Browsing Tag

Alt 90s

Riot Grrrl Revisited: ViperSnatch – 16

Posted on 20 August 2021

Central Queensland-hailing punk-rock powerhouse Vipersnatch has unleashed their self-titled debut EP, featuring the standout single, 16. Instrumentally, there’s the bouncing Frenetic energy of The Distillers; vocally, ViperSnatch ensnares with Juliette Lewis and the Licks-Esque vocal hooks. But that’s not to say that reminiscence is all there is to this feisty punk track. 16 shines a light on the pitfalls young women can fall into in our predatory world, along with the incredible freedom we felt that we had before life started feeling like an inescapable late-capitalism trap.

16 is now available to stream on Spotify along with their debut 5-track EP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FAVORITE released the filthiest earworm of the year with DIRTY MONEY

Posted on 14 August 2021

Atlanta alt-punk pioneers FAVORITE have released their stormer of a single, DIRTY MONEY; anti-capitalist rhetoric has never been more anthemic. With a touch of Mansun and Glasvegas to the frenetic punk-rock instrumentals and the massive production, DIRTY MONEY lends brit-pop and alt-90s tones before feeding them through their scuzzed-up riffs and ensnaring hooks.

The single may serve the stark reminder that everything we do is another act in the corrupt economic system, but it also shows that there’s until there’s an alternative, we should find pleasure in whatever we can. DIRTY MONEY is enough to bring hedonism back into trend. Oscar Wilde would be proud.

DIRTY MONEY is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Checkout Rhaina Yasmin’s sonic indie alt rock hit, Grocery Store

Posted on 13 August 2021
Rhaina Yasmin

‘Grocery Store’ is the latest single from 21-year-old indie alt-rock singer-songwriter, Rhaina Yasmin which captures just how small our lives became in the months preceding the release. Anyone who went solo through lockdown will find it all too easy to get caught up in the grips of the stunning shoegazy release that doctors in hints of jazz and 90s pop in the style of the Cranberries as it explores our innate fears of self-obsession and alienation.

From a Slowdive-Esque prelude, Grocery Store progresses through tumultuous sonic storms while offering nothing but sheer tonal bliss. Her defiant yearning lyrics dominate the release, and the hooky chorus gives the track plenty of earworm potential.

Grocery Store released on August 13th. Check it out by heading over to Rhaina Yasmin’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The silence is deafening in Shadow Box’s alt-90s hard rock hit, Without a Word.

Posted on 11 August 2021

Alt-rock outfit, Shadow Box, made its debut in 2021 with their album, Flat Moon. The lead single, Without a Word, will quickly become a playlist staple for fans of Faith No More, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. (I don’t make Mike Patton comparisons easily.) If someone told me that Without a Word was a lost relic from the alt-90s, I’d believe them; the panoramic anthem pulls you in with the intensity of the emotion poured over tight melodic instrumentals.

Shadow Box formed when Mike Roman (guitars, vocals, keyboards) and Mike Rajinone (guitars and vocals) fused their respective hard rock and folk-rock styles. Any difference between them quickly became aural chemistry. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Check out the debut album on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wohn delivers a sonic blast of alt-90s nostalgia in his scorching hot alt-rock single, Junjito.

Posted on 28 July 2021

Up and coming alternative artist, Wohn has released his relatable EP, Waiting for Life to Happen; the lead track, Junjito, is an arresting amalgamation of shoegaze, post-punk and garagey psych-rock that any fans of the alt-90s will want in their ears.

After a shoegazy prelude, the mostly instrumental release starts to centre around the artist’s ability to lay down riffs at blistering speed and his ability to make a soundscape fraught with tumultuous tension with his over-driven angular lead work.

After an ebb in the veracious momentum, the pensive vocals make an eerily captivating appearance before Wohn lays down a scorching-hot, seemingly endless solo that is leagues apart from other contemporary alternative artists. We truly can’t rate Wohn highly enough. He not only evokes angsty grungy 90s nostalgia, but he also puts a visceral signature spin on it. We can’t wait to hear more of in the future.

Junjito is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

London’s prodigal son John Lion returns with his latest indie rock hit, ‘The Sun is Up’

Posted on 7 July 2021

London-based singer-songwriter John Lion has followed on from his lockdown debut with the stellar slice of alt-rock, The Sun is Up.

With a slight post-punk snarl to the vocals that find themselves in between the stylings of Cornell and Gallagher along with the definitively British jangle pop indie guitars that are laced with Seattle-style-sludge, The Sun is Up is a fiercely energetic revival of the alt-90s, we can’t wait to hear more. You fall into the scuzzed-up, cutting track, instrumental hook, line and sinker.

The Sun is Up is now available to stream via YouTube.

Follow John Lion via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

David Wakeling has released his grungy jangle-pop earworm, ‘Extraordinary’.

Posted on 6 July 2021

One of Portland’s most notably virtuosic singer-songwriters, David Wakeling, has unleashed his latest absolving single, Extraordinary; a mellow yet sonically ardent aural invitation to simultaneously explore the golden eras of indie and grunge.

With the fuzz of Dinosaur Jr paired with the enlivening new wave indie jangle-pop guitars, it is a revival like no other.

With his love for rich and captivating vocal harmonies manifesting through Extraordinary that lamentedly explores expired romantic possibilities, the soundscape is one of those tragically rare cathartic hits that allows you to pour your own emotions into the progressions.

You can check out Extraordinary for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

We’re infatuated, while Fred Whitacre, JR is ‘Less Smitten’ in his sonic Grunge single.

Posted on 22 June 2021

Fred Whitacre, JR’s latest indie grunge earworm, Less Smitten, acts as a TARDIS with one destination, the alt 90s. The over-driven distorted guitars eclipse the Seattle sound as Whitacre lends from heavier genres to ensure that the sticky-sweet melodies in Less Smitten hit with bruising impact.

If you could imagine the sweetly sentimental sound of Nada Surf, the disquiet chaos of Nirvana and the experimentalism of Pavement all rolled into one high-octane anthem where the buzzsaw riffs cut with a hint of pop-punk, you’ll get an idea of what is in store when you hit play. Quite honestly, I couldn’t be more infatuated with Less Smitten, which feels like quite the paradox, but it isn’t every day new grunge artists emerge with sludgy tones that lead to a spike of serotonin.

The official music video for Less Smitten is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Left of the Slash take us to the alt 90s with their latest single, ‘Never Let Go’.

Posted on 10 June 2021
Left of the Slash

LA’s prodigal sons of alt-rock, Left of the Slash, are set to release their hotly anticipated psych-laden, grunge rock single, Never Let Go. The rising artist may take their sound seriously, but they made the track infectious from the first hit. The vocal personality is just as enticing as Cobain’s during his 1993 unplugged performance of Plateau.

With fleeting reminiscences to everyone from Modest Mouse to Pixies to Sonic Youth to Queens of the Stone Age, Left of the Slash refreshingly eclipse the golden era of grunge and no-wave while adding one of the freshest new takes on sludge pop that we have heard this year.

It would be no surprise to see Left of the Slash’s name added to the roster of artists at Sub Pop or Ipecac Records. Has someone informed Mike Patton that they exist yet?

Never Let Go will be available to stream from June 11th. Check out Left of the Slash via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cinematic Stoner Rock Meets Folk in Mal Hombre’s Latest Single, ‘When It Rains’

Posted on 4 June 2021
Mal Hombre

Any fans of Mazzy Star will want to tune into Mal Hombre’s latest single, When It Rains, featuring vocals from Coco SaFir. The soft blues slides and bends in the intro give way to a creeping soundscape that will allow you to imagine what the soundtrack would sound like if Tarantino and Lynch Co-Produced a film.

Coco SaFir’s vocals perfectly complement Mal Hombre’s fragile yet resoundingly cinematic instrumental style as it flows through a myriad of stylistic twists and turns. With the soft saxophones as the track gears up for a psychedelic outro, you won’t need to smoke to get high with this 70s-inspired stoner rock track that also introduces elements of folk, jazz and synthpop.

When It Rains is one of those tragically rare singles that compels you to crank up the volume until you can’t quite tell if you’re absorbing the single or it is absorbing you. It’s quite literally a breathtaking single that we couldn’t speak more highly of.

You can check out Mal Hombre via his website or Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast