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Best Folk Music Blog & Promotion

Ye Angst – 15: A Superlatively Succinct Alt-Indie Rock Remedy for the Soul

Posted on 2 January 2023

The indie singer-songwriter Ye Angst is renowned for sharing his artistic vision through the looking glass of youthful angst. In his evocatively enriched discography, which dates back to 2011, the perfect example is his exemplary single, 15. The jazz-blues piano keys around the Americana folk-rock body unravels as a superlatively succinct remedy for the soul.

In the same way, Cohen, Cat Stevens and Lou Reed emanate elevated grace, Ye Angst is in the habit of implanting ethereally cathartic instrumental accord in his singles that will effortlessly take you to a higher plateau while the lyrics and vocals pull you back down to our ennui-imparting earth.

Nearly a decade has passed since the release of 15, but the timeless single still resounds with glistening gospel for the impiously disenfranchised. Even around the complex instrumental interludes that give way to Journey-Esque heart-in-throat vocals, you’ll be caressed by the upliftingly melodic single, which perfectly rounds itself with orchestral strings for a filmic touch.

Succumb to the soul in 15 by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gwac paves the way towards acquiescence in his alt-indie-folk single, Stacks

Posted on 30 December 2022

South Korea-based singer-songwriter, Gwac, unveiled the quiescent alt-indie-folk melancholy in his debut EP, MOHO, on December 19th. Narrating themes of loss, denial, regret and acceptance, the 4-track EP flows through the grief cycle, hitting the most visceral spot on track two, Stacks.

With hints of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea paired with the monoculturalism-shattering world music motifs, innovation mellifluously spills. The accordance set up by the angular guitar work and woodwind instrumentals fed through torrid effects reflects the storms we weather before we arrive at a state of mind where we break through the listless frustration and arrive at a place of acquiescence.

“Throughout the making of this EP and digging through past experiences, I learned that sadness has a lot of dimensions for me. Some of the saddest memories are sometimes the most beautiful things I know. There’s no need to try and erase them or run from them. By just letting it be, I see a bit of light in my unsettling mind”.

On that note, Gwac’s mind may be one of the most beautiful things I’ve encountered in 2022. His tangible songwriting and instrumentally conceptual talents are one thing; his ability to recontextualise pain and share a brighter philosophical perspective with his listeners is fundamentally requisite in these times.

Stream Stacks on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The UK orchestral folk duo River Knight is on melodious form in their sanctuary spilling single, Unsprung

Posted on 25 December 2022

The folk duo River Knight has been fairly quiet since their 2021 album, Grow. They are back on melodious form in their latest orchestral folk single, Unsprung, which borrows fractions of the melody to Take on Me, but with such a stunning orchestral string ensemble and hints of the Verve and 90s Britpop in the verses, who is complaining?

The earworm brings the ragged and rough timbres through the acoustic guitar strings and percussion while the smooth can be found in the gloss of the orchestral crescendos, which are as close to heaven as the impious are likely to get.

Each new progression is a brand-new opportunity to fall in love with the duo who banded together in 2017 as a form of therapy for Darren Knight after the tragic passing of his wife. Stone River was there for unwavering support and to offer the Ying to Knight’s songwriting Yang. The duo are well known on the London, Portsmouth and Southampton live circuit, but it’s only a matter of time before they take their international-level approach to indie folk rock to the status it beckons.

Unsprung officially released on December 16th. Catch it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BREGN inspired cognizance in the ethereal art-rock world of his latest single, Dopamine Mind

Posted on 24 December 2022

The Danish 100% DIY artist, BREGN, explored neurobiology within his ethereal indie art-folk single, Dopamine Mind, to inspire mindfulness around one of the most toxically prolific habits imparted by the 21st century.

Anyone with a smartphone will know the subconscious compulsion to gaze into its black mirror. What is less understood is the key driver behind the habit that is tearing away at our ability to connect with the real world, as opposed to the divisive world depicted across social media.

While the euphonious melodies work to quell you into a state of quiescent meditative calm through the angular guitars against the quasi-jazzy keys, the lyrics allude to the entrapment of our dopamine reward system. With each new notification bringing a validation-soaked dopamine rush, breaking the habit is hard. But it’s a necessary step towards a more enlightened existence, unblighted by the platforms that profit from and exploit our mindlessness.

“It is so easy to get distracted and addicted to those distractions, which are now more instantly accessible than ever. The protagonist in Dopamine Mind thinks it is the phone’s fault, but he reveals that the root of the addiction is elsewhere.

He sets out to reset his mind and restart life, focused on things of meaningful deep value, away from artificial dialogue and small talk.”

Stream DOPAMINE MIND on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From tragic inevitability, hauntingly filmic beauty is born in Rico Friebe’s single, This Day

Posted on 23 December 2022

Folk singer-songwriter, Rico Friebe, has unveiled the hauntingly filmic second single from his upcoming debut album, Word Value. Born from tragedy and hope, the vividly redolent single, This Day, explores the inevitability of the days we fear the most, alluding to our inability to avert discourses we are compelled to run from.

There is a profound grace in the alchemic vocal layering that spills soul across the stabbing minor piano keys that torridly flurry through the soundscape to reflect the phenomena we have to accept we can’t overcome. In concept and execution alike, This Day is a masterful piece that has left us with plenty of anticipation over the debut album.

Listen to This Day on Spotify from December 23rd. Await the alchemy in the debut album, which is primed for release in early 2023.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peaks & Valleys speak for the melancholic souls in their orchestral indie-folk single, Surrender

Posted on 13 December 2022
https://soundcloud.com/peaksvalleysband/sets/how-far-we-fell/s-gE9cEGTNYtf

Peaks & Valleys have debuted their masterful, aptly morose EP, How Far We Fell, featuring the bitter-sweet exposition of grief, Surrender. The Edinburgh-based three-piece start with sombre acoustic guitars before the quiescently ennui-laden vocals hush desolation into the polished orchestral production, which brings in orchestral strings and minor piano keys to pay homage to the roots of Scottish Folk and laden you with compassion for the disillusioned protagonist portrayed.

In a time when it feels like everyone with a shred of empathy and awareness is succumbing to the subjugating grips of futility, Surrender will undoubtedly have a profound effect. The grief shared through the lyricism that leaves plenty of room to inject your reason for melancholy against the climactic orchestral crescendos is inexplicably beautiful in its resounding darkness.

Surrender will be available to stream from December 13th via SoundCloud.

Follow Peaks & Valleys on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Edinburgh’s premier indie-folk evocators Peaks & Valleys bid a sweet farewell in ‘Before We Go’

Posted on 13 December 2022
https://soundcloud.com/peaksvalleysband/before-we-go/s-ZcIsPz8OE27?in=peaksvalleysband/sets/how-far-we-fell/s-gE9cEGTNYtf&si=7b8f7ea531b8431393f330a09f696707&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Taken from the EP, How Far We Fell, the standout single, Before We Go, from the Edinburgh-based indie-folk outfit, Peaks & Valleys, is a lesson in romantically wistful meditation.

You will be inclined to lean into the cinematic work so deeply that you will be able to hear a pin drop between the mellifluous yet minimalist progressions which make the dual vocals the arresting centrepiece of this stunning serenade that wistfully anticipates departure.

The intimately entwined vocals carried as much harmonious chemistry as what you hear in Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s collaborations, while the strikingly sonorous strings over the rugged timbre of the acoustic heighten the evocative potential in Before We Go to the nth degree. Colour us spellbound.

Before We Go will be available to stream from December 13th via SoundCloud.

Follow Peaks & Valleys on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Snows of Yesteryear ‘Wait by the Shore’ in their orchestral indie folk exposition of generational grief.

Posted on 7 December 2022

Snows of Yesteryear could only hail from Scotland with their mesmerising future-resisting take on orchestral indie-folk, which resounds in their debut single, Wait by the Shore.

No one can ever truly replace the alchemy that blossomed in the melancholy of the original Frightened line-up. But Snows of Yesteryear set our hearts and minds alight with a similar spark as the high-octave vocals from Kat Orr captivate as they mourn the tragedies which befell Scottish fishermen in 1881.

Classic, but still a million miles from archaic, Wait by the Shore is an achingly artful dark exposition of generational grief that proves the up-and-coming indie folk outfit is inseparable from their sonic and hometown roots.

Wait by the Shore is now available to stream on Spotify. The official music video will premiere on December 9th, and their debut album is in the pipeline, so get them on your radar.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pinwheel Valley culminates a sense of hope in a disparate world with his Indie Psych Folk two-track release, Willow

Posted on 6 December 2022

With every new release from the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Pinwheel Valley, we know we are in store for two things, deeply intellectual yet accessibly resonant contexts, and a glimpse into a brand-new facet of his creativity. His latest two-track release, Willow, was no exception.

The opening single, Willow, is a defeatism-traversing intrinsically melancholic work, which utilises solemnly angular art-rock lead guitar lines to completely submerge you in the cold tones that exemplify the isolation and frustration over deceit. Regardless of the inspiration of the lyricism, Willow extends sentiments that will viscerally resonate with anyone feeling adrift by the contemporary times, which all too often leave silver linings out of sight.

The second single, On to Land, uses an extended prelude of ardently raw acoustic guitar strings, rhythmically hammering zealous emotion before the first word is spoken. After cavernous shimmering reverb crawls across the folky, sparse soundscape, there’s an interlude of silence before the melody picks up under Pinwheel Valley’ vocals, which are fervid in their urgency to culminate a sense of hope in a disparate world. Closing on a turbulently psychedelic outro, you’re only human if you delve in for a repeat experience of the awakeningly affirming release.

Listen to Willow on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joshua. orchestrated the ultimate Lynchian love song with ‘WALK BY LOVE’

Posted on 6 December 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-CwO_7iXLo

Mike Patton walked so the ethereally scintillating alt-folk artist Joshua. could ‘WALK BY LOVE’ in his latest music video.

Only an artist as iconic as he could get away with a mononym *and* allowing haunting tones to creep out of a ukulele in the production that wouldn’t be out of place in the Eraserhead soundtrack. He could never be accused of writing ‘just another love song’.

The disconcertingly cinematic single allows his sonically ephemeral vocals to drift atop the minimalist instrumentals that envelop you in their wistfully nostalgic sepia tones. In the space of just two minutes, the originator made an ever-lasting impression that definitively proves everyone’s interpretation of love is as individualistic as they are.

The official music video for WALK BY LOVE is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast