Browsing Tag

Indie Rock

Drift into the ether with Pinwheel Valley’s latest alt-indie-rock hit, Hot Air Balloon

Posted on 6 June 2022

The Canadian, Cyprus-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Pinwheel Valley, has released his metaphorical alt-indie rock masterpiece, Hot Air Balloon, which uses the slightly archaic mode of transport as a parable to reflect the importance of persevering our mental space.

It takes some serious reading between the anthemic uplifting lines to pull out the protestive fire that any establishment would be desperate to put out through fear of it cutting profit margins that are boosted by dull hiveminds. On the flip side of that, texturally, Hot Air Balloon is a dreamy, kaleidoscopic blister of bliss, which is all too welcome in these easy to lament times.

Every time, Pinwheel Valley breezes back even better than the last time we heard his exploratively introspective tracks, which still come with that A-list radio-ready appeal, despite the seemingly infinite depth.

Here is what he had to say about his latest release

“In some ways, Hot Air Balloon is a metaphor for pregnancy, inspired by the sequence of moving along and the process revealing itself, where a spirit permeates the boundless world, reflecting how a hot air balloon grows and rises into the ether, where our thoughts drift and amalgamate. The ether may be our final escape from those who manipulate us with vested interests in how we think and act.”

Hot Air Balloon will officially drop on June 6th, 2022. Hear it for yourselves on Spotify, SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Flying Oceans lit up the Manchester music scene with their soul-stirring funk-rock fusion, Circles

Posted on 26 May 2022
Flying Oceans

The Manchester music scene became infinitely richer for the latest release from the funk-rock pioneers, Flying Oceans. If you can imagine what it would have sounded like if Incubus abstracted their plaintiveness and implanted unbridled soul, you will get an idea of the stirring alchemy that Circles delivered.

With the guitars consistently transitioning between roots-deep funk chops and jangly Marr-Esque rhythm and the seductively low basslines bringing just as much gravitas as Mr Bungle’s, Circles has all the makings of a playlist staple for anyone that wants to find a slice of aural solace in our disjointing times where it’s all but impossible to find rhyme or reason away from the airwaves.

Hear Flying Oceans’ latest single, Circles, here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

90s Britpop Gets a Lick of Cali Sun in Port Streets’ Love Story Lament, Dream Girl, Decide

Posted on 18 May 2022

Butter wouldn’t melt on the bitter-sweet melancholy in the latest 90s Britpop-rooted single from the independent Orange County, CA-residing artist, Port Streets.

Dream Girl, Decide is a surreally imaginative lament over a mentally hospitalised loved one. I mean, is there any more definitive sign of the times than that? We’re all losing our marbles in dating pools scattered with them, but cute sentiments still stand over the lush organ lines and blissfully pure vocal harmonies.

The Blur influence finds just the right level of nuance, avoiding assimilation from the strength of the rays on the blissfully constructed indie rock hit that uses Grandaddy-Esque synths and hooky guitar lines to seal this track’s place in your synapses.

Dream Girl, Decide is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marc Ambrosia gets visceral in his lo-fi indie rock ballad, When I’m Feeling Love

Posted on 13 May 2022

Indie-rock singer-songwriter Marc Ambrosia is set to release his Chris Isaak-Esque lo-fi single, When I’m Feeling Love, which progressively makes its way to a scornfully soulful 80s power ballad.

After the gentle and choral prelude and opening verse, the reverb starts to slip away as Ambrosia’s ethereal vocals pick up intensity and urgency to mimic the lifelines of new passions sparked; after a toe is dipped in the water, it isn’t long before you’re completely consumed. And that’s exactly the power Ambrosia has over you in When I’m Feeling Love. Ironically, we are infatuated.

When I’m Feeling Love is to be released on May 13th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Glass Image reached the pinnacle of evocative riff-driven alt-indie alchemy with their latest single, Again

Posted on 30 April 2022

On the basis of their latest single, Again, Glass Image is the entire pensively intellectual alt-rock package. With the artfully evocative gravitas of Radiohead, the monolithically melodic guitars and the raw yet honeyed indie alt-rock vocals, it’s enough to aurally lull you into an emotionally heightened state of intense appreciation of their candour and signature brand of riff-heavy alchemy.

After forming in 2018, the NY-hailing outfit got to work on their debut 2019 EP, which stood as a testament to their proclivity to always weave a meaningful narrative around melodic riffs. Following the release of Again, they are set to release their debut LP in 2022. Notably, they’re one to watch.

Again is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SRRY poured optimism on our contemporary isolation in their latest indie synth-pop hit, Talk the Lonely Away

Posted on 19 April 2022

No track quite captures our contemporary isolated times as succinctly as the single, Talk the Lonely Away, taken from SRRY’s latest double A-side release, Sad But True.

The Phoenix indie synth-pop outfit transcended the contemporary curve with Talk the Lonely Away, which melodically explores the disconnections that have led many of us into a semi-reclusive state.

In a punchy power-pop meets 80s synth-pop fashion, the single optimistically celebrates the last remaining connections and the digital tethers that manage to keep us grounded. If listening to it doesn’t fill you with gratitude for the people in your life, you might want to check your pulse.

Talk the Lonely Away is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Elegant Chasers created a high-IQ-sanctuary in his latest scuzzy alt-rock hit, Clowns

Posted on 15 April 2022
The Elegant Chasers

For anyone that finds themselves frequently in despair over just how deep the IQ-deprived antagonists drag us down into late-stage capitalist suffering, The Elegant Chasers’ latest scuzzy alt-rock single, Clowns, will bring a slight reprieve from the crushing weight.

The harbingering guitar solos, the sense of carnivalesque chaos and the distortedly enigmatic yet hooky alt-rock vocals pull together in the high-voltage protest to the idiocrasy that resounds more than most things these dystopic days. Here’s what The Elegant Chasers had to say about his latest release:

“It’s easy to dwell. To be angry and upset about situations that have conspired against you. To feel cheated. It’s even easier when this has happened more than once. Then paranoia kicks in, those who transpired against you will massage the paranoia and try and blame anyone but the culprits – i.e., themselves. The reality is it’s hard to shake off that feeling. Inevitably time is a healer, but it still feels that justice was never served. Clowns was written in 1st person but taking on the role of The Company Man for most of the song…The Clown! Lyrically I took inspiration from the people that hurt me most in the last 6 years. People who I thought I could trust. But it was just the same old story, just like many of you who have suffered under the corporate kings, rogues, rats, fools, the pretenders, the charlatans, the clowns. Call them what you like, they deliver the same outcome, a stab in the back, and quite often you’re thrown out to the wolves.”

Clowns will officially release on April 22nd. You can check it out for yourselves via Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Follow The Elegant Chasers via Instagram and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Warning Signal gave the hooks in their industrial alt-rock debut, Nightmare, razor-sharp teeth.

Posted on 7 April 2022

There’s nothing like a caustic cut of blackened industrial alt-rock to catharize the mind from the dystopic night terror that is modernity; that’s exactly what the Brighton-based trio, Warning Signal, delivered in their debut single, Nightmare.

The infectiously antagonist energy in the hooky indie vocals from Eva Sheldrake, which declare there’s no waking up now, paired with the gnarled guitars and harbingering percussion is by far one of the most exciting new additions on the airwaves this year.

If you could imagine what it would have sounded like if Powerman 5000 had a softer indie-pop edge, you’ll be able to get an idea of the explosive yet intimate alchemy in Nightmare. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear what follows. It is going to be incredibly sweet to watch the world wake up to Nightmare and the hits that will undoubtedly follow.

Nightmare is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ism takes us to unchartered waters with his indie funk-pop track, Unchartered Waters

Posted on 1 April 2022

Instead of focusing on emulating a genre, the up-and-coming artist, Ism, keeps political ideology and the artistic lens as the essence of his sound. In his latest single, Unchartered Waters, taken from his album of the same name, there’s a groove-deep blend of rock, indie, funk, pop and rap that fuses around Ism’s socially dissecting philosophy.

Unchartered Waters finds a nuanced and almost subliminal way to reflect our fears of upsetting the societal apple cart and note how exhausting autonomy can be when an unquestioning mind is far more comfortable. Every time you listen to it, you find something new to pontificate on. We can’t wait to hear what Ism brings with the rest of his highly anticipated LP.

Unchartered Waters is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

E.L. Davis gave us a ‘Window to the World’ that we want to look through with their latest alt indie rock single

Posted on 29 March 2022
E. L. Davis

Ahead of the release of their 6-track EP, Stars We’ve Never Seen, E.L. Davis has given a taste of their elevated existential angst with the standout single, Window to the World.

With the nuanced 90s indie rock vibes mixed in with the post-rock atmosphere of the single that proves how far we’ve come since Bono reigned supreme, Window to the World is simultaneously a nostalgia hit and a way to find contemporary resonance in a time of scarcity of it.

From the very first lyric, the all too relatable disillusionment and cynicism take hold before Window to the World turns into a stormer of an alt-indie rock hit that could easily fill a stadium and command the audience.

Window to the World will officially release on April 29th. Check out E.L. Davis here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast