Browsing Tag

Indie Folk Rock

Indie alt-folk artist Rhett O’Connor has released his sonorously colourful double A-side, Galactophagist/Untitled 31 Retry.

Posted on 8 October 2021
https://soundcloud.com/user-375093285/sets/im-a-galactophagist/s-RHSAuEw8Mjl

If you recognise Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane over the Sea as one of the greatest albums of all time, you will want to get acquainted with up and coming indie folk-rock singer-songwriter Rhett O’Connor.

Through his latest two-track single, I’m a Galactophagist/Untitled 31 Retry, O’Connor revives familiar folk-punk tones while adding plenty more accordance to the instrumentals while his dreamy vocals lull you into the visceral emotion caged in the acoustic soundscape.

Galactophagist and Untitled 31 Retry are just as sweet as the most honeyed singles from the Maccabees to add yet another layer to his colourfully sonorous sound; there is a slight cosmic kick in the melodies.

Rhett O’Connor’s new singles will be available to stream from October 8th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt Indie Rock artist Tom Morris invites you to share ‘The Dark Hours’ with him through his debut release

Posted on 17 December 2020
https://tommorris.bandcamp.com/track/the-dark-hours

Like many artists, Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Morris released his debut single, The Dark Hours’, this summer, but unlike most new releases, the soundscape exhibited the artist’s prowess when it comes to instilling overwhelming emotion as the track becomes so much more than the sum of all parts.

The moody hints of 80s Electro hum around the intricate bluesy indie rock guitars while Tom Morris crafts one of the most infectious vocal melodies I’ve heard this year.

No artist carries the influence of Kurt Vile without picking up the hypnotically mellifluous textures of his meanderingly enticing guitar, which is exactly what is on offer in The Dark Hours which captures the agony of those twilight hours when your body loses most of its capacity for function while your mind runs rampant through every avenue for melancholy.

When I first hit play, I was intrigued by the stylistic collision of genres, by the time The Dark Hours faded out, I was overcome by the artist’s invaluable ability to alchemically offer compassion and comfort through relaying his own bitter-sweet introspection.

You can find out more about Tom Morris by heading over to his official website.

Head over to Bandcamp to stream and download The Dark Hours.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cass & Crossland – Adeline: Absorbingly Sweet Indie Folk Rock

Posted on 22 November 2020

Phoenix Arizona’s Indie Folk Rock duo Cass & Crossland made their 2020 debut with the absorbingly idyllic single ‘Adeline’. Their timeless approach to songwriting will remind you of the iconic greats while affirming that they’re the contemporaries that the airwaves have been calling out for.

The stunning harmonies find perfect balance with the transfixingly accordant semi-orchestral instrumental arrangement which simultaneously feels minimalistic and resounding. It’s the kind of track you hit play on, and you can’t quite tell if you’re consuming the track or if it is consuming you. The immersive ethereal air to the soundscape perfectly complements the romantically vivid imagery which the lyricism conjures.

With their ability to not only draw affectionate emotion from you as you listen to the track but also leave you endeared by the soul which the track contains, they’re undoubtedly ones to watch. Get them on your radar.

You can check out Adeline for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Logan Bolan offers delicately provocative Stonesy tones with “Flower”

Posted on 31 October 2020

Earlier this year, Californian singer-songwriter Logan Bolan released their evocatively bluesy Indie rock single “Flower”, it may be instrumentally minimalistic, but you can expect the entirety of your attention to fall under the command of this deeply sentimental single.

It is easily one of the most reflectively poignant singles we’ve heard in 2020. It’s the kind of track you’ll hit repeat on for the efficacious way in which it guides you through your own introspection.

Those sweet Stonesy tones under ardent new contortion allow you to slip into the escapism offered by the Rolling Stones while Logan allows you to breathe in the contemporary provocative air of the soundscape through their soul-bearing vocals.

You can check out the official music video to Flower by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joe Astley – Revolution Postponed: Nuancedly Captivating Indie Folk Rock

Posted on 3 February 2020
https://www.facebook.com/joeastleyofficial/videos/2512937939030156/

With a debut album due to be released in 2020, there’s no better time to jump on the hype of the captivating sharpness found in Joe Astley’s nuanced Indie Folk Rock songwriting.

If anyone can be accurately referred to this generation’s Billy Bragg, it’s Joe Astley. It says a lot about the lack of societal progression that those lyrics could have been written 40 years ago. But the arrestive resonance in the aural mirror which is held up to our society could only have come from an artist writing in our 21st century bleakly unbalanced country.

With vocals which will crawl under your ribs and intensely rhythmic melodies, Revolution Postponed came together as a track which offered that rare unifying aural radicalism which we desperately need on the airwaves right now. Thankfully, I’m not the only one who appreciates the up and coming artist’s distinctive sound. He’s also been championed by BBC Radio Manchester’s Mike Sweeney, and Radio Warrington’s Michael Hall.

Morrissey may have let the North down, but Joe Astley is more than capable of picking up where he left off.

You can check Joe Astley’s performance of Revolution Postponed at the Lounge Recording Studio via Facebook. Or you can listen to the track via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Conor Mac – Atlantis: The Artist Putting Jangle-Pop into Indie Folk Rock

Posted on 12 September 2018

If you get hit by that sweet warm tingling feeling when you listen to an Indie Folk Rock track you know you’ve found an absolute gem. There may be swathes of people attempting to stand out in the genre, yet Northern Ireland-based singer songwriter Conor Mac stood out by a country mile with his debut single Atlantis. His jangly guitar progressions accompanied by the deep reverberant basslines and light piano melodies came together as a work of aural alchemy. With Conor Mac’s vocals and poignantly piercing lyrics combined, you can be sure that you’ll knee deep into the track before you realise how entrenched you are in the delicate yet heavily weighted composition.

You can check out Conor Mac’s single, along with his latest single releases for yourself by heading to SoundCloud now. If you like your Rock a little heavier and infused with a pinch of Post Punk ‘Horns’ is a sensationally cataclysmic track which rolls with a relentless fluidity which I’m sure most Indie Rock artists on the scene to day couldn’t keep up with.

Review by Amelia Vandergast