Browsing Tag

Alt Indie

Layman.TV sings a ‘Harmony Eternal’ in his ethereal indie folk pop single

Posted on 30 August 2022
https://soundcloud.com/user-534530743/harmony-eternal-1

Bridging the gaps between Glen Hansard, James Yorkston and Richard Hawley, The London-based singer-songwriter, Layman.TV released his latest ethereal indie folk single, Harmony Eternal.

The flourishing chamber strings against his harmonised spoken word reflections on nature and all the parallels they create within our lives pull together to create a poetically celestial sensory experience in Harmony Eternal. It is almost enough to guilt trip you for not sharing the same romantic lust for life. I say almost; the sublime appreciation for natural phenomena becomes infectious. Especially when the nuanced rock guitars start to bolster the passion in the otherwise graciously otherworldly soundscape.

Harmony Eternal is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Denim Blue tore off the facade in his indie rock bedroom pop EP, Vacation Blues

Posted on 27 August 2022

In his new EP, Vacation Blues, the Norway-residing bedroom pop artist Denim Blue tore off the facade and abstracted any sense of pretence to deliver a 6-track release which encompasses the dissonance that the journey of loss and recovery imparts.

Inner turmoil is always a field of landmines, but never has it been filled with so many efficacious hooks. Vacation Blues stands as a testament to Denim Blue’s ability to capture the confusion within the human condition while sending you deep into a state of sonic beguile.

Track 1, Brand New, is undoubtedly the earworm of the EP. Unlike your average earworm, the melodic indie pop rock hit sticks to your synapses like superglue through the cohesion between the apathetically hooky vocals and the colourful melodies. Track 2, Tear Me Down, heightens the emotion by stripping back the production to an art pop serenade of lost love.

Track 3, Field of Dreams, shares sonic textures with shoegaze while Denim Blue runs with his signature rough, raw and relatable vocal timbre before Down completely shifts the synthetics of the EP into a hazy synth-pop lament. Decidedly one of the sweet spots on the EP, Waste My Time exhibits the best of Denim Blue’s lyrical gravitas before the concluding single, Bloom, blossoms under warm saturated delay.

Putting context and intensifying the listening experience, this is what Denim Blue had to say on Vacation Blues:

“Vacation Blues is a short but open story. There are a few ways to interpret it as it grows darker with different stages of losing hope, love, will and identity. At the end of the EP, there is a realisation, but it is a cyclical story; the first and last tracks have the same vocal hook with different meanings.

It is about struggling to move on, whether from heartbreak, addiction, mental health, or any other personal matter; it is up to you to decide, as the listener. I wanted it to feel familiar, almost like the inner voice that tries to speak up.”

Stream Vacation Blues on Spotify & SoundCloud.

To stay up to date with new releases, follow Denim Blue on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go Go Gadget Pink Packet shakes it up in his intimate alt-indie hit, Sno Globe

Posted on 14 August 2022

Taken from his sophomore album, Unfinished Art, Go Go Gadget Pink Packet’s standout single, Sno Globe, is an emotion-driven hit of alt-indie, which throws back to the 00s while simultaneously embracing autonomously expressive melodic innovation.

Starting with an almost outtake-y prelude, the zealous lo-fi indie single breathes bedroom pop intimacy, with an extra flavour of sticky-sweet power-pop in the overdriven guitars, which carry as much emotion as the raw yet sugared vocal harmonies.

In his own words, the Sherrill, NY-based solo artist, writes common man blues records, perfectly encapsulating the immediate resonance you find in the dejection.

Sno Globe is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

British Quintessentialism meets riotous pop-punk and post-hardcore in DEFS’ latest single, No Worries If Not

Posted on 7 August 2022

DEFS is a one-man mission to create groove-saturated raucous pop bangers; based on the Sheffield, UK-based songwriter and producer’s latest riotously off-kilter single, No Worries If Not, his endeavour is a resounding success. If you could imagine how Liam Lynch’s United States of Whatever would have unfolded if he was quintessentially British, you’ll get an idea of the animated exuberance.

With his influences ranging from punk rock to nu-metal to 90s indie, DEFS constructed a genre-fluid rancorous mockery of our awkward over-polite tendencies. Through catchy pop-punk choruses, hammering post-hardcore breakdowns (literally and metaphorically), schizophrenic vocal transitions and psychedelically anthemic mayhem, No Worries If Not became the ultimate alt-indie playlist staple. Half-Man Half-Biscuit has nothing on DEFS.

No Worries If Not is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Horatio James – they will have us: lo-fi indie just got infinitely sweeter

Posted on 5 August 2022

If you poured some sugar on Pavement or Dinosaur Jr, the result would be just as sweet as the latest single, they will have us, released by Horatio James.

With reflecting the human condition through lo-fi indie folk soundscapes as the motivation behind the singer-songwriter’s creativity, each new release is an opportunity to boost your mood and brighten your perspective. The dopamine streams are aided by the sweeping overdriven guitars, meltingly warm analog tones and his honeyed harmonies, which will teach you the meaning of expressive vulnerability.

The London-based artist is an all too refreshing taste breaker away from the superficiality that is prolific on the airwaves. For the same reason indie fans developed an affinity for the Violent Femmes and the Dandy Warhols, they will have us will leave an all too welcome synaptic imprint.

they will have us will officially release on August 5th. Check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ascend with Lunar Paths’ dark indie Avant-Garde single, Rise

Posted on 24 July 2022

Any artist with a track titled MetaGoth#1 in their discography has my immediate perpetual attention; with their latest single, Rise, Lunar Paths went even heavier on the dark haunting beguile.

The layered and looped percussive patterns and eastern rhythms steadily inch you into the heart of the psychedelically tribalistic feat of ethereal indie, which laments the lack of soul in our era that makes mental resilience a necessity; lest you be swept away by the dystopian waves. Rise acts as an all too efficacious anchor, with its glimmers of hope in the shimmering echoes.

The transatlantic duo made the Bela Lugosi’s Dead of this era with Rise. It’s not the darkwave you’ve ridden the crux of before; it’s the ethereal Avant Garde sanctity we sorely need.

Rise is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Is Our Children Learning dish out the satirical catharsis in ‘Little Sayin From Tennessee’

Posted on 21 July 2022
Is Our Children Learning

Like an infinitely breezier Beastie Boys, Is Our Children Learning’s latest single, Little Sayin from Tennessee, is a mellow meld of indie, hip hop and satire, sweetened by 70s analog warmth.

Unlike many satirists, Is Our Children Learning evade being as depressing and existentialism-evoking as the MSM. In their latest single, they tie together blissful catharsis from upbeat riffs and cutting witticism. Allowing you consider the true absurdity of hyper-normalised insanity being in every inch of the political spectrum while ensuring your rhythmic pulses are placated. To call it ingenious wouldn’t be all too much of a stretch.

Check out Is Our Children Learning on Instagram and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NKem went heavy on the poetic confessionalism in his alt indie debut, Ergo Sum

Posted on 20 July 2022

NKem describes his debut single, Ergo Sum, as a short, swift pact of artistic poetry; that is exactly how the production sombrely resonates. Opening with Elliot Smith-esque softly fingerpicked guitar notes, the single seamlessly transitions into a spoken word piece, with hints of melodicism in the raw confessionalism.

Attempting to pigeonhole Ergo Sum by genre is an act of futility. NKem lets his spilt ink lyricism lead the way and lets the instrumentals contextualise the expression. For Ergo Sum, there’s a monochromatic blend of ennui pop and indie with nuances of new-wave hip hop.

Recently signed to Quartz Collective Management, the Brighton-based model and artist has a bright creative future ahead of him on the basis of the emotion-evoking capacity of Ergo Sum.

The official lyric video was released on June 23rd; you can check it out here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Andy Hobson brought ascending melodicism to sonic meditation with his latest single, Rise

Posted on 8 July 2022
https://soundcloud.com/andyhobsonmusic/rise/s-P1ghFdxlrW2?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The London, UK-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and spiritual teacher Andy Hobson is so much more than a diamond in the rough. With his latest single, Rise, he is the calm in the ever-calamitous storm that can’t seem to break away from our shores.

From the outro, you will feel some Nick Drake nostalgia. From there on out, the ethereal orchestral strings under the vibrantly ascending acoustic strings deliver heightened emotion exclusive to Hobson’s meditatively inventive take on alt-rock.

If you merged the plaintive sting of The Verve, the unrelenting compassionate tenacity of Nada Surf in their Let Go era with Radiohead-style gravitas and a burning sense of responsibility to spill the equanimity, the end result wouldn’t be too far away from the profound alchemy in Rise.

Here is what Andy Hobson had to say on his latest single:

“This is a bittersweet song about the passing of time and seeing the ups and downs of life as the same thing. Both can lead to new adventures. The song started as a dance track with big drums and a groovy bass line, but the emotion of the melody and lyrics didn’t really fit, so I stripped it back to acoustic guitar and wrote a haunting string section to give a final lift in the outro.”

Save a spot on your radar, as Hobson’s debut LP is due for release in 2023.

Rise, which was mastered by Stefano Ferracin and features Tom Meadows (Kylie/Will Young) on drums, is due for official release on July 8th, 2022. Check it out on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Spotlight Feature: Pinwheel Valley is artfully transcendent in his new EP, Hot Air Balloon

Posted on 6 July 2022

The alt-90s are definitively alive in the latest EP from the multifacetedly talented artist and songwriter Pinwheel Valley. From his studio in Cyprus, the award-winning and BBC-favourite artist delivered three melodic singles that toe the line between artful ingenuity and meditative transcendence.

The opening single, Horizon, carries reminiscences of BETA BAND, but via a 25-year wormhole with its languid guitar licks, groovy trip-hoppy drums and blissful boyband-style vocals.

Track two, Turning to Gold, is enough to throw you right back to the not-too-distant nostalgia of Doves’ There Goes the Fear with its lush, laid-back, bluesy laments and heartbreaking swoonsome melodies.

The final and eponymous track, Hot Air Balloon, boasts a more dynamic, choppy funk, which echoes The Bends era Radiohead via Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ more melodic syncopations.

Putting the context behind his singles, Pinwheel Valley said

“Horizon is a Citizen Cope / David Gilmor-esque inspired ode to tapping into one’s inherent free spirit, which commonly unearths in the lovers’ bond. It paints an image of a man that once swam with his beloved in the magic of a summer night’s sea and attempts to reconnect with the ubiquitous “baby how’s your day?”

Turning to Gold is a hymn of lovers as they traverse life’s highs and lows. It reaches into metaphysical spheres while weighing on the fact that bliss cannot be found when one is merely dreaming.

Hot Air Balloon is a metaphor for pregnancy. As the process unfolds, whereby a spirit permeates and rises into the boundless world, a Hot Air Balloon rises into the ether (where our thoughts drift and amalgamate).”

If any contemporary can unwrite all the false premises of capitalist romanticism and affirm that the beauty of love and life lies in the simplest of moments, it is Pinwheel Valley. He knows just how to bring his epiphanous concepts to life so that the sonic end result is just as mind-bending as his laureate-like revelations.

The Hot Air Balloon EP is now available to stream on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.

Follow Pinwheel Valley on Facebook & Instagram

Review by Amelia Vandergast