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James Sebastian electrified rock n roll reverence in ‘Looking for a Sign’

Posted on 10 May 2024
James Sebastian

James Sebastian’s latest single, Looking for a Sign, erupts with the fervour of rock’s golden age, packing an electrifying punch that makes it clear he’s owning the proverbial stage. As a prodigal son of rock ‘n’ roll, Sebastian channels the spirit of iconic acts from The New York Dolls to The Strokes to The Beach Boys, yet his sound remains unapologetically rebellious and tantalisingly original.

Looking for a Sign insists you get swept up in its compelling hooks and Sebastian’s natural frontman charisma, reminiscent of a cult leader’s magnetism. This track roars through speakers with an energy so raw and a production so slick, that it’s akin to witnessing the exhilarating James Sebastian live experience.

Rather than attempting to reinvent the rock ‘n’ roll wheel, Sebastian tunes into a deep reverence for the genre, projecting it through a release that radiates defiance to its core. The track exemplifies liberation, embracing the craziest facets of one’s character and running wild with them. It’s a celebration of individuality, crafted with a keen awareness of rock’s historical context but driven by a modern, fierce pulse.

Looking for a Sign captures the essence of Sebastian’s growth as an artist—confident and poised to deliver high-energy performances that resonate across generations. His journey from vibrant live shows across the UK, including iconic venues like The Cavern and The Macbeth, to a burgeoning streaming presence, underscores a trajectory filled with promise and rock ‘n’ roll heart.

Looking for a Sign will be available to stream on all major platforms from May 10th via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Victor Moreno delivered nyctophoria with his original film score, Ascend All Night

Posted on 9 May 2024

Victor Moreno’s original film score, Ascend All Night, opens an unflinchingly scenic aural space; he takes a score- opulent in emotion, yet aligned with a sense of unease -past the usual remits of neo-classical into a disquieting sci-fi territory that slips away from gravity.

Thick with unsettling intrigue, akin to a dark corridor you ache to explore, Ascend All Night unravels a nyctophile’s sonic dream by painting a twilight canvas in an ocean of depth which rushes forward into the static of intercepted radio signals before moving past them into the depth of the unknown.

Celebrated for his refined compositions, Moreno has a background enriched by his time at the Swedish Center of Electroacoustic Music and Sound Art. His collaborations with figures like Oliver Ackermann and Wolfgang Tillmans, and his reuniting with sound engineer Rupert Clervaux—who has worked with Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized—bolstered the polished audial textures that define this score.

This evocative piece, central to the narrative of the short art film Ascend All Night, crescendos through a rapture of rich textures, blending piano, violins, synthesisers, and the irreplicable draw of Spanish acoustic guitar. Drawing comparisons to the likes of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, or Thom Yorke, Moreno’s work has ensured that the short film is already making waves across the film festival circuit, promising a vivid journey for audiences everywhere.

Stream the original film score here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

El Greasy dawned a new era of sleaze with their industrialised slice of rock reverence, Whiskey

Posted on 8 May 2024

Now onto their third single, El Greasy is proving their capacity to carve out a pastiche-free niche with their sleazily revolutionised sonic signature. Forget the rock n roll you knew; this modernised slice of rock reverence exhibits a band that knows exactly where to push innovation into the production and revisit the past with debauched devil-may-care uninhibition; the kind of uninhibition gained from downing your favourite black label bottle.

The guitar lines are cut with all the raunch and swagger you could ever desire and the rhythm section knows exactly where to bend brutal volition in the modernised hit that uses corrosive industrial electronica to dawn a new era of dark, gritty and overamplified hedonistic rock.

With touches of Mike Patton’s maniacal vocal style working their way into the expansively sludged with stoner aesthetics 8-minute single that also proves El Greasy is equally at home while emulating the timbres of Highly Suspect, Whiskey is a chameleonically dynamic riot that pulls together audaciously enough to leave you questioning, how the fuck did they pull that off?

Whiskey started to pour on the airwaves on May 3rd; fill up your glass via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chasing Shadows: Hazard’s ‘Never Going Home’ Echoes the Depths of Desolation

Posted on 7 May 2024

For their standout single, Never Going Home, the Welsh three-piece Hazard filtered psyched-up shoegaze-y post-punk through a grungy and intensely evocative lens, resulting in an emotionally tumultuous outpour of despondence. With vocals spilling into the middle ground between the haunting timbre of Placebo and the sharp confronting antagonism of Angels & Airwaves as the monochrome guitars carve a chill into the mind-bending production, Never Going Home unravels as a dark narrative that tears into the soul and triggers empathy as a dual-sided vignette of loneliness and displacement pours across the alchemic instrumentals.

If the reprise of “She’s never going home/I feel so alone” doesn’t hit hard, there’s probably not much hope for your soul.

There’s no better single to discover Hazard through; after ceaselessly evolving their sound since their 2019 dawning, their sound has culminated in an unflinchingly agonised attest to their ability to stir visceral emotion within their fans

Stream Never Going Home with the rest of Hazard’s sophomore LP, On a Dark Night in My Room via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shadowed Heights: Ikechi Onyenaka Unpacks the Solitude of Success in his Neo-Trap Single, ‘Eclipse’

Posted on 7 May 2024

Ikechi Onyenaka’s latest single, ‘Eclipse,’ delivers an avant-garde blend of saxophone-laden jazz and sharp trap rhythms, underpinned by the emotional richness of neo-soul. This intrinsically authentic release evolves with each soulful progression, compelling listeners to groove along with Onyenaka’s reflective journey. Through ‘Eclipse,’ he explores the seldom-discussed loneliness accompanying success, challenging the enviable facade often associated with prosperity.

In ‘Eclipse,’ Onyenaka’s artistic versatility shines as he oscillates between rap verses and neo-soul vocal spills, each dripping with unfiltered emotion. The heavy bass and ambient synths create a nostalgic backdrop reminiscent of 90’s neo-soul, while the alto saxophone commands attention, weaving through the composition with soul-stirring authority.

By portraying the stark reality of success through the upbeat, genre-melding soundscape of neo-trap, Onyenaka not only rips up the clichéd narrative of an effortless life at the top but also emphasises the fundamental human need for connection.

Eclipse hit the airwaves on May 3rd, stream the single here now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Policy Orchestrated the Ultimate Shadowed Symphony of Alt-Electronica with Lunella in ‘Lights Out’

Posted on 7 May 2024
Policy

With his latest single, Lights Out, the award-winning producer, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer, Policy, exhibited how his three decades in the industry have culminated through his heart-wrenching cinematic soundscape which paralyses with power from the first ominously reverberant synth stroke.

The dark and stormy instrumentals feed delicious disquietness until the dawn of the single breaks with Euro House nostalgic euphoria. Through it all, Lunella’s vocals keep an even heart-breaking keel, channelling ephemeral grace in the same vein as Bjork. Her voice, steady yet heartrending, navigates the complexities of quasi-heartbreak with a finesse that mirrors the track’s richly layered instrumentals. The refrain, “You only love me with the lights out,” acts as a raw nerve, exposing the pain of love that lingers in the shadows, never fully revealed.

Policy’s synthesis of trip-hop, house, and dystopic avant-garde synth-pop will leave you ensnared in the beautifully crafted chaos of heartbreak. Every note and lyric is meticulously woven to explore themes of love, rejection, and the introspective shadows of the human experience. For fans and new listeners alike, Lights Out promises a sonic experience that captivates and haunts in equal measure.

Lights Out will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from May 7th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cambridge’s LAY / BYE ignited the modern rock scene with their expansive earwom, ACTIVE!

Posted on 6 May 2024

If any up-and-coming band can kick Royal Blood off their throne, it’s the Cambridge-hailing three-piece LAY / BYE with the polished hooks, fiery intensity, and unflinching resonance in their debut single, ACTIVE!

The debut holds no prisoners when holding the worst archetypes of the human experience to account; the flaying lyrics pick up more volition through the catchy delivery that forces you right into the electrifying nucleus of the single that stands as a testament to the trio’s ability to vindicate the masses.

After a Velvet Revolver-esque intro, the buzzsaw riffs and snarling basslines rip through the dynamic modern hard rock atmosphere honed by Robin Schmidt, known for his work with Nothing But Thieves, the 1975 and Sam Fender. The juxtaposition between the scathing energy within the rhythm section and the pop-pinched vocal hooks creates a dynamic strong enough to carry a rock revolution on its back.

The explosively expressive release is a sure sign of big things to come for LAY / BYE; their ability to fuse integrity with infectious earworm appeal is superlative.

Jump on the ACTIVE! hype by streaming the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nostalgic Smells pierced through the shadows of ennui with his debut post-grunge hit, Glimmer

Posted on 5 May 2024

The post-grunge movement has been pushed forward with the emo-adjacent debut single, Glimmer, from the Scottish solo artist, Nostalgic Smells, who dove headfirst into emotional depths most would drown in.

After earning his stripes as a drummer and honing his ear for rhythm and melody, Nostalgic Smells’ knew exactly where to implant the hooks within the angst and disquietude of his ode to the intersections between emo and 90s grunge.

Glimmer is an enthralling return to the thick, sludgy hooks and emotive turmoil that defined an era. Despite its dense layers of distortion, David’s knack for melody shines through in the song’s structure which is rife with tensile progressions that meticulously pull the listener into its emotionally charged core, reminiscent of the sounds of Nirvana and HUM.

The debut invigorates the familiar with a freshness often attempted but rarely achieved in the modern music scene. For those who grew up with the resonant beats of Helmet or the textured distortions of Quicksand, Glimmer promises a journey back to those raw, introspective soundscapes, while also beckoning to those new to the scene.

The lyrical aching for a modicum of light to break the dark clouds of ennui couldn’t be more affecting in this intensely authentic hit that is already going down a storm and creating immense anticipation for the sophomore release.

Glimmer sludged up the airwaves on April 15; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yur Mum – Duality: Unflinchingly Authentic Brazilian Punk Rock

Posted on 5 May 2024

I may be late jumping on Yur Mum’s scuzzy punk rock bandwagon, but after feeling how deep the unique angle to their visceral edge cuts while they played in support of The Battery Farm and witnessing how they can merit the title of their latest LP, Duality, I discovered a duo that’s criminal to sleep on.

The way their Brazilian roots pull through the complex fusion of frenetic percussive rhythms creating a thunderous heartbeat pulsating through rapid and intricate cadences against the snarled basslines incited a riot of distinctly augmented annihilation.

Affectingly authentic to the core and so much more than the sum of their synergistically dualistic parts, Yur Mum is destined for bigger stages; the intuition into each other’s pandemonic energy is evidenced in every antagonised aural atom of their sound.

Two of the standout singles from the duo’s latest album, Anhangá and Hands to the Sky encompass the versatility of the London-based Brazilian duo comprising Anelise Kunz (bass/vox) and Fabio Couto (drums).

Hands to the Sky goes heavy, low down and dirty, and infectiously kinetic with the grooves that leave the rhythmic pulses in a vice grip as the bass lines whip up hypersonic fury around Anelise’s rock reverent vocals. Anhangá hits even harder, orbiting around profane levels of distortion while Anelise uses the gratifyingly discordant noise as the playground for her chameleonically charismatic presence.

Stream and purchase the Duality LP on Bandcamp.

Follow Yur Mum on Instagram or hit their official website for more info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A New Jerusalem: Judas Goat & The Bellwether’s Arcane Anthem Against the Climate Crisis

Posted on 4 May 2024
There Is Always a Dawn by Judas Goat & the Bellwether

“There Is Always a Dawn” by Judas Goat & The Bellwether pours the ardour of the Neoclassical Romantic Era into a vessel of arcane folk-rock. In a similar vein as William Blake’s evocative poem, Jerusalem, which became an influential precipice for the duo to lyrically jump off, the duo’s aura reverberates around morality while keeping a finely tuned balance of rationality and emotion in the evocatively conjured performance which is a call to arms against the impending threat of ecological collapse, with religious iconography replacing the more direct climate-conscious conversations.

The power of the metaphor came into full force in this fiery protest of how we’ve put the noose around the neck of the environment all in the name of progress that will ultimately become our downfall. The duo, Sara Vian and Pete Vincent, crafted the ultimate clarion call to arms, wrapped in the trappings of folk reverence and light-handed production which corrodes none of the arcane performance. You can’t help but lose yourself in the existential introspection, which exemplifies why the duo have won accolades in The Climates Songwriting Competition.

There Is Always a Dawn hit Bandcamp on April 22 ahead of its release across all major platforms on May 8th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast