments of undeniable intrigue, making every shift in tempo feel like a deliberate seduction.

Stream Acadia on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Suite for Claddagh by Conor Churchill featuring Philip Bowen – A Love Letter Cast in Folk Gold

Posted on 15 March 2025

Conor Churchill doesn’t chase reinvention; he understands the weight of tradition and wields it with quiet confidence. Suite for Claddagh is unapologetically Americana to its roots-reverent core, with folk motifs threading an even more timeless touch through its sweeping production. There’s no pretence, no self-indulgence—just razor-sharp songwriting and grandeur born from restraint, allowing every note to breathe.

Philip Bowen’s violin work carves through the track like an autumn wind stirring old memories, lifting Churchill’s introspective storytelling into something cinematic. The rich imagery in the lyrics drives the song forward with the same contemplative solace found in watching water ripple—offering fleeting glimpses into something deeper beneath the surface. It’s a love story, but more than that, it’s an ode to finding meaning in the quiet spaces, the spaces that change and shape us even when we’re not looking.

As a glimpse into his debut album, Brand New Branches, Suite for Claddagh cements Churchill as a songwriter primed for a long-lasting legacy. With a sound that pays homage to the legacies of John Prine and Jason Isbell while staying firmly his own, Churchill captures the melancholy of change and the beauty in embracing it. His debut may be long-awaited, but with songwriting this refined, it’s clear he’s been growing into it all along.

Suite for Claddagh is available now on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

JNDJ Spun Reflections of Liberation into a Riff-Charged Pop Rock Anthem with ‘Mirrors’

Posted on 12 March 2025

JNDJ’s latest single Mirrors throws open the windows to let the light in while ripping through the airwaves with an unmistakable alt-90s edge. The track eases in with a dreamy jangle pop melody before slamming into full riff-charged momentum, intensifying the (literally and figuratively) reflective lyricism. The mix of heavy rock energy and Latin pop spirit adds an anthemic, emotionally raw quality, making every note hit with intention.

With its emancipating, bolstered with lyrical gold, Mirrors is the ultimate pick-me-up, freeing listeners from the toxic ties of negative perception. The bilingual vocals carve another layer into the liberating single, reinforcing its message of resilience and clarity.

For Julissa and Jesse Girardi, music has been a lifelong pursuit—one that led them through the highs of industry success before disillusionment pushed them to seek deeper meaning. After rediscovering their purpose, JNDJ returned with a sound that leans into their ability to create music that resonates far beyond surface-level appeal. Mirrors proves that when they step up to the mic, they ignite something transformative.

If JNDJ had risen alongside Garbage, Texas, and The Cranberries, they’d already be in the same breath of recognition. If you’re looking for a band that knows how to pull you from the depths and shake you back to life, this is the one to follow.

Stream the official video for Mirrors on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Raven (G185TARR Vandal Mix) – A Hypersonic Surge of Industrial Chaos and Alt-Rock Melodicism

Posted on 12 March 2025

The G185TARR Vandal Mix of Ami Leigh’s seminal single, The Raven, detonates with hypersonic industrial electro rock before the mechanical intensity makes way for indie rock melodicism that finds new intersections through punk ethos. It’s a sonic collision course, where rallyingly magnetic vocals evoke alt-90s nostalgia as they glide across white-hot guitars and the brutal percussive force driving the track forward.

Bringing the rough with the smooth, the seductive with the savage, Leigh lands in an intrinsically distinctive alt-rock domain, toying with elements of post-hardcore before tossing them aside in favour of a pop-hooked chorus. The contrast is a masterstroke—every shift in momentum feels calculated yet completely untamed.

The mix affirms that Ami Leigh isn’t just making noise in the North East—she’s forging a path with her fearless genre fluidity. As a fixture on BBC Introducing and international radio charts, her ability to adapt and innovate is on full display in The Raven. It’s the epitome of an infectious anthem, engineered to leave an imprint long after the final synth riff signals its departure.

Stream the official video of The Raven Remix on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ginger Winn Drops the Temperature with ‘Freezing’—A Hypersonic Alt-Rock Storm

Posted on 11 March 2025

Feel the temperature drop with the arcane etherealism oscillating through Freezing, the latest single from Ginger Winn, which was officially released on March 7th. The cinematically shot music video exhibits the NY-residing alt-rock visionary as a creative powerhouse, and the track itself unfolds with superlative emotive tension around pop-pinched vocal lines that toy with pop-punk nuances while lending a sense of maturity to her harmonies rarely found within the genre.

As the single progresses, the momentum seamlessly shifts, pulling you into a tumultuous vignette of bittersweet longing, exposing how carelessly we can be left out in the cold by the connections we cherish most. The hypersonic intensity of the catharsis-laden crescendo compels you to dive back in and take the ride once more. As the first release from her upcoming album Freeze Frame, Freezing sets the stage for a darker, more expansive alt-rock sound, reinforcing why Winn is fast becoming one of New York’s most promising up-and-coming artists.

It isn’t every day you encounter an artist whose sonic signature is as unique as it is exhilarating; it’s only a matter of time before Ginger Winn is revered as the alt-rock supreme she definitively is.

Stream the official music video for Freezing on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shaky Riffs Through the Annals of Rock with the Unshakable Swagger in ‘Quiet in the Night’

Posted on 7 March 2025

With guitars on surf control in the garage rock earworm, Quiet in the Night, the solo virtuoso Shaky riffs his fans through the most stylised annals of rock, pitting low-down and dirty glamour against unshakable euphoria. The single has already racked up over 57k streams on YouTube alone since the music video premiered, amassing plenty of hype for the prodigal son of rock before he unveils his debut album this April.

After a promising start in his youth as a touring guitarist, Shaky stepped away from music to raise his family and keep his grandfather’s manufacturing business afloat. Now, with his three children older and the business stabilised, he’s back and making up for lost time, recording everything in his home studio—not for lack of resources, but because DIY is what he does best.

Founder of Shaky Records and a veteran of projects including Killer Bangs, The Hammills, Petal Crush, Cold Fronts, and The Swinging Fingers, he’s no stranger to the scene. If you like plenty of substance and sticky-sweet lyrical sensibility behind your salacious swagger, you’ll want to devour Quiet in the Night time after time.

Stream the official music video for Quiet in the Night on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Maria Heivang’s ‘When I Had You’ Hits Like a Wave of Regret

Posted on 7 March 2025

Like a breath of introspectively fresh air, Maria Heivang’s debut single, When I Had You, locks you into its intimacy from the outset, sharing the singer-songwriter’s smoking pains as she paints a vignette of loneliness and regret. This is far more than a standard exhibition of heartbreak—waves of reverberation ripple from the post-production to mimic the blindsiding nature of loss, amplifying the ache in every line. Even with the vocal treatment pulling her voice in line with the electro-pop instrumentals, the emotive sting in her delivery refuses to be dulled.

Born and raised in the Winter Olympic town of Lillehammer, Heivang has recently relocated to Manchester to take her career to the zenith it deserves. With her debut single, which hit the airwaves on the 27th of February, she created plenty of anticipation for her forthcoming EP, ARGH in love, which will unfold throughout the year. She describes the track as a reflection on not appreciating something good until it’s gone, a sentiment delivered with Nordic charm and alt-pop bite.

Her music carries the juxtaposition of emotional restraint and vulnerability, channelled through icy electronic textures and raw lyricism; if you’re unwilling to compromise between style and substance on your alt-pop playlists, When I Had You is a necessary addition.

Stream the single on YouTube now. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Michael Rendon – The Look: A Red, White and Blue Shadow of Love and Longing

Posted on 6 March 2025

Michael Rendon, a true red, white, and blue Americana singer-songwriter, carries a deep reverence for the roots of country in his unadulterated sound. More than a troubadour, Rendon is an evocateur in The Look, with his wistfully affecting crooning hitting all the rawest chords in his orchestrally laced classic country ballad. If you don’t find yourself on the brink of tears while this cinematically visceral, slick-with-longing love song is in session, you may find that your soul checked out a while ago.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Rendon has spent years earning his stripes across Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, and beyond. With performances alongside country icons like Martina McBride, Sammy Kershaw, and Doug Stone, he’s built a career on authenticity, letting his voice and songwriting do the heavy lifting. The Look is a testament to that—delicate yet devastating in its execution, steeped in the timeless ache of country storytelling.

While I generally agree with the theory that there’s no such thing as perfection in art, there’s something in the way The Look transcends sound to remind you of the true beauty of unconditional love and affection.

The Look is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tyler Rifley Oxygenated New Life into Country Pop with ‘Breathe’

Posted on 5 March 2025

Since the first notes of Breathe found oxygen on the airwaves, Tyler Rifley’s country pop rock anthem has been picking up momentum, and for good reason. With twang in all the right places and anthemics in all the rest, the hook-packed hit doesn’t just set the tone for summer—it serenades it into existence.

Written as an ode to his child and a reflection on how parenthood flips the world on its axis, Breathe radiates the kind of unfiltered, feel-good sincerity that most country artists spend their whole careers chasing. The uplifting message transcends into euphoria, with sun-bleached melodies guiding the way. Even the soaring electric guitar solo feels like an extension of that boundless, infectiously sweet energy.

Anchorage-based and self-produced, Rifley is the engineer of his own sound. As the co-owner of Midnight Sound Studio, he’s created a space where raw emotion meets refined musicianship. His path hasn’t been easy, shaped by years in foster care and the system that followed him into adulthood, but his music doesn’t dwell in the past—it pushes forward, powered by resilience and a newfound sense of purpose.

With Breathe, Rifley reaches the epitome of wholesome country pop panache, discover it yourself on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast