Browsing Tag

Indie Psych Pop

Alt-Indie solo artist Bent 290 has released his psychotropic sophomore single, Minds and Makers.

Posted on 22 October 2021

‘Minds and Makers’ is the psychotropic sophomore release from alt-indie solo artist Bent 290 (Dakota Schilling). With hints of Midwest Emo in the vocals, nuances of reggae in anthemic guitars and lashings of electronic psych euphoria, it’s impossible not to warm to the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter’s instantly enamouring expressionism.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Muse, All American Rejects, and Tame Impala aurally met in the middle, you’ll get an idea of the kind of bitter-sweet soul on offer here.

The project, Bent 290, was born during the 2020 lockdown when Dakota locked himself away in a cabin in North-Eastern Indiana. His debut release broke onto the airwaves to critical acclaim in 2020. After the release of his power-pop hit, we’re sure that only good things will follow.

Minds and Makers is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KennethWayne laced the airwaves with indie lo-fi psych-pop soul with ‘Sound of Regret’.

Posted on 31 July 2021

US alt-indie artist KennethWayne’s experimental sound is constantly in flux; taken from his LOOK UP mixtape is the best introduction to his eccentrically affable style. Sound of Regret is a sweetly kaleidoscopic hit of lo-fi psych-pop that retains soul despite the retrospective melancholy.

Between the kicking percussion, accordant guitar chords and the masterful straight-off-the-tape-deck vibes, if Sound of Regret fails to leave you feeling endeared, you can assume your soul is defunct. Fans of Elliott Smith, the Beatles and Nick Drake definitely won’t want to miss out on this release.

Sound of Regret is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Follow the artist on Instagram. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rob Quo leads the conversation with his vintage psych-pop single, ‘Talkin’ Bout the Truth’.

Posted on 8 July 2021

London-based Singer-songwriter and emissary of soul, Rob Quo, has released his EP, Let It Spin, which captures his vintage-inclined style at its most accordant and psychedelic.

If you can imagine what it would sound like if the Zombies covered ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, you’ll get an idea of the hazily sticky-sweet vibe Rob Quo orchestrated with the lead single; Talkin’ Bout the Truth.

The EP marks the singer-songwriter’s transition away from folk and blues and into the realm of experimental aural eclecticism. With an LP in the works, due for release in 2022, the old school crooner is well worth a spot on your radar.

Talkin’ Bout the Truth is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Follow Rob Quo via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a kaleidoscopic trip with singer-songwriter Louie Miles’ latest ethereal indie psych-pop hit, ‘City Living’.

Posted on 6 July 2021

‘City Living’ is the latest ethereal lo-fi psych-pop track from up and coming independent singer-songwriter Louie Miles. With tinges of 60s psych-pop, the same arcanely evocative air as artists such as Mazzy Star and Elliot Smith, it’s a blissfully kaleidoscopic hit from start to finish.

Between the mellow accordance of the guitars and the choral vocals, you will find an overarching sense of detachment that comes via the lyrics that allow you to resonate with the sense of directionless and cityscape detachment.

Louie Miles’ single, City Living, is now available to stream on YouTube. Follow him on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pinwheel Valley sends us back to the alt 90s with his psych-tinged indie track, ‘Spirit City Kiss’.

Posted on 14 May 2021

‘Spirit City Kiss’ is the latest single released by alt-indie-rock artist Pinwheel Valley, the suitably sweet grungy tones are tinted with the nuances of psych-pop and swathes of alt 90s nostalgia. If Dinosaur Jr’s 2021 album didn’t hit the spot, the hazily over-driven tones in Spirit City Kiss definitely will.

Fans of Blur, The Charlatans, The Beatles and Dinosaur Jr alike will want to delve into the psychotropic soundscape inspired by the cities that make us feel home, even if our home is on the other side of the ocean. The dreamy reverb wraps around the subversive lyrics that may sound like your usual amorous tropes at first but if you read between the lines, you’ll find that Pinwheel Valley has, once again, explored ubiquitous social dynamics and tapped into a relatively unexplored part of our consciousness that yearns for our spiritual homes.

Being no stranger to international travel, the Canadian, Jordan-born singer-songwriter and instrumentalist now finds himself residing in Cyprus, where he works out of his recording studio, Hot Soap Studios.

Pinwheel Valley has been travelling the globe and gracing stages since the early 00s. In 2014, he took part in the Mayor of London Big Busk. In 2014, he graduated with a diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering (Point Blank Music College). With a full band, he performed throughout Vancouver, Toronto, and Seattle in 2016 and 2017.

With an EP in the works and due for release later in 2021, you’ll want to save a spot on your radar.

Spirit City Kiss released on May 14th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

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

Ride the New Wave Indie tides in Pretty Visitors’ single ‘Hollywood Tantrum’

Posted on 5 December 2020

From the first jangly tonally tropic note in Pretty Visitors latest single ‘Hollywood Tantrum’ which features on their AA release alongside ‘I Think My Life is Working Out’ you’ll instantly feel the endearing warmth which raises the temperature in the New Wave Indie Pop hit.

With a nuanced Jazz infusion, Hollywood Tantrum exceeds every expectation you have when delving into a new artist’s sound. Authenticity, check. Rhythmic magnetism, check. Soulfully-expressive lyrics, check. It may be a sticky-sweet track, but it was never in danger of resonating as saccharine thanks to the hint of vocal despondence which ensured that every hint of euphoria you feel is grounded in gritty reality.

The Essex-based trailblazers are undoubtedly one to watch.

You can check out the AA release via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Modern Fools offer uniquely liberating resolve with their nuanced Indie hit “New Year”

Posted on 15 November 2020

If the state of modernity is sending you under, delve into the uniquely liberating Indie Rock hit “New Year” by Modern Fools.

While some are desperately waiting for 2020 to end as if that will be the end of our suffering, Modern Fools put an incredible spin on the naive narrative by offering absolving nihilism with lyrics such as “I don’t care what the new year brings” and “resolutions, they don’t mean shit”. That may sound depressive but letting go of any frantic desperation to see the world instantly fixed will do plenty of favours for your soul.

There’s a resounding sense of realism within the tonally sweet psych-laced feat of Indie Jangle Pop. They captured the mood, as well as the Verve, did in the 90s.

I have an infinite amount of admiration for Modern Fools and their ability to pour such mindful nuance into a track which addresses the state of our collective powerlessness.

You can check out the satirically-sweet official video to New Year by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

8udDha bl0od – N38UIA: An Arcane Convergence of Post Punk and Psych Pop

Posted on 14 April 2020

Post Punk and Psych Pop arcanely converge in 8udDha bl0od’s mesmerizingly transfixing single “N38UIA” which was released in February 2020.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if the Doors and Interpol collaborated on a record, you’ll get an idea of the indulgent tonal treat which awaits you if you hit play on N38UIA.

With the winding guitar progressions possessing the ability to disrupt your own rhythmic pulses, listening to N38UIA is pretty much a full-body experience.

It’s not often that you’ll get to hear a track which can evolve from harsh cutting tones to light accordance so seamlessly. And that’s just one of the reasons why N38UIA is worth investing 6 minutes of your time in.

You can check out 8udDha bl0od’s track N38UIA for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

8udDha bl0od – 1771: Psychedelically-Laced 60s-Inspired Pop Rock

Posted on 13 April 2020

1771 is just one of the recently released singles by Brighton-based Alt artist 8udDha bl0od. Arguably, the psychedelically-laced Pop Rock single is up there with the most cathartic we’ve heard from them yet.

The frill-free soundscape invites you to slip into a kaleidoscopically entrancing track which invokes 60s nostalgia. Above the light instrumental arrangement, the vocals easily and ethereally resonate above the gentle rhythms compelling you to sink deeper into the track and latch onto the lyrics to ingest the sentimental mindfulness.

What I will always appreciate about 8udDha bl0od is their ability to break free from tonal archetypes. They consistently surprise us with the seemingly endless number of ways their ingenuity can aurally manifest.  Fans of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Zombies and the Rolling Stone will find plenty to be enamoured by when they hit play on 1771.

You can check out 1771 for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast