Browsing Tag

Elliott Smith

Mustard Mountain Moving Company lament societal idiosyncracy in their Avant-Garde debut, Make it Stop?

Posted on 27 May 2022

For anyone that can relate to the sentiment ‘stop the world I want to get off’, the debut single, Make it Stop? from Mustard Mountain Moving Company should be considered unmissable.

Far from another lockdown lament, the track has been 18-years in the making from the Pittsburgh scene veterans, proving that ennui-blackened frustration has been viable for almost two decades. Yet, notably, it was a devilishly timely release from the lo-fi Avant-Garde artist, who will enamour fans of Elliott Smith and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds alike.

While the lyrics put the idiosyncrasies of our modern existence in the spotlight, the playful synths ensure that the light of day isn’t all too harsh. You couldn’t ask for sweeter sugar for the pill of reality. Do yourselves a favour, affix them to your radar.

You can hear Mustard Mountain Moving Company’s debut single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tim Jackson reached the pinnacle of tender tenacity in his alt-indie single, An Unusual Time

Posted on 26 April 2022

With his standout single, An Unusual Time, taken from his sophomore album, Litter in the Park, the London-based singer-songwriter Tim Jackson, proved that the most consoling tracks don’t evade the grittiest facets of our existence, they encompass them and deliver us from them with pure transcendent panache.

An Unusual Time is so soothing it’s practically medicinal for the way Jackson contends with the unrelenting uncertainty in all of our lives with infectious ease. Sure, there’s been no short supply on exports of lockdown-inspired singles, but Jackson’s Elliott Smith-Esque vocals and tender tenacity are something to behold time and time again. There is as much nuance in the endlessly unravelling lyricism as in the mellifluous complex time signatures that bring an organic dynamic to the indie alt-rock meets jazz sanctum of a soundscape.

Here’s what Tim Jackson had to say about An Unusual Time

“This song is something we can all relate to after several years of once in a lifetime events; it speaks to the sense of bewilderment I was feeling when I wrote it. The title is both lyrically straightforward and cheeky, given the odd 5/8-time signature.”

Litter in the Park is now available to stream in full via Spotify.

Keep up to date with the latest releases from Tim Jackson via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Shane Cooley finds freedom in isolation in his alt-indie-folk single, Coyote

Posted on 8 April 2022
https://soundcloud.com/shanecooley/shane-cooley-coyote-radio-edit/s-3SBTPIaFsbn?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Inspired by tumultuous times and personal emotional upheavals, the acclaimed alt indie-folk singer-songwriter, Shane Cooley, stepped into the metaphysical wild to create his seminal upcoming album, Forest. The first single to be released, Coyote, is a hauntingly euphonic hit that blends tonal palettes of Jack White and Elliott Smith while experimenting with artful simplicity and the dust of desert rock. Vocally, Cooley parallels Grandaddy with his honeyed high timbres that still resonate as organic despite the raised velvety pitches.

With lyrics that run like wild poetry, “A coyote/In grown man’s clothing/Forever lonely/Forever free/Down in the valley/Out on the streets/If you push me/ I’ll show my teeth”, this modernised feat of indie-folk Americana won’t fail to reel you into the themes of isolation and freedom, which are proven to be two of the same.

We can’t wait to hear what the rest of his seminal LP delivers. The Richmond, VA artist may be flying under a lot of people’s radars. Yet, it is only a matter of time before he gets full recognition for his inexplicably honed-in talent and instantly magnetic charisma as a songwriter.

Coyote will officially drop on April 8th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Winternom – True: Meet your new existential alt-indie playlist staple

Posted on 8 March 2022

The alt-indie-folk-rock newcomers, Winternom, are set to bring souls in from the cold with the standout single, True, from their sophomore album, The Cold or the Crowd. Sonically, the hazily sweet single sits between Elliott Smith and Pavement, with a few proto-punk-meets-psych-pop nuances.

Lyrically, the Ottawa, Canada-hailing artist comes into their own with their witticisms that walk the line between existentialism and affection in a way that pays ode to the Alt 90s while still delivering emotive modernism. Despite its overarching lo-fi vibe, the dreamy textures in True never resonate as brash. Instead, they keep the tones bright to contrast the less than sunny, deeply relatable vocal disposition.

True is now available to stream along with the rest of Winternom’s triumph of an album, The Cold or the Crowd via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OneNamedPeter explores the pleasure-pain connection in his artful cosmic pop single, Hurts

Posted on 4 March 2022

Ahead of the release of his fifth 100% DIY album, Hurts, the alt-indie British singer-songwriter, OneNamedPeter, has given us a teaser by letting us taste the cosmic pop textures in the bitter-sweet title single.

If you took Prince’s solos, Elliott Smith’s raw songwriting style, the dreamy chamber pop style of Daughter, the spacey gravity of Bowie and threw them into an aural cocktail with orchestral motifs to boot, it would pour just like the intoxicating soundscape, Hurts.

Nothing about the high-fidelity production feels less than professional. OneNamedPeter knows just how to conjure enough alchemy to wrap around his lyricism that explores the pleasure and pain connection.

Hurts is one of those tragically rare releases that you immediately know you’ll want to dive into time and time again. We’re stoked to hear how the LP ensues after the title-single set such a blissful and accordant tone.

Hurts will officially release on March 4th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ash Ravens takes us ‘Home’ in his latest emotionally enriched alt-indie single

Posted on 3 March 2022

With gorgeously finger-picked Spanish guitars blended into his latest swoon-worthy indie single, Home, Ash Ravens’ latest offering couldn’t be more soulfully arresting.

The monocultural-mould smashing finesse in Home makes a lot of sense when you start to look at the stamps on the bi-lingual artist’s passports. From his birthplace Bangladesh to the Sunset Strip to Melbourne to his current home Canada, he’s traversed the globe and picked up the sweetest tones along the way.

Ravens’ international experience also puts plenty of context behind Home, which blends pop, rock and country to concoct a consolingly cosy soundscape that will undoubtedly act as the antidote to homesickness. With Ravens’ vocals running at an evocative parallel with Elliott Smith and the instrumentals bleeding as much catharsis as The Beatles’ haziest tracks, Home is an instantly unforgettable triumph.

The official video for Ash Ravens’ latest single, Home, premiered on February 17th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

James Gale sings the ‘Summer Blues’ in his resonantly seductive debut EP, Medicine

Posted on 1 March 2022

If James Gale’s debut 2021 EP, Medicine, passed you by, you missed a sweetly psychotropic slice of alt-rock that more than has what it takes to unite fans of Nick Cave, Nirvana, Elliott Smith and the Beatles.

The standout single, Summer Blues, which has now racked up over 14k streams on Spotify, is an indulgent cocktail of psych, blues, indie, and grunge. The dark narrative is delectably handled by the Bruges, Belgium-hailing singer-songwriter and artist. The way the accordant momentum picks up under Gale’s taunting vocals that question if you’re afraid to lose control before bluesily winding the soundscape back down into kaleidoscopically choral grooves is nothing short of arrestive.

We seriously hope that there’s a sophomore release in the pipeline.

Summer Blues is available to stream along with James Gale’s debut EP via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Juliya – Power Lines: A high-vibe lo-fi alt-90s fever dream

Posted on 21 January 2022

With two EPs under their belt, the up and coming alt-indie sensation, Juliya, has unleashed their fever dream of a high-vibe low-fidelity track. Power Lines is as sonically boundary-less as Sonic Youth and Radiohead, and just as ruggedly sweet as Neutral Milk Hotel and Elliott Smith. And there is plenty of room for their garagey no-wave alchemy in between the reminiscences.

There’s scuzz by the smorgasbord, yet, that doesn’t get in the way of the grip of the angular indie guitar notes atop of all the discord. It may be a short and sweet track, but it’s also a sure-fire hit of serotonin in a sentimentally blissful alt-90s time capsule. With enough tracks in the same vein as Power Lines under their belt and the right attention, there is no reason Juilya couldn’t climb the indie charts with ease. Give them a hand on their ascent and stick them on your radar.

Power Lines is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Pinwheel Valley is stripped-back and spiritual in his latest acoustic indie-soul-folk single, Healing

Posted on 12 January 2022
KAIS

Pinwheel Valley bared his spiritual soul in his latest release Healing. The Canadian Cyprus-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer allowed his acoustic single to explore the deep significance of the messiness of our existence and our ability to clean up through bleeding, breathing and healing.

It is thanks to artists like Pinwheel Valley, that the conversations around trauma have moved past idiomatic ignorance. Remember when we were all under the impression that PTSD existed solely in the minds of those that had experienced war? Thankfully, we now see it as a common experience; every ego-blow and mental scar imprinted leaves us with the option of carrying trauma or moving past it, and that is exactly what Healing forces you to reflect on. It’s enough to make you step in front of the mirror and check for scars that have been pushed into the subconscious.

With Pinwheel Valley’s effortlessly artful vocals atop the acoustic guitar strings and nothing else to get in the way of the evocative impact of his lyrics that find a meta way to resonate as confessional, it is easily one of Pinwheel Valley’s most powerful singles to date. As the perfect example, “fall from grace at god’s own pace I’m travelling through the fire, victim of desire” leaves so much more between the lines than your average lyrical confession for the way it alludes to the conflict between our situational emotion and desire.

For Pinwheel Valley’s fans enamoured by his new venture into psychy indie-soul-folk, stay tuned for his upcoming EP that is due for release in February 2022. Healing was officially released on December 19th, 2021. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Pinwheel Valley to keep up to date on his new releases on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christopher Kremer has released his elegantly poetic allusion to languor ‘Electron’

Posted on 7 January 2022

If you still hold a candle for the melancholia of Elliott Smith, consider the new EP from folk singer-songwriter Christopher Kremer as an unmissable release. Major/Minor carries just enough reminiscences to tease nostalgia as the Chicago-based artist leaves you enamoured by his down-but-not-out authenticity.

The soul-fizzingly sweet lead single, Electron, is equally as instrumentally melodious as the most cathartic singles from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The vocals and lyrics lace the soundscape with an all too relatable languor, but even with the poetic allusions to entropy, the hazy choral textures ensure that Electron resonates as a transcendently uplifting release.

Major/Minor is now available to stream in full via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast