Browsing Tag

indie-pop

Marilyn Joy is ‘Superfine’ in her latest polyphonic lo-fi alt-pop single.

Posted on 18 February 2022
Superfine by Marilyn Joy

The matchless London-based singer-songwriter and artist, Marilyn Joy, has released her eagerly-awaited eccentrically Avant-Garde single, Superfine. She’s officially on top expressive form after her stint away from the airwaves and notable London venues.

With the same playful polyphonic tones that Grandaddy used to win over the masses in the 90s, the keys lead you through the lo-fi production that explores the weight we can take off other people before reminding you to shake it off for your sanity.

Marilyn Joy’s melody-driven, effortlessly distinctive style is always a refreshing change from the artists that veer away from their originality to find uniqueness. As always, we can’t wait to hear the confessional alchemy that follows.

Superfine was officially released on February 18th, 2022. It is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Horror pop royalty, Minerva Daisy, returns with her latest single, Something Strange

Posted on 16 February 2022

Manchester-based alt-indie pop singer-songwriter Minerva Daisy delivered macabre poetry in her latest horror pop single, Something Strange.

After a baroque pop intro, the track starts to pick up momentum after the powerful and queer indie pop songstress delivers the striking lyric “there’s a lump in your throat, I hope it swallows you up” and sets the tone for the fiery release that will allow you to imagine what Kate Nash would have sounded like if she found the inclination to become a murder folk artist. Even though there’s plenty of dark imagery in the high-octane hit, that doesn’t strip the luminary light from this infectious hell hath no fury like a woman scorned release. Any fans of Amanda Palmer, Amigo the Devil, and the Creepshow will find that Something Strange is just as obsession-worthy.

If anyone has what it takes to shake the monotony out of the Manchester music scene, our money is on Minerva Daisy.

Something Strange will officially release on February 16th, 2022. Check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kathleen Elle weaves alchemy into the romanticism of her latest soul-pop single, Magic

Posted on 10 February 2022
Kathleen Elle

The award-winning viral singer-songwriter, Kathleen Elle, is set to bring the alchemy in her latest piece of ear candy, Magic. The soul-pop single follows on from her single, Nervous, which saw her go viral in 2021 with her Taylor Swift-reminiscent sound and resounding lyrical intimacy.

Magic contains enough panoramic emotion and sonic panache to make it fitting in a Blockbuster feature soundtrack. Yet, Elle’s indie roots still pull through in the Grammy-worthy production.

What I can’t help but admire about Kathleen Elle is her ability to pour romanticism back into the world which rivals her talents in lyrically cutting close to the bone. She’s also earned a sentimental place on our radar through her mission to see 5-minute pop singles prolific on the airwaves. She certainly made a case for them with the narrative structuring of Magic.

Magic is due for official release on February 10th. You’ll be able to check it out for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The British-Swedish pop duo Small Changes illuminated the airwaves with their latest single, The Sun

Posted on 1 February 2022

Few female pop duos can rival the soulfully powerful British-Swedish duo, Small Changes, especially on the basis of their latest single, The Sun, which creates parables between the warmth of the spiciest planet in our solar system and the cosy affection in human connection.

Their life-affirming and perception brightening single was a charity release to raise money for MIND. Yet, it is safe to say that Lina Nilsson and Elisabeth O’Connor did their part for the advocacy of mental health through writing the single alone. Notably, with their meaningful lyricism, immense vocal talent and spiritually awakening instrumentals, they are one to watch. They’re already receiving plaudits from up high from BBC Introducing and gracing notable venues, such as The O2 Academy Islington, Notting Hill Arts Club and Under the Bridge.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Until the End of the World gave pop a noir twist in their latest single, Easy Come, Easy Go

Posted on 21 January 2022

For their latest single, Easy Come, Easy Go, the lockdown-born outfit, Until the End of the World, gave pop a noir twist. With the 90s-style pop harmonies that will throw you right back to the days when Say You’ll Be There was dominating the airwaves while simultaneously captivating you with the same haunting mystique as Mazzy Star, Easy Come, Easy Go couldn’t be more beguiling.

Until the End of the World consists of the Nashville-based singer-songwriter Meg Olden and the English ex-pat, Ian Webber; their sound is equally as international as their formation. There are obvious hints of Americana in the deserty guitar tones, with nods to the likes of the English singer-songwriter Richard Hawley in the melodies. It isn’t every day that you stumble across an artist as authentic as this. Until the End of the World definitely isn’t an outfit to underestimate.

Easy Come, Easy Go is due for official release on February 21st; check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zara Shahzad takes us through a dream-pop descent with her latest single, Fall from Grace

Posted on 6 January 2022

London-based singer-songwriter, Zara Shahzad, has released her eagerly-anticipated ethereally sweet indie dream-pop single, Fall from Grace. With nuances of shoegaze and trip-hop combined, the 21-year-old artist broke new aural ground with the deeply visceral single that unfolds around entrancing beats and reverb-laden angular guitars. Light and dark textures weave inexplicably together, never letting the melancholy overpower the sense of strength that Zara exhibits in the vulnerable release.

Any fans of Desperate Journalist and Cultdreams will undoubtedly want to add Fall from Grace to their new wave shoegaze and dream-pop playlists.

Fall from Grace is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alternative singer-songwriter Laura Lang shares artful introspection in her debut single, Lithium

Posted on 3 January 2022

Tennessee-based independent singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Laura Lang is fresh from the release of her debut single, Lithium. With a voice as arresting as Angel Olsen and Phoebe Bridgers and the artful baroque nuances, you can’t help getting caught up in the captivating chord structures paired with the pop-inspired melodies.

After a melancholy bleeding intro, Lithium shifts into a testament of Lang’s introspective intellect, creative imagination and ability to create an ethereally captivating soundscape from the unravelling of her emotions.

With her debut album, All Downhill from There, which promises to echo suffering, beauty and nature due for release in January 2022, saving space on your radar for Laura Lang will undoubtedly pay off. Her debut single, Lithium, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie-pop goes baroque in Millaze’s standout single, Viscera.

Posted on 2 January 2022

The first thing that grips you with the standout single, Viscera (I’m Saying You Can Still Have Me), from Millaze’s 2021 album, A Note on the Author, is the vibrant deep-rooted originality. In the same way that Bjork and Kate Bush ran with their avant-garde authenticity, the Oakland-hailing singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is making strides in her own direction.

While plenty of artists struggle to find confidence in their authentic voice – especially at the outset of their career – Millaze’s confidence allows her to defy harmonic convention. Instead, she offers visceral outbursts of passion that *actually* reflect human emotion.

With song titles as endearing as Courtney Barnett’s, her unapologetic candour and frankly alchemic melodies, the aural world is at Millaze’s feet. If the Billboard charts were based on ingenuity and distinction alone, we have no doubt that Millaze would be riding high at the top.

Viscera is now available to stream on Spotify, along with the rest of Millaze’s seminal album, A Note on the Author.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shake the cobwebs off romantic regret with Michael Vincent’s alt-indie pop-rock hit, Mine

Posted on 1 January 2022

The up and coming artist Michael Vincent came into 2022 with a bang with the release of his infectiously upbeat alt-indie pop-rock track, Mine. With lyrics that shake the cobwebs off of romantic regret and fiery vocals that will throw you right back to when Fall Out Boy was reigning supreme on the airwaves, Mine has all the makings of a playlist staple, and then some. The snappy percussion, crawling basslines, and rock virtuoso guitar licks break into exuberantly electric radio-ready choruses that won’t ask permission before glueing themselves to your synapses.

One of the hardest life lessons to learn is that there is no guarantee of closure after a messy relationship. Michael Vincent finds a sticky-sweet way to lend compassion to his amorous-less fans looking for consolation that their ex was too douchey to offer. In every conceivable way, it is a hit.

Mine was officially released on January 1st, 2022. It is now available to stream here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LINN KRISTIN has released the most compassionately nuanced Christmas single you’ll hear this year with ‘Home’.

Posted on 11 December 2021

Home is the latest hauntingly soulful single from singer-songwriter LINN KRISTIN, which may be the most nuanced Christmas single to have ever hit the airwaves. Home was created in recognition of the grief and conflict that emerges at Christmas – despite what social media lets you see. It delivers the essential reminder that friends are just as important as family, and if they’re the people that keep you mentally afloat while your family send you under, that’s more ok,

The atmospheric verses allude to the detachment felt in the absence of the people that complete us, while the strident chorus crescendos complete with festive bells depict the sweeter than sweet feeling of finding your centre of gravity in someone.

The emotional intelligence in Home carries a profoundness rarely heard on the radio. Combined with the fact that LINN KRISTIN carries just as much poise and panache as Winehouse; we can’t help but get excited about what is in store for this empathetically stunning artist.

Home is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast