Browsing Tag

garage rock

Celebrate your insanity with Bones Shake’s psychiatrically scuzzy latest single ‘Unwell’

Posted on 13 November 2020

Manchester’s most volatile purveyors of super-charged Garage Rock, Bones Shake, dropped their latest single ‘Unwell’ on November 13th. If you’ve been involved in a clandestine relationship with your insanity during lockdown, cast the shame away with this psychiatrically scuzzy aptly timed release.

You can practically smell the aseptic stench of institutionalised sickness behind the raucously electric production which tugs at the undying roots of Rock n Roll while sonically shifting the raucous tones into the 21st century.

I almost feel pity for neurotypicals who won’t get to gorge on the catharsis offered by the most electrifying release, to date, from the lauded Rock n Roll provocateurs.

It’s the perfect scuzzy Garage Rock playlist staple for those long and cold disquiet nights. It’s a far safer option than listening to The Smiths.

Unwell is available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SHAW is set to drop their euphorically sonic Alt Pop track “Tired”

Posted on 31 October 2020
SHAW

Up and coming Pop artist SHAW is set to drop their most dynamic track yet with “Tired”. While the title sets you up for a sedate soundscape, SHAW subverts expectations and slams you right into a high-octane hit.

The energy practically pulsates through the euphoric track which pulls in elements of Garage Rock, Jazz, Rap and Indie Electro Pop to create a viscerally electrifying hit which contains one of the most hypnotising synth solos I’ve ever heard. It’s like Mozart himself laid down the progressions.

After all of the high-vibe sonic momentum, Tired fades out to the quaintly quiescent strumming of a ukulele in one of the most endearing outros we’ve heard. Tired is a rollercoaster, one that you’ll repeatedly want to ride.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can check out SHAW’s provocatively poetic single for yourselves. In the meantime, you can check out their 2 earlier releases via Spotify.

Keep up to date with SHAW’s latest releases by heading over to Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

C. Moore Music mashes up the Alt 90s sound with “Knockin’ Around”

Posted on 31 October 2020
https://cmooremusic.bandcamp.com/track/knockin-around

NYC Folk Punk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist C. Moore Music left us instantly enamoured with their genre-mashing single ‘Knockin’ Around’ which featured on their 11th solo record ‘Unruly’.

He may be a prolific artist, but Knockin Around proves that quantity never comes before quality by boasting transfixingly arrestive hooks right from the intro. The dynamic soundscape may see many of evolutions as it progresses, but your attention will never be in danger of faltering from the grungy almost tribalistic momentum which ebbs and flows in this stunningly crafted single.

With a vocal vibrato which would give Eddie Vedder a run for his money and a freshly sonic smorgasbord of Psych, Blues and Folk on offer instrumentally, Knockin’ Around doesn’t just revive what previous artists allowed us to fall in love with. He brings nostalgic aural elements into a contemporary realm with his own signature sound which will be a hit with any fans of Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

You can check out C. Moore Music’s single Knockin’ Around via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hook into the grooves of Favor’s latest Psyche-infused Garage Rock track “Wishing at the Well”

Posted on 27 October 2020

Austin, TX Alt-Indie trio Favor’s recently released single “Wishing at the Well” is the taste-breaker that your Alt Indie playlists have been crying out for. The rhythmically captivating track simultaneously oozes sex appeal and commercial appeal. There really is no room to wonder why so many have been drawn to their massive yet intimate sound.

There’s a slight nod to 60s Psych and there are some elements of old-school Garage Rock thrown in for good measure. But with the dynamically-sonic appeal and the freshly alluring vernacular in the lyrics, Wishing at the Well offers all the distinction you need to confirm that Favor is one of the most authentic newcomers to the airwaves.

With their rhythmically raucous energy and their ability to make a strong connection with the listener – in spite of the DIY-style production, you don’t really need any more indicators that Favor is an Indie Rock trio well worth putting on your radar.

You can check out Wishing at the Well by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Breaking artist DiLisio blooms in their latest Alt Rock Hit “Flower Bed”

Posted on 25 October 2020

Pittsburgh-based artist DiLisio (Mark Jeffries) may be renowned for his ability to cook up rock n roll earworms, but that barely alludes to what is on offer in their standout single “Flower Bed”.

Yes, you’ll want to listen to it again. Yes, it has all the infectious appeal which will leave you itching to hit repeat, but there’s so much more to the mind-melting feat of Alt-Indie Rock. The guitar tones in Flower Bed will tear right through you. DiLisio’s approach to Garage Rock which incorporates nuances of Blues, Pop and RnB is one of the most cutting sounds we’ve had the pleasure of being lacerated by in 2020.

While you try to keep up with the sonically seismic changes in momentum, you’ll become aware of just how intrinsically arrested you are by the artist’s rhythmic prowess. Then there’s the vocals, the unpredictable volatility of them and the sheer level of emotion which will crawl under your ribs as you listen to the candidly introspective lyrics. I have an overwhelming amount of awe for any artist willing to bleed their soul into a soundscape. Naturally, I’m awe-struck with DiLisio.

There are some aural nods to The Black Keys and Jack White, but the visceral full-throttle nature of the track affirms that assimilation had very little to do with the orchestration of this unforgettably eruptive release.

You can check out DiLisio’s track Flower Bed via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Odd Ones Out made a defiantly grungy debut with their sludgy Alt Rock hit “I’ll Be Fine”

Posted on 16 October 2020

Many artists can only dream of amassing the same amount of hype around their debut release as Odd Ones Out did with their angsty, immersive Lo-Fi Alt-Rock debut single “I’ll Be Fine”.

The defiantly-titled sludgy track has the potential to leave Trap kids and fans of noisy, sludgy Garage Rock alike enamoured. The candid, sourly soulful vibe of the inventively textured track is bang on trend.

The jangly indie guitar notes find just enough room to ring out in the high-energy production which unravels with an intensely emotive sting, especially thanks to the despondently magnetic vocals which will throw you right back to the Alt-90s.

You can check out I’ll Be Fine by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Garage Rockers AlterModerns impress on debut track ‘Day Off’

Posted on 28 September 2020

This is a strong debut outing from AlterModerns on their brand new rock track Day Off’.

Released off This Could Prove Fatal, this is a psychedelic rock bouncer with powerful energy. They have a terrific vibe and rip through on this 1 minute firestorm. The vocals are fantastic and the guitar smash in, you listen closely and just want to dance around on this one.

For a debut, this is all about doing fun things on your day off. You want to play as work has been hectic. This is that fun song to turn up real loud to wake up the neighbors. The garage rock style is for all to see and this new Brazilian act really strut their stuff on this rocking single.

AlterModerns from Brazil might just be your new alarm call with Day Off’. Putting this on your phone will certainly get you up and that is the beauty here. This is a new band that have just teased us on what they are capable of. Bring it on.

Click here for the Soundcloud link.

Head through to the Facebook page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Heavy Salad have given ‘cult hit’ a brand-new meaning with their debut album “Cult Casual”

Posted on 25 September 2020

The debut album from Manchester’s finest soulfully-blessed Psychedelic trailblazers Heavy Salad has finally dropped.

Cult Casual hit record stores on September 25th and affirmed that the optimism that I’ve held since hearing their eccentrically resolving sophomore single Battery Acid in 2019 was entirely well placed.

Some records, you put on the turntable and know you’ll be apathetic about letting the needle hit it again. Others, you know you’ll delve right back in for the successive hits of emotion which manifested the first time around. Cult Casual is firmly in the latter camp.

Track 1, Death is a gentle Surf Pop easing into the colourful chaos which ensues in the form of their cult hit (in the most literal use of the phrase) Battery Acid. Track 3, The Wish is the feat of feisty grunge which blows every other Garage Rock artist in Manchester out of the water while simultaneously giving artists such as Dinosaur Jr a run for their money.

Track 4, Inner Versions carries the same bite as The Wish, but this time the playful angst is projected over punchy Indie Rock licks, leaving plenty of space for guitarist Rob Glennie to humbly unveil the virtuosic talent he’s been hiding all along. Track 5, Reverse Snake is Heavy Salad’s psych Rock scathing attack on the ideocracy which led us to Brexit. Arcanely, they actually succeeded in creating a high-vibe Anti-Brexit track.

Fans of Avant-Garde will be suitably enraptured in the album from Track 6 where the experimentalism truly starts to take hold. After you’ve enjoyed all the juicy Psych Pop earworms, it’s time to immerse yourselves in the unpredictable yet pragmatic progressive nature of High Priestess and This Song is Not About Lizards. Unapologetically, the tracks take seismic shifts in tone and ferocity, leaving you at the mercy of their rhythmic prowess and whatever celestial magic the Priestesses are serving up in the form of their intoxicating vocals.

Whichever plateau you’ve floated to with the former singles, Routine Dream will allow you to crash down to earth with the scuzzily confrontational track which serves an aggressive yet compassionate reminder that you’re probably living blind. Thankfully, there’s plenty of aural comfort in Slow Ride which will make sure that you’re in the best possible mindset for the evocative assault which follows.

The final track It’s OK to Bleed will break my heart over and over again. In a time where people are more likely to invest in bitcoin rather than their emotional intelligence, it’s utterly priceless. Straight from the intro, the tenderness rings through the guitar progressions, then, the vocal and lyrical empathy bring torrid emotions to the front but there’s plenty of solace to be found in the track which unravels as gospel for the impious.

In short, it’s a cosmic rollercoaster and easily up there with the best things to happen in 2020. Listen to it.

You can check out Cult Casual via Spotify & Bandcamp or you can (and you definitely should) treat yourself to a CD or vinyl copy of the album released via Dripped in Gold Recordings.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Julian Fulco Perron lays the sludgy despondent psychedelia on thick with “Swamp Stomp”

Posted on 13 September 2020

If your playlists are lacking in swampy bluesy despondent psychedelia, and let’s face it, they probably are, hit play on the gorgeously sludgy latest single Swamp Stomp by Julian Fulco Perron.

There’s a Mike Patton-level of experimentalism on offer, and Julian Fulco Perron’s vocals may just be as versatile. From sinister snarls which could rival Marilyn Manson’s to endearing playfulness which gives the track a Frank Zappa feel, it’s all on offer. Even more impressively, Julian Fulco Perron was boundless with their creativity and eccentricity and still orchestrated a stylistic feat of Alt-Rock that even the snobbiest of musos couldn’t turn their noses up at.

It’s practically a polyphonic wet dream mid-way through as the eccentric synth lines ensure that Swamp Stomp is a track you’ll never forget.

You can check out the official video to Swamp Stomp by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chiptune and Grungy Garage Rock converge in Fake-Bit Rebel’s debut single “Green Eyes”

Posted on 30 August 2020

Never did I think I’d see the day where I’d get to experience grungy Garage Rock in 8-bit form. But after the release of Fake-Bit Rebel’s debut single “Green Eyes,” I got to appreciate the alchemy which spilt by the raucously evocative aural ingenuity.

The glitchy notes spiked through the walls of noisy distorted guitars which carved euphorically galvanizing choruses and created the perfect platform for Fake-Bit Rebel’s vocals which will be a hit with any fans of Blink-182, Weezer, Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday.

It’s the kind of track you hit play on and immediately want to tell your friends about the aural gem that left you endeared and excitable in equal measure.

You can check out Fake-Bit Rebel’s single Green Eyes for yourselves on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast