Browsing Tag

Indie Synth Pop

Partisan Way deliver polyphonic indie-pop bliss in ‘Borrow Me’.

Posted on 15 October 2021

Partisan Way started as a remote indie-pop lockdown project in 2020; on the basis of their debut album, Show Don’t Tell, we hope the UK-based outfit set its sights on plenty more than conquering more than just the digital realm.

The sweetest earworm on the album is the first single, Borrow Me. If you poured some sugar on The Vaccines, the sticky-sweet result wouldn’t be all too far away from the uplifting piano-led melodies and the even more vibrant synth lines.

While they call it like it is in the kind of toxic relationship dynamics that you can’t get enough of through the scathingly sharp-witted lyrics, the vibrant progressions successfully capture the haze that affection can leave you in.

I don’t make Mansun comparisons lightly, but Borrow Me hit the evocative spot just as well as I Can Only Disappoint You.

Borrow Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ism has dropped his iconic cross over single, Grey Matter.

Posted on 24 August 2021

Any fans of John Grant’s deadpan witty drawl, Daft Punk’s danceable grooves and Nile Rodger’s guitars will soon get suckered into the latest electrifying indie synthpop track, Grey Matter, by up and coming artist Ism, featuring the soulful vocals from Roo.

Grey Matter is just one of the infectiously experimental singles found on Ism’s latest album, Blue Artist, that seamlessly entwines disco, funk, hip hop, synthpop and indie – to energizing effect. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Grey Matter is one of the best crossover tracks since RZA and Paul Banks formed Banks & Steelz.

Grey Matter is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Conner Eko has made his unmissable indie synth-pop debut with SINK

Posted on 19 August 2021

‘SINK’ is the debut indie synth-pop track from the Californian singer-songwriter Conner Eko who takes inspiration from a vast repertoire of artists to achieve his authentically affectionate sound that we’re hoping will become signature in subsequent releases. If Trent Reznor produced for Boy George, the sonic result wouldn’t be all too different from the danceably dark, ethereal textures in SINK, and we are here for it.

2021 has been rough on everyone, but Conner Eko had more to overcome than most. In March 2021, he suffered a traumatic brain injury that forced him away from this work and towards music, resulting in the release of SINK that precedes the release of his debut album, due for release in early 2022.

SINK was released on August 3rd; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break free with Melo Bermon’s electropop hit, ‘REPLACEABLE’.

Posted on 30 July 2021
https://soundcloud.com/melo-bermon/replaceable/s-iKk7qN5FKg3

Texas-hailing artist Melo Bermon has released his latest electropop hit, REPLACEABLE, which puts to bed the gaslit myth that manipulators are irreplicable. Regardless of their grandiosity, they’re ten a penny. If you need any further convincing, hit play.

With a similar electrifying sonic palette to the Weeknd, Bermon’s synthy vindicating hit was made to break free too. REPLACEABLE throws back to the 80s while keeping in line with the contemporary indie synth-pop trend; with his sticky-sweet vocal sensibilities, Bermon has exactly what it takes to overtake the Midnight in the charts.

REPLACEABLE is due for release on July 23rd; you can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hands in Shadow has released their avant-garde indie hit, Hater, Fighter…Lover?

Posted on 23 July 2021
https://m.soundcloud.com/soundboard_music/hater-fighterlover

Hands in Shadow’s latest single, Hater, Fighter…Lover? is an ingenious mash of indie post-punk, funk, grunge and avant-garde. The prelude delivers Nirvana-Esque sludgy tones before the playfully polyphonic keys allow you to imagine the aural result if the Residents and Kraftwerk produced together.

Hands in Shadow found the perfect balance between obscurity and melody, the eerie magnetic pull of the single makes you feel at a loss when the short and sweet psychedelic indie hit suddenly comes to a close. We will definitely be keeping the Yorkshire-based artist on our radar for future releases; we advise everyone with a penchant for avant-garde indie to do the same.

You can check out Hands in Shadow’s latest single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rorys Aspect has diversified Manchester’s music scene with his seminal single, Social Anxiety.

Posted on 23 July 2021

Manchester-based alt-indie electropop artist and producer Rorys Aspect has released his arresting EP, Lifesaver, featuring the standout synth-pop track, Social Anxiety, which comes with spacey 80s vibes and the most candid lyricism you will hear this year.

With shoegazey guitars and just as much reverb on the vocals, the raw nature of the lyricism loses some of its sting in the choral trippy tones that are prolific in tracks from Manchester’s greats such as the Stone Roses, the Chameleons and the Charlatans.

The self-produced track is unequivocal proof that Manchester has another revolutionary in its midst. As a fellow Mancunian, it is all too refreshing to hear an indie artist not falling into the process of assimilation.

You can check out Rorys Aspect’s latest EP by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sabreen Islam breathes indie-pop euphoria onto the airwaves with, ‘Glow’.

Posted on 10 July 2021
Sabreen Islam

‘Glow’ is the latest indie synthpop single by up and coming singer-songwriter Sabreen Islam whose sound has already reached the pinnacle of fun, life-affirming pop. At the age of 18-years-old, the Auckland, New Zealand-hailing artist has already mastered the art of creating infectiously euphoric melodies and serenading serotonin levels.

With a little help from Auckland-based producer Will Henderson, Glow carries all the earmarks of a summer bubble gum pop playlist staple. Fans of Selena Gomez, Carly Rae Jepsen and Rebecca Black will definitely want to keep Sabreen on their radar for her future releases.

Check out Sabreen Islam on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Greska has released his eccentrically introspective indie-folk-pop single, ‘The Big Hill’

Posted on 6 July 2021
John Greska

If Bowie picked up some folky Midwest charm, his Ziggy Stardust days would have run in the same vein as John Greska’s eccentrically psychotropic single, The Big Hill, which explores the pace at which the sands of time slips by.

With the playfully polyphonic synths and keys paired with John Greska’s quaint yet charismatic vocal timbre, this indie-folk-synthpop-single couldn’t be more endearing. Rather than leaving you in an existentialist catatonic state as you ponder just how fleeting your existence is, The Big Hill leaves you with the same ardour for life as exhibited in the reminder that the days will slip by you if you let them.

The Big Hill will officially release on July 19th; you can check it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

T.I.G.Y. have made an ethereal ambient dream-pop debut with ‘Only Way to Let the Light In’

Posted on 23 June 2021

The UK alt-pop duo T.I.G.Y. have released their ethereal dream pop debut single, Only Way to Let the Light In; the timely release utilises meta poetry to spark a connection amongst listeners battle-scarred by depression and anxiety.

It is singles like this that highlight the trite nature of archetypal-feel good pop that mostly just over faces and alienates the serotonin-deprived. With elements of shoegaze and art-rock weaved into the release that outros on a steady heartbeat, the instrumentals match the consoling nature of the vocals. The steady downbeat rhythms entwine with your rhythmic pulses as Only Way to Let the Light In unfolds; allowing the succinct crescendos to lift you as they tonally soar.

T.I.G.Y.’s moniker came from a diary that had been passed down through Bailey’s family. Since their inception, they have written a collection of songs that became an expression of those diary entries. Only Way to Let the Light In is the first single to be released from their collection of songs that will periodically follow the diary entries.

Only Way to Let the Light In released on June 18th. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Connect with T.I.G.Y. via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

California’s most profound alternative artist Zpextre has released his spacey indie psych-pop earworm, Save it for the Kids.

Posted on 4 June 2021

Hit play on Oakland, California-based alternative artist, Zpextre’s latest single, Save it for the Kids and end the self-obsessive cycle of naval-gazing.

Save it for the Kids is an infectiously feel-good track that serves the awakening reminder that the world is bigger than you’ll ever know, but no matter how small you feel, you still have a part to play. Rather than sending you down an existential hole while imparting that wisdom, Zpextre laced the indie psych-pop earworm with plenty of funk and soulfully distorted grooves.

Zpextre may always run unapologetically with his eccentricity but the commercial potential of his sound never takes a hit. Even with avant-garde defiance of constraint and ideas of aural perfection, the single that was produced by Kool Kojak has all the marks of a summer high-vibe playlist staple.

Here’s what Zpextre had to say about the single:

“The innocence of a child allows them to discover themselves both physically and mentally. It is paramount to the development of love, compassion and humanity. For, in the end, humanity made this world. We have to save this innocence; we have to leave this world better than we found it. Save it for the Kids!”

Save it for the Kids is now available via SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple music.

Connect with Zpextre via Facebook or Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast