Browsing Tag

Art Rock

Organic Art Folk Serenity Unravels through Matt John Henderson’s ‘Gethsemane’

Posted on 9 November 2024

With his latest single, Gethsemane, the Ambient Avant-Gardist Matt John Henderson nestled into the niche of sonic expressionists with the ability to render catharsis into your rhythmic pulses while intellectually stimulating your mind.

The cinematically quiescent piece uses organic textures and tones to imbue the production in folksy seraphic warmth; his equally as honeyed and honed hushed vocal tones effortlessly complement the minimalist yet intricately eloquent instrumental stylings which pair jazz nuances with artfully delicate motifs that wouldn’t be out of place in Thom Yorke’s remit.

As a precursor to the critically acclaimed artist’s eagerly anticipated album, Lapse in Stillness, Gethsemane is an introspectively entrancing teaser of the serenity which is set to soon follow. The artist’s ability to invite his audience to lose themselves and live between the layers of his sound is second to none; it’s only a matter of time before his name becomes a staple on every editorial ambient playlist on Spotify.

Gethsemane was officially released on November 1st; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

MINERVA SYSTEM synthesised an installation of stylistic sublimity with their alt-rock/trip-hop hybrid, Undermind

Posted on 9 October 2024

MINERVA SYSTEM is a fractured yet symbiotically tight collective, threading their diverse life strands into the dense fabric of their latest single, ‘Undermind’. With members scattered from London to Devon, from St. Petersburg to the indeterminate coordinates of their drummer, the online outfit crafts sonic installations that are as expansive as their geographical spread.

‘Undermind’ is a descent into the ethereal, echoing the otherworldly aura of Bjork with an execution that plays havoc with rhythmic pulses. MINERVA SYSTEM manipulates time signatures with trip-hop precision while maintaining a mellifluous melodicism that binds the chaos into coherence. Discernibly, few artists know how to create equilibriums of sonic serenity and visceral intensity as adeptly as MINERVA SYSTEM with their skill in soaking sounds with raw emotion.

As the track progresses, it metamorphoses; midway, it shifts gears into a 90s-alt-rock-tinged crescendo that wouldn’t be amiss in a Garbage tracklist. This crescendo is a stark, gritty counterpoint to the track’s smoother beginnings, illustrating the band’s versatile command over their sound palette.

If they continue to produce hits in the same vein as Undermind, their rise from the underground is inevitable. They’ve clearly mastered the dark art of sonic scintilaltion; watch this space.

Stream Undermind on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The renegades of shoegaze revolution, interail, emerged as an unreckonable outfit in their debut single, red

Posted on 3 October 2024

With their debut single, red, the independent alt-rock outfit interail went beyond dropping the first track in their repertoire. The Northwest UK-hailing four-piece collective established themselves as the renegades of rock’s impending revolution, impending under their juggernautical volution.

Undercurrents of grungy shoegaze permeate the artfully chaotic tour de force, guaranteeing that getting swept up in the tides of red is non-optional as piercingly tumultuous percussion punctuates the laments of the distorted guitars beneath the vox, which oscillate between emulating everyone from Julian Casablancas to Thom Yorke to Orlando Weeks before heightening the evocative sting of the unique inflexions as the track gears towards its viscerally intense hardcore-tinged outro.

Not one moment of red allows you to feel comfortable within the progressions; the dynamic chameleon shifts in pace and tone are enough to leave your nerves frayed and your rhythmic pulses in knots.

The bar couldn’t have been set higher with their debut track; if you’re sick of assimilation-driven shoegaze, prepare to be adrenalised by the walls of sound in red.

Stream red on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Confront the introspective abyss with Locian’s kinetic darkwave art-rock release, Shadow on the Wall

Posted on 25 September 2024

Dance with the darkness within to the tempo of Locian’s most affectingly kinetic electronic art-rock release yet, Shadow on the Wall. The rhythmically augmented earworm from Australia’s most introspective solo artist is so much more than just a sonic drop into the oversaturated airwaves. It intensifies the anticipation for Locian’s forthcoming LP, Fears, Reflections & Shades of Time, as the solo artist continues to define his distinctive electronic rock style, weaving his signature synthesis into the rhythmically charged compositions of philosophical reckoning.

Emotionally charged revelations about facing the hidden aspects of one’s identity diaphanously drift through the installation of dark etherealism as the track’s pulsating synths and sharply defined guitar lines inject a vibrant, high-energy feel into the release which offers a scintillating study in contrasts. It juxtaposes the vulnerability inherent in introspection with the robust instrumental forces that symbolise the tumultuous battle against inner demons.

Originally envisioned as two separate pieces, Shadow on the Wall evolved into a unified narrative that advocates the importance of acknowledging and embracing one’s darker sides. After winning audiences across Sydney and Melbourne over with the single, the core message is set to enlighten the darkwave domain while setting a high bar for cerebral lyricism.

Shadow on the Wall was officially released on September 13; stream the single on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sleeping Through Breakfast brought comfort to the void in their alt-indie release, Black Hole

Posted on 24 September 2024

Rarely do indie folk and pop punk melodically intersect, but as proven by Sleeping Through Breakfast’s single ‘Black Hole’, which brings comfort to the void, soul-teasing sublimity transpires.

You’ll come for the convention-defying instrumentals, but you will stay for the stunningly distinct vocals, which use unique inflections to exhibit just how authentic this outfit is. With guitars that spill sepia tones in the same vein as Muzz, paired with sincerity-soaked vocals and artful embellishments, the duo make a mockery of middle-of-the-road artists with their semi-lucid, endlessly ascending motifs. It’s not just the uniqueness of the soundprint that will leave you aching for more; it’s how intensely the cosmic-hued melodies grip the heartstrings.

Founded in 2021, the alternative/art rock duo Zander Prokop and Joshua Kleiman has been orchestrating for the introspective dreamers with their already expansive discography. With their earlier releases, such as Pillowcase Studies and The A Hopeful Note EP, they set the bar high, but they always find new plateaus to aurally visit. Their latest endeavour, the People Without Faces EP, released on September 22nd, explores themes of death and the inevitable decay of the world while unravelling as a testament to the necessity of finding solace in the love that remains.

Safe to say, Sleeping Through Breakfast has carved out their own space in the alternative scene, and with ‘Black Hole,’ they attest they are here to stay. If they aren’t topping the charts with their Nada Surf-esque tenderness in a few years, we riot.

Black Hole was officially released on September 14; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Caught in the Sonic Undertow of  Dan Morgan’s Post-Rock Riptide, ‘Brace Yourself’

Posted on 22 September 2024
In The Wake Of A Dying Sun by Dan Morgan

After intense anticipation, Dan Morgan’s debut LP, In the Wake of a Dying Sun, released by Throwing Shapes, is finally upon us. After the opening salvo, the first of the seminal singles, Brace Yourself, offers listeners a potent foretaste of the album’s virtuosic versatility. Brace Yourself is not only a harbinger of Morgan’s diverse exploration but a forceful narrative in its own right, positioning itself steadfastly within the post-rock genre.

In this track, traditional rock instrumentation grooves against cutting-edge and vintage analogue synths, lending an air of retro-futurism to the production which allows the poetic whispers of lyricality to resonate beyond the confines of the release as the verses work their way into the reverberations of your mind.

The complex time signatures woven throughout Brace Yourself are the ultimate attestations of Morgan’s ability to melodically manipulate controlled chaos. This rhythmic complexity adds a palpable intensity to the track which delivers post-rock as you’ve never heard it before.

You’ll be caught between adoration of how cohesively all the elements of the track pulled together and the intensity of emotions evoked by the sonic escapade. Because once you hit play, you’re powerless to resist the momentum. Like getting caught up in a riptide at sea, all you can do is succumb to the higher power as it carries you.

As the first glimpse of what ‘In the Wake of a Dying Sun’ promises, ‘Brace Yourself’ sets a high bar. It is an earnest reflection of Morgan’s last few years of dedication in the studio, wrestling with a spectrum of sounds and influences that culminate in a collection of tracks that are set to seal his fate as one of the most promising UK alt-rock artists of 2024.

In the Wake of a Dying Sun was released on September 12 stream the LP in full on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

snailosaur – Nature:  A Panorama of Eccentrically Untempered Alt-Rock

Posted on 21 September 2024

snailosaur’s seminal single ‘Nature’ shreds through the veneer of indie banality with a ferociously eccentric bite. This single, paired with ‘Kaleidoscopic Mind’ in their double A-side release, is a gritty symphony of dissonance and melody, interlocking the spirits of alt-rock, shoegaze, and noise/art rock. Laced with spoken word, the tracks assert themselves as fierce declarations of style.

Emerging from New York City’s music scene, snailosaur has been tearing up stages across NYC and Brooklyn with their unabashedly raw energy. Following their debut album ‘Talk Therapy’ released in January 2024, the band has etched an indelible mark on the indie map with their sonic scriptures of rebellion and introspection.

‘Nature’ channels the nostalgic echo of The Psychedelic Furs and melds it with the anarchic edge of Dinosaur Jr and the quirky kicks of Pavement as the vocal style, reminiscent of Frank Zappa’s iconoclastic drawl, merges into harmonies that subtly nod to the Beach Boys in the chorus.

The track is a visceral punch of tangled harmonies and textured disarray which peaks with a guitar solo that strips back the layers of grunge to bare the skeleton of Snailosaur’s musical genius—unrefined, unapologetic, and underpinned by technical intricacy.

Nature & Kaleidoscopic Mind was officially released on September 13; stream the double A-side single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Caldwell – feeding the wound: An Indie Art Rock Ode to the Raw Edges of the Human Psyche

Posted on 6 August 2024

The intimacy of unfiltered vulnerability doesn’t just breathe through Sam Caldwell’s standout single, feeding the wound, it quiescently screams and resounds through the delirious-with-self-discontent production which embodies the stripped style of Elliott Smith, and the artfully cultivated expressionist air of Mitski and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Caging one of the most viscerally affecting crescendos that has ever torn its way into my soul, feeding the wound is so much more than a lyrically sharpened vignette of a masochistic mind. Each element serves to visualise a psyche marred with self-awareness and destruction; from the sonic pulls of ennui to how the mind cascades under the weight of affliction, each progression is a revelation of a raw, painfully relatable perception.

The LA singer-songwriter is quickly making a name for himself with his encapsulations of the pain of coming of age; with his debut LP, he’s rivalled the resonance of Brett Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero. His ability to tune into universal themes of guilt and heartbreak while using heartstrings on his fretboard will undoubtedly see him go far in the industry which is crying out for veritable troubadours of candour.

feeding the wound is now available to stream on Spotify as part of Sam Caldwell’s debut album, wanderlust, which was officially released on July 25.

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

Locian became the architect of art-rock therapy with his sophomore single, Power

Posted on 10 May 2024

Artistic intensity is tempered by the dialectical quiescence in the stormily tender confluence of art-rock and trip-hop in the sophomore single, Power, from Sydney’s most promising breakthrough artist, Locian.

Aching reverberations course through the lush architecture of the syncopated progressions, providing the ultimate juxtaposition of discomfort and ease to pay a fitting tribute to the complex interplay of ennui and self-imposed affliction. Locian’s vocals, caressing with each whispered breath, provide the ultimate permission to surrender to the therapeutic virtues of this flawlessly poignant release.

By building into a corrosive industrial electronica sequence towards the outro, which becomes a sonic visualisation of the disorientating soul-tearing nature of self-destructive internal narratives, Locian ensured that Power hit with maximum impact.

If your introspection is more torturous than waterboarding, break free from the poisoned rumination through the resounding philosophy within Power; it’s far cheaper than therapy.

Power will be available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud from May 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast