Browsing Tag

Indie Lo Fi

BREGN put the humanity in our collective anxiety with his reflectively expositional lo-fi folk single, YOU AND ME

Posted on 20 November 2022

Danish singer-songwriter, BREGN, gave humanity hope in his latest single, YOU AND ME, which was officially released on November 18th to dispel the disquiet anxiety spilling from each new global catastrophe.

BREGN’s minimalist soundscapes and the sonorous sense of soul in his quiescent harmonies always strike a visceral chord. With this new melancholic shift, YOU AND ME hit like a tonne of bricks. In the same way Slowdive can hammer home the emotion solely through their reverb-laced angular guitar notes, the guitars in this sombrely sweet single drive you to the brink of tears. Before the choral storm in the outro as a torridly dystopian crescendo pushes you over the emotional edge.

Here’s to hoping next summer gives us a chance to embrace the season free from an ever-pervasive sense of dread.

“YOU AND ME is a reflection of our times; a mix of summer, love, the insecurities imposed by war, political drama, and the deepening energy crisis. There is hope in the continuation of believing that there is still a “You and Me” at the end of the day, that is what I wanted to convey.”

Listen to YOU AND ME on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Follow BREGN via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

newmath traverses loss in the noisy dream pop discord of his latest single, Without You

Posted on 8 September 2022

As someone who will always hold a candle for the shoegaze pioneers, I will eternally be enthralled by 21st-century experimental iterations of the genre. newmath, the creative project of Chris Fish, certainly didn’t disappoint with the noisy dream pop discord in his latest single, Without You.

The lo-fi to the core production goes heavy on the sludgy effects – being from Seattle, it would be rude not to – but Without You is far more in Grandaddy’s arena rather than your definitive Seattle sound icons. The shimmeringly bright vulnerability of the release is incandescently sweet. Without you may be a song of mourning, but notably, no love has been lost.

With his forthcoming album, BLOOM, due for release on September 9th, save a spot on your radar.

The official music video for Without You premiered on August 29th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bedroom producer, J4RED transcended genre in his artfully reflective introspection slice, ‘hurt u’

Posted on 25 June 2022

Sometimes it is the emotion that grips you; sometimes, it is the musicality and originality; in his third single, hurt u, the bedroom producer, J4RED, proved that he is a triple threat. Perhaps even more impressively, hurt u transcends genre while carrying vast universal appeal.

The dark mellow pool of experimentalism created the perfect atmosphere for the fiery yet quiescent vocals to ooze into, allowing you to feel every ounce of the exhaustive frustration that breeds from dynamics where the mental scars tally our time together.

After launching his music career with his EP, UNCONSCIOUS, which debuted when he was 17 years old, he joined bands in the UK and Germany, and produced for other bands, such as the up-and-coming metalcore band, Half Me. If he keeps on at this level of momentum, it is only a matter of time before he breaks into the mainstream.

hurt u is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mustard Mountain Moving Company lament societal idiosyncracy in their Avant-Garde debut, Make it Stop?

Posted on 27 May 2022

For anyone that can relate to the sentiment ‘stop the world I want to get off’, the debut single, Make it Stop? from Mustard Mountain Moving Company should be considered unmissable.

Far from another lockdown lament, the track has been 18-years in the making from the Pittsburgh scene veterans, proving that ennui-blackened frustration has been viable for almost two decades. Yet, notably, it was a devilishly timely release from the lo-fi Avant-Garde artist, who will enamour fans of Elliott Smith and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds alike.

While the lyrics put the idiosyncrasies of our modern existence in the spotlight, the playful synths ensure that the light of day isn’t all too harsh. You couldn’t ask for sweeter sugar for the pill of reality. Do yourselves a favour, affix them to your radar.

You can hear Mustard Mountain Moving Company’s debut single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast