Browsing Tag

indie-pop

Jimmy Theo’s latest single, On My Own, is three minutes of pure indietronic pop perfection

Posted on 2 July 2023

The Sydney-born, London-based singer-songwriter Jimmy Theo is fresh from the release of his collaborative debut album, Next Step, featuring the standout single, On My Own, which is 3 minutes of pure indie electro-pop perfection.

With Flowers for Hanna enriching the hit with her magnetic harmonic timbre, which is as just as beguiling as the indietronica attitude that laces Lorde, London Grammar, and Warpaint records with stylish soul, the classic pop songwriting styling is elevated to the nth degree.

As catchy as an ABBA hit yet alternatively scintillating through the synthesised theremin, On My Own is the ultimate pop anthem for anyone who wants to hear the affirmation that regardless of how romantic uncertainty wraps up, you will always be left with the only person you need; you.

On My Own is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Cornish brother duo, Roguey Roads, served a fresh slice of Americana indie pop with Westwood Sands

Posted on 29 June 2023

Roguey Roads carved a fresh slice of Americana indie pop for their latest single, Westwood Sands, which fuses country vox with an angular melodicism that will make any indie fan nostalgic for the 90s and 00s.

Following their debut album, Something to Prove, in 2021, Westwood Sands is a testament to how honed the Cornish indie pop duo’s sound has become. The songwriting, in particular, has been elevated to the nth degree.

After the winding bluesy guitars in the intro, momentum progressively builds in the immersive vignette of a wanderlust-driven protagonist who embarks on a journey of the soul and finds it filled by another. Hollywood directors would be hard-pressed to achieve the same panoramic picture in their feature films as Roguey Roads did in Westwood Sands.

It’s a heart-rendering indie pop anthem which goes a long way in proving why the brother duo can’t seem to create much distance between the ‘loveable’ adjective that is always affixed to them.

Westwood Sands is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Good Time Locomotive dialled up the beguile in their synthpop sophomore single, Medusa

Posted on 27 June 2023

As one of the memorable synthpop outfits we’ve had the pleasure of putting on our radar in 2023, Good Time Locomotive is proving to be tough competition to their contemporaries. Especially after the release of the latest single, Medusa, which hauntingly demonstrates that lustful beguile is one of the most powerful forces known to man and mythology. The superlative single contests the adage that all is fair in love and war with the mind games that have become a frustrative cornerstone of seduction.

With their sophomore single, the London-hailing powerhouse moved away from their archetypal synthwave synthetics and started to forge their own sonic signature in their distinctively rhythmic guitar lines, jazzy time signatures and anthemic builds, which borrow a few sticky-sweet propensities from pop-punk anthems.

In the words of singer Hugo Leite;

‘It’s a song all about the power of infatuation and those who know how to wield it over us. The story of Medusa seemed like a fitting metaphor for that as she is, quite possibly, the most misunderstood character of all time. Beautiful? Yep, but deadly when fallen from grace!’ 🧟

Medusa was officially released on June 17th. Hear it on Spotify or watch the official music video via YouTube. For more info, head over to the artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skinny G Radio showed trauma the door in his euphoric indie-pop anthem, Pain, Go!

Posted on 9 June 2023

Fans of The Airborne Toxic Event, Sam Fender and Mark Ronson will want to grab themselves a slice of the latest single, Pain, Go! from the indietronic pop innovator, Skinny G Radio.

In contrast to the high-energy production, which rivals the euphonic records under the deft touch of Jon Bellion, the lyrical themes tread through the darker waters of our deeply personal relationships with trauma.

Anyone who has lived through it will know the fear of not being able to recognise themselves without it, as much as they want to show it the door for the final time. The Connecticut-born and raised songwriter, producer and performer, with his John Mayer-ESQUE songwriting chops, paid euphoric homage to that conflicting experience while orchestrating the ultimate indie pop earworm you can turn to time after time for the solace of the stabbing synth lines, soul-soaked vocal harmonies and layers of funk wrapping around the pop hooks to alchemise the perfect aural remedy for ennui.

Pain, Go! will be available to stream from June 9th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Ipe defied the laws of gravity in his funk-grooved feat of disco-pop, Stratosphere

Posted on 7 June 2023

If you could imagine what the output would be if Nile Rodgers, Nic Hanson, and Daft Punk stepped into the studio together, you will get an idea of the electrifying funk-grooved euphoria which organically spills from the latest single from the Chicago-based singer-songwriter and producer, Ipe.

Stratosphere is the ultimate euphonic aphrodisiac for the way the cosmic lyricality lifts you higher than the upbeat instrumentals, which pay an ode to the heritage of disco while bringing in an electrifying new wave of pop.

The infectiously enlivened vocal lines from Ipe, who has been racking up tens of thousands of Spotify streams since making his debut in 2019, are the ultimate aural pick-me-up. His hedonistically honeyed vocal lines are all you need to get in the groove.

Stream Ipe’s latest single, Stratosphere, on all major platforms via this link

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Partisan Way gave hope to the hopeless romantics in their indie synth-pop sugar rush, I Know What You’ll Say

Posted on 3 June 2023

It may have been almost two years since we heard Partisan Way, but there was no forgetting the artisanal sonic sugar that emanated from their blissfully affectionate indie-pop hit, Borrow Me.

In 2023, they’re back on the airwaves with their single I Know What You’ll Say, which starts in the middle ground of The Beatles and Elliott Smith before there is a smooth transition into a synth-kissed summer bop, which celebrates the agonising pain of pre-emptive anxiety before a romantic proclamation.

Ultimately, I Know What You’ll Say is a waltz-y indie psych-pop invitation to embrace the beauty of vulnerability. The entire single is a testament to that very beauty; hopeless romantics may even gain some hope by the time the big synth outro comes around, following the honeyed high vocal lines atop the pop instrumentals that meld classic and contemporary songwriting. Wayne Coyne himself couldn’t have hit those notes better.

Just when we thought we couldn’t have any more predilection towards the indie outfit fronted by Dan Tierney, I Know What You’ll Say, in all its polyphonic synthy glory, allowed our soft spot to become infinitely softer under the duress of the unassured soul in the vocals.

Stream I Know What You’ll Say on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Holy Joe has made an eponymous indie debut and enriched Liverpool’s cultural tapestry once again after his THE DECEMBERISTS legacy.

Posted on 2 June 2023

After taking what was left of the city of Liverpool by storm after the Beatles tore through the cultural fabric of it in the 80s outfit, THE DECEMBERISTS (no, not the American band who coincidently go by the same moniker), the guitarist founded his new project, Holy Joe, to prove he still has what it takes to make an audience shake, rattle, and roll to the sound of his ingenuity.

In the wake of working fret magic in several revered indie bands, the integral part of the UK indie landscape has stepped to the centre of the stage and established himself as a stellar singer-songwriter in his own right with his self-titled single. The rambunctious record has all the making of a perfect indie-pop release and plenty more in its arsenal.

With the quintessentially affable air of Half-Man Half-Biscuit fused with melodies that will grip the nostalgia-loving senses of the La’s and the Seahorses fans, the single is rhythmic raconteurial earworm which leaves enough room in the indie tapestry for a nuanced Americana folk twang.

Stream the self-titled debut single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marianna’s vocal lines leave us on the hook in her feat of alt-indie pop grandeur, Hold On

Posted on 26 May 2023

If it has been a while since you last checked in with your inner child, find the inspiration to reach out and reconnect my immersing yourself in the latest single from the arresting alt-indie pop chanteuse, Marianna. With class, conviction and introspection the triadic drivers within the tribally enlivening single, Hold On, ambivalence is not an option.

Towards the outro, the single moves away from indie pop panache and veers towards an ABBA-ESQUE world music crescendo; if you weren’t invested before that climactic build, you’ll feel your heart catch in your throat around her flawlessly pitched vocal lines.

It’s a rarity that we hear something truly pioneering and resounding in equal measure, but evidently, pedestrian performances aren’t Marianna Zappi’s forte. After performing in front of a crowd of two million, one of those just so happening to be Pope Benedict XVI, touring across Europe for the past two years and garnering attention from BBC Radio London, the future for Marianna will be as luminous as her talent.

Hold On will officially release on May 26. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Emissaries of Anxious Angst, The Empty Page, Have New Resonance in Their Arsenal with the Release of Big Nasty Palpitations

Posted on 26 May 2023

After hearing a preview of The Empty Page’s latest single, Big Nasty Palpitations, during their support slot for BERRIES at Gullivers in March and witnessing the visceral fire that has been lit under the Manchester-based emissaries of anxious angst, all it took was the impetus of the angular guitars and subversive anthemics to convince me that it would be the quintessential indie pop hit of the summer.

It may not be your archetypal boy meets girl before releasing a ‘better off without you’ single in the Autumn. The 80s industrial augmented hit is a testament to where society will stand this summer, with conflict scattering rubble like confetti and blowing equally sizeable holes in our assurance that the world is a safe place where your liberty can’t be stripped away at the whim of a sadistically malignant narcissist.

For the anxious, feel your palpitating heart catch in your tight throat under the duress of buzzsaw riffs that are now definitively back in trend. For anyone privileged enough to not know what it feels like to go under when it appears fabric of tangible reality has been pulled from beneath you, grab a snapshot of the dissent into consternation.

Kel said: “Everyone I know has paper-thin mental health at the moment. The world is run by terrifying people who have little regard for us powerless humans who are just trying to get on with our lives. I woke up one too many times with the fear and reached for a pen at 3am to get those grim feelings out of my system. We’ve always been a socially aware band, and the new album definitely has a glittery, dystopian thread running through it that I think is very apparent on this track.”

Big Nasty Palpitations, produced by Morton Kong at Eve Studios, Stockport, hit the airwaves on May 26 ahead of their sophomore LP, which is set to drop later this year.

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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget Peterson; follow Ninali’s rules for life in her synthy soul pop meditation on mindfulness, Alive.

Posted on 22 May 2023

With her latest pop-dominated melting pot of genre and style, Alive, the singer-songwriter and co-producer Ninali celebrated life and gave her staunch fanbase a few lessons to live by. By eloquently alluding to the irrefutable truth that we all harness the power to choose what we expose ourselves to and ultimately, who we want to be, Ninali will undoubtedly guide countless people to the epiphany that the power to shape reality exists within us all.

The meditation on mindfulness is just as infectious as the hits from Black Honey, as poetic as the indie pop gems from She Drew the Gun, and effortlessly classy as April March. So it’s safe to say that the 18-year-old songstress is a triple threat that could easily find herself at the top of the charts if her songwriting chops remain as sharp as they were in Alive. Feel good tracks have never felt so damn good.

Ninali launched her latest single, Alive, on May 12; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast