Browsing Tag

Hozier

Spotlight Feature: Mr Streetz set the bar for other UK rappers’ bars in the first single from his dynamically soulful LP, Wins & Bosses

Posted on 3 February 2023

With the soul of Hozier, the grit of Stormzy, the instrumental flair of Rag’n’Bone man and a charisma that is undeniably his own, Mr Streetz created the ultimate hustler hip-hop track with Rags to Riches, taken from his upcoming album, Wins & Bosses.

For the last few years, motivational rap tracks have peddled some dangerous tropes through the fetishization of working your fingers to the bone in ‘the grind’. Mr Streetz provided a more realistic account of an ascent to greatness, which organically makes his driven demeanour that has left success in his sightline since his debut infectious.

After making his debut during lockdown, the UK rapper has dropped 25 singles, three EPs and one album. To date, he has garnered over one million streams on YouTube and 700,000 on Spotify. With his single, Fish in the Sea, garnering over 200k streams alone. There is no stopping his momentum now.

He may be relatively fresh from his debut, but he has already perfected the art of commanding the mic by pouring an equal measure of soul, conviction and wit into it. His bars set the bar for every other UK rapper looking to make a distinctive mark.

“This album is a dedication to all the youngsters who grew up in the late 1990s early 2000s who wanted to be like the bad guys in gangster films, idolising that lifestyle and the money they made.”

The Wins & Bosses LP will officially release on February 24th.

Until then, get your Mr Streetz fill through Rags to Riches on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skittish shows us the future of thorny folk-rock with their eighth release, House on Fire.

Posted on 19 November 2021

LA-based alt-rock outfit, Skittish, shunted folk-rock further into the future than it has ever been with their 8th release, House on Fire. If you can imagine what it would sound like if Hozier did thorny post-rock synthpop, you can get an idea of just how alchemic the fiery release is.

With the female vocals projecting a sense of innocence into the progressively unpredictable instrumentals and the male vocals injecting plenty of raconteur energy into the sporadically symphonic track, even if you listened to House on Fire 100 times, you’d still be picking new fractures of ingenuity from the unforgettably refreshing track.

House on Fire is due for official release on November 19th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lesse has released the most powerful ballad of the year with Runaway.

Posted on 14 September 2021

After racking up over 110k streams with his folky dark pop debut single, The Ghost, breaking pop artist Lesse is here with his latest deeply melancholic single, Runaway.

If Hozier carried the same pensive edge of Tom Odell, the sonic result wouldn’t be worlds away from this captivating ballad which uses minimalist minor-key piano notes and plenty of spatial effects to allow Lesse’s evocative vocal harmonies to resound in the atmosphere of the neo-classically inclined soundscape

The artist’s songwriting ability, paired with his vocal talent and lyrical vulnerability, make Runaway one of the most powerful ballads to have hit the airwaves this year.

Runaway is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cavono has made his dark pop debut with the post-punk tinged album, Desires.

Posted on 14 August 2021

Texas-residing artist Cavono has released his debut album, Desires; the best introduction to his post-punk-style crooning, dark trip-hop beats and alt-indie guitars is the hypnotic standout single, Glass.

If you could imagine the aural result from fusing styles of Hozier, Big Black Delta and the Editors, you can get an idea of how much sex appeal spills from this moody, folky feat of alt-indie pop. From the first verse, you’re pulled into the semi-orchestral soundscape by the sheer magnetism of Cavono’s soulfully morose vocal timbre, making the haunting ethereal tones in the genre-obliterating track so much more phantasmal.

Desires officially released on August 6th; it is now available via apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Wade wants us all to ‘Dance Again’

Posted on 20 April 2021

Sometimes, the choice is between doing what’s easy, or doing what’s right. That’s the story behind Brandon Wade’s ‘Dance Again’, a gentle, uplifting acoustic ballad carried by Brandon’s sublime picked guitar parts and stunning vocal. There’s a touch of ‘The Bends’ era Radiohead about it, if Radiohead hadn’t started playing around with all the electronics, some Kevin Garrett, maybe a helping of James Bay, Michael Rosenberg/Passenger, or Hozier, too – think airy, space-filled contemporary acoustic guitar and a vocal delivery that flirts at times with falsetto, but never gives anything but exquisite delicacy.

Brandon Wade wants to write music that inspires people, and to be a ‘voice for those too afraid to speak or who think their words have little meaning’. With ‘Dance Again’, he’s produced a beautiful single about love, loss, and learning that really does have a voice all of its own.

You can check out Dance Again here.

Follow Brandon Wade on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Sonic Indie and Celestial Soul Collide in Nikola’s Transfixing Alt Indie Rock Single ‘Pink Lights’

Posted on 22 December 2020

After spending years successful touring bands, Minnesota-hailing artist, Nikola Hamilton, released their ground-breaking EP ‘Darling’ and established themselves as one of the most luminary singer-songwriters who have made their debut in 2020.

The standout track, Pink Lights, will allow you to imagine what would happen if Interpol chose to team up with Hozier. You get the cold, cutting sonic style with the almost celestial vocals which tear though the darkly atmospheric soundscape and speak directly to your soul.

If Nikola made a bigger impression with their sleek Darkwave debut, we’d have concussion.

You can check out Nikola’s EP for yourselves which was released on November 13^th, 2020 via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Billy Boguard – Evergreen Scars: Sorrowfully Dynamic Minor-Chord Pop

Posted on 28 November 2020

Opening up with a cinematic minor-chord piano part before Boguard’s deep, baleful vocal, ‘Evergreen Scars’ is a beautiful, confessional song of grief and loss. Honest, heartfelt, and soulful, Boguard’s vocal tells a story of pain and longing, the full instrumentation dropping in around the minute mark for the unforgettable chorus.

Reminiscent of Hozier’s ‘Take Me To Church’, with elements of Lewis Capaldi or maybe a male-vocal Lana Del Rey, ‘Evergreen Scars’ tells of two souls destined from the beginning to destroy each other, writ deep with heartbreak and regret, and the inevitable aftermath, healing, and lessons learned, all over a sorrowful track full of power, dynamic, and presence.

Evergreen Scars official release date was November 27th, you can check it out now via Spotify.

Check out Billy Boguard via his website, or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Paul Vinson – Last Summer: Unflinchingly Enigmatic Soul Pop

Posted on 1 October 2018

Now that we’re safely in the bitter grips of Autumn its time to reminisce about the summers gone by. Luckily Singer Songwriter Paul Vinson has recently released his latest single “Last Summer” to get us through the equinox blues.

At the age of 19 years old the vocalist and guitarist has already got a staggering amount of soul and maturity in his vocals and lyrics thanks to his childhood spent as a gospel singer which helped him develop his unflinchingly enigmatic vocal talent. Yet, Paul saw the light and put his faith into his music career, with his accessibly warm and expressive style it’s safe to say he made the right choice in opening his sound up to a non-pious audience.

Fans of John Mayer, 21 Pilots, James Bay and Allen Stone will definitely appreciate the viscerally alive soundscape he’s cooked up with fellow bandmates. With the jazz style piano’s stabbing notes and bluesy guitar and bass rhythm guiding you through the track, it’s hard not to get caught up within the momentum of the sentimentally sweet single.

You can check out Paul Vinson’s latest single Last Summer for yourself by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A&R Factory Present: Mark John

Posted on 28 April 2016

Mark John is 20-year-old singer songwriter who has busked his way through several guitars and had his fortune told by a fortune teller in a travelling circus, who said he was going to make many records and become a musician.

Growing up Mark John performed as Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables but left theatre in pursuit of pop stardom and a degree in anthropology. A profilic songwriter and a self taught guitarist, Mark gigs regularly across the drinking holes across his native North East.

Mark John’s beautifully crafted acoustic pop is reminiscent of James Bay, George Ezra, Hozier and The Script. His debut EP titled “Long Time Coming” is out on the 20th of May.

A&R Factory Rating: 5/5