Browsing Tag

Jangle Pop

Negate your way through the chaos with Midamerican Elevator’s jangle pop compass, Turn Left

Posted on 18 November 2023

With jangle pop guitar melodies reaching the epitome of effervescence under the dreamy vocal honey which tastes just as sweet as the harmonies that ensured Debbie Harry’s name would never be lost to history, the latest single, Turn Left, from the Chicago Indie Rock outfit, Midamerican Elevator is a resonant revelation.

By lyrically tracking how hard it can be to keep pace with the tumultuousness of modernity and how easy it can be to go around in circles, Turn Left speaks volumes to anyone who knows how it feels to be consumed by the franticness of society that leaves so many of us without a compass.

Between the killer chord progressions which elucidate that Midamerican Elevator will never be pedestrian at best and their capacity to fuse soul with style, they’re ones to watch out for. We’re stoked they’re back on the airwaves following the successful launch of their 2022 debut LP, Moon Ruler.

Turn Left will give indie rock fans a sense of direction on November 17th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Strange Neighbors grooved to a ‘Quiet Beat’ in their latest power pop single

Posted on 21 August 2023
Quiet Beat - Single by Strange Neighbors

NYC power pop outfit Strange Neighbors gave their vocal melodies all the country twang of an early Taylor Swift record in their latest single, Quiet Beat while allowing their retro sonic aesthetic to strip away the past few decades and safely transplant you into the sanctum of the 90s.

Between Aidan’s vocals and Zach’s guitars, there’s a sticky-sweet brand of alchemy that won’t fail to intoxicate you when the jangly chorus, which reminisces with the tones popularised by the Psychedelic Furs, is in full swing.

Quiet Beat is just one of the meticulously manicured singles crafted by the groove-driven outfit which has been spilling colourful aural euphoria onto the streets of New York City since 2018 by staying committed to their MO of orchestrating earworms you would need a concussion to forget.

Quiet Beat will officially release on September 14th; until then, stream and purchase the single via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nightcars are dancing by themselves in their indie-soul-pop-rock amalgam, On My Own

Posted on 9 June 2023
Nightcars

With swathes of sugar on the vocal lines as they soulfully cut across the angularly sharp guitars and scintillating synths, the latest single, On My Own, from the Venezuelan powerhouse, Nightcars, is a reinvention of 80s nostalgia you will undoubtedly want to savour.

Adding to the amalgamated mix of indie, soul, pop, and rock are the deep funk-carved groove pockets that give the addictively affectionate release a distinctive dimension, setting Nightcars easily apart from the indie landfill fray.

On My Own is Grammy-worthy for the lyric, “should I pop another pill or is this how I should feel”. In such an evocatively succinct capacity, Nightcars encapsulated how we over-medicate human emotion to stop ourselves from feeling anything at all. If you needed any inspiration to rawdog your heartbreak, there it is.

It comes as no surprise that the band’s former releases have enabled them to build an international fanbase. Away from the conflict and turmoil in Venezuela, Nightcars now safely reside in Madrid, where they are working on their upcoming third EP, Extended Play Vol. 3, which is set to release later this year.

On My Own will officially release on June 9th. Check it out on Spotify and the artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Coming Up Milhouse’s debut single, Not Over You, is a riot of candied curveballs

Posted on 14 May 2023

Even though the track title leaves little room for guesswork in regards to the sentiments that flow through the swoonsomely crooned pop hit, the debut single, Not Over You, from Coming Up Milhouse, is a riot of candied curveballs.

With vocal lines that could tender the heartstrings of Elliott Smith, synths that create an odyssey of retro mutant pop in the same vein of Trudy and the Romance, and indie jangle pop melodies which add to the trending trajectory which spawned from revivalists such as the Midnight, Not Over You is a debut which plateaus above indie landfill releases.

The self-described soft boy indie rockers from Birmingham know just where to find the sweet spot when balancing lyrical melancholia and earwormy indie hooks.

Not Over You was officially released on May 5; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget your ex, fixate on Good Time Locomotive’s debut new wave pop-rock hit, Lines of Symmetry

Posted on 13 May 2023

The London-hailing prodigal sons of jangly new wave pop-rock, Good Time Locomotive, put the silver lining on your last sanity stripper of a relationship with their debut single, Lines of Symmetry, which allowed them to more than stay true to their moniker.

If you thought that Stranger Things delivered a potent shot of 80s nostalgia, you’ll be wishing your hair was bigger from the first time the crooned-over chorus hits in Lines of Symmetry. This wholly relatable dance-worthy hit is the nearest thing to closure that most disenfranchised hopeless romantics out there will get; consider the absolute earworm of a melody as bonus material.

Good Time Locomotive may be a fresh-faced outfit, but it comprises a collective of seasoned musicians who have enough musical chops between them to officially dub themselves as a powerhouse. We can’t wait to roll with the emotional punches in their forthcoming EP, due for release this summer.

Lines of Symmetry will officially release on May 13; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Marnelakis laid bitter-sweet affection intimately bare in his pop hit, I Can’t

Posted on 25 January 2023

Greek singer-songwriter, Mike Marnelakis, released the most superlatively bitter-sweet love song with his latest pop hit, I Can’t – definitively proving that the line of light and dark appears within us all, every emotion, and every phenomenon.

Starting with an acoustically strummed and stripped-back intro, the prelude and first verse laid affection down with intimately bare candour. His loaded with emotion vocals harmonically drift into the chorally polished tones, allowing you to drink in every ounce of apathy that inspired the carresively pensive single.

After the proclamation that there is no truth without pain, the progressively seamless single builds into an 80s jangle pop hit that will swell the hearts of The 1975 fans.

I Can’t is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Krystal Scarlet attests that fantasies can come true in her euphonious pop hit, Wonderland.

Posted on 28 December 2022

London-based pop breakthrough artist, Krystal Scarlet, dropped in on the airwaves for the first time since her infectiously vindicating 2021 hit, Won’t Forget, with her new 80s-inspired single, Wonderland, on December 16th. The funky indie guitar chops pop around the snappy percussion and colourfully vibrant electronic synthetics create an uplifting earworm that all too easily takes you to the titular destination.

With pitch-perfect euphonious harmonies, Krystal Scarlet carries the Taylor Swift effect before coming into her own via the authentically indie grooves in the track that will leave you humming to the tune of the fantastical euphoria for days on end.

The track that celebrates the kind of love that can abstract you from your own daydream and take you somewhere even sweeter isn’t one that you can passively let pass you by. Obsession is non-optional.

Wonderland is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Deadpan indie rock icons in the making, Hairpin, walk ‘The Line’ in their latest earworm

Posted on 16 December 2022

Fans of deadpan indie in the same vein as John Grant, Spector and Jack Ladder will be just as hooked on the sardonic candour in Hairpin’s earworm of a sophomore single, The Line.

With a funk-riding indie disco beat as the backbone to the track that allows angular guitar melodies and gravelly post-punk-Esque basslines to form arrestive progressions under the magnetic indie drawling vocals as they lament the frustrations of contemporary connections, it is all too easy to succumb to the grip of the snappy, swanky hit.

The NYC independent five-piece, fronted by Nate Pozin, self-produces all their material, allowing it to retain its autonomy, which has seen the up-and-coming outfit make short work out of making their mark in the industry.

So far, they have sold out every show in New York by word of mouth alone. In a time where alt-indie rock success stories are tragically few and far between, it speaks volumes of their revolutionary capacity to win over a crowd and forge playlist staples from their home studio.

The Line is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tom Fleur has made his debut with the indie jangle pop gem, Paranoia Song

Posted on 5 December 2022

Any indie artist that kicks off their career with a track as bold as Paranoia Song is one that we will always champion. The up-and-coming artist, Tom Fleur, opened his debut single with the lyric, “I’m on edge on the edge of the bed”, sung in a This Charming Man-esque vocal melody and sealed a place on our radar forever.

To freshen up the iconic new wave indie jangle pop sound, Fleur threw in the influence of 60s girl group melancholia and Ray Davies characters, but he’s every bit as self-aware as Morrissey was back in the day before he couldn’t figure out why his career tanked around his rampant racism.

After promising that his lyrics also explore the themes of hedonism, anxiety, and love, we can’t wait to revel in more of his intellectual introspection wrapped around his colourfully distinctive guitar lines. Finding a new artist that compels you to drink in every swoonsome syllable so as not to miss any of the disconcerted resonance doesn’t happen every day. I haven’t felt this lyrically seen since I first slipped into the solidarity of The Fear by Pulp.

Paranoia Song is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freak out with the anthemically resonant single, Trauma, from the Atlanta indie powerhouse, yin.

Posted on 26 November 2022

Discussing inter-generational trauma no longer has to be confined to the therapy sessions you can’t afford, and posting statuses online that will result in a cascade of patronising care reacts. Atlanta’s most relatable alt-indie three-piece, yin, is here to make sure of it with their latest single, Trauma.

The infectiously maniacal high energy lets you ride the rare peaks that intersect the depth of the isolated lows. Strap yourselves in for the most anthemic indie jangle pop guitars you’ve ever heard as they sail through the dynamism that brings Take on Me to mind with the eccentrically soaring climactic choruses that leave the 1975 and Bleachers in the archetypal dirt.

In the style of Yung Blud, yin pair euphonic sonics with dark lyrics that make no bones about alluding to the dark places we drift into and all of the even darker thoughts that keep us company during the bouts of anxious madness that late-stage capitalism has left us to linger in. With their debut LP, Someone Who Isn’t Me, set to release on November 22nd, all eyes and ears should be on yin right now.

“There’s something really wonderful and terrible about being human in the modern age. We’re all struggling with the mere fact that waking up and convincing ourselves that we don’t hate each other is normal, and there’s always this emotional and spiritual push to try and love and cherish the little that we have to call our own. We just want to be honest about all of the sad parts as well as the really amazing happy parts.”

Trauma is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast