Browsing Tag

Alt Indie

Turncoat Billy looked through a ‘Kaleidoscope’ in their psychedelically vintage debut single

Posted on 18 March 2023

Indie nostalgia peddlers may have created a massive stink pile of indie landfill on the oversaturated airwaves after realising they can string a few chords together in a way that references the Strokes or Oasis; with their debut, Turncoat Billy is the refreshing soul-stirring antithesis. Familiar yet awash with endearing autonomy, anyone that wants to enliven their playlists with contemporary ingenuity can get a jump start from Turncoat Billy.

With their influence range casting a net over everyone from Big Thief to Chas n Dave to T.Rex to Warren Zevon, the outfit, born in a brewery in Tottenham, will pull you into vivid vintage colour with their debut single release, Kaleidoscope.

Their ruggedly sweet indie rock flavour is addictive from the first taste; with the 60s psychedelic kicks paired with the 70s renegade rock swagger and hints of the Maccabees, there’s no sweeter way to evade the malaise of modernity.

Kaleidoscope is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tre. Charles melded soulful undertones with resonantly mantric vocals in his ambient indie dream-pop single, Lately.

Posted on 15 March 2023
https://soundcloud.com/user-927736750/lately-2/s-0bEGiubGPfS?in=user-927736750/sets/tre-charles-currently-ep-demo/s-vyUjqvhKQ7t&si=b3399ccd97c44b2398eab32ecc2c9458&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

I’ve been around the shoegaze and dream-pop block a fair few times, but the latest single, Lately., from the alt-indie artist, Tre. Charles, is a strikingly crystal-clear cut above the rest.

With his soulful vocals bleeding into the choral amalgam of trip-hop, Avant-Garde RnB, ambient electronica and indie rock, the quiescently powerful release is a feat of unparalleled consoling alchemy.

Staying true to his brand of soulful undertones, resonantly mantric vocals, and evocative crooning, the East Coast-born artist orchestrated an efficaciously disarming hit that will make your soul as perceptible as the one poured into the lyrics.

Any fans of James Blake, Frank Ocean, Sampha, and Moses Sumney won’t want to miss out on this reverb-drenched opportunity to form a connection with the award-winning D’angelico Guitars-sponsored artist. We’re officially stoked for the upcoming EP due for release in 2023.

Lately. will officially release on March 15th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie Soul Rock Raconteurs, Did I Hear Dare?, Peddled Sugared Sincerity in He Said/She Said

Posted on 8 March 2023

After a stint of silence following their 2021 debut LP, Runnin’ Late, the indie soul rock raconteurs, Did I Hear Dare?, are back on euphonic form in their latest single, He Said/She Said.

With the same mellow yet ardent vibe of Deep Blue Something in the intro, Interpol-ESQUE angular guitars thrown in for good measure and sugared with sincerity soaring vocals in the piano-laced hit; if you don’t feel emotion start to stir while the enthralling instrumental ensemble is progressing into an arrangement that will give you nostalgia for Chris Cornell’s cinematic panache, you might want to check your soul’s vital signs.

It isn’t every day that I will stumble on an ensemble capable of tightrope walking the line between endearing and elevated. Evidently, the outfit that took fledgling form before nationally scattering across the states is a razor-sharp cut above the rest. They even seem like the sort that would tend to your addicted wounds afterwards, given the resolving compassion going out to the broken-hearted in He Said/She Said.

Stream He Said/She Said via all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Whitefeathers are an ethereal dream (pop) come true in their debut, As Always ft Mike Watt

Posted on 25 February 2023
https://on.soundcloud.com/irg8i

For their debut single, As Always, the up-and-coming alt-rock UK/Czech artist, Whitefeathers, collaborated with bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehouse, Stooges) to orchestrate an artfully atmospheric feat of ardent indie melancholia.

Filtering pensive art pop panache into the eloquently composed release created a superlatively reflective soundscape for the lyrics that traverse the theme of losing love and finding yourself. The dreamy melodicism abstracts the ennui that accordantly rings from the scorned stabs of minor piano keys as the aloofly harmonised male and female vocals sigh from the soul.

It’s an impeccably strong offering from Whitefeathers, who undoubtedly have a luminary career ahead of them if they continue to create in the same vein as As Always.

As Always will drift onto the airwaves on February 24th – you won’t want to miss it. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Solya is deep in devilry beguile in her alt-indie single, Endlessly

Posted on 23 February 2023

It isn’t every day that we come across 16-year-old alt-indie singer-songwriters with the cinematic grace of a Parisian Chanteuse, and that’s just one of the reasons why you’ll want to immerse yourself in the filmic world orchestrated by the West Texas teen, Solya.

Her debut 3-track single, Fever Dream, is a beguilingly baroque amalgam of rock, pop and electronica; every guitar, synth and piano note was contributed by the triadically gifted virtuoso.

With lyrics that cut right to the core of disillusioned darkness and vocal lines that compel you to lean in so deeply that you’ll forget to come up for air, the standout single, Endlessly, is a tear-jerkingly stunning score that puts Solya in good stead for her aural icon. She’s half my age, but I’d still bow down to her iconic artistic vision.

Hear Solya’s debut release via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Boston Meets Britpop in djamesk13’s Alt-90s International Convergence, You Said.

Posted on 23 February 2023
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/you-said

London’s David Kemp has slid back under his djamesk13 moniker once again to release yet another feat of evocative lo-fi alternative alchemy by the grace of his 8-track recorder. You Said carries the raw lyricality of Disco 2000 while the instrumentals look far beyond 90s Britpop for their grit and sludge.

With no-wave-y motifs and crunchy guitars that bite in the same vein as Pixies, You Said is a riotous smorgasbord of Alt-90s nostalgia. Judging by the streaming stats on this release shortly after it grunged up the airwaves, clearly, plenty have an appetite for djamesk13’s seemingly effortless ingenuity.

You Said is now available to Stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the groove with the intimately quirky single from Discount Art, ‘My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon’

Posted on 9 February 2023

The indie project, Discount Art, led by the disarmingly candid artist, Jay Hemphill, is fresh from its deeply compassionate latest release, My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon.

The track may come with a smorgasbord of titular quirk, but once you are enmeshed in the funk in the indie grooves and feeling the weight of the soulful lullaby-ESQUE vocals, any notion of novelty soon falls by the wayside.

The emotionally intimate bass lines bolster the rhythm section while the accordantly timbered synths add dreamy layers around the account of public humiliation stemming from an electronic benefit transfer being declined at the supermarket.

On the surface, it seems a strange lyrical precipice to jump off. When you look at the full picture, you will see what Discount Art set up; a narration of the series of blows delivered by a crippling economic climate and how they strip humanity away from us; you get a snapshot of the detriment of the human psyche at this late stage of capitalism.

The official music video for My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon is available on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freak of the Sea provided the ultimate fix of pacifistic solace in his alt-indie anti-gun anthem, The Bullet

Posted on 28 January 2023

It is a disillusioning and confusing era for pacifists to be enveloped in; substantial consolation ebbed and flowed from the Avant-Garde-tinged indie single, The Bullet, from Freak of the Sea (Christopher Jacques).

The anti-gun anthem, which lyrically revolves around the resonant reprise of “I’d rather take a bullet than shoot a gun”, is, unfortunately, a necessity given how we’re numbed to the horrors of gun violence through over-exposure to massacre.

While the guitar melodies run in a crystal-clear vein, dark and torrid effects disrupt the quiescence to a disarmingly conceptual effect. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Modest Mouse drifted into the waters of post-punk, you will get an idea of what the Portland, Oregon-based artist triumphantly achieved with The Bullet.

When Jacques isn’t crafting aural comfort, he runs the Dandy Warhols’ recording studio, The Odditorium. He’s worked with everyone from The Shins to The Dandy Warhols to Slash to Cowboy Junkies and countless other icons of alt music. Yet, notably, his associations are one of the least impressive facets about him.

The Bullet will officially release on January 26th; hear it on YouTube. The new EP, Out to Pasture, which The Bullet was taken from, will drop on February 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Niky Pasolini has unleashed her illuminating indie dream-pop single, Light On

Posted on 20 January 2023

Alt-Indie singer-songwriter, Niky Pasolini, will release her debut album, Update, on January 20th. We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the standout dream-pop single, Light On; from the first ring of the alt-90s guitars and bleeding Shoegazey vocals, we were hooked into the vulnerably delicate self-produced hit. With engrossing reminiscence to Sixpence None the Richer in the guitars and the sense of sentimentality Light On is as illuminating as the title alludes.

The London-based artist wrote, created and recorded the entirety of the album in a makeshift studio in her basement to provide a refreshing antithesis to the extensively produced plastic pop that does little more than scratch at the superficial surface lyrically.

Light On will be available to stream with the rest of Niky Pasolini’s debut album, which documents her coming-of-age story, on January 20th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chris Cosmo sings the ‘Oblivion Blues’ in his kaleidoscopically melodic alt-indie debut single

Posted on 13 January 2023

Asbury Park, NJ-hailing solo artist Chris Cosmo set the bar for 2023 debut singles transcendentally high with his single, Oblivion Blues. In contrast to the titular melancholy, the alt-indie pop earworm unravels with dreamy, colourful accord spilling from the jangle pop guitars and vocal harmonies reminiscent of his main influence, the Beatles. Don’t worry; you’ve never walked down the yellow brick road in quite the same way as Oblivion Blues pushes you through. Lyrically, the single takes the opportunity to ponder the mechanics of doubt and its tendency to lead us away from our true paths.

Staying true to his motivation to drive infectious melodies and thoughtful lyrics into his music, Cosmo leaves stardust in the soul when he’s had his melodic way with you. With just enough of a contemporary kick behind the 60s psych-pop tones, you’ll be on a sonic plateau before the kaleidoscopic chorus runs through.

After falling head over heels for music at a young age, which left him inseparable from his guitar, he formed bands through his teenage years before his passion became an obsession following the disillusionment that ensued after graduating college. We can wholly relate, which goes a fair way in explaining the sticky-sweet resonance in Oblivion Blues.

Oblivion Blues will be available to stream from January 13th. Catch it on Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast