Browsing Tag

Alternative

Pain and beauty permeably interplay in djamesk13’s alt-rock single, Through All the Beautiful Storms

Posted on 4 August 2024

djamesk13 consistently finds new alt-rock intersections to explore, the latest emotionally-weighted release from the London-hailing solo artist, Through All the Beautiful Storms, is no exception.

The release finds myriads of ways to allude to how thin and permeable the line between pain and beauty is; without one, there is no other. Just as you can find harmony in the distorted, grungy discordance, djamesk13 ensures you find the blessing in grief, it’s the primal price we pay for love, and that bitter-sweet exchange is laid out right across the affecting no-wave-adjacent chords in Through All the Beautiful Storms, which stands as the artist’s most heart-wrenchingly relatable release to date.

Anyone who has ever loved and lost will know how much the single rings true as it reflects how emotions conflictingly conflate, turning the sweetest memories into haunting reminders.

The intimate, instrumentally visualised, vignette penned in the wake of his mum’s passing couldn’t have unfolded as a more heart-wrenching ode to the soul the world is clearly darker without.

Through All the Beautiful Storms was officially released on July 27th; stream it on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Surrender your senses to the spiritual sanctity within Catherine Grace & Mark Dwane’s electronic folk single, Broken Wide Open

Posted on 30 July 2024
Broken Wide Open by Mark Dwane / Catherine Grace

In the spirited soundscape of her childhood home, reverberating with the likes of Johnny Mathis, Fleetwood Mac and Barbra Streisand, Catherine Grace found her calling, which would eventually lead her to her collaborative partner, Mark Dwane. Their relationship, marked by seamless creativity and a deep mutual understanding, has culminated in scores of cultivated-with-soul releases, including their latest titularly poetic single, Broken Wide Open.

The track unfolds at a cathartically measured pace, not rushing to reveal its depths but rather allowing listeners to immerse themselves in its spiritual and soulful melodies. Catherine’s ethereal harmonies, when coupled with Dwane’s electronic folk underpinnings, create a profound sonic synergy that transcends mere musical collaboration. The duo has mastered the art of building a track that ebbs and flows with rhythmic magnetism, weaving together notes that resonate with an arresting affirmation of their unique artistic alchemy.

Amidst personal challenges and life’s unpredictable turns, music has been Catherine’s sanctuary, a theme that resonates powerfully throughout their latest offering. With Broken Wide Open” Catherine Grace and Mark Dwane invite the listener into a shared experience of renewal and revelation. Their collaborative spirit evokes comparisons to the iconic Enya, yet with a distinct identity that firmly roots them in the contemporary indie scene.

As you surrender to the lush, layered textures of Broken Wide Open, you’ll revel in the power of sound to soothe, inspire, and awaken.

Broken Wide Open is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spyndycyt took synth-pop to visceral new heights with his introspection-fuelled hit, Change Me from the Inside

Posted on 29 July 2024

The electronica avant-gardist, Spyndycyt, has struck again with the release of his sophomore synth-pop single, Change Me from the Inside. If Frank Zappa had lived long enough to experiment with 8-bit-adjacent production, he would have undoubtedly orchestrated something as ludicrously electrifying as this infectiously unhinged anthem, which almost registers as a lament from a painfully self-aware transhuman organism 100 years in the future.

Change Me from the Inside reverberates with all-too-relatable electro-pop insanity, echoing New Order in its kinetic rhythms which pulsate through the chaos stirred by synthesising a raw emotional undercurrent into tides of merciless electronica which shimmer into distortion with every crescendo.

Each beat and melody reflect a different facet of self-discovery and confrontation from an artist who fearlessly never filters his expression to become an advocate of introspective candour and to perfectly encapsulate his message that lifting the veil on your own psyche is never a comfortable process.

The spontaneously materialised lyrics efficaciously testify to how wrestling with your own autonomy will leave you battle scared; the teeth of self-remonstration and loathing will always sink in, yet, chances are you’ll also meet your own indomitable spirit and come out stronger after the encounter.

Change Me From the Inside was officially released on July 21; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Miss Terious exhibited the power and pain of alter-egos in ‘Misty’

Posted on 26 July 2024

Miss Terious’ latest single, Misty, bridges the gap between the tender indie pop magnetism of boygenius, the artful expression of Kate Bush, and the gothic sombre glamour reminiscent of Evanescence. This coalescence is perfectly interwoven in the arcane atmosphere of the indie piano pop ballad, where the sparse instrumentals allow Miss Terious’ emotionally heightened vocals to spectrally overpower the production.

Each verse tightens the heartstrings as you become consumed by the raw emotion conveyed through the confession of how pseudonyms can deliver confidence while concealing the person behind the greatness. The deeply felt pain of being wanted through association rather than true connection resonates throughout Misty; anyone who has experienced this pain will find the ultimate consolation within the candour.

Miss Terious is a British-born alternative musician from the West Midlands, known for her originated mix of electronic and classical instruments. Since debuting with her EP Bleeding Green in 2020, she has tackled topics such as abuse, mental health, and her separation from the ballet industry. In 2022, she was honoured as BBC Introducing’s Artist of the Month for Coventry and Warwickshire and performed at the Backyard Festival in Leamington Spa. Her contribution to the music scene earned her the Local Hero Award for AIM Awards 2022.

After hearing Misty, there isn’t an industry accolade we wouldn’t see her as fit for.

Misty was officially released on July 19; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Urban Café Crew cruised through 80s nostalgia and became sonic heartthrobs in their latest single, Movin’ Down I39

Posted on 24 July 2024

It’s all gas and no brakes in Urban Café Crew’s latest single, ‘Movin’ Down I39’, which exudes a striking blend of 80s Hollywood glamour and heart-throb vocals that make the driving anthem impossible not to groove with.

With the opening sounds of engines revving against strident piano chords that are augmented by Blockbuster nostalgia, you’re instantly susceptible to the lyrics that compel you to seize the moment while the rhythmically magnetic progressions seize your pulses and evoke panoramic images of a guy driving to get the girl. The propulsion of the pulsating beats transcends auditory ingenuity to craft a visual masterpiece that you’ll never get tired of revisiting.

We didn’t need any more evidence of the Australian-based collective’s cultivated songwriting stripes after hearing their Christmas earworm and the eternally endearing single, Hey There Boomer, It’s Not OK. Yet, now that Movin’ Down I39 is here, it only cements their ability to produce hits that sweep you up in their infectiously soulful intensity; it’s the most syncable single I’ve heard this year.

Movin’ Down I39 was officially released on July 17; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bang emotional ambiguity cascades into Bang’s alt-indie lullaby, HOLD ON

Posted on 24 July 2024

In his latest single, HOLD ON, the alt-indie visionary, Bang, plunged his eternally expanding following into a pool of lush reverb-swathed ambience, intersected by sharp, reverberant trap beats that push momentum into the hazy lullaby which envelops the senses with wavy dream-like soul.

With this seminal release, bang captured the essence of affection as the harbinger of comfort and the precursor to uncertainty and confusion. The exposition of the dangers of letting down your walls is intricately crafted into the thematic visualisations of the introspective lyrics that are filled with late-night longing.  The sensory expedition into the heart of emotional ambiguity is an irresistible invitation to escape into the delicious delirium.

The seraphically disorientating release marks the Michigan-raised Asian-American artist as the Thom Yorke of his generation while becoming a milestone stride in his set-to-be illustrious sonic journey which was chartered after early exposure to Bollywood rhythms and 00s hip-hop beats.

As the architect of hits that pulsate with modern indie rhythm and find superlative equilibrium between evocative and innovative cultivation, Bang is elevating the airwaves with his solo work and his role in the genre-defying collective, Rarehearted.

HOLD ON will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from July 24th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Her Motives Are Silent delivered darkwave redemption in his spectrally lush orchestration, Running

Posted on 23 July 2024
Running by Her Motives Are Silent

In the latest single from Her Motives Are Silent, the marked-to-be illustrious Calgary-hailing innovator, Michael Valenzuela, looked into the shadows of introspection through a darkwave electronica lens that invokes Glenn Branca’s avant-garde obscurity.

‘Running’ meticulously stitches distorted vocals into the fabric of its production, ensconced amidst formidable percussive lashes flowing through syncopated rhythms and crafting a sonorous web capable of placating the macabrely-minded and unsettling the comfortable.

By implanting orchestral motifs and the spectral qualities of Porcupine Tree into the middle ground of NIN and Radiohead the single, which challenges the listener to confront their anxiety instead of simply evading it by any means necessary, is a deeply reflective score which acts as a compelling precursor to the solo artist’s upcoming debut album, Love Muse.

As the track unfolds, it pensively guides its audience towards resolution, encapsulating a journey through emotional turbulence with a promise of catharsis; the oscillating momentum ebbs and flows around the evocatively vulnerable pull of the vocal delivery, resulting in a cinematically lush auditory extension of redemption.

Running was officially released on July 19; stream and purchase the single via Bandcamp.

For more info, head over to the official Her Motives Are Silent website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oh doom! orchestrated a sonic dichotomy in their tone-setting post-rock debut, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad

Posted on 20 July 2024

Oh doom! set the tone for their forthcoming discography with the release of their elegiac debut single, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad; but given the artistic intensity within the inaugural release, expecting the unexpected would be safer.

The release ensues from an ambient post-rock composition filled with art-rock motifs and reverb-drenched choral guitars that pull textures of shoegaze into the production until the track steadily builds in momentum throughout the extended 8-minute duration.

While attention spans may be waning and artists are churning out 2-minute pop tracks left, right, and centre, Oh Doom! exhibited the beauty of foregoing instant hooks for mind-shattering crescendos, cinematically constructed by distorted walls of noise, powerful enough to reverberate right through you.

The kinetic alchemy within All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad is a visceral attestation to the raw, creative power of Oh Doom!, who have the potential to rise to the same heights as Low and Mogwai. Not pedestrian enough for unoriginated post-rock assimilation, the single broadsides with Grandaddy-esque polyphonic synthetics which infiltrate the paradoxically tender yet monolithic production.  Yet, perhaps the most striking beauty in the single lies in how, regardless of the intensity of the instrumentals, the pensively diaphanous vocals maintain imperturbable innocent serenity.

From the ashes of frenetically-paced projects, Oh doom! banded together to filter hope into despair in their releases which utilise spatial effects to let emotion manifest between the notes. As the first single from the debut EP, set for release on July 26, All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad became an irrefutable sign of even bigger things to come from the North London/Hertfordshire band.

All Our Songs Are Slow and Sad was officially released on July 5; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie synths drive the soul in ‘Our Story’, the latest chapter in the organically originated artistry of iinz

Posted on 19 July 2024

‘Our Story’ is yet another chapter in the organically originated chronicle of the Alt-RnB trailblazer, iinz. With an innate ability to traverse the lesser-explored corners of RnB and the human experience alike, iinz introduces a fresh, experimental approach to her euphoniously stylised narratives.

Born from a visceral moment of heartbreak, Our Story is a profoundly personal vignette which epitomises the authentic and introspective essence of the independent artist. The single touches on how even if you share the most intimate parts of yourself, that doesn’t guarantee that you’ll share the same reality.

The loungey, pseudo-jazzy rhythms interspersed with indie synthwave touches create a lush, immersive soundscape which testifies to the nuanced sophistication within the artistry of iinz. Her collaboration with producer Taiina elevated the sonic complexity and evocative resonance to the nth degree.

With iinz on your playlists, you’re never short of a refuge of solace and understanding. The LA-hailing Israeli-American soulstress’ ability to find the alchemic intersections between old-school soul and alt-pop is beyond compare. Yet, there’s an aching sense that when it comes to iinz, expression will always be prioritised over competition.

Our Story will be officially released on July 19; stream the single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: The Immaculate Crows charted a journey through self-rediscovery through the post-punk-meets alt-country single, Van Gogh

Posted on 18 July 2024

With their seminal single, Van Gogh, the mesmeric Brisbane alternative outfit, The Immaculate Crows, led by the philosophically profound Bruce Neilsen, reflected the fractures in the torn soul of the tortured namesake artist while exhibiting an exposition of the complexities of self-discovery and the ease with which autonomy can become obscured.

Bruce Neilsen’s guitar work lights up the track, scintillating the dark alt-country aesthetic established by Jessica Shipley’s commanding vocals and Daphne Mae’s ethereal harmonies; Wayne Harvey’s garagey guitar licks introduce an additional dynamic to the arcanely genre-fluid tour de evocative force, which will be euphony to the ears of fans of Echo and the Bunnymen and Jefferson Airplane.

As a band that has navigated the highs and lows of the music scene since the early ’80s, The Immaculate Crows have continually evolved. Neilsen’s return to the scene in 2019 marked a revival of their creative output, now characterised by a collaborative dynamic within the collective which has released two albums to date with a third on the way.

The Immaculate Crows Said:

“The single was inspired by the tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh; as the single came to fruition, I integrated disparate themes of ageism, false friends and charlatans. The single is completely open to personal interpretation, but the main underpinning is a narrative of attempting to rediscover yourself through finding spirituality, a special someone or something and eventually ‘coming out of the wilderness’.”

Van Gogh is available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Follow The Immaculate Crows on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast