Browsing Tag

70s Rock

Marcus Liuzzi became the sweetest power pop heartbreaker on the airwaves with ‘You’re Not the One’

Posted on 27 August 2022

Power-pop heartbreaker, Marcus Liuzzi, has released his latest no holds barred single, You’re Not the One. Those words sting even when they’re not about you. But for anyone that knows how it feels to be corrected after they think they found one, there’s a certain solace in knowing you’re not alone on that particular emotional ride, and that painful transition is one step closer to a happy ending.

With the college radio rock vibes coalescing with the garagey 70s rock stripes and plaintive yet playful piano scores, You’re Not the One peddles a fair amount of nostalgia, but there is no disputing that the Boston, Massachusetts singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist brings a certain autonomous je nais sais quoi to the airwaves.

You’re Not the One is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Arbor Creek gave us the Chicago blues in their old school rock n roll single, Make Your Mind Up

Posted on 26 August 2022

Keeping the wheels turning on rock n roll, deep from Chicago’s south suburbs, Arbor Creek is set to release their debut album, Thanks for Wading, featuring the nostalgically bluesy hit, Make Your Mind Up.

Immune to the allure of modern rock gimmicks, Arbor Creek is committed to keeping the warm overdriven vintage tones of rock n roll alive, and pouring soul into each of their tracks which are sure to appeal to any fans of The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Buddy Guy. For the outro, Make Your Mind Up gives John Bonham a run for his legendary money; the nostalgically rich progressive single keeps on giving as it gradually builds in saturated analog momentum.

Thanks for Wading will officially release on August 26th. Check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Madam Who? invited you to ‘Reclaim Your Power’ with her 90s nostalgic pop-rock debut LP

Posted on 16 August 2022

The Eastern Shore, MD, USA-residing pop rock singer-songwriter Madam Who’s debut album, Reclaim Your Power, will undoubtedly be a soul-saver for anyone it catches in a vulnerable or transformative time.

With the rock reverence of Joan Jett, the zaniness of The B52s and the urban edge of Lizzo, the LP starts with the powerful title single, before You Are Not Alone brings in the 70s rock vibes and Goddess in Our Midst brings a little neo-soul into the mix.

Undoubtedly, one of the sweetest spots on the LP has to be Strange & Beautiful. The progressively enrapturing track hooks you in through an acoustic intro before building into an anthemic ballad which allows you to embrace your autonomy, idiosyncrasies and all.

Rarely do records hit the compassionate spot with the same efficacy as this LP. Madam Who? is a pop-rock diamond in the rough; there are few accolades she doesn’t deserve due to her overpowering sincerity and motivation to heal wounds that most women will experience in their lifetime.

Madam Who?’s notes on the album

“I wrote these songs as a form of therapy after I hit the most difficult time in my life – even more challenging than going through brain cancer. After being emotionally abused and abruptly discarded, I had to start my live over with little knowledge of who I was anymore. Before this destructive relationship, I pursued a music career, naturally, when it was over, I started writing again, with a focus on empowerment, not my life’s antagonists. The overall message is to be kind and love yourself.”

The Reclaim Your Power LP is now available to stream on Spotify.

Follow Madam Who? on Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget the ‘new normal’ embrace Firebug’s nostalgia-rich rock single, Change

Posted on 15 June 2022

Given that nothing is a given except the unrelenting presence of change, Firebug’s latest rock single on the very subject of it is perhaps one of the most universally resonant tracks you can drift into.

The Joshua Tree-hailing artist left enough ambiguity within the lyrics to let you implant your own meaning and laments of the ever-influx facets of existence that can turn nostalgia into mourning and grief. Yet, through Juliette Tworsey’s haunting-in-spite-of-stridence vocals and the dusty blues-rock guitars, Firebug was in complete control of your emotional impulses as you listen to the plaintively painted in sepia single.

Every time we hear Firebug, we’re even more assured that they are amongst the few artists worth following in the time we’ve found ourselves within. In gorgeously subversive fashion, Change shows us how naive we were to ever anticipate ‘the new normal’.

Listen to Firebug’s latest album, No Return, for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Weimar started an art-rock riot in their off-kilter ode to the glamour of the American Dream in ‘The Girls of LA’

Posted on 27 March 2022

Manchester’s most Avant-Garde art-rock collective, Weimar, came in with all glamorous guns blazing in their latest single, The Girls of LA, which increased the anticipation of the things to come in their eagerly awaited debut album, Dancing on a Volcano.

With a shift from their usual baroque post-punk style, The Girls of LA is a departure from what the airwaves acquiesced to before but Weimar knew exactly what they were doing by bringing this riotous bop-worthy track to the aural table in turbulent times. Sonic escapism doesn’t come much sweeter than when its off the back of the sunset strip.

The energy parallels that of the most enlivening tracks by the Ramones but with their signature artful gravitas, its proto-punk as you’ve never known it before. As the lyrics reflect on the high-class American dream, the endlessly off-kilter instruments drive up the discord into infectious heights. It has all the makings of an alt-rock earworm paired with the finesse of a muso’s Achilles heel.

Girls of LA will officially release on March 25th; you can check it out by heading to SoundCloud and Weimar’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find a ‘Moment of Joy’ in Firebug’s Bluesy Desert Rock Single

Posted on 20 March 2022

The immensely and immeasurably talented Joshua Tree recording artist, Firebug, has given us a taste of what’s to come on their forthcoming psychedelic desert-rock album by teasing us with the old-school-rock-but-never-as-you’ve-heard-it-before single, Moment of Joy.

They kicked up the dust on the archetypal desert rock vibes by adding a little New Orleans flavour and nuances of folk and blues. If I could take a bath in the arcanely psychedelic tones that are swathed in 60’s and 70’s nostalgia, I’d be hesitant to get out. For impious musos, sonic experiences don’t get much more spiritual than Moment of Joy which grips you by the scruff of the neck and drags you into the feel-good bliss with the striking vocals as a guide.

So far, the successes counted by Firebug include performing at SXSW in Austin, CMJ in NYC, Sonisphere Festival, and the Viper Room in LA. After this release, it is easy to see that Firebug is only just getting started.

Moment of Joy is part of Firebug’s album, No Return, which will drop on March 18th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves via Firebug’s official website and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ACISS have released their scuzz-slicked rock EP, Wild Ride

Posted on 17 March 2022

New York’s prodigal sons in the making, ACISS, laid the scuzz on thick with their driving rock and roll debut EP, Wild Ride. The promising debut is a whisky and gasoline swathed anthem that carries similar hooks to what you will find in AC/DC, Guns N Roses and White Snake classics.

Yet, with ACCIS’ tendency to pull its roots from the 70s to the 90s, you’ve never come across sonic pallets akin to the overdriven tones that tease classic rock nostalgia before subverting the raucously electric anthems into brand-new territory. The title single is the perfect introduction to ACISS’ devil-may-care demeanour and instrumentals that can sonically take you down the Sunset Strip at 100mph.

ACISS’ debut EP is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Grammy-balloted artist, Luanne Hunt, has released her ornately picturesque 21st studio album, Portraits in Song

Posted on 7 February 2022

During her 27-year career, Luanne Hunt has released 21 studio albums and picked up three Grammy nominations along the way for her refreshingly authentic take on modern country. With her love of folk-rock feeding into her sonic signature, her music is as diverse as it is nostalgically comfortable. Her latest album, Portraits in Song, captures her talent at its finest. It is a testament to her determination to strive for excellence and hit emotional chords along the way; you’d be hard-pressed to find a more elegant soul in country-folk-rock.

The album starts on the instantly arresting single, “It Was Always You”; the ardently visceral single is brimming with shimmering soul through the orchestral scoring and Hunt’s ethereally ornate vocals that cherish the notion of perpetuation affection. Her 70s folk-rock influence comes to the forefront in Midnight Rain & Roses, which will undoubtedly be a hit with any Stevie Nicks fans. The arcane production paired with the warmly overdriven guitars and Luanne Hunt’s vocals that become the epitome of beguiling is matchlessly stunning.

Here’s what Luanne Hunt had to say about her 21st album:

“I consider ‘Portraits in Song’ to be my crowning achievement thus far; it reflects my love of folk-rock artists in the same vein as America, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Van Morrison. I can’t get enough of the songs from the 60s and 70s era, they truly are the bar I always set for myself.”

The album also features the Latin Grammy Award-Winning drummer, Heitor Lima, the world-renowned piano player, Hal Ratliff (Righteous Brothers, Grass Roots), and the acclaimed Canadian composer/conductor Jordan Grigg.

Portraits in Song is now available to stream on Spotify. Or you can head over to her official website to purchase the album.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Psych Soul Food is Back on the Menu with Denim Dan’s Return to the Airwaves

Posted on 25 January 2022

The NYC psychedelically blessed folk-pop-rock powerhouse, Denim Dan, serenaded us with their seminal spacey album, No Guarantee, ahead of the release of their upcoming album, 3AM.

Each of the singles on the 2020 album, No Guarantee, provides the opportunity to shift the ennui and existentialism out of your worldview. To complement the psychedelic tones, the enlightened lyricism that was penned to hit the evocative spot by uplifting just as much as the transcending instrumental timbres.

After forming in the 90s, Denim Dan’s fusion of 60s pop and 70s rock has remained just as sweet in the 21st century. Instead of modernising their sound that carries reminiscences to The Beatles, Steely Dan, Bowie and Tom Petty, they’ve stayed true to cathartically resonant form.

Along with the release of their upcoming album, the nostalgia-inducing outfit are also set to release their tribute to Bob Dylan to coincide with the opening of the Bob Dylan Museum in Tulsa, OK. They are well worth a spot on your radar.

Denim Dan’s 2020 album, No Guarantee, is available to stream in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christopher Kremer has released his elegantly poetic allusion to languor ‘Electron’

Posted on 7 January 2022

If you still hold a candle for the melancholia of Elliott Smith, consider the new EP from folk singer-songwriter Christopher Kremer as an unmissable release. Major/Minor carries just enough reminiscences to tease nostalgia as the Chicago-based artist leaves you enamoured by his down-but-not-out authenticity.

The soul-fizzingly sweet lead single, Electron, is equally as instrumentally melodious as the most cathartic singles from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The vocals and lyrics lace the soundscape with an all too relatable languor, but even with the poetic allusions to entropy, the hazy choral textures ensure that Electron resonates as a transcendently uplifting release.

Major/Minor is now available to stream in full via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast