Browsing Tag

Beach Boys

The Stanford Family Band – On My Holiday: A Riotously Sunlit Escapade Through the Intersections of Indie, Garage Rock, and Motown

Posted on 13 March 2024

The Stanford Family Band, following their debut ‘Love Me A Bit‘, have returned with ‘On My Holiday‘, a single that radiates with the warmth of a supernova. This track, a part of their upcoming 6-track EP ‘For Your Listening Pleasure’, is a vibrant testament to the Brighton-based band’s endlessly euphoric sonic identity.

From the first note, ‘On My Holiday’ is an immersion in a riotously colourful explosion of kaleidoscopic fervency. The vintage production, reminiscent of Ray Charles’ ‘Mess Around’, is a masterful blend of bluesy piano grooves and Beach Boys-esque harmonies. The trailblazers could never be as pedestrian as solely nodding to the past; with this release, they reimagined the aural ecstasy of a bygone era, tailored for today’s indie and garage rock enthusiasts.

Frontman Elliot Stanford’s captivating lead vocals, coupled with the band’s commitment to complex four-part harmonies and memorable melodic hooks resulted in a quirky upbeat odyssey through a bittersweet vignette, which affirmed that in the death of winter, the sun is just around the corner.

Elliot’s approach to songwriting, as he describes, is an exercise in balancing musical joy with lyrical melancholy, a juxtaposition reminiscent of the Beach Boys circa 1965. ‘On My Holiday’ is the embodiment of this philosophy, musically exuberant yet lyrically introspective.

On My Holiday was released via Goo Records on February 27th and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

billon dailey is set to make his hook-filled alt-indie-pop debut with ‘Pull on My Heartstrings’

Posted on 3 December 2021
billon dailey

If the Beach Boys made their debut in 2021 and picked up some Midwest Emo tendencies, their bright and instantly infectious melodies would have plenty in common with the ones found in singer-songwriter, billion daily’s triumph of a debut single, Pull on My Heartstrings.

The intricately and anthemically layered single breezes through the whole tonal spectrum as it runs through the frenetic choruses and verses where you can drink in the lush accordance of shimmering notes. It is anything but your average debut, which has plenty to do with the artist cutting his teeth as a songwriter under the moniker, iamsleepless, for years. After turning away from music to explore faith, having an existential crisis from that decision and returning to music armed with weed and a guitar, he started work on his debut release; we’re beyond glad that he did.

Pull on My Heartstrings is available to stream from December 3rd 2021. You can catch it for yourself on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freedom Shapes have given Synthpop an Avant-Garde Twist with “You and Me”

Posted on 23 August 2020

Synthpop doesn’t come much more off-the-cuff than Freedom’ Shapes latest endearingly Avant-Garde single You and Me which dropped on July 4th. The LA-based artist embarked on their solo career after they were awarded 700 loop pedals through a lawsuit with Guitar Center. If that isn’t enough to give you pedal envy, I don’t know what is. Freedom Shapes found the perfect use for all 700 pedals by connecting them to the flute and using it in the insanely electric track You and Me.

As for what You and Me means, Freedom Shapes left it open to interpretation and allows the listener to find their own meaning. It’s part love song, part psychological thriller, so let your mind run as wild.

Stylistically, their eccentric amalgamation of Surf Pop Rock and Synthpop gives the sound of Dick Dale and the Beach Boys a brand-new analog sound. With the vocals switching between deadpan ominous versing and Psych Pop harmonies, Freedom Shapes created a track that even the Residents would approve of. We can’t get enough of it either. Hit play and delve into the indulgent absurdity which awaits.

You can check out the official video to Freedom Shapes’ latest single for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

 

A&R Factory Present: Tourist Dollars

Posted on 15 June 2016

With just two singles to their name, Melbourne trio Tourist Dollars have certainly made a strong impression for themselves — having already charmed the likes of Triple J, Indie Shuffle and Spotify (who featured previous single ‘Horse Girl’ on their global Fresh Finds playlist) in recent months.

Ahead of their eponymous debut EP release, Tourist Dollars will share the record’s enchanting opening track ‘Ageless’.

Playing out like a hazy, reverb-doused ballad, ‘Ageless’ is teeming with soaring harmonies; underpinned by warbling synths and a rickety drum machine, it finds itself sitting somewhere between a Beach Boys b-side and an Ariel Pink offshoot.

Much of the heavy-lifting is left to the trademark croon of songwriter Jesse McCormack though, whose penchant for ‘60s favourites The Zombies continues to shine through — as it did with previous singles ‘Horse Girl’ and ‘End of Times’.

McCormack’s knack for crafting potent, and engrossing pop songs is what’s particularly at work here. It’s a talent sure to see  Tourist Dollars continue to gain recognition, and one that will likely see them go far.

Tourist Dollars ‘ eponymous debut EP is due for release June 9th