Browsing Tag

Indie Garage Rock

The Optimists prescribed the antidote for catastrophists with their explosive indie garage punk hit,  Not a Big Deal

Posted on 28 July 2024

The Optimists have been making cynics meet their match since their 2018 debut which made all the right waves in the UK indie scene. With their latest single, Not a Big Deal, the Isle of Wight five-piece cranked up the monolithic volition to exhibit their biggest hit to date and etch a new chapter in their legacy that has reached the a-lists of Isle of Wight Radio & BBC Solent.

With crescendos of garage rock antagonism in the same vein as Fidlar mainlined into the scuzzy production around the melodic indie increments that are fraught with tension, the razor-sharp hooks dig in deep enough to pierce the soul.

Not a Big Deal is the ultimate track to shed inhibition and neurosis to. By extolling the virtues of disregarding the immaterial, the juggernautical hit is an irresistible invitation to indulge in the catharsis of being carefree.

If the outfit becomes as big as their guitar and synth riffs and stage presence, don’t be surprised if you see them at the top of the indie charts in the coming years.

Not a Big Deal was officially released on July 19. Stream the single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Riverman opened a doorway to 60s psychedelic pop summers with his alt-indie single, Somnambulism

Posted on 26 June 2024

Once you grab an oar with Riverman’s seminal single, Somnambulism, taken from his Summer Up / Summer Down LP, you’ll be reluctant to ever put it down. Riverman, the moniker of the Winston-Salem, NC-residing singer-songwriter Steve Hedrick, has earned his place in the pantheon of indie greats with this epoch-traversing genre-fluid installation of nostalgic euphony.

With sticky-sweet harmonies that pull at the heartstrings as fervently as Elliott Smith’s dreamy timbres juxtaposed with an exuberant indie-pop production which interweaves Johnny Marr-esque jangle-pop guitars and opens a doorway to 60s psychedelic pop summers all the while embracing brash, garage rock-infused licks, Somnambulism, which introduces Riverman as a ‘soporific spectre’ is a release that will send serotonin firing through your synapses.

The metaphorical exposition of sleepwalking is a masterclass in nostalgic synthesising. Riverman effortlessly infuses motifs from a broad sonic spectrum to pour a cocktail of aural summer haze that will quench your thirst for fresh indie sounds. It’s a lush escape that’s impossible to resist.

Stream Somnambulism on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Heatwavers – Today I’ll Mostly Be: A Sunlit Anthem for Modern Malaise

Posted on 25 June 2024

Heatwavers have made their debut with Today I’ll Mostly Be; an enrapturing anthem which effortlessly melds the vibrant sounds of the ‘60s with the spirited essence of 00s indie. The iridescent-with-soul indie pop production is bolstered by garage rock licks and dusted with the glitter of jangle pop to deliver an infectiously hooked earworm that you’ll want to lean on every time you need the reminder it’s okay to be fallible and dogged with fear of the future.

The unshackling sun-bleached tour de force of hedonically melodic bliss introduces an idiosyncratically awkward archetype with a soul of gold who leads the listener through the reverie designed to liberate from the aches of inadequacy.

The chorus reprise of “I’ve tried my best and I need a break from life, so today I’ll be mostly getting drunk and high” flips the narrative of the typical summer pop hit to deliver a resoundingly bitter-sweet sign of the times marked by the dangers of self-awareness and the traumatic influence of the current climate. The sunny-side-up sonics paired with the realism within the lyricism ensured that Today I’ll Mostly Be will be the seminal sound of the summer.

Formed during a serendipitous stroll in Mykonos, James (UK) and Nige (NZ) of Heatwavers embarked on their musical journey across continents. Their shared love for 60s pop and indie rock, influenced by bands like Best Coast, Surfer Blood, and The Shins, fuels their creative dualism. Despite the physical distance and the constraints of the pandemic, they triumphed with a zeitgeisty cocktail which juxtaposes an effervescent sonic palette with introspectively deep lyrics.

Today I’ll Mostly Be is now available to stream on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

Connect with Heatwavers on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The raconteurs of enigmatic garage rock Damn Jackals have released their proto-punk earworm, Lovely Nuthin’.

Posted on 22 July 2021

Outside of New York, garage rock and proto-punk seems to lack the same raucously charming bite; that wasn’t a concern of Brooklyn, NY-based 5-piece Damn Jackals; they eclipsed the frenetically vintage vibe with their latest single, Lovely Nuthin’.

The enigmatic raconteurs of rock n roll take influence from 60s Garage Rock, 70s Glam and CBGB-style-Punk to leave your soul as fuzzy as the lead vocals and guitars. When the chorus hits, the same hook-filled magnetism of modern indie-garage rock outfits such as the Strokes draws you even deeper into the single that every outlier will want on their playlists.

Check out Damn Jackals on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jared Harper has unleashed his garagey indie anthem, ‘All for Me’.

Posted on 14 May 2021
Jared Harper

Plenty of people became familiar with San Francisco’s Jared Harper’s smoother than smooth falsetto vocals through his  audition on The Voice that saw him put a roguishly sweet rendition of The Rolling Stones’ iconic track, Satisfaction. The audition has garnered over half a million streams on YouTube, but discernibly, singer-songwriter comes into his own by bringing his original material to life. His latest single, All for Me, is the perfect example.

In All for Me, Jared Harper carries his influences in his vintage guitar tones. Any fans of the Strokes will get the same buzz from the kicking instrumental progressions that create an anthemic platform for Harper’s endlessly imploring vocals that would have sent 60s psych-pop fans into hysterics back in the day.

He’s perfected the art of the pop-rock choruses, but All for Me is so much more than your average baseless earworm. The single is an invitation to listeners to seize the day and break out of periods of stagnation; you almost don’t need the lyrics to say anything; the over-driven fuzzed-up instrumentals will leave you psyched until the outro.

You can hear All for Me via Spotify and SoundCloud, or by heading over to his official website.

Connect with Jared Harper and stay up to date with his latest releases via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ins Kino is ‘Coming Around’.

Posted on 22 April 2021
Coming Around by Ins Kino

Ins Kino is the recording project of Raleigh, North Carolina, based singer-songwriter Evan Farkas, and ‘Coming Around’ is the first single from his forthcoming debut EP. There’s a melancholic-yet-upbeat feel to the track, reminiscent of The Divine Comedy, early Smiths, or My Life Story. That could be down to Farkas’ use of strings and woodwind over a pushy, bouncy rhythm section, rather than simply relying on the more usual ‘indie’ guitar, bass, and keyboards approach.

It’s a nice mix of cynical and optimistic, chilled-and-mellow yet somehow bouncy-and-upbeat all at once, hooky melodies and a catchy pop chorus coupled with orchestral, cinematic sweeps and swooshes from the off-beat instrumentation, Farkas’ vocal beautifully delivered in that sort of almost-distracted, sardonic Neil Hannon, Ed Harcourt kind of way. It’s undeniably chamber pop, but with an eye to lazy, witty lyrics and deep, crooning vocals.

You can hear ‘Coming Around’ on BandCamp, and follow Ins Kino on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Empire Of Lights ‘Hit The Highway’ out of South Wales and into the big leagues.

Posted on 9 April 2021

Small towns in Wales seem to regularly turn up superb melodic rock bands, and Empire of Lights – with their new single ‘Hit The Highway’ is no exception to that rule. Sparse, echoey guitar, pounding drums, and driving bass are the order of the day here; there’s a gothy vibe to the music, a feel of ‘The Forest’ or ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’-era Cure, mixed with Johnny Borrell Razorlight vocals from singer John Aziz.

It’s a vaguely psychedelic, spacey sound – there’s something special about the dynamics of three piece rock bands; think Hendrix, Cream, Husker Du and Sugar, and of course Nirvana. The interplay between instruments and vocals, the necessity of accepting and using space rather than simply turning everything up louder than everything else, allows for a different approach and that serves Empire Of Lights well here, adding to that slightly ephemeral, dreamy feel, and coming from such a young band – drummer Eifion Davies is still too young to drink in the bars that Empire Of Lights should be playing this year – shows a realy understanding of arrangement and songwriting. The future looks very bright for Empire Of Lights.

Hear ‘Hit The Highway’ on Spotify; follow Empire Of Lights on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Shared Image Redefines Who Does What on their superb new single.

Posted on 25 December 2020

Soft, jangly indie-pop is overdone at times these days, but ‘Redefined’, the first single from Shared Image’s new album ‘Who Decides Who Does What?’, is a cut above the usual ‘three lads with Telecasters from Crewe’, with a charm and style all of its own.

Shared Image – hailing from Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is a little more exotic than Crewe for sure – have pretty much answered their own album-title question here – this is the brainchild of Craig Delin, a 20 year veteran of bands now forging his own path by writing, creating, performing, and producing ‘Who Decides Who Does What?’ all by himself. So it seems he decides pretty much who does everything, and on the basis of ‘Redefined’, that’s working to extremely good effect.

Vocals, guitars, keyboards, drums and programming, and synth parts are all down to Delin, the whole track sitting together beautifully; there are elements of old school alt-rock indie goodness in the likes of Pavement, a little of Johnny Marr’s guitar work and certainly some Modest Mouse, coupled with a little of They Might Be Giants and maybe a touch of Crowded House in the mix too. That’s a pretty heady mix, and on ‘Redefined’ it works extremely well. Based on this, Delin deciding Who Does What is a pretty sensible plan.

‘Who Decides Who Does What?’ is out now across all major streaming platforms. You can hear ‘Redefined’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify, and follow Shared Image on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Sol Paradise – Tranquil Life: Imploringly Sun-Kissed Alt Indie

Posted on 14 November 2020

London-based solo artist and producer Sol Paradise’s third single “Tranquil Life” is a reverb-drenched ticket to a sun-kissed aural plateau. A soundscape this sweet can only have been served from the soul.

With stylistic nods to the likes of Modest Mouse and Beck along with Sol Paradise’s signature hazy sound which eclipses the best of Alt 90s, he found the perfect balance of nostalgic accessibility and thoughtful authenticity.

The lyrics wrap themselves around the concept of knowing what you want out of life but having no idea how to get there – something which will be resonant for many, especially with lockdown langour still thick in the air.

After reaching in excess of 32,000 streams with their debut single and considering stunning evocative poignancy with Tranquil Life, it is easy to feel that there’s very little that could get in the way of this magnetic artist and his imploringly distinctive sound.

You can check out Tranquil Life via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Creeptones – Soul Fire: A College-Radio Rock Earworm

Posted on 18 September 2020

Uplifting and happy, the Creeptones ‘Soul Fire’ – the new single from the New Jersey fourpiece’s ‘Hell And Ice’ album – is a jangling, deliciously poppy 4’24” of vaguely sixties-inspired college radio-style rock with an earworm of a chorus and a beautifully hummable vocal melody line, in the vein of the Flaming Lips, Turin Brakes, or the Delgados.

Currently smashing Spotify ‘Indie’ playlists left, right, and centre, the Creeptones Hell And Ice should put them firmly on the musical map, a melodic catchy collection of 13 songs that worm their way into your brain and refuse to let go. ‘Soul Fire’ is the perfect lead single from that collection.

‘Soul Fire’ – and the full Hell and Ice album – are available from the Creeptones website.