Browsing Tag

Indie Shoegaze

Neal Gray invites you to drift into ‘A Beautiful Slumber’ with their ambient shoegaze single

Posted on 6 January 2021

Whatever your views on guitar music are, cast them aside before you hit play on the latest cinematically lush instrumental release ‘A Beautiful Slumber’ from US singer-songwriter Neal Gray.

With the same spacious soul-twistingly sweet tones as found in Slowdive’s most sedately compelling singles, the soundscape is absorbing from the first hit. The influence of Neil Halstead’s reticent yet ardently evocative quiescent guitar-style is more than palpable, but A Beautiful Slumber is so much more than just a feat of assimilation.

Neal Gray held back on the distortion and abrasive sonic effects to create a transcendent soundscape which is beguiling and cathartic in equal measure.

In a time where tranquillity is hard to come by, I sincerely recommend Neal Gray’s tracks as a staple for your playlists.

You can drift into A Beautiful Slumber yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Superflush deliver a bitter-sweet romantic kick with their Alt Indie debut single ‘Answer’

Posted on 19 December 2020

Californian Alt-Indie trio Superflush have made their 2020 debut with the stunningly hazy Shoegaze single ‘Answer’, expect plenty more than just another My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive derivative as Superflush weave their way right across the tonal palette.

With a progressive feel to the ode to the Alt 90s sound, the dreamy melodies synergise with the lucid vocals which come with a bitter-sweet romantic kick. Everyone from fans of Radiohead to fans of Porcupine Tree will want to jump on this authentically crafted, served straight from the soul feat of Alt-Indie. As far as debuts go, they don’t come much more promising than this.

You can check out Answer for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Versonic – Seen It All: An Indie Rock Anthem for the Ennui-Burdened

Posted on 17 November 2020
https://versonic1.bandcamp.com/track/seen-it-all

There was no forgetting Epsom, UK Alt-Indie artist Versonic after we heard their magnetic Indie Shoegaze track, A Second in Time in 2018. This time, they’re back with even more harmonic motion and sonorous lyrical depth with their single “Seen it All”.

Perceptibly, 2020 has had a profound effect on the already highly acclaimed award-winning songwriter Stephen Connor. If you’ve been fraught with ennui recently, it may just feel like the lyricism has been taken from your own unshockable mind which scarcely knows how to react to atrocity anymore.

Despite the resilient upbeat vitality of Seen It All, there’s no retracting the striking melancholy from the lyrics. But that’s not to say that you won’t find plenty of soul-soothing accordance in the driving, cavernous, radiant track which will definitely appeal to any fans of the Alt 90s sound.

Seen It All is available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kiss Hello says an Experimental Indie Rock “Goodbye” with Their Latest Single

Posted on 30 September 2020
https://kisshello.bandcamp.com/track/goodbye-smiling-my-way-home

LA Ambient Indie Pop artist Kiss Hello has released their endearingly experimental Lo-Fi single “Goodbye (Smiling My Way Home)”. It will be some time before we fully recover from the sonically sugar-coated feat of synth-led experimentalism.

With elements of Synth Pop, Post Punk and Shoegaze in the hypnotically prodigal track, it’s safe to say that you’ve never heard anything like this before. With plenty of bendy distortion obscuring the Jangle Pop guitar notes, you’ll pick up on reminiscences to the Smiths and The Cure along with plenty of the effervescent authenticity which radiates from Kiss Hello’s galvanizingly quaint take on Indie. There’s also a lot to be said by their resoundingly dynamic vocals which won’t fail to test your soul’s capacity to feel.

You can check out Kiss Hello’s single Goodbye for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a trip back to the Alt 90s with The Young Love Scene’s latest single “Honey”

Posted on 25 September 2020
Honey by The Young Love Scene

If it’s been a while since you’ve deemed a feat of dreamy, sludgy and distorted Alt Rock as obsession-worthy, hit play on the latest infectiously melodic earworm “Honey” from Vermont-based Alt Rock artist The Young Love Scene.

The Young Love Scene may have a fairly DIY approach to their sound, but instead of hindering the track, the intimacy is amplified and it is even easier to fall into the absorbing mix of crunchy distortion and singer Gordon Goldsmith’s alluringly harmonic vocal timbre.

If the Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer had an aural lovechild, I can imagine it would turn out something a little like Honey.

You can check out Honey for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pictura – Dreamed Bliss: The Most Vivid Alt Rock Dreamscape You’ll Slip Into in 2020

Posted on 13 September 2020

Any fans of The Cure won’t want to hang around with the latest release “Dreamed Bliss” by up and coming Alt Rock artist Pictura. They may be relatively fresh from their inception, but they’ve already achieved what many artists spend decades failing to do by coming up with an alluringly gripping sound that would be possible to find elsewhere.

Dreamed Bliss sweeps across the tonal palette, mixing light energetic effervescence with sludgy low tones to keep you grounded as you listen to the visceral vocals bleeding into the mix.

The complexity in the deftly orchestrated accordance practically makes Dreamed Bliss a dreamscape. Contemporary Shoegaze with kicks of Post-Punk doesn’t come much more mesmeric than this. They will have plenty more to drop throughout 2020. Get them on your radar.

You can check out the official video to Dreamed Bliss which dropped on August 25th for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Paola Rogue – This Picture: Soul-Soothingly-Sludgy Indie Shoegaze

Posted on 13 September 2020
https://paolarogue.bandcamp.com/track/this-picture

Costa Rican singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paola Rogue may be better known for her work in her band, The Great Wilderness, but her recently released second solo album may be the best testament to her talent when it comes to crafting soul-soothing Lo-Fi Indie.

While each of the sludgy yet light and dextrous tracks has the capacity to leave you pleasantly catatonic, any fans of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine will definitely want to delve into the deftly weaved tones in This Picture as they mellifluously sweep through the reverb-drenched production.

Atop of the absorbing Shoegaze-style instrumentals which also ring with a touch of Post-Punk, you’ll hear Paola Rogue’s compelling vocals which are all too efficacious when it comes to drawing emotion out of you.

You can check out This Picture for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hannah Crowley has made her Shoegaze-infused Indie Pop debut with “Scrolling”

Posted on 24 August 2020

Dublin-born, LA-based singer-songwriter Hannah Crowley has made her debut with the mellifluously immersive single “Scrolling”.

The nuances of Shoegaze in the Indie Pop soundscape give the instrumentals a smoothly melodious feel while the lyrics offer a bruising amount of resonance. If you’re sick of spending your days attached to your phone trying to stay connected with the world, lyrics such as “scrolling through my life to past the time” will hit hard.

It’s not every day we hear debut singles as promising as Scrolling. Get her on your radar.

Scrolling is due for release on August 21st, you’ll be able to check it out on all major platforms including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

painted people – Hope You Understand Me: A Sonically Electrifying Meeting of Shoegaze and Industrial

Posted on 3 August 2020
https://thepaintedpeople.bandcamp.com/track/hope-you-understand-me

LA Alt-Rock artist painted people released their genre-defying latest single “Hope You Understand Me” on July 18th. We’re already utterly infatuated with their arrestingly high-octane sound.

New offerings of Shoegaze and Industrial tend to be fairly archetypal. Yet, under painted people’s deftly experimental prowess, the two seemingly contrasting genres fit hand in sonically electrifying glove. It’s safe to say that you won’t ever come across such a galvanizing track which features elements of Shoegaze and Dreampop.

If you’re anything like me and you’re always looking for fresh ingenuity from up and coming artists, you’re sure to appreciate the pioneering appeal in the indulgently kaleidoscopic single. It’s euphoric, it’s chaotic, but it still oozes all of the dreamy absorbing accordance of Shoegaze. What more could you possibly ask for?

You can check out painted people’s single Hope You Understand Me via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sky Changes – New Shoes: An Instantly Engorging Melting Pot of Art Rock, Dream Pop and Shoegaze

Posted on 13 July 2020

From the first angular notes in the latest track “New Shoes” from Chicago Alt-Rock outfit Sky Changes, we were hooked. Their unique amalgamation of Art Rock, Dream Pop and Indie Shoegaze will leave fans of Radiohead and Slowdive alike enamoured.

Not only did the dreamy soundscape allow Sky Changes to assert their distinction and ingenuity on the airwaves. New Shoes is also an instantly engorging melodic masterpiece where every evolution will leave you with an even more potent dose of awe.

With every progression, the tight yet chorally accordant instrumentals seem to gain intricacy and amass alchemy while the hazily-blissful vocals remain a beguilingly soft constant. The muted vocals magnetically draw you deeper into the track to extract the meaning behind the New Shoes metaphor.

It isn’t every day we hear such a fresh revival of Alt 90s sounds. We’d recommend getting Sky Changes on your radar sooner than later.

You can check out Sky Changes’ latest single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud or Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast