Browsing Tag

Acoustic Indie

Joshua Wales – Don’t Worry: Sublimely Seraphic Indie Folk

Posted on 13 November 2024

If The National veered into acoustic indie folk territory and took a few leaves from Cigarettes After Sex’s intimately expansive book, the result would echo the same affectingly tender alchemy which drifts through Joshua Wales’ latest single, Don’t Worry.

The indie folk singer-songwriter’s sombrely honeyed, low-timbered vocal register subdues you into the melodious sentimentality of the acoustic guitar-driven single, which sees quiescent swells of orchestral strings brush past the plaintively warm guitar notes.

With “Don’t worry, we’ve got all the time in the world” reprising throughout the sublimely seraphic release, listeners are reminded that pace is the trick as Joshua Wales issues a reminder to his frenetically minded younger self.

The reflectively sonorous score features in Joshua Wales’ discography as a standalone entity and as the opening title single to his debut EP which you will need little convincing to devour in full after bearing witness to the introspective magnetism in the opening salvo.

Stream Joshua Wales’ latest single, Don’t Worry, on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gaze into the introspective kaleidoscope of leo hc’s seminal indie folk release, the shades EP

Posted on 23 August 2024

leo hc’s debut release, ‘the shades EP’, elegantly strips music back to its most elemental form, serving as a pure conduit for emotion which resonates through the instrumental textures and the lyrical narratives.

The opening track, the aptly named ‘the shades’, introduces us to a semi-lucid reverie where the angular, fingerpicked guitar notes intertwine with leo’s reticent, whispered vocals. Each motif transcends sound to become experiences shaded in deep introspection, allowing listeners to immerse their own melancholic emotions into the abstract depths of the production.

The subsequent track, ‘two wrongs’, transitions into a more indie folk aura, with vocals that echo Elliott Smith, soaring within a seraphically toned lo-fi backdrop. This piece epitomises intimacy, transforming the listening space into a personal enclave of reflective peace.

Track three, ‘i’m the man’, continues the narrative with a progressively gratifying indie lullaby. It allows for a dynamic interplay of intensity, with artful flourishes that let emotional currents ebb and flow, underscoring leo’s mastery in balancing sonic peaks and valleys.

The EP rounds off with ‘lovers hilltop’, a stunning demonstration of acoustic indie songwriting. Here, the poignant strains of coming-of-age yearning are captured through evocative fingerpicked guitars, drawing influences from classical Spanish guitarists while paying homage to artists like Jose Gonzalez and Hot Left Pole.

Overall, ‘the shades EP’ by leo hc is a pacifying synthesis of introspection and musicality, offering a sanctuary where each track invites personal reflection amidst evocatively crafted soundscapes.

Stream the shades EP on Spotify now. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Make your soul whole with Mark Braham’s introspectively compassionate indie single, Somebody’s Pain

Posted on 4 November 2023

Taken from his debut LP, After a While, the standout single, Somebody’s Pain, from the indie rock singer-songwriter Mark Braham seduces the listener into an Elliott Smith-esque tender sequence of compassionate consolation.

With the raggedly euphonic acoustic guitar chords flowing in complete synergy with the melodic lines projected through his hushed, honeyed and harmonic vocal range, Somebody’s Pain is a deeply affecting, artfully enticing score which unravels as a viscerally resonant exhibition of ennui and painfully conscious introspection of how we all have the potential to become someone else’s pain. From the first experience with Somebody’s Pain, you’ll stop, think, and feel the compulsion to hit repeat.

The Darwin, Australia-born artist has had music in his blood since a young age; his creative journey began by writing melodies on a cheap classical guitar before he joined a band. With enough talent to become a one-man powerhouse, he released his debut LP in 2019, opened his recording studio, Freestone Productions, in Canberra and turned his delectable talent to producing, mixing and mastering for other artists.

We can’t wait for the sophomore release, Authenticity, which is currently in the works. His ability to make your soul feel warm and whole is unrivalled.

Stream Somebody’s Pain on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BLOCKED personified stoicism in her ethereal alt-indie single, I Don’t Mind

Posted on 3 November 2023
BLOCKED

The Melbourne-based Singaporean singer-songwriter BLOCKED reached the epitome of ethereal magnetism in her artfully quiescent self-produced single, I Don’t Mind.

After some of the most accordant and assured acoustic guitar chord progressions I have ever aurally bore witness to in the intro, the single intensifies in ornate beguile through the introduction of quiescent chamber strings which swell around the shoegaze-y vocal lines, which will captivate fans of Cigarettes After Sex and Elliott Smith.

I Don’t Mind is just one chapter in the four-part story of growth and resilience told through the artist’s forthcoming EP, which encapsulates mastering the art of letting go. Socrates couldn’t have said it better himself.

I Don’t Mind will be released ahead of the highly-anticipated 4-track EP, no worries, which is due for release on November 17th. Stream I Don’t Mind on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peter Beatty unveiled a wanderlust dreamscape with his acoustic indie folk single, Tell Me Where To Go

Posted on 13 October 2023

After picking up the best song award from the Cannes World Film Festival in 2023 and picking up more awards for his music and accompanying music videos from The London Independent Film Awards and The Independent Shorts Awards, the critically acclaimed and endlessly accoladed UK singer-songwriter Peter Beatty has unanchored his nautically meta single, Tell Me Where To Go.

With layered vocal harmonies as magnetically compelling as Jack Johnson’s and Richard Hawley’s atop honeyed and intricate acoustic instrumentation, listening to the organically resolving orchestration will set your imagination alight, awaken even the most dormant of wanderlust proclivities, and unequivocally convince you that in this generation of singer-songwriters, few can infuse their elysian soundscapes with a paralleled shot of alchemy.

I couldn’t think of a more stunning way of attesting to the fact that life is little more than a collection of explorations, whether that’s inwards, towards another, or into territories that will show us pieces of ourselves we never knew existed. Great songs stir emotions; superlative ones have what it takes to reconceptualise your take on existence in a few lyrical lines. Beatty is definitively in the latter camp. Someone exhume and tell Sartre I’ve just found the cure for existentialism.

Tell Me Where To Go hit the airwaves on September 29; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Culture Bloom harmonised to the nines in their spectrally raw acoustic indie & alt-rock synthesis, Nightmare

Posted on 8 October 2023

‘Nightmare’ is the first synthesis of acoustic indie and alt-rock to spill from the debut EP, Aren’t You Proud?, from Denver Colorado’s most nostalgically euphonic drop-dead stunning duo, Culture Bloom.

If Placebo penned bitter-sweet symphonies in the same vein as The Verve and mainlined a little Death Cab for Cutie into that vein, the alt-90s melodiousness would hit with exactly the same force of impact as Nightmare.

The emotional weight carried within the harrowed and haunted layers of vocal harmonies as they collide with the stabbing guitar lines resonates as infinitely more than the sum of all parts, allowing Nightmare to stand as a testament to the song-crafting capacities of the duo that should be on every alt indie fan’s radar.

Stream Nightmare on Spotify and stay tuned for the EP release on October 20th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Stu Daniels – Enemies: Achingly Soulful Acoustic Indie-Rock

Posted on 22 September 2022
Enemies by Stu Daniels

With all of the evocative gravitas of Eddie Vedder’s aching soul, Stu Daniels’ latest single, Enemies, compels you to surrender to the acoustic indie rock plaintiveness, which is all too easy to relate to from the first immersion. Beyond the sobering overtones of the emotionally crafted and reverbed guitars is a lyrical extension of salvation with the poignant and powerful reminder that enmities will always do their best to strip your power and use it for their gain.

The singer-songwriter and guitarist fronts the Adelaide band, Already Gone, but notably, standing alone, his sound is equally as sonorous. Watch this space for more compellingly tenacious expositions of the human condition.

Enemies was officially released on September 16th. Check it out for yourselves on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kyle Jaymes is a Perennial Millennial in his latest intricately melodious indie rock hit

Posted on 6 September 2022
Kyle Jaymes

New Hampshire indie singer-songwriter, Kyle Jaymes, brought a pioneering sense of melodicism to 00s emo with his latest single, Perennial Millennial. For anyone that grew up with Death Cab for Cutie and is looking for a matured take on sonic nihilism, Perennial Millennial is the finest wine in the metaphorical cellar.

Since breaking away from his indie rock band, Call Her Alaska, he’s become a one-man powerhouse, fuelled by his emotionally charged lyricism, intricate acoustic guitar hooks and euphonic production style, which gives all the angst of pop punk and none of the brash overtones.

Perennial Millennial will officially release on August 30th. Check it out here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Young has released his lovesick acoustic indie-rock ballad, Might Just Catch Your Eye.

Posted on 23 October 2021
Out into the Light by Alex Young

Singer-songwriter Alex Young is here to remind us that romance isn’t dead with his emotionally iron-wrought acoustic indie-rock ballad, Might Just Catch Your Eye.

The Barnsley-based solo artist’s affectionately ambient single captures lovesick agony while keeping the minimalist yet resounding instrumental melodies ring free of the disquiet conflict. If Glen Hansard leaves you floored with his contemporary spin on folk songwriting, you might want to sit down before hitting play on Might Just Catch Your Eye.

Might Just Catch Your Eye is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp along with Young’s debut album Out Into the Light.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Snir Yamin: maybe your new favourite singer-songwriter with new single ‘Taking’

Posted on 31 March 2021

Snir Yamin might just be the best male singer-songwriter you’ve never heard of; his previous singles, ‘Down The Line’ and ‘Twenty Three’, both made it to number one on the iTunes Top 200 Alternative Tracks chart, but new single ‘Taking’ is simply stunning, a painfully wistful melancholic nostalgia to Yamin’s guitars and plaintive vocals.

It’s a great track, evocative and emotive, gentle yet powerful all at once, some intricate, melodic guitar picking underneath the poignancy. It’s reminiscent, a little, of The Calling, but also classic singer-songwriters like Elliot Smith and guitar-led artists like Snow Patrol and John Mayer, there’s also classic songwriting with elements of older influences such as the Stones, Dylan, or the Police in the mix too.

‘Taking’ is available on Spotify right now; check out Snir Yamin on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes