Browsing Tag

la

Max LaMont captured the vibe of Hollywood in the summer with his latest single, The Last Day of June

Posted on 8 April 2023

LA alternative artist, Max LaMont, didn’t hang around bringing the summer vibes this year; his latest single, The Last Day of June, which traverses bitter-sweet teen romance tropes through an alt-bubble gum pop tonal palette, debuted on March 31.

Fans of The 1975 and the Weeknd won’t want to miss out on the intoxicating 80s RnB pop vibes that are superlatively synthesised in the intoxicating hit, which teases what is to come from his forthcoming EP.

The magnetically shy artist’s charisma is undoubtedly a major part of his appeal; everything he turns his talents to is raw and definitively the real sincere deal. Beyond his relatability lies his classically trained virtuosic flair; he is trained in operatic and musical theatre; as a result, he’s been in a myriad of live productions, including Oklahoma, La Boheme and MASS.

Stream The Last Day of June on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Ashes Will Hold Us: HADEE feels that sleep-crashing waterfall brewing closer on Kerosene

Posted on 22 March 2023

Locked away inside a distant memory and waiting for the special moment it rises high in the mind again, HADEE yearns for that close contact on the beat-heavy new track to find the path called Kerosene.

HADEE is a Miami/LA-based indie alternative pop/rock solo artist who explores the reckless themes of romance and its evanescent nature in this spellbinding experience.

“It started out as an instrumental idea I had made a couple of years back. It was a bassline that I had then developed, but I couldn’t seem to think of the right words for this one idea. I had almost accepted that it would never become a full song. Fast-forward to this past summer, I had found the original recording of the instrumental, and that’s when the chorus melody we hear in the song came to mind. This allowed me to further get into the storyline and arrangement, so I could create a decent demo.” ~ HADEE

Saturated with excitement and sizzling with a vigorous blend of brilliance to swim deeply into, HADEE is on top form with a stunning track made with dazzling power and precision.

Kerosene from Miami/LA-based alternative pop/rock solo artist HADEE is a rather extraordinary track for many reasons. It glows through the speakers and takes us into a whole new burnt-packed planet. There is intoxicating energy brimming with splendour here, from a fiercely talented performer who is ready with the lighter to spark up our lives.

Listen up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Starya went interstellar with her cosmically ethereal electro-clash hit, Jealous

Posted on 4 February 2023

Fusing the provocative electro-clash energy and snappy vocal melodies of Peaches with the demure indie cool of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, the luminary art-pop songstress Starya’s latest single, Jealous, is tantalisingly interstellar. But that isn’t all; this alchemically amalgamated cocktail hybridises itself even further with elements of hip-hop, techno and dubstep, giving the bass a kick and the beats an irresistible pulse you’ll want to synergise with time and time again.

LA is known for breeding iconic artists by the applecart, but if anyone has what it takes to rock it and squeeze out new juice it is the singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ who is making light work of transcendent aural domination. Once you’ve had your jealousy fill, stay tuned for the upcoming EP, Find The Key, set to be released in February 2023.

Jealous hit the airwaves on January 31st. It is now available to streams on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Poseidon’s Alley as Vast as the Ocean

Posted on 26 January 2023

Did you ever have that experience of listening to David Bowie’s “Low” and thinking: “damn, this like nothing you’ll hear anywhere…” only to discover that it’s a brilliant blend of styles that never ought to have worked together? A similar, if not identical, experience can be had by listening to  LA-based Poseidon’s Alley AKA Tim Herscovitch.

While writing the above sentences I was indulging in Dr. Gachet, a psychedelic, electronic, chill-wave instrumental track which owes more than a few overtures to groundbreaking alternative artists of the 70’s and 80’s, not to mention a little Miles Davis, for good measure. With lo-fi pads supporting a funky guitar groove we journey through layers of catchy themes played on synths and a host of other instruments. I suppose what’s most impressive is the neo-classical elements of blending different moods and transitioning through them, much like movements in a concerto or symphony. Indeed, Dr. Gachet is never boring – and the captivating melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are augmented by the interesting timbers chosen to carry the same.

Poseidon’s Alley shows first-rate musicianship, which is why I was not all that surprised to find that Herscovitch is a professor of music. A quick look at his rating on ratemyprofessor.com shows that (according to his students) he’s passionate about education as well as music. This is nice to see as I have always felt as though educators ought to always maintain a link to the professional world and it seems that Tim Herscovitch is doing just that.

Skinny G Radio reached the pinnacle of existential humour with his alt-electro hit, Unplug Me!

Posted on 17 January 2023

Unplug Me! is just one of the eccentrically disarming alt-electronica singles found on Skinny G Radio’s funky 8-Bit album, The Heightening. The tongue-in-cheek exposition on the perils of social media in the age when fear and hate are relentlessly pushed to keep us transfixed to platforms is an all too efficacious reminder that we should consume media not the other way around.

Instead of letting the doom and gloom from the lyrical messaging control the track, the LA artist and producer utilises his on-brand sense of existential humour to give back some of the serotonin stripped by doom-scrolling. The playful polyphonic synth sequences make delving back in for repeat listens all too tempting. Can someone protect Skinny G Radio at all costs, please? He’s ingeniously precious.

Unplug Me! is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Skinny G Radio on Twitter & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WD-HAN matched the chaos of the universe in their raucously seductive feat of electrifying indie rock n roll, Straight Lines

Posted on 24 November 2022
WD-HAN

Rock n’ Roll provocateurs WD-HAN are in lascivious form in their latest single, Straight Lines. After an Arctic Monkeys-Esque intro, Straight Lines quickly evolves into a blisteringly hot indie rock renegade of a track, full of raucous swagger, seductive vocal lines and riffs that will sucker-punch you into sonic submission.

WD-HAN has scintillated us with every release since they appeared on our radar in 2019 with their single, Spaceman. With a sound ever-evolving yet never veering from what makes them so viscerally raw yet tightly finessed, if you haven’t got them on your radars yet, what are you even doing with your lives?

Straight Lines throws away any sense of existentialism. While so many of us doomscroll on Twitter to justify living in fear and stagnation, WD-HAN proves that you can still be a force to be reckoned with and match the chaos of the universe.

After dominating the Floridian rock n roll scene, WD-HAN has recently relocated to LA, where they’re set to make their mark after opening for the likes of Paramore, Walk the Moon, Silversun Pickups and Kaleo.

Straight Lines will officially release on November 18th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast
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Kiss the Scientist is ‘Waiting on the Rest of the World’ in their psych-tinged orchestrally-heightened post-rock triumph

Posted on 24 November 2022

After opening for the Plain White T’s and Hoobastank, LA alt-rock powerhouse Kiss the Scientist is priming the airwaves for their debut EP that is set to release in 2023. Their latest single, Waiting on the Rest of the World, starts with an ambient neoclassic stringed prelude before waves of momentously high energy break around the alt-rock instrumentals.

Strap yourselves in and prepare for off-kilter curveballing progressions that make delving back into Waiting on the Rest of the World infinitely pleasurable. With every repeat listen, you pull something new out of the multi-sensory experience that entices you with the punk ethos in the lyricism and the delicate motifs around the monolithic breakdowns.

The swirling psych-rock cascades cut up by classic rock riffs create a stunning score of ingenuity for lead singer and guitarist Max Tomack to lay down his dynamic vocals that range from ragged post-hardcore screams to hook-filled melodic lines.

As if we didn’t love the latest single already, we were infatuated upon finding out that all of the music that spills from the practice room is a happy accident made through their sheer unadulterated love of making music. We’re officially psyched for the debut EP.

Waiting on the Rest of the World will officially release on November 18th. Catch it on Spotify and all other major platforms via this link. Follow Kiss the Scientist on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Pop-Punk’s Fiercest Lyricist, Juliette Irons, Advocated for the Heartbroken in her Latest Anthem, Skydive

Posted on 18 November 2022

After a brush with disorientating heartbreak, the Toronto-born, LA-based artist, producer, and dancer Juliette Irons picked herself up, dusted herself off and released the stormer of a pop-punk anthem, Skydive, as an act of solidarity with anyone feeling the same anxious dejection.

Skydive follows on from her evocative whirlwind, Prisoner of My Mind, which introduced the airwaves to the claustrophobia of anxiety. Still on stellar lyrical form, Skydive ensnaringly traverses the euphoric highs and dark and despondent lows of a situation-ship to prove even if you’re the one broken and bruised, you’re not the loser.

No heartbreak can survive the flood of dopamine that surges from Skydive. The rap verses are the vindicating cherry on the hook-sprinkled pop-punk cake, which tastes like 00s nostalgia, but Juliette Irons always brings her own signature emboldening flavour to the mix.

“Skydive was inspired by the confusion that comes from whirlwind heartbreak. I had just come out of a brief rollercoaster situation-ship that ended abruptly without much explanation. I felt like I had been thrown from a moving plane, woke up on the ground, and I was the only one who jumped.

I had given everything to this person, only to end up a shell of myself as I picked up the pieces during a realisation that everything was over. I hope this song can help other people going through a similar ungrounding shock to the system, and we can be empowered through it together.”

The official music video for Skydive will officially premiere on November 18th. Catch it on YouTube, and stay tuned on Facebook & Instagram, as Skydive is only the first part of the story. The concluding chapter will be told through her follow-up single, The Fear of Flying.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA-based music professor Poseidon’s Alley intrigues our mind on Haunted

Posted on 12 November 2022

Easing our worries away like a day in the pool soaking those summer rays, Poseidon’s Alley drops a song so sweet it will soothe away all those Haunted dreams which keep on showing up expectedly.

Poseidon’s Alley, aka Tim Herscovitch, is an LA-born music professor and electronic music producer who fuses in lip-licking treats filled to the brim with prog rock, synthwave, and modern jazz.

”Drawing inspiration from visual artists, each track functions as a lyric-less canvas that explores memory and seeks to evoke emotion in the listener.” ~ Poseidon’s Alley

Floating rather wonderfully into a universe that needs so much healing, Poseidon’s Alley has released one of the more delightfully tranquil soundtracks to ease all worries away.

Haunted from LA-born music professor and electronic music producer Poseidon’s Alley is the type of song which might make you smile and gaze at those stars tonight. Overflowing with a tranquil ambience to settle all nerves, this is a genuine piece of art that shall transport you into a time machine into a whole new world.

Finding that peace has never been so important.

Get transported on Spotify and find out more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Get your gratitude fix with Nhala’ bubble gum pop-rock hit, Blissfully Distracted

Posted on 3 June 2022

With Beach Boys-style backing harmonies to round off the country nuances in the perfect pop hit, Blissfully Distracted by the LA bubble gum enchantress, Nhala’s tracks will take you higher.

The optimistic track, which hazily orbits around the emotions tied to being in the honeymoon phase, is almost as sweet as indulging in those feelings on a physical level with the new object of your affection. After her angsty no good at love era we’re all too happy to join Nhala on cloud nine.

She’s got the look; she’s got the soul, and, my God, she’s got the voice. Her Taylor Swift meets No Doubt dreamy demeanour more than has what it takes to leave you on a blissful pop plateau.

In her own words, here is what she had to say on the release.

“This is the perfect mood booster that 2022 desperately needs, leaving you craving sunshine & adventure. I’ve learned that appreciating what you have will always bring you more to be grateful for. With this single, I am literally saying “thank you”. I hope this song makes you want to put down your phone, get lost in life and fall in love with whatever that may be for you – this summer and for years to come.”

Blissfully Distracted will officially release on June 3rd. Hear it here, or head over to her official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast