Browsing Tag

Indie

Softener became 21st century icons of indie grunge with their debut single, Brindle

Posted on 28 May 2024

The Fresno, California-based up-and-coming outfit, Softener, used grunge as a conduit for their intimate amenability in their alt-indie debut single, Brindle, which hit the airwaves on May 17.

The submissive lyricism revolves around a tender mantra of “I just wanna be your dog”; Iggy Pop may have popularised that desire, but Softener brought brand-new meaning to the iteration of intent by projecting a sweet declaration of surrender that you can’t help catching feelings for. The heartfelt vulnerability in the lyrics and vocal performance, paired with the grunge-infused instrumentation creates a consoling aural escape that you’ll always feel safe within the confines of.

Whatever they have in the pipeline for their sophomore release, we already have high hopes for; they set the bar high with the sludgy melodies that are sure to be music to the ears of any fans of Elliott Smith, Teenage Fanclub, Pavement, and Sparklehorse.

Stream the debut single from Softener on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sun-kissed memory meets dreamy indie-pop reverie in Suni’s Barcelona

Posted on 26 May 2024

Suni, the 26-year-old Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter, delivered a mesmerising escape with their latest single, Barcelona, the shoegazey guitars and indie dream pop aura craft a lush-with-melancholic-soul atmosphere that drifts you away into the heat of bitter-sweet sun-kissed memories. The harmonies sting with emotional potency, amplifying in resonance with every listen as the production nestles into the euphonic middle-ground of Jaws and Cigarettes After Sex.

Suni didn’t just capture an emotion nestled within a sunlit landscape; with Barcelona, they positioned themselves at the heart of a panache-driven pop revolution. The textures within the track act as a key, unlocking a doorway to the pantheon of indie pop singer-songwriters. It’s a musical experience that transcends mere listening, inviting you to dive into an evocative world where each note tells a story.

For fans of introspective and emotionally charged indie music, Suni’s Barcelona is an essential addition to your playlist. Let the music wash over you, and transport you to a place where the lines between reality and reverie blur, and the only thing that matters is the emotional resonance of sound.

Barcelona was officially released on May 17th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ava Valianti has unveiled her icily intimate indie-pop vignette of heartache, January

Posted on 24 May 2024
Ava Valianti

Even if you’ve put your own January blues behind you for another year, the melancholic chill in Ava Valianti’s third single, January, is worth pulling on a jumper for. The Massachusetts indie-pop singer-songwriter reached her zenith with the intimately composed, expansively produced hit, which dials up the intensity of the artful beguile to seduce you into the relatable pensive introspection.

As the ultimate antithesis of a plastic pop protagonist, Ava Valianti ensured the aura which envelops the release visualises the alienating sensation of loving someone from afar and being left in the cold while tethered to the past and hypothetical outcomes as they fall into the arms of another. If Angel Olsen was produced by Thom Yorke, their collaboration would struggle to hit with the same impact as January, which implants pop hooks in a confession which feels far too personal to be a diary entry.

With her debut EP in the pipeline and ready to drop this summer, and every release being a quintessential triumph so far, the future looks bright enough to outshine her luminous talent.

January will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from May 24

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From Envy to Altruism: The Rhythmic Rapture of Lemonade Sin’s New Single, Having A Better Time

Posted on 22 May 2024

The London/Devon-based indie quintet Lemonade Sin is an elixir we always look forward to pouring; they’re just as euphonically delicious as ever in their latest nostalgia-quenching cocktail, Having A Better Time taken from their forthcoming album, Deadly Sins.

Having A Better Time puts the 6th deadly sin, envy, under a scrupulous lens to vindicate anyone who has revealed a friend as a foe through the glow of jealousy while simultaneously drenching you in the new wave of era and genre-spanning rhythmic rapture.

The chameleonic guitars progress from winding blues into the stellar production to delivering a rancorously brashy standoff against disingenuous protagonists to raising the energy in the jangle pop choruses, working in seamless synergy with the ABBA-esque keys which inject elation into a bittersweet allegory of how being blind with envy and social media-imparted FOMO is an efficacious way of ensuring your world is rooted in negativity and moral decay. Yet, instead of chastising the envious, Lemonade Sin chose a sweet not sour approach to remind listeners of the bliss which lies in altruism; you just can’t help surrendering to the soul in the lush dualling harmonies

Having A Better Time was officially released on May 17; stream the single on Spotify or purchase the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

stella. playfully broached the implausibility of equanimity in love with the twee maturity in ‘A Study in Balance’

Posted on 19 May 2024

If you prefer your indie pop sans filters, facades and pretension, the latest convivial offering from stella.’s upcoming EP, A Study in Balance, raises the bar for confessional candour and introspective expression.

The title single from the breakthrough NYC indie pop artist comes alive through innocently playful piano chord progressions and vocal harmonies which soften the blow of the lyricism which holds no prisoners when confronting the most conflicting aspects of relationship dynamics. By finding an affable way to allude to the implausibility of equanimity within a relationship when too much is never enough until it tips the balance in the other way, stella. released one of the most relatable singles of the year.

Somewhat ironically, the symmetry between twee tendencies and songwriting sophistication within A Study in Balance was right on point; we already can’t wait to hear the lyrical wisdom bestowed within the singles that are still to drop from stella.’s sophomore EP.

A Study in Balance was officially released on May 3rd; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Revel in the melancholic petrichor of Ludvik Langholm’s intimate lo-fi pop single, Empty Parking Lot

Posted on 13 May 2024

In Ludvik Langholm’s latest single, Empty Parking Lot, the intimacy of indie pop meets the raw elements of nature to create an aching auditory experience, born from the torment of introspection.

The Leeds, UK-based Norwegian artist plunges listeners into a stormy emotional landscape that mirrors the turbulent weather it sonically captures. Crafted with the lo-fi charm of bedroom pop, Empty Parking Lot occupies a stylistic nexus akin to Neutral Milk Hotel’s artistry and Mitski’s expressive depth. The track’s lush, ethereal textures and deliberate distortions evoke the sensation of a warped tape deck, producing hauntingly personal aesthetics.

Drawing from a rich tapestry of influences, including his queer and neurodiverse perspectives, Langholm layers instrumental and vocal melodies that convey complex emotional states. The song’s narrative explores the challenge of supporting a friend through difficulty, balancing the act of giving space with the desire to offer comfort. The incorporation of rain sounds and the rhythmic swiping of windscreen wipers immerse the listener in the scene, deepening the connection to the song’s themes.

As Empty Parking Lot builds to its close, the eerie harmony of layered modulated voices takes centre stage, embodying the haunting aftermath of loss. In this track, Ludvik Langholm successfully captures the essence of vulnerability and the poignant beauty of human connection.

Ludvik Langholm released Empty Parking Lot on May 2nd; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Visit the ‘Golden State’ with Out in Front’s Breakthrough Indie Pop-Rock Debut

Posted on 12 May 2024

The indie scene has been crying out for ingenuity; Out in Front answered the plea for sonic salvation from assimilative monotony with their debut single, Golden State, which may have only been on the airwaves for two months, but the LA newcomers have wasted no time racking up close to 100k streams on Spotify alone with their inaugural release.

After the prelude teases just another twee indie pop single to add to the indie landfill, Golden State shifts gears with a brashy crescendo of overdriven guitars that hark back to The Manic Street Preacher’s earlier records before the jangle pop melodies add yet another scintillating dimension to the dynamic earworm that you’ll beg to stay.

With the Southern Cali sound an integral part of their sonic signature, the trio who met by chance at a tennis court before jamming together and realising they had the epitome of creative chemistry to share with fans all across the indie pop-rock spectrum, Golden State drenches the airwaves with glistening golden tonal bliss, wrapped in a hazily hued aura that almost feels like a second skin when you’re immersed in this instant hit.

Golden State is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Locian became the architect of art-rock therapy with his sophomore single, Power

Posted on 10 May 2024

Artistic intensity is tempered by the dialectical quiescence in the stormily tender confluence of art-rock and trip-hop in the sophomore single, Power, from Sydney’s most promising breakthrough artist, Locian.

Aching reverberations course through the lush architecture of the syncopated progressions, providing the ultimate juxtaposition of discomfort and ease to pay a fitting tribute to the complex interplay of ennui and self-imposed affliction. Locian’s vocals, caressing with each whispered breath, provide the ultimate permission to surrender to the therapeutic virtues of this flawlessly poignant release.

By building into a corrosive industrial electronica sequence towards the outro, which becomes a sonic visualisation of the disorientating soul-tearing nature of self-destructive internal narratives, Locian ensured that Power hit with maximum impact.

If your introspection is more torturous than waterboarding, break free from the poisoned rumination through the resounding philosophy within Power; it’s far cheaper than therapy.

Power will be available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud from May 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Columbia’s Craig Lewis Opened a New Chapter with His Debut Single, Everything’s Changing’ in His Sonic Rebirth Solo Project

Posted on 3 May 2024
Those Heavy Souls

The disbanding of Columbia was a bitter pill to swallow in 2022, but if anything can sugar it, it is the debut single from frontman Craig Lewis, who has lost none of his strength as a one-man powerhouse in his new project, Those Heavy Souls.

“Everything’s Changing” is a far more lyrically intimate exhibition of Lewis’ artistic edge, whereas the alt-90s and 00s indie aesthetic, inspired by Kasabian, The Stone Roses, and Doves, remains just as infectiously robust. As you mourn the pace at which our society is disintegrating from recognition, you’re caught up in the kinetically tight, flawlessly produced mourning of what we’ve lost in recent years. Everything’s Change is the ultimate salve for the socialist soul looking for a semblance of sanity and sanctuary.

Lewis’ ability to take a deeply lamentable subject and augment it into a rhythmically compelling hit is a sure-fire testament to the fact that Columbia may have never reached the stadiums that they were well equipped for, but that hasn’t got in the way of Lewis delivering euphoric swagger infused with a quintessentially British sense of ennui.

We already can’t wait to hear what is lingering in the pipeline from the artist who knows exactly how to hark back to the nostalgia of the Britpop era without assimilating. He isn’t just merely exploring intersections; he’s pushing boundaries to the point of deconstructing the framework of nostalgia.

Everything’s Changing will be available to stream on all major platforms from May 3rd. Find your preferred way to listen via Those Heavy Souls’ official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s Forsylver became indie royalty with their latest release, Promethazine Queen

Posted on 3 May 2024

Launched to a capacity crowd at 93 Feet East in Shoreditch, the latest single, Promethazine Queen, from London’s hottest breakthrough indie outfit, Forsylver, is the perfect introduction to the expansively influenced outfit who have hit the ground running straight out of the gate.

With a vocal style that shifts between invokes the sticky-sweet euphonic magnetism of The Feeling harmonising atop the flares of funk in the eclectic indie-pop-rock tapestry to Arctic Monkeys-reminiscent cutting commentaries Forsylver’s distinctive style emboldens the sincerity within Promethazine Queen. From the Daft Punk-esque riot of a middle eight to the jangle pop guitars to the complex time signatures in the rhythm section, Promethazine Queen is a perfect circle of expression and innovation.

Instead of following trends, the fourpiece, fronted by Joe Ewer with Will Farrow carving out the funk-pop guitar chops, Alex McKenzie feeding the rhythms on bass and Shunya Matsumoto giving the percussion a Radiohead-art-rock flair, are etching their innovation into the tapestry of the future of indie.

Forsylver may have only been on the scene since late 2023, but they’re already an unreckonable force. With plenty more planned for 2024, they should be the epicentre of every indie fan’s radar.

Promethazine Queen was officially released on May 3rd; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast