Browsing Tag

Indie Singer Songwriter

Lindsey Black came ‘Undone’ with superlative grace in her sublimely evocative indie rock record

Posted on 11 March 2023
flight by Lindsey Black

Indie rock siren of a songstress Lindsey Black borrowed a few shoegaze elements to amplify the arrestive beguile in her latest independently released single, Undone, which hit the airwaves on February 3rd. As the single progresses, tinges of Americana amplify the sincerity of the soul exhibited in the candourous serenade that features on her second studio album, flight.

Any fans of Desperate Journalist and The Twilight Sad will easily succumb to the pensively sublime orchestration of Undone, which also carries hints of the Manic Street Preachers’ more soulfully reaching records. With Graeme Young in the iconic Chamber Studios in Edinburgh in charge of the recording for the sophomore album, it was never going to fall flat, but only a voice as serenely vulnerable as Lindsey Black’s could reach so transcendently high.

Undone is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Romanticism picks up in the airy American breeze in Ewan Jackson’s debut single, Counting Houses

Posted on 29 January 2023

Using real estate as a parable for the sanctity of emotional warmth was an ingeniously affectionate move on behalf of the singer-songwriter, Ewan Jackson, in his debut single, Counting Houses.

As sentimentally pure and rhythmically compelling as Elliott Smith’s iconic work, the single is a sweet ticket to a higher plateau, where love transcends the physical realm and becomes a meta phenomenon with few constraints.

Romance isn’t dead, it is picked up in the airy Americana breeze of this quiescent indie lullaby, which will rhythmically rock you into contentment while the vocals find the enamouring balance between playfulness and cupidity.

Counting Houses officially released on December 16th; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Scottish indie innovator Cameron Ferguson delivered a kaleidoscope of choral indie colour in his energising anthem, Jungle

Posted on 27 January 2023
https://soundcloud.com/cameronferguson2/jungle-1/s-7T4jyIjpCH6?si=7fab9bfb4e9148eca63ed089c9c4d7d8&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

After a string of successful singles released through 2022, the Scottish indie singer-songwriter Cameron Ferguson is here to show us what the future of indie sounds like with his latest single, Jungle.

With colourfully choral tones that will spill serotonin into the synapses of any fans of The Stone Roses amidst Ferguson’s quintessentially melodic distinctive brand of indie written with live performances in mind, Jungle is a rhythmically addictive triumph of a release.

The untraditional structure that throws a mind-melter of a curveball in as an outro is a testament to the artist’s ingenuity and boldness in bringing a new wave of indie into the arena. He could easily give Capaldi a run for his money.

Jungle will officially release on January 27th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

solos has unveiled his innocently sweet star-crossed indie-pop single, only mine

Posted on 17 January 2023

Recently, there has been a lot of demonising rhetoric about people crushing on their friends; the up-and-coming Boston-based artist and producer, solos, proved that it is completely possible to respect the friend you want to go further with through his single, only mine.

The melodic indie-pop single that pushes the accordance from the acoustic guitars to the front of the mix is an extension of resonance to everyone who finds themselves lamenting over the lack of mutual attraction but maintaining gratitude for the friendship.

The ornately mellow short and sweet track, complemented by the music video, is one of the purest things you will see and hear all year. His crystal-clear RnB-tinged pop harmonies against the mellifluous flow of the instrumentals are wholesomely transcendent.

The official video for only mine premiered on January 13th; watch it yourself on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Australian alt-indie singer-songwriter Greg Barnett advocated for nature in his existential serenade, ‘The C-Bomb’

Posted on 15 January 2023

Starting his single with clips of Donald Trump’s cognitive dissonance was a bold choice, but his obnoxious tones will always evoke a visceral reaction from the minds Greg Barnett aimed to compel with his standout single, The C-Bomb.

Taken from his massive 30-track debut LP, The Flat White Album, the single reminds us of the role we all need to play in salvaging the planet before it burns hotter than the temper of a right winger when expected to find a modicum of empathy or awareness.

The orchestrally laced alt-indie-folk soundscape that will make any Elliott Smith fans feel instantaneously at home delivers a shot of vindication through the affirmation that you’re not alone in your climate anxiety. Which is as warranted as it is a necessity if we want to take back our world from the disaster capitalists who would be happy to walk in the ashes as long as there are enough 0s in their bank balance before the curtains close on humanity.

The C-Bomb is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Scherdel narrated the descent of the ‘BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH’ in his artful indie-folk piano ballad

Posted on 6 January 2023
Sam Scherdel

2022 saw a cascade of hit singles from the superlatively talented indie singer-songwriter Sam Scherdel; to round off a perfect year, he eked new melancholy from Fairytale of New York with Harri Larkin. If there was any cultural justice in the UK, it would have made it to number one.

Now he’s starting 2023 with a bitter-sweet bang with the release of his live recorded single, BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH. It shares a few of the sombre tones of his Christmas release, but this emotionally layered piano ballad, complete with orchestral strings, stemmed from his own compassion-gifted mind.

As much as we adored the indie anthems, this folky turn that gives a more intimate view into a mindset that resonates with the contemporary atmosphere of collective ennui is just as seminal.

The live recording efficaciously captures every ounce of vulnerability pouring from the vocals that inhibit nothing to deliver a sincerely profound experience. Between the artfulness of Radiohead’s High and Dry and the hammering keys of Elton John’s Rocket Man rests this tender sonic narration of the boy who fell to earth. Prepare to be viscerally disarmed.

BOY WHO FELL TO EARTH will be available to stream and download on all platforms from January 6th via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Two cultures collide in Rob Carey’s consoling amalgam of Americana and proto-rock NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY

Posted on 3 January 2023

Any fans of Violent Femmes and the Psychedelic Furs will easily find a place on their playlists for the jangly proto power-pop guitars against bluesy twangs of Americana in Rob Carey’s latest era-spanning alt-indie single, NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY.

The blissful harmonies entwined with the enrapturing warmth of his nostalgic tones pushed into overdrive, bypassing innovation, around the Billy Bragg-Esque edge of everyman blues, are a melodiously amalgamated remedy for the soul.

By day, Rob Carey is a mental health nurse and counsellor. By night, he uses his understanding of the complexities of the human psyche in his compassion-driven singles, which efficaciously envelop you in their consoling melodicism.

NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY officially released on December 14th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ye Angst – 15: A Superlatively Succinct Alt-Indie Rock Remedy for the Soul

Posted on 2 January 2023

The indie singer-songwriter Ye Angst is renowned for sharing his artistic vision through the looking glass of youthful angst. In his evocatively enriched discography, which dates back to 2011, the perfect example is his exemplary single, 15. The jazz-blues piano keys around the Americana folk-rock body unravels as a superlatively succinct remedy for the soul.

In the same way, Cohen, Cat Stevens and Lou Reed emanate elevated grace, Ye Angst is in the habit of implanting ethereally cathartic instrumental accord in his singles that will effortlessly take you to a higher plateau while the lyrics and vocals pull you back down to our ennui-imparting earth.

Nearly a decade has passed since the release of 15, but the timeless single still resounds with glistening gospel for the impiously disenfranchised. Even around the complex instrumental interludes that give way to Journey-Esque heart-in-throat vocals, you’ll be caressed by the upliftingly melodic single, which perfectly rounds itself with orchestral strings for a filmic touch.

Succumb to the soul in 15 by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gwac paves the way towards acquiescence in his alt-indie-folk single, Stacks

Posted on 30 December 2022

South Korea-based singer-songwriter, Gwac, unveiled the quiescent alt-indie-folk melancholy in his debut EP, MOHO, on December 19th. Narrating themes of loss, denial, regret and acceptance, the 4-track EP flows through the grief cycle, hitting the most visceral spot on track two, Stacks.

With hints of Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea paired with the monoculturalism-shattering world music motifs, innovation mellifluously spills. The accordance set up by the angular guitar work and woodwind instrumentals fed through torrid effects reflects the storms we weather before we arrive at a state of mind where we break through the listless frustration and arrive at a place of acquiescence.

“Throughout the making of this EP and digging through past experiences, I learned that sadness has a lot of dimensions for me. Some of the saddest memories are sometimes the most beautiful things I know. There’s no need to try and erase them or run from them. By just letting it be, I see a bit of light in my unsettling mind”.

On that note, Gwac’s mind may be one of the most beautiful things I’ve encountered in 2022. His tangible songwriting and instrumentally conceptual talents are one thing; his ability to recontextualise pain and share a brighter philosophical perspective with his listeners is fundamentally requisite in these times.

Stream Stacks on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chloe Southern painted the portrait of a morally grey romantic in her immersive folk single, Oil & Water

Posted on 4 December 2022

The 22-year-old neo-folk singer-songwriter and producer, Chloe Southern, goes beyond making honesty her brand through the motto, “the more alone I feel in an experience, the more I know I need to write about it”.

The Boulder, CO-born, Brooklyn-residing artist is fresh from the release of her debut EP, Last Man on Earth, which contains five singles, all orchestrated to give a confidant to anyone drifting along the same wavelength. One of the standout singles, Oil & Water, is a quiescent aching lullaby. Atop gentle acoustic guitar strings that weave rich Elliott Smith-Esque melodies, Southern finds her resounding voice as she heightens the emotions to the nth degree through the climactically gentle vocal progressions.

All too often, singer-songwriters paint themselves as flawless protagonists in their own stories. Southern switched the narrative by creating a morally grey character of herself in the single that traverses how she stole someone from the arms of another. But she pulls the romanticism back around by alluding to her ability to love him like no other. We’re officially rooting for her in the romantic saga.

Oil & Water is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast