Browsing Tag

Courtney Love

Lori & the Darlings reached nirvana with the alt-90s nostalgia in their Americana rock single, high

Posted on 1 August 2024

Lori & the Darlings’ standout single, High, taken from their 2024 LP, Main Street, is a richly rendered addition to the Americana rock canon. Lori, whose voice is naturally poised for creating instant classics, shines iridescently bright in this emotion-driven vignette, exposing the capacity of connection to lead to transcendence. The instrumentals efficaciously visualise the inexplicably sweet sensation, with shimmering organ tones stretching to nirvana, giving High oceanic depth for listeners to plunge into and swim with the rhythmically resolving tides.

Lori’s vocals deliver the grit of Courtney Love, infused with the soul of Leigh Nash and Meredith Brooks, nestling into the scarcely-occupied middle ground where artists swathe their harmonies with seraphic sentimentality and project potency to amplify evocative intensity.

No review of High would be complete without pouring plaudits on the guitars that make the track such a sense-gratifying listen. The steady ring of the chords pulls you through the euphonically stripped production until they burst in momentum in the middle eight, proving that Lori & the Darlings have earned their place among their Americana rock icons.

With more releases in the pipeline from the Detroit-based four-piece which captures the highs and lows of big-city dreamers in small-town America, do we really need to tell you to give them a follow?

Stream the Main Street LP from Lori & the Darlings on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Molly Ferrill unclipped her wings in her emboldening sonic rebellion, Born to Fly

Posted on 6 February 2024

Molly Ferrill’s debut single, ‘Born to Fly‘, is a clarion call to unshackle the spirit. The potent blend of rock ‘n’ roll fervour and pop sensibility echoes the raw energy of Joan Jett and the unapologetic boldness of Courtney Love. But the real earworm appeal lies in how the National Geographic Explorer turned musician infused the single with a sense of unbridled freedom, mirroring her own life’s journey across the globe.

Recorded in Mexico and produced in the U.K., Born to Fly is a testament to her multifaceted creativity, seamlessly blending visuals and sounds that resonate with her deep connection to the natural world. The accompanying music video, set against the rugged backdrop of Tlayacapan, Mexico, features a Harris’s hawk, symbolising the song’s core message of liberation and empowerment.

The track itself is a masterful reinvention of 90s nostalgia for the modern alt-rock scene. Ferrill’s vocals oscillate between the soulful pop tones reminiscent of Texas and the gritty edge of the Riot Grrrl era. The guitar licks may pay homage to the classic rock era, but they are distinctly contemporary in their execution.

Ferrill’s message in Born to Fly is clear: liberation is not just a dream, but a tangible reality, attainable through the sheer force of will and the joy of living.

As Ferrill continues to traverse diverse creative landscapes, from the streets of Mexico City to the urban sprawl of Bangkok and New York City, Born to Fly is a strikingly catchy elucidation of her artistic vision – fearless, unbound, and relentlessly uplifting.

Check out the official music video for Born to Fly on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break out of your digitally paralysed repose with A VOID’s latest single, The Gutter

Posted on 2 December 2023

After gaining international airplay, featuring in seminal Spotify editorial playlists, and hitting the most prestigious venues in Europe, the Paris-born, London-residing three-piece, A VOID, are currently at work on their third studio album with the Grammy-winning producer Shuta Shinoda.

Their latest single, The Gutter, serves an evocative aperitif to the highly anticipated LP. By encapsulating the essence of the alt-90s while refusing to allow influence to inhibit their creative song crafting, A VOID became one of the refreshingly rancorous entities in the UK’s expansive alternative scene.

The song kicks off with an unfiltered rawness reminiscent of Hole and the Distillers. This visceral yet tonally dreamy introduction sets the stage for what’s to come: a Vercua Salt-esque chorus that delivers a heavy artillery earworm in the form of pounding hooks.

As the track progresses, it introduces angular guitar work that echoes Interpol to add layers of complexity and showcasing the artist’s ability to blend influence and ingenuity into authenticity. Rather than paying tribute to the past, A VOID remain relentless in their determination to breathe new life into the familiar.

The overarching artfulness of the track doesn’t overshadow its integral linchpin; the powerful chords struck through the lyricism which reflects on the stagnancy screens can sucker us into This lament on fear of failure and frustration with procrastination speaks for the vast majority who watch the hours and days slip by in a malaise despite best intentions.

Produced by Shuta Shinoda (Daughter, Spiritualized, Ghostpoet) at Hackney Road Studios and mastered by John Webber (Bowie, Echo and the Bunnymen, Yungblud), The Gutter transcends and subverts all expectations in its artfully grungy beguile as it playfully leads the listener down Lynchian rabbit hols with instrumental drops.

The Gutter was officially released on November 18th; stream it on Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Raw emotion becomes anthemic in Alexis Perry’s high-octane rock track, Memory of a Car Wreck.

Posted on 4 December 2021

Memory of a Car Wreck is the latest rock n roll hit from the 20-year-old US singer-songwriter Alexis Perry, who has garnered plenty of hype since her visceral debut. Despite the offer of a major label deal, she has held onto her indie status and expressively lacerating style. You would be hard-pressed to find such piercing lyricism from any other up and coming artist.

The single starts with crashing symbols and crunching guitars; as the basslines start to grind, Alexis Perry’s effortlessly evocative vocal timbre starts to intensify until the track works up to a stadium-ready anthem. It stands as a testament to Alexis Perry’s songwriting ability that she was able to create such a massive track that sparked from something as raw and intimate as suicide. Memory of a Car Wreck finds a raucous way to depict the mercurial nature of our minds that can be on the brink in one moment and consoled the next.

Memory of a Car Wreck is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast