Browsing Category

Music Blog for Indie Pop Fans

Karyn Ann became a conduit of justice in her soul-swathed, vintage-hued hit, Big Money, Deep Pockets

Posted on 28 September 2024

Karyn Ann’s latest single, Big Money, Deep Pockets, charts a new path in protest music, one that is paved with honeyed harmonic soul. In an era screaming for transformation, the Portland-based singer-songwriter found herself at the frontline of the resistance against exploitation.

Known for her distinctive cocktail of soulful Americana and perception-shifting lyricism, Karyn Ann set the bar high with her former releases but by channelling the spirit of vintage grooves into Big Money, Deep Pockets, she delivered the revolution we never knew we needed. Ann’s voice, rich with Patty Griffin’s earthiness and the haunting elegance reminiscent of Amy Winehouse, cut through the noise of today’s tumultuous climate.

Since her debut, she has become a notable figure in the Pacific Northwest, gracing stages at prominent venues like McMenamins Crystal Ballroom and festivals from the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival to Portland’s own annual Folk Festival.

In her own words, Ann describes that Big Money, Deep Pockets is as much a modern-day anthem as it is a scathing critique of our times, addressing the pressing issues of climate change, social inequality, and a cry for justice. Transcending the echoes of the frustrations of a polarised society; it seeks to be a catalyst for change.

In a world of fleeting trends and ephemeral interests, Karyn Ann is a timeless icon in the rough.

Big Money, Deep Pockets was officially released on September 9th and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emerge from your naval daze with Phantom Electric’s acoustic rock symphony, ‘Hope So’

Posted on 27 September 2024

The quasi-psychedelic indie singer-songwriter Phantom Electric may have innovation running deep in the veins that connect to the heart he wears on his guitar strings, but his latest single, Hope So, revisits classic song crafting, allowing the thematic underpinnings of the release to draw you into the artful gravity of the single.

Hope So is a haunting intersection between the atmospherically nostalgic air of Chris Isaak and the soul of Bryan Adams; the Adams influence tempers the dark melancholic chill of the lyrics which are slick with existential yearning.

Hope So unfurls as an artful reflection on how easy it is to succumb to navel-gazing and forget to care about anything but yourself—a theme all too relevant in our era of rampant individualism. With spectrally arcane melodies that tear through the soul, Phantom Electric produced one of his most affecting singles to date by looking to the darkest side of the human condition and showing a better way to be.

Hope So will be available to stream on all major platforms from September 27; stream the single on SoundCloud first and head over to Phantom Electric’s official website for more ways to listen.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ian Arthur – Home (Goodbye with Grace): An Indie Psych Pop Lesson in Letting Go with Love

Posted on 26 September 2024
Ian Arthur

Ian Arthur’s seminal single, Home (Goodbye with Grace), is a poignant reflection on how goodbyes can either fuel bitterness or allow space for grace and gratitude. Instead of allowing pain and resentment to caustically consume, Arthur advocates for cherishing the warmth of someone you once called home, offering a soul-stirring lesson on love, loss, and emotional resilience.

The tenderness in Arthur’s lyricism is echoed in his vocal delivery, reminiscent of Keane and Badly Drawn Boy, as he channels a vulnerability that makes every word resonate with sustained soul. Meanwhile, the psych-pop melodies work their way through the soundscape, painting rays of colour into the darker moments of grief. In finding the equilibrium between heartbreak and hope, Ian Arthur ensured the emotional complexity of the track is never one-dimensional.

With sincerity threaded through the indie psych-pop progressions, Arthur encapsulates the weight of loss without letting it overwhelm the listener. Instead, the orchestral crescendos sweep through the track with an almost seraphic lightness, offering catharsis rather than sorrow. Don’t be surprised if you end up shedding a tear over the pull of the Beatles-reminiscent orchestral strings which are powerful enough to break the dam on your emotional floodgates.

Home (Goodbye with Grace) will hit all major streaming platforms on September 26.

Find your preferred way to listen via Ian Arthur’s official website or connect with the artist on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

JANAYAH balanced power and vulnerability in her neo-classic pop ballad, Back to You

Posted on 24 September 2024

After JANAYAH stormed our radar with her single, ‘Can’t Get Enough,’ we knew she had her forte in high-octane pop earworms. With her latest release, ‘Back to You,’ she defied all expectations while straying from the trend of breathy, emotionally void pop ballads. This stripped-back outpour of candour sees JANAYAH laying her soul bare over near-frantic, intricately sharp neo-classical piano keys that skilfully underscore her powerhouse vocals.

The achingly sublime track explores the turmoil of trying to emotionally disconnect from a relationship once it has ended, while the mind, in its relentless tenacity, continues to chart paths back ‘home’, even when the door is firmly closed.

With roots in Auckland, New Zealand, and a growing career in London, JANAYAH has shown her versatility across multiple genres, from pop and rock to dance and DnB. Her latest single is a stark departure from her previous work, such as the EDM-infused ‘Remedy’ and the dancefloor-driven ‘Nothing To Lose’. ‘Back to You’ serves as a testament to her vocal power and ability to channel raw emotion into her music.

Currently working on her debut EP, JANAYAH is undoubtedly on a trajectory to becoming a household name. Her powerful live performances and ability to connect with audiences have already earned her significant acclaim, including features on the iconic Piccadilly Lights and a recent set at Trafalgar Square. If ‘Back to You’ is anything to go by, we can expect her forthcoming releases to be just as phenomenal.

Back to You was officially released on August 30th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sleeping Through Breakfast brought comfort to the void in their alt-indie release, Black Hole

Posted on 24 September 2024

Rarely do indie folk and pop punk melodically intersect, but as proven by Sleeping Through Breakfast’s single ‘Black Hole’, which brings comfort to the void, soul-teasing sublimity transpires.

You’ll come for the convention-defying instrumentals, but you will stay for the stunningly distinct vocals, which use unique inflections to exhibit just how authentic this outfit is. With guitars that spill sepia tones in the same vein as Muzz, paired with sincerity-soaked vocals and artful embellishments, the duo make a mockery of middle-of-the-road artists with their semi-lucid, endlessly ascending motifs. It’s not just the uniqueness of the soundprint that will leave you aching for more; it’s how intensely the cosmic-hued melodies grip the heartstrings.

Founded in 2021, the alternative/art rock duo Zander Prokop and Joshua Kleiman has been orchestrating for the introspective dreamers with their already expansive discography. With their earlier releases, such as Pillowcase Studies and The A Hopeful Note EP, they set the bar high, but they always find new plateaus to aurally visit. Their latest endeavour, the People Without Faces EP, released on September 22nd, explores themes of death and the inevitable decay of the world while unravelling as a testament to the necessity of finding solace in the love that remains.

Safe to say, Sleeping Through Breakfast has carved out their own space in the alternative scene, and with ‘Black Hole,’ they attest they are here to stay. If they aren’t topping the charts with their Nada Surf-esque tenderness in a few years, we riot.

Black Hole was officially released on September 14; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Syd Taylor became the new iconic alt-pop siren with her debut single, Love of Your Life

Posted on 23 September 2024

After breaking away from the twin duo, Stereo Jane, the indie alt-pop siren, Syd Taylor, came into her own with her paradox of a self-produced debut single, Love of Your Life, which haunts with its vintage tones as much as it uplifts and empowers through euphoric pop hooks.

The symbiosis between the brashy, saturated-in-delay lo-fi intimacy and the sleeker aesthetics in the single enabled Taylor to cut away from the monotonous fray of polished with superficiality pop and establish herself as a singer-songwriter and producer in the same league as Angel Olsen and Adrianne Lenker. If you’ve ever known the red flag fear of being the subject of obsessive attraction, Love of Your Life is the ultimate reparation.

As a signifier of how much of a phenomenon Syd Taylor is destined to become, the launch party for Love of Your Life happened between the unhallowed walls of the Viper Room on September 20th. With her debut LP in the pipeline, she’s the definition of one to watch as she works her way into the alt-pop pantheon.

Stream the single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bella Gate usurped Lorde in her introspectively arcane piano-driven indie ballad, The Death of an Icon

Posted on 18 September 2024

Bella Gate has ushered in her debut album ‘Gateway‘; a sonic anthology that promises an introspective journey mirrored in its poignant title. At 23, the London-based evocateur has evolved from a child prodigy to an artist with a mature, resonant voice, chronicling her odyssey from adolescence to adulthood with lyrical sincerity and a rich sonic palette.

‘The Death of an Icon’, an iridescent highlight from the album, offers a narrative steeped in personal revelation and artistic struggle. This single, draped in folk nuances and anchored by an ornate piano arrangement, gazes into the torment of an agoraphobic, creatively stifled protagonist. Whether reflecting Bella’s past selves or purely fictive, the track’s emotional gravity is undeniable.

Produced remotely by Jordan Round and polished by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road, ‘Gateway’ spans a spectrum from balladic solemnity to buoyant folk, all the while maintaining an emotive coherence which eschews conventional hooks for lyrical imagery which pierces the soul and haunts long after the last note fades.

Forget Lorde, Bella Gate is reigning supreme in the sphere of introspectively stylised indie ballads.

Stream Bella Gate’s debut LP, Gateway, on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robin Shaw borrowed from Bright Eyes in his acoustic indie single, Bus 2 Nowhere

Posted on 16 September 2024

From the first effervescent notes of the acoustic guitar chord progressions in Robin Shaw’s latest single ‘Bus 2 Nowhere (Acoustic Version)’, your soul sets alight and your senses scintillate to the timbre of the euphonically rugged rhythms. Equally sweet are Shaw’s folk-leaning indie pop vocals, which synergise with the summery melodies.

As a true troubadour to the diehard romantics, Shaw knows exactly how to pull you into his panoramic narrative of infatuation that rings with hints of 00s indie pop nostalgia. If you’re a big fan of bands in the vein of Bright Eyes and The Shins, you’ll be downright sycophantic for ‘Bus 2 Nowhere’.

Before making waves in the music industry, Robin started off as a street dancer at age 16, which included appearances on Britain’s Got Talent. He established himself as a singer-songwriter after an audition in Soho, and began his career with Regent Street Artists, eventually moving to work independently. Now, he records across a variety of studios in West/Central London with his producer, Chris Hall.

Robin Shaw has been a hit with music lovers and critics alike after his tracks have been transmitted on BBC Introducing Norfolk and Suffolk, South Devon Sounds, Islington Radio, Watford VIBE FM as well as reaching Global stations in Ireland, Ohio, Toronto, Helsinki, Canberra, Los Angeles and many more.

With his new release, he’s one step closer to sealing his fate as one of the most accoladed singer-songwriters of his generation.

Stream the Acoustic Version of Bus 2 Nowhere on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lie awake in the illusory land of Mindless Crowd’s new wave seminal release,  ‘Dreamscape’

Posted on 15 September 2024

With their desperately anticipated LP, Wanderlust, released on 30th August, Mindless Crowd stand as innovative new-wave indie architects; if you’re always looking for new ways to explore this vain of sonic nostalgia, let Mindless Crowd be your guide with the standout single, ‘Dreamscape’.

‘Dreamscape’ may not deliver your quintessential dreamy ambient aesthetic, but who decided dreamscapes are unanimous in tonality anyway? Mindless Crowd orchestrated their own chimaera with the reverie of angular jangle pop guitars that resonate with the perpetually influential rhythms of Johnny Marr and echoes of Iggy Pop through gruff, spoken-word style vocals that strikingly juxtapose the vibrant tones of the instrumentals.

As the track evolves, the guitars transition in the middle eight, creatively adorning the track in veritable rock n’ roll stripes. The vintage-toned lead work ascends to what can only be described as guitar porn, embodying the perfect melodic narrative switch for indie fans always on the lookout for boundary-pushing new-wave indie sounds.

Emerging from Geneva, Mindless Crowd has evolved from covering rock titans like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to crafting their original material. Formed in 2012 by school friends and driven by a blend of nostalgia and innovation, the band—comprising Alex, Julien, Gaël, and Lucas—has grown a significant following, propelling them forward with over 150,000 listens on Spotify.

The album ‘Wanderlust’ encapsulates this growth and exploration, offering a mix of motivation, disillusionment, success, and failure, reflecting the winding journey of introspection the band describes.

Mindless Crowd’s LP, Wanderlust, is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jake Marshall allowed the anxiously attached to unite in his retro synth-pop hit, TOO MUCH!

Posted on 14 September 2024

We may be in an era of throwaway pop hits but if any track is worth holding onto it is Jake Marshall’s sad-boy synth pop sophomore release, TOO MUCH! Marshall and his 5-octave range set the bar high with his titularly ironic debut single, Bad Singer, and transcended it with the 80s aesthetics and indie hyper-pop nuances in TOO MUCH.

The candidly riotous track finds an earwormy way to articulate the trials and tribulations of contending with an insecure attachment style and battling with the inner monologue which constantly gnaws with crushing self-reflections of overbearingness. Even if you don’t have bags of childhood trauma attached to your attachment style, we can all relate to some degree to how it feels to feel too much as we try and seek assurance and affection.

Safe to say, Jake Marshall is the queer icon we never knew we needed; his discography is shaping up to be far more than just outpours of pained introspection, it’s a safe space where outliers, the heartbroken and the LGBT+ community can find swathes of consoling resonance.

With his upcoming EP, love(s) of my life, in the pipeline, the future looks iridescently bright for Jake Marshall.

TOO MUCH! Dropped on September 6th; stream the track on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast