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Surrender your senses to the spiritual sanctity within Catherine Grace & Mark Dwane’s electronic folk single, Broken Wide Open

Posted on 30 July 2024
Broken Wide Open by Mark Dwane / Catherine Grace

In the spirited soundscape of her childhood home, reverberating with the likes of Johnny Mathis, Fleetwood Mac and Barbra Streisand, Catherine Grace found her calling, which would eventually lead her to her collaborative partner, Mark Dwane. Their relationship, marked by seamless creativity and a deep mutual understanding, has culminated in scores of cultivated-with-soul releases, including their latest titularly poetic single, Broken Wide Open.

The track unfolds at a cathartically measured pace, not rushing to reveal its depths but rather allowing listeners to immerse themselves in its spiritual and soulful melodies. Catherine’s ethereal harmonies, when coupled with Dwane’s electronic folk underpinnings, create a profound sonic synergy that transcends mere musical collaboration. The duo has mastered the art of building a track that ebbs and flows with rhythmic magnetism, weaving together notes that resonate with an arresting affirmation of their unique artistic alchemy.

Amidst personal challenges and life’s unpredictable turns, music has been Catherine’s sanctuary, a theme that resonates powerfully throughout their latest offering. With Broken Wide Open” Catherine Grace and Mark Dwane invite the listener into a shared experience of renewal and revelation. Their collaborative spirit evokes comparisons to the iconic Enya, yet with a distinct identity that firmly roots them in the contemporary indie scene.

As you surrender to the lush, layered textures of Broken Wide Open, you’ll revel in the power of sound to soothe, inspire, and awaken.

Broken Wide Open is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spyndycyt took synth-pop to visceral new heights with his introspection-fuelled hit, Change Me from the Inside

Posted on 29 July 2024

The electronica avant-gardist, Spyndycyt, has struck again with the release of his sophomore synth-pop single, Change Me from the Inside. If Frank Zappa had lived long enough to experiment with 8-bit-adjacent production, he would have undoubtedly orchestrated something as ludicrously electrifying as this infectiously unhinged anthem, which almost registers as a lament from a painfully self-aware transhuman organism 100 years in the future.

Change Me from the Inside reverberates with all-too-relatable electro-pop insanity, echoing New Order in its kinetic rhythms which pulsate through the chaos stirred by synthesising a raw emotional undercurrent into tides of merciless electronica which shimmer into distortion with every crescendo.

Each beat and melody reflect a different facet of self-discovery and confrontation from an artist who fearlessly never filters his expression to become an advocate of introspective candour and to perfectly encapsulate his message that lifting the veil on your own psyche is never a comfortable process.

The spontaneously materialised lyrics efficaciously testify to how wrestling with your own autonomy will leave you battle scared; the teeth of self-remonstration and loathing will always sink in, yet, chances are you’ll also meet your own indomitable spirit and come out stronger after the encounter.

Change Me From the Inside was officially released on July 21; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Optimists prescribed the antidote for catastrophists with their explosive indie garage punk hit,  Not a Big Deal

Posted on 28 July 2024

The Optimists have been making cynics meet their match since their 2018 debut which made all the right waves in the UK indie scene. With their latest single, Not a Big Deal, the Isle of Wight five-piece cranked up the monolithic volition to exhibit their biggest hit to date and etch a new chapter in their legacy that has reached the a-lists of Isle of Wight Radio & BBC Solent.

With crescendos of garage rock antagonism in the same vein as Fidlar mainlined into the scuzzy production around the melodic indie increments that are fraught with tension, the razor-sharp hooks dig in deep enough to pierce the soul.

Not a Big Deal is the ultimate track to shed inhibition and neurosis to. By extolling the virtues of disregarding the immaterial, the juggernautical hit is an irresistible invitation to indulge in the catharsis of being carefree.

If the outfit becomes as big as their guitar and synth riffs and stage presence, don’t be surprised if you see them at the top of the indie charts in the coming years.

Not a Big Deal was officially released on July 19. Stream the single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Miss Terious exhibited the power and pain of alter-egos in ‘Misty’

Posted on 26 July 2024

Miss Terious’ latest single, Misty, bridges the gap between the tender indie pop magnetism of boygenius, the artful expression of Kate Bush, and the gothic sombre glamour reminiscent of Evanescence. This coalescence is perfectly interwoven in the arcane atmosphere of the indie piano pop ballad, where the sparse instrumentals allow Miss Terious’ emotionally heightened vocals to spectrally overpower the production.

Each verse tightens the heartstrings as you become consumed by the raw emotion conveyed through the confession of how pseudonyms can deliver confidence while concealing the person behind the greatness. The deeply felt pain of being wanted through association rather than true connection resonates throughout Misty; anyone who has experienced this pain will find the ultimate consolation within the candour.

Miss Terious is a British-born alternative musician from the West Midlands, known for her originated mix of electronic and classical instruments. Since debuting with her EP Bleeding Green in 2020, she has tackled topics such as abuse, mental health, and her separation from the ballet industry. In 2022, she was honoured as BBC Introducing’s Artist of the Month for Coventry and Warwickshire and performed at the Backyard Festival in Leamington Spa. Her contribution to the music scene earned her the Local Hero Award for AIM Awards 2022.

After hearing Misty, there isn’t an industry accolade we wouldn’t see her as fit for.

Misty was officially released on July 19; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bang emotional ambiguity cascades into Bang’s alt-indie lullaby, HOLD ON

Posted on 24 July 2024

In his latest single, HOLD ON, the alt-indie visionary, Bang, plunged his eternally expanding following into a pool of lush reverb-swathed ambience, intersected by sharp, reverberant trap beats that push momentum into the hazy lullaby which envelops the senses with wavy dream-like soul.

With this seminal release, bang captured the essence of affection as the harbinger of comfort and the precursor to uncertainty and confusion. The exposition of the dangers of letting down your walls is intricately crafted into the thematic visualisations of the introspective lyrics that are filled with late-night longing.  The sensory expedition into the heart of emotional ambiguity is an irresistible invitation to escape into the delicious delirium.

The seraphically disorientating release marks the Michigan-raised Asian-American artist as the Thom Yorke of his generation while becoming a milestone stride in his set-to-be illustrious sonic journey which was chartered after early exposure to Bollywood rhythms and 00s hip-hop beats.

As the architect of hits that pulsate with modern indie rhythm and find superlative equilibrium between evocative and innovative cultivation, Bang is elevating the airwaves with his solo work and his role in the genre-defying collective, Rarehearted.

HOLD ON will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from July 24th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rhine Valley prescribed nostalgia-tinged serenity in their indie summer serenade, Instincts in the Red

Posted on 24 July 2024

If you want respite from the artists driven by delusion and to tune into an artist who grooves to the sound of his own nostalgia-licked mellow melodies, hit play on the latest single, Instincts in the Red, by Rhine Valley and discover one of the most underrated artists on the airwaves.

The 21st-century answer to the Zombies’ 1965 hit, Summertime, filters through a sepia-tinged lens which captures the heat of the sun-soaked season within the rhythms which ebb and flow beneath the artist’s idyllic vocal register; the harmonies easily reach euphony while injecting soul into the soundscape that is as laidback as Elliott Smith on Xanax.

Rhine Valley, easily one of the most self-effacingly grounded artists in the music industry, used his bedroom-recorded lo-fi number to candidly reflect on life and the embarrassment of his streaming numbers. By using the tribulations of operating as an independent artist sans a trust fund or nepo connections, he spearheaded the indie music movement with unflinching authenticity.

The song’s mellow indie vibe is perfect for fans looking for something genuine and grounded, it is a true reflection of an artist who can capture the beauty in the mundane and the plight of grassroots music with swathes of tongue-in-cheek panache to spare.

Instincts in the Red will be available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud, from July 24.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Her Motives Are Silent delivered darkwave redemption in his spectrally lush orchestration, Running

Posted on 23 July 2024
Running by Her Motives Are Silent

In the latest single from Her Motives Are Silent, the marked-to-be illustrious Calgary-hailing innovator, Michael Valenzuela, looked into the shadows of introspection through a darkwave electronica lens that invokes Glenn Branca’s avant-garde obscurity.

‘Running’ meticulously stitches distorted vocals into the fabric of its production, ensconced amidst formidable percussive lashes flowing through syncopated rhythms and crafting a sonorous web capable of placating the macabrely-minded and unsettling the comfortable.

By implanting orchestral motifs and the spectral qualities of Porcupine Tree into the middle ground of NIN and Radiohead the single, which challenges the listener to confront their anxiety instead of simply evading it by any means necessary, is a deeply reflective score which acts as a compelling precursor to the solo artist’s upcoming debut album, Love Muse.

As the track unfolds, it pensively guides its audience towards resolution, encapsulating a journey through emotional turbulence with a promise of catharsis; the oscillating momentum ebbs and flows around the evocatively vulnerable pull of the vocal delivery, resulting in a cinematically lush auditory extension of redemption.

Running was officially released on July 19; stream and purchase the single via Bandcamp.

For more info, head over to the official Her Motives Are Silent website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oh doom! orchestrated a sonic dichotomy in their tone-setting post-rock debut, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad

Posted on 20 July 2024

Oh doom! set the tone for their forthcoming discography with the release of their elegiac debut single, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad; but given the artistic intensity within the inaugural release, expecting the unexpected would be safer.

The release ensues from an ambient post-rock composition filled with art-rock motifs and reverb-drenched choral guitars that pull textures of shoegaze into the production until the track steadily builds in momentum throughout the extended 8-minute duration.

While attention spans may be waning and artists are churning out 2-minute pop tracks left, right, and centre, Oh Doom! exhibited the beauty of foregoing instant hooks for mind-shattering crescendos, cinematically constructed by distorted walls of noise, powerful enough to reverberate right through you.

The kinetic alchemy within All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad is a visceral attestation to the raw, creative power of Oh Doom!, who have the potential to rise to the same heights as Low and Mogwai. Not pedestrian enough for unoriginated post-rock assimilation, the single broadsides with Grandaddy-esque polyphonic synthetics which infiltrate the paradoxically tender yet monolithic production.  Yet, perhaps the most striking beauty in the single lies in how, regardless of the intensity of the instrumentals, the pensively diaphanous vocals maintain imperturbable innocent serenity.

From the ashes of frenetically-paced projects, Oh doom! banded together to filter hope into despair in their releases which utilise spatial effects to let emotion manifest between the notes. As the first single from the debut EP, set for release on July 26, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad became an irrefutable sign of even bigger things to come from the North London/Hertfordshire band.

All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad was officially released on July 5; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Caitlin Lavagna prescribed an artfully amplified pop punk antidepressant with her latest single, Pretty Alright

Posted on 20 July 2024

As you crank up the volume in Caitlin Lavagna’s latest synthesis of art-pop and pop punk, Pretty Alright, the absolution amplifies to the nth degree as the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist fervently strives to let loose the black dog and awaken her listener’s inner power.

The infectiously fiery reprise of “It will take time to feel pretty alright” in the electrifying riff-raw anthem attests to how patience is the ultimate virtue in the process of healing, yet everyone has an active role to play in the reclamation of their serotonin and self-esteem.

With a vocal presence that could rival any of the chart toppers, there’s no denying Caitlin Lavagna’s charisma which acts as a catalyst of resolution and salvation in Pretty Alright.

You just can’t help but succumb to enamourment when your senses are being stirred by her larger-than-material-reality energy and her songwriting stripes which are sliced with more hooks than a butcher’s shop.

Pretty Alright was officially released on July 11; stream the single on Spotify 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