Browsing Tag

indie-pop

MER reached the pinnacle of cathartic intimacy with ‘When I’m Alone’

Posted on 18 May 2023

With a touch of Adrianne Lenker to the vocals and a lo-fi ethereal guitar atmosphere which will placate the staunchest Elliott Smith fans, the NYC-residing singer-songwriter, MER’s latest artfully vulnerable single, When I’m Alone, reaches the pinnacle of cathartic intimacy.

The descent into Avant-Garde indie bedroom pop obscurity just before the track fades to a close gives you the compulsion to dive back into the passionately elevated arrangement while pulling in reminiscences to Mitski. But make no mistake, When I’m Alone is no feat of assimilation.

The visceral soul which emanates from the experimentalism is a testament to the originality of MER. The lyrical experience of fierce independence as a coping mechanism may be a relatively universal phenomenon, but MER is one in an expressively eloquent million.

When I’m Alone hit the airwaves on May 12. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Evie Lulu has launched her superlative sludge pop single, Adored

Posted on 15 May 2023

After earning her stripes as a music producer, the singer-songwriter, Evie Lulu, made her latest single, Adored, definitively her own. Beyond the similarities to Daughter and Warpaint, the lyrically-driven artist is exemplary in her determination to allow spilled ink to manifest as melodic triumphs that catch in your throat before they take up residence as a sludgy indie pop earworm you will always want to appease by giving her candidly kaleidoscopic soundscapes repeat attention.

Pop, rock, and grunge may be common ingredients in many modern-day amalgams, but the songstress who takes inspiration from Bon Iver, Kate Bush, The Sundays and Silverchair when orchestrating her reflectively uninhibited releases is in a league of her own. From the delicious distortion on the guitars to the vulnerability within the vibrato in the vocal lines, Adored is a bitter-sweet sonic dream, which is all too efficacious in its ability to hammer home the emotions expressed.

Adored hit the airwaves on March 1; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Coming Up Milhouse’s debut single, Not Over You, is a riot of candied curveballs

Posted on 14 May 2023

Even though the track title leaves little room for guesswork in regards to the sentiments that flow through the swoonsomely crooned pop hit, the debut single, Not Over You, from Coming Up Milhouse, is a riot of candied curveballs.

With vocal lines that could tender the heartstrings of Elliott Smith, synths that create an odyssey of retro mutant pop in the same vein of Trudy and the Romance, and indie jangle pop melodies which add to the trending trajectory which spawned from revivalists such as the Midnight, Not Over You is a debut which plateaus above indie landfill releases.

The self-described soft boy indie rockers from Birmingham know just where to find the sweet spot when balancing lyrical melancholia and earwormy indie hooks.

Not Over You was officially released on May 5; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Amor crooned us onto a higher plateau with his indie-folk-pop serenade, 109 Days

Posted on 9 May 2023
Brandon Amor

Brandon Amor’s single, 109 Days, which concludes his LP, The Waltz of 109 Days, is a sonic odyssey; orchestrated by the dreamy layers of indie-folk-pop and waltz-y rhythmics under his 50s-style jazz crooning that almost makes a lullaby out of this sentimentally spacey outpour of intricately impassioned soul.

Any fans of Trudy and the Romance will be effortlessly swooned by the kaleidoscopic melodicism of the single that cushions his visceral vocal lines, which amplify in conviction until the track quiescently fades out on gentle guitar strings and birdsong.

I’m not one that believes that good artists always need to have an X-Factor-winning set of vocal cords, but when they complement such a stunning instrumental arrangement, it certainly takes the aural experience to the next transcendent level. It is safe to say that 109 Days will leave you on a higher plateau from the first hit, and believe me when I say you won’t be able to resist repeat spins.

109 Days will be available to stream from May 9th. Stream it on SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Garnetts released the ultimate summer indie-pop staple with their latest hit single, Jealous

Posted on 8 May 2023

The Garnetts have exactly what it takes to follow in the alt-indie footsteps of their Liverpudlian counterparts, Red Rum Club, as they melodically stride towards success with their nostalgically sepia-tinged latest single, Jealous, which is due for official release on June 2nd.

With the angularly funky staccato guitar chops, crooned guitar lines, and definitively 80s atmosphere in the sentimentally sweet single, you will be immersed in the bitter-sweet narrative of romantic possession from the first infectiously carved chorus.

Any fans of The Maccabees, Foals and Mystery Jets will be instantly enamoured by the bubblegum propensity of this emotionally monolithic hit single that could easily become a staple part of your summer indie pop playlists.

Stream Jealous via SounCloud from June 2nd.

Follow The Garnetts on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KASIA is spellbindingly subversive in her jazzy RnB pop single, Isn’t Love Strange

Posted on 17 April 2023
KASIA

With her hair-raising vocal lines pooling into the ethereal atmosphere of her latest indie alt-pop single that pulls in jazzy RnB motifs, KASIA is spellbinding in Isn’t Love Strange.

Love is lyrically depicted as many things, but strange is far from up there as one of the most common archetypes. Plateauing far above the tired tropes, KASIA tunes into the blurred lines of affection, alluding to how conflicting the transpiring emotions can be. Communicating how fear is often an uninvited guest on the honeymoon of new relationships, KASIA artfully illustrated how much we put on the line when we put our vulnerability in someone else’s hands.

If Isn’t Love Strange was the 1000th song the singer-songwriter had penned, you could colour us impressed; yet it was only the second song written by the natural-born songstress who effortlessly has what it takes to leave the airwaves at her command.

Isn’t Love Strange will officially release on April 17; catch it on on all major platforms.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lizzie Hosking is back with another infectiously-hooked pop hit, Stress You Out

Posted on 13 April 2023

Lizzie Hosking is back with her catchier-than-a-wildfire brand of pop with her latest infectiously-hooked hit, Stress You Out. With her sultry vocal lines running across the funk-deep disco groove pockets, there’s plenty of era-spanning familiarity to the track but there’s no denying that the one-woman powerhouse is the future of pop.

The Adelaide-hailing singer-songwriter never fails to spin a compelling narrative with her lyricism; when her witty relatability is rubbing up against freshly innovated tones and funky guitar chops that will leave you wanting to enjoy them under a glistening disco ball, her tracks become all the more exhilarating. The electroclash descent into obscurity towards the outro is enough to justify relentlessly hitting repeat on Stress You Out; she’s the perfect antagonist. Vengefully rubbing someone up the wrong way has never been so electrifying.

Stress You Out is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Benjamin Dean – Sinking Our Teeth: Forbidden Fruit Has Never Tasted Sweeter

Posted on 11 April 2023

Taken from his debut album, Veda, the up-and-coming alt-indie crooner, Benjamin Dean’s single, Sinking Our Teeth (Into the Fruit Again), is a lesson in hedonistic prolepsis.

After the opulent instrumental aesthetics have constructed a glisteningly atmospheric tone, Benjamin Dean’s soul-deep vocal lines start to wrap around the lyrics that illustrate how sweet forbidden fruit is when you’re anticipating the nectarine bliss.

Contrasting the teasing intensity of the lyricality, the ambience resonates like a Dionysus daydream; as scintillating as a candelabra under the moonlight, Sinking Our Teeth is an arrestive example of how experimentalism and deep concepts don’t always need to be hand in hand with inaccessibility. Slipping into the impassioned style of this celestial soundscape is as easy as breathing.

Sinking Our Teeth (Into the Fruit Again) is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ida Fiona is a candied bubble gum pop icon in her ironically subversive single, Anti-Stress

Posted on 5 April 2023

With the histrionically imaginative lyrics fed through her dreamy pastel-hued vocal lines, the songwriter Ida Fiona burst the bubble gum pop bubble with her single, Anti-Stress, taken from her 6-track EP, I’m Fun. While whataboutisms are explored, Ida Fiona subversively illustrates how easy it is to align our identity to idiosyncrasy and fear.

The Stockholm and Sandnes, Norway-hailing artist has carved out her own glitter-decorated chaotic niche in recent years with her discography which traverses everything from love to mental health to kitchen sink moments. Moving far beyond cliché lyricality and into the realm of intimate self-irony, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more relatable and candid voice on the airwaves. Her candied soundscapes are the cherry on the expressive cake.

Anti-Stress will officially release on March 31; check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Luminary Lyricist J. Matthews is set to unveil his debut coming-of-age EP, Courage

Posted on 3 March 2023
J. Matthews

After a phenomenally hooky alt-pop debut, Connecticut’s sharpest lyrical narrator, J. Matthews, will release his debut EP, Courage, on March 3rd.

If All the Small Things by Blink-182 reserves a special place in your soul, you will need to make room for the opening single, Courage for Fools. It abstracts the punky bite and implants sticky-sweet melodies comprised of innocently hesitant romantic lines, euphoric beats and buzzing synths.

Wanderlust is a dreamily honeyed indie-pop masterpiece which brings the titular allusion aurally to life. Jack Kerouac would have been enamoured by the restlessly adventurous soul, spurred on by a lust for life.

For You toys around with 80s-ESQUE nostalgia before bringing the indie-pop polaroid of affectionate intoxication into the modernist realm with the poetic lyrical lines that tie together the seamless shifts between indie, electro, and future pop.

Nothing to Fear, which traverses personal growth in an infectiously gratified style, is a resonantly impactful conclusion to the EP that is sure to see the singer-songwriter go far in his career.

It is only a matter of time before the songwriting accolades start cascading upon J. Matthews. His razor-sharp lyrical hooks coalesce with the ensnaring immersivity within his melodies, making each track a soul-awakening hit of sonic ecstasy.

J. Matthews Said:

“My Courage EP carries the weight of my experience, starting as an insecure college kid and growing into confidence. From figuring out love and life in Courage for Fools to the narration of lockdown stagnation and fear of missing out in Wanderlust. For You is a love song, through and through, capturing the serendipity when your idealised partner manifests as though they appeared from the production line in your own mind.

The concluding single, Nothing to Fear, celebrates the freedom of a new-found perspective, such as the one you gain from returning to your hometown after college when you find pride in your scars because, without them, you would have never become better than you were before.”

Courage will be available to stream in full on Spotify and SoundCloud from March 3rd.

Connect with J. Matthews via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast