Browsing Tag

Alt Electro Rock

Go down the downward spiral with Daniel Antonio’s dark electronic rock debut, everything I touch

Posted on 25 November 2022

Any fans of Blue October, Celldweller, and Three Days Grace will be gripped with the evocative raw candour that complements the turbulently dark electronic rock aesthetic in Daniel Antonio’s debut single, everything I touch.

For infectious appeal, the debut fuses pop hooks with glitchy electronica and down-tuned guitars. With the bilingual lyrics adding yet another repeat-worthy facet to the track that exhibits Antonio’s fearless vulnerability equally through the lyrics and vocals, every time you listen to everything I touch, the immense sensory experience becomes that little bit more visceral. The single was written to encapsulate a relatable dark downward spiral that made losing touch an inevitability and admirably as an admission of fallibility.

Away from the music industry, the Sheffield-based solo artist starred in the BAFTA-nominated film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – which explains the colossal cinematic touches in his debut. He also provided backing vocals for Ed Sheeran & Bring Me the Horizon’s earworm, Bad Habits, which hit number 3 on the UK charts. If this single doesn’t chart too, I might start a riot on his behalf.

Everything I touch will be available to stream from November 25th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Graffiti Welfare tells his anxious coming of age story in the trippy meditative alt-electro album, Revolving Shores

Posted on 23 June 2022

Revolving Shores is the gravity-defyingly meditative debut album from the up-and-coming artist and producer Graffiti Welfare. After appearing on the airwave in 2018 through his EP, Into the Soul of Space, which has been extensively playlisted & lauded by critics, the Austin-born, Denver-based artist let the world in on his coming of age anxiety.

Regardless of your age, there is ample resonance in the LP that explores the profoundness of loss in context to perceptions of reality. As someone who has only recently lost their mum after a long illness, I’m pretty reasonably qualified to attest to the efficaciously comforting gentle tenacity in the 10-track release.

Revolving Shores gently eases you in through the minimalist melodic opening score, To Be It, which almost rings with neo-classic cinematic atmosphere, then cruises right on into my personal favourite, Just Follow, which reflects the feeling of unravelling as you lose direction.

DejaBlue picks up a little more melancholy through its genius titular metaphor for carbon copy ennui before Good News flirts with elements of coldwave EDM. What is easily the biggest experimental triumph the album, Synesthesia, dips into far more indie territory, with nuances of post-punk in the chilling, stabbing and distorted angular notes. SeaShell as the closing single was an all too efficaciously entrancing way of ensuring that Revolving Shores doesn’t leave you without sticking to your synapses first.

Graffiti Welfare Said

“Revolving Shores evolved from watching my childhood fade into the unknown as grandparents and friends passed away while I was coping with coming-of-age anxiety. By day, I was trying to finish my thesis and escape the clutches of graduate school with my sanity intact.

By night, I wanted to make sense of everything by creating something sincere, unique and tangible. Each track represents a lucid perspective that builds from the last, guiding a quiet meditation towards the unknown and back into waking life. Rinse, float, repeat – cause who knows where you will wake up next?”

Revolving Shores was officially released on June 17th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify and SoundCloud.

To keep up to date with the latest releases from Graffiti Welfare, follow him on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gangster of the Galaxy feat Ariana Rodriguez beguile with their stormer of an electronic alt-rock track, Take Me.

Posted on 26 October 2021

Ariana Rodriguez is on a mission to bring emotion back to music; in her collaboration with Gangster of the Galaxy, the Floridian singer discernibly succeeded; the dark undertones in Take Me create the perfect contrast against the innocence in her light, evocative vocal timbre.

While Ariana Rodriguez’ vocals rest between Portishead and Evanescence, Gangster of the Galaxy brings urban alchemy into the mix over the progressive dark beats which start with bass-dripping discord before twisting into a feat of alt-rock, not all too far from Linkin Park’s sonic palette.

For any dark trip-hop fans, Take Me will feel like home from the first hit.

The radio edit of Take Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast