Browsing Tag

LA Indie

Carey Clayton rebooted retrofuturism with the seraphic synths in his latest single, Future in a Past Life

Posted on 11 August 2024

Carey Clayton brought the sound, synths and soul of the 80s to their latest in a long line of seminal singles, Future in a Past Life, while etching into the nostalgic hallmarks with his indelibly scintillating sonic signature which scribes beyond contemporary trends.

The title alone is enough to spark a profound meditation on its poetic meaning; when you sink into the release, you’ll start to swim in the temperate, tonally seraphic spectres of reflection, artfully amalgamated by the LA songwriter, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, who has become revered for his stylistically expansive body of work.

Future in a Past Life, caged within his third LP, Headless, may be composed of different aural anatomy from his previous releases, but fans who came to adore Clayton for his past work will find their appreciation for the visionary renewed by the sense of spirituality which drifts between the instrumentals in the polished production.

Clearly still humble after his music being sought after by Netflix, NBC, ABC and the Tribeca Film Festival, Clayton synthesised straight from the soul with Future in a Past Life, which fuses the arcane emotive air of Cigarettes After Sex with the kicks and grooves of Django Django.

Future in a Past Life was officially released on July 19th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Caldwell – feeding the wound: An Indie Art Rock Ode to the Raw Edges of the Human Psyche

Posted on 6 August 2024

The intimacy of unfiltered vulnerability doesn’t just breathe through Sam Caldwell’s standout single, feeding the wound, it quiescently screams and resounds through the delirious-with-self-discontent production which embodies the stripped style of Elliott Smith, and the artfully cultivated expressionist air of Mitski and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Caging one of the most viscerally affecting crescendos that has ever torn its way into my soul, feeding the wound is so much more than a lyrically sharpened vignette of a masochistic mind. Each element serves to visualise a psyche marred with self-awareness and destruction; from the sonic pulls of ennui to how the mind cascades under the weight of affliction, each progression is a revelation of a raw, painfully relatable perception.

The LA singer-songwriter is quickly making a name for himself with his encapsulations of the pain of coming of age; with his debut LP, he’s rivalled the resonance of Brett Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero. His ability to tune into universal themes of guilt and heartbreak while using heartstrings on his fretboard will undoubtedly see him go far in the industry which is crying out for veritable troubadours of candour.

feeding the wound is now available to stream on Spotify as part of Sam Caldwell’s debut album, wanderlust, which was officially released on July 25.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Behind the Music: Out in Front Talks Hits, Heartbreak, and Hopes for the Future

Posted on 1 June 2024

In this exclusive interview with A&R Factory, Out in Front discuss the remarkable success of their debut single “Golden State” and their exciting new release, “Happy Graduation Day.” The band opens up about their unique songwriting process, the emotional inspirations behind their music, and the dynamic energy they bring to their latest track. As they navigate the challenges of adulthood and channel their experiences into their songs, Out in Front is rapidly emerging as a promising force in the music scene.

Out in Front, welcome to A&R Factory! Thanks for the opportunity to sit down with you ahead of the release of your sophomore single, Happy Graduation Day, but firstly, we can’t ignore how much of a worthy phenomenon your debut single, Golden State became. How did it feel to hit the ground running like an Olympian with the single? 

Hi guys! Thank you so much for having us! We are so excited with the response we have received after we released our first song “Golden State” and it makes us so happy to hear people are connecting to it and sharing their stories with us on social media. It is pretty cool to see and knowing this song has already helped people get through some tough situations is amazing to hear. “Golden State” is so special to us and we were so excited to have that one be the first out the gate.

Will Happy Graduation Day show us a different side of out in front? 

We think the “Golden State “fans should get ready for a different side for sure. “Happy Graduation Day” is lyrically similar and incredibly story-driven like “Golden State” but fans should get ready to jump up and down and lose themselves in this song.

What was the writing process like for Happy Graduation Day? 

Crazy enough, “Happy Graduation Day” was the first song we all wrote together as a band. This song came to be after Ryen’s dog sadly passed away and he went home and sat down with his bass and began to play to help him get through. Isaiah and Madie were hanging out when they received a new voice note from Ryen with one of the greatest hooks they had ever heard. In that moment they knew they had to turn it into something. After finishing the song, we took it to the amazing and talented Drew Allsbrook to record and mix and the insanely gifted guitarist Horrace Bray added his incredible touch to the song and “Happy Graduation Day” was born.

What inspired the single? 

After hearing about Ryen’s dog passing away and the incredible bass riff Ryen wrote soon after, the band hit the studio to begin crafting this song together. Isaiah, who is the drummer of the group, had the vision for the layout of the song and instantly knew the energy this song needed as he added heavy and jumpy beats on top of Ryen’s hooky riff.

Madie is the main melody and lyrical writer and wanted to craft lyrics that the whole band could relate to and what better thing to write about than the struggles of growing up.  All three of us are in our mid-twenties and know the pain of losing a dog when you get older, but there are also a lot of things that change as you enter adulthood as well. Student loans kick in after graduation, you experience heartbreak, relatives start passing away, and mental health and anxiety battles begin to kick in as you learn to navigate your way through the challenges that adulthood brings us. “Happy Graduation Day” is the anthem for the people who want to scream and jump around while singing about how growing up isn’t what it was all cracked out to be like we thought when we were younger.

Was Happy Graduation Day an easy choice for your sophomore release? 

Definitely an easy choice for us especially with all of the seniors graduating this June and we really wanted to surprise all of the new fans with a different side to Out in Front.

Clearly, you’re a band with immense synergy; how did you guys meet each other, and how long was it before you were sure you had a sound worth bringing to the airwaves? 

The story of how we all met definitely plays a huge part in our journey together as a band. Isaiah and Ryen met playing college tennis at Cal Lutheran and after graduating Isaiah began his coaching career at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, CA. Madie went to college in Nashville, TN  studying Songwriting and Music Business and made her move to LA in August of 2022 where she also began working as a tennis coach at Braemar. It took 6 months for Isaiah and Madie to realize they were both musicians and decided one day to put down their rackets and jam in Isaiah’s garage together. They knew they had the start of something special.  Isaiah and Ryen tried forming a band while they were in college and Ryen always told Isaiah “If you can find someone who can actually sing, I’ll join a band”. Nothing stuck for the two of them in college but after graduation -and with us all working together at the same club – Ryen gets a call from Isaiah saying “I found a singer” and Out in Front was officially born.

Which artists are your biggest inspirations? 

All three of us have such different musical inspirations but we think it is what makes our sound so unique. You’ll find Isaiah going crazy on the drums playing along to metalcore band Amity Affliction, Ryen vibing out to Australian rock group Spacey Jane, while Madie grew up heavily inspired by the amazing lyrics and sounds from the English rock group Florence and The Machine.

Aside from other musicians, what inspires Out in Front? 

Besides listening to music, we are all inspired by our everyday life and events that happen in this world. Every lyric Madie writes is something her or the boys have been through and we believe the best songs are about real life situations that we go through. Writing music is therapy and we hope these songs we release into this world can be the listener’s therapy as well.

What else does the future have in store for Out in Front?

We cannot wait for all of the exciting things ahead. We want to play as many shows as we can and we hope to be able to go on tour someday soon to do just that. We have so many songs ready to be released and we cannot wait for this journey to continue! We appreciate all the support we have received so far and can’t wait for what’s next.

Listen to Out in Front on Spotify, and follow their journey on Instagram.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Lia Woods bleached the airwaves with her indie pop hit, Blonde

Posted on 31 March 2024

Lia Woods’ ‘Blonde’ is an indie pop sophomore release to die for; fans of Lucy Dacus, Big Thief, Angel Olsen, and Mitski will be consumed by the raw visceralism of the emotionally turbulent release which sonically heightens the profound experience of soaking in confessionalism.

The LA-based singer-songwriter’s aching narration of striking lyricism filters into the dark, melodic, and broodingly intimate atmosphere of the single to depict the jarring emotional tumultuousness of going through the motions of heartbreak and the compulsion to tear yourself away from the person you were in that relationship to abstract yourself from the agony of being a person worth abandoning.

Lia Woods couldn’t have feasibly built more anticipation for her debut EP, Teething, with her follow-up to her debut single, Fevering. From the juxtapositions between indie, pop, rock, and shoegaze and her own signature ‘bubblegrunge’ synthesis to how her voice feels sharper than being impaled by a thousand knives, Blonde is a phenomenal release which will stand the test of time.

Blonde hit the airwaves on March 22; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skittish became the ultimate purveyor of folk-rock nostalgia with ‘Mannequin’

Posted on 2 September 2023

The LA-residing indie folk-rock artist Skittish is fresh from the release of their eclectic era and genre-spanning seventh LP, Midwest Handshake. Genre-fluidity may have become the default position for artists in the 21st century, but few succeed in making a smorgasbord of style as cohesively electrifying as Skittish.

Midwest Handshake is a route back to the golden era of emo via a road never taken. Jeff Noller’s vocation in film sound production in recent years allowed him to sonically visualise his concept in panoramic colour.

This time, Skittish enlisted Ben Etter (Deer Hunter, Kaiser Chiefs) to mix and master the album in his analog-centric studio, resulting in a project that draws you in with nostalgia and quells modern malaise with lyrical resonance that could have only been rendered in our blighted with dystopic blues era.

With the Weezer-esque guitars lending themselves well to the earwormy hooks and the drawling with deadpan attitude vocals in the verses evolving into adrenalized harmonies in the standout track, Mannequin, you couldn’t ask for more serotonin from a single. The raucously riled deliverance of unity is the ultimate olive branch to the disenfranchised by ennui outliers. After one hit, you will want to devour the cinematic album whole.

Mannequin hit the airwaves on August 25; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get your feel-good fix with BG Scott’s sticky-sweet alt-indie pop single, Don’t You Say.

Posted on 3 January 2022

US alt-indie artist, BG Scott, has deservedly garnered plenty of hype with his honeyed experimental music which pushes the envelope into unchartered aural territory. His debut EP, Leap of Faith, is a soul-soaked triumph – especially on the basis of the bright and wavy lead single, Don’t You Say. The lo-fi track is almost paradoxical for its radio-ready resonance; the sticky-sweet sensibility evokes emotion while the entrancing grooves feed the dopamine.

The 20-year-old Virginia-hailing artist has already racked up over 59,000 streams on Spotify alone with Don’t You Say which merges trap pop energy with lo-fi indie style. Considering that he is still at the outset of his career and his tracks are already this entrancing and evocatively appealing, his future is set to be as auspicious as his sound.

Don’t You Say is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lazy Daze asks the question we’ve all been thinking with their surfy indie rock track, ‘What is Real?’

Posted on 12 April 2021

If the last 12 months have left you questioning the nature of reality, you’ll definitely appreciate the latest single from Lazy Daze that explores that very same existential question while carrying sweet yet sonic summer tones.

The LA-based artist, songwriter and producer cooked up a lofty indie jam that bursts with jangle-pop vitality, teases elements of indie post-punk and infuses modern elements of surf rock to stay true to his LA roots.

What is Real? is a mash of everything there is to love about Supergrass, the Beach Boys and Joy Division simultaneously unfolding around a deep questioning that never gives way to melancholy. Instead, Lazy Daze seems to take the Bukowski approach to life; laughing in the face of trepidation and chaos and inviting the listener to do the same.

What is Real? is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast