Browsing Tag

Indie Electro Rock

Romantic Indie-Rock Raconteur Griffin Robillard is Electrifying in His Anthemically Rythmic Hit, Laws of Longing (LOL)

Posted on 10 February 2023

For the exact same reasons I fell in love with Editors from the first hit, I felt my pulse quicken to the snappy electro-indie gravitas and vocal magnetism from the indie rock raconteur Griffin Robillard, in his single, Laws of Longing (LOL).

The production is as polished as it is colossal as it wraps around the die-hard romanticism in the lyrics and the dance-worthy rhythms evocatively heightened with every ardently pitch-perfect vocal stretch. With Grant Eppley (The National, Maggie Rogers, Spoon) in charge of production, it was never going to be lacklustre. Yet, clearly, the raw material already came with a scintillating sheen.

When most people endure a broken-off engagement, they fall into an insular vacuum of self-pity. Notably, it did little to quell Griffin Robillard’s intensely passionate drive, which puts a visceral amount of momentum into Laws of Longing. It is just one of the singles found on his upcoming debut album, Big Pieces Energy, penned-post-heartbreak and due for release on March 10th.

Laws of Longing will officially release on February 10th. Hear it on Griffin Robillard’s website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Deadpan indie rock icons in the making, Hairpin, walk ‘The Line’ in their latest earworm

Posted on 16 December 2022

Fans of deadpan indie in the same vein as John Grant, Spector and Jack Ladder will be just as hooked on the sardonic candour in Hairpin’s earworm of a sophomore single, The Line.

With a funk-riding indie disco beat as the backbone to the track that allows angular guitar melodies and gravelly post-punk-Esque basslines to form arrestive progressions under the magnetic indie drawling vocals as they lament the frustrations of contemporary connections, it is all too easy to succumb to the grip of the snappy, swanky hit.

The NYC independent five-piece, fronted by Nate Pozin, self-produces all their material, allowing it to retain its autonomy, which has seen the up-and-coming outfit make short work out of making their mark in the industry.

So far, they have sold out every show in New York by word of mouth alone. In a time where alt-indie rock success stories are tragically few and far between, it speaks volumes of their revolutionary capacity to win over a crowd and forge playlist staples from their home studio.

The Line is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Orbit 17 is star roving in their intricately spacey electro-indie-rock single, Helium

Posted on 21 October 2022

Waves on Wires (EP) by Orbit 17

The ethereally talented Los Gatos, California-residing indie artist, Orbit 17, weaved another feat of transcendently intricate electro-rock with their latest single, Helium, taken from the Waves on Wires EP.

With Hendrix-style solos implanted into a dreamy spacey tapestry, authenticity evidently wasn’t hard to come by for Orbit 17, who will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Beach House, Radiohead, Slowdive and Grandaddy.

Lyrically, the single reflects on the friends we have made along the way but left behind or outgrown. Without a hint of bitterness, Helium vocally rekindles the fond memories while the instrumentals act as an abstract reflection of the isolation that is all too easy to succumb to. In every conceivable way, Helium is a stunning release with the capacity to give you the heart-in-throat feels.

Helium is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gard Read pops the perfectionist bubble in his anthemic indie pop debut, All We Can Do

Posted on 12 November 2021

Indie electro-pop artist Gard Read joined the swathes of artists making their debut in 2021 and scarcely left any commercial potential for the rest with ‘All We Can Do’.

While every faction of the media convinces you that you deserve nothing less than perfection while implanting unrealistic romantic ideals, Gard Read popped that naïve bubble with the reminder that Nobody is perfect. The stunning Slowdive-reminiscent guitars cushion the blow while the fiery production mimics the torrid state of mind we enter when we contend with our insecurities and question if we’re worthy of affection.

Gard Read is right up there with Empathy Test for the way he can turn raw emotion into an anthemic hit that unifies through the resonance. If any track is going to convince you to embrace your imperfect autonomy, it’s All We Can Do.

All We Can Do is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast