Browsing Tag

Lockdown Music

Piperline – Before It’s Too Late: Synthy Sweet Alt Rock

Posted on 27 July 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouaXZIYEktg

UK Alt Rock trailblazers Piperline released the official video to their perspective-shifting latest single Before It’s Too Late on July 12th. The synthy sweet release is so much more than your average ‘feel-good’ hit. It offers a true sense of empathy for the apathy and frustration we’re all undoubtedly feeling right now before serving a sincere reminder that the sun will shine for you once again.

It’s more important now than ever that artists ensure that there’s comfort and connection to be found in their releases. Piperline perceptibly didn’t fail. While the euphoric melodies weave through their deftly executed progressions, the vocals and lyrics instil an organic optimism and give you an alternative perspective.

For the past four months, we’ve been force-fed an overwhelming amount of doom. With their video which was recorded in London during lockdown, Piperline proves that the seemingly inescapable gloom is just one facet of our reality.

You can check out the official video to Piperline’s single Before It’s Too Late via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Asbury Park Love Contingent have released their upliftingly essential charity single “Lay Down”

Posted on 23 July 2020
https://soundcloud.com/user-124173407/lay-down-candles-in-the-rain-3

All too often, uplifting music resonates as trite, but The Asbury Park Love Contingent’s charity single “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)” which was recorded and produced during lockdown is served straight from the soul. It won’t fail to soothe your own either.

You can practically consider hitting play on Lay Down as an act of self-care for the tension and anxiety it will strip away with the choral accordance, sincerity, and absolving ingenuity.

Karen Mansfield, Emily Grove and Tara Dente’s vocals never fail to leave an impression, Karen has also been on our radar since 2018 with her uniquely compelling solo work. But with her new-formed band The Asbury Park Love Contingent, her sound is even more captivating before. With Steve Greenwell (Joss Stone) in charge of production, the powerful feat of celestial Pop Rock was never going to fall flat.

Lay Down wasn’t just originally written and originally performed by Melanie Safka with the intention of sharing positivity and love, it has also now been released as a charity record. All proceeds from the single will go to The Jersey Shore Rescue Mission in Asbury Park, NJ, which provides food, clothing and shelter to the homeless.

You can check out the upliftingly essential single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SLSTRSS has released her fiercely empowering Neo-Soul single “Better”

Posted on 19 July 2020

Up and coming Neo-Soul artist SLSTRSS dropped the music video for her seminal single Better on July 4th. Prepare to be galvanized.

We’re all feeling a little caged and frustrated at the state of the world right now, SLSTRSS latest single offers you an inspirationally powerful different outlook. Refusing to deal with the world as it is doesn’t have to mean resigning in apathy, as SLSTRSS poignantly alludes, we can simply start to be better.

Despite the smooth soulful production, Better is definitely one of the most hard-hitting tracks I’ve heard this year. If you’re looking for an empowering aural pick me up, look no further.

You can check out the official video to SLSTRSS’ latest single by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nikita Graham has released her charity single “I’ll Be Your Hero” to raise funds for health workers

Posted on 5 July 2020

It’s a common expression that the best art is born in periods of great struggle. Singer-songwriter Nikita Graham’s latest single “I’ll Be Your Hero” affirms it.

I can only imagine how invaluable songs like I’ll Be Your Hero are to key workers who have been on the frontline all throughout the pandemic. Not only does the soundscape pay a stunningly fitting tribute to careworkers, but it will be an eternal account of their bravery.

The mark of any talented singer-songwriter is the ability to make the inexpressible, expressible. Nikita Graham perceptibly achieved with I’ll Be Your Hero as her verses implore us to feel brand new surges of empathy for their struggle and gratitude for their service.

I’ll Be your Hero was created as a charity single to raise funds for healthcare workers. You can find out more about the fundraiser via the artist’s Facebook.

You can check out the official music video to Nikita Graham’s latest single via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gooseberry’s latest single “The Protagonist” becomes a new contender for the catchiest Alt Indie track of the year.

Posted on 5 July 2020

NYC Alt Rock artist Gooseberry has returned with their unique infusion of Rock, Blues and Indie with their latest single “The Protagonist”. You could listen to the radio all day and still not encounter a catchier track.

With Courtney Barnett included in Gooseberry’s lyrical influences and Foo Fighters lending instrumental inspiration, The Protagonist is a gritty deftly stylised anthemic hit. It’s rare that we can say that the melodic hooks are just as sharp as the lyrical wit.

You’ll find the whole tonal palette served up in The Protagonist. From hazy warm Psych Pop tones to overdriven grinding guitar licks. The only constant in the dynamic hit is the magnetic accordance from the vocals which verse the highly relatable lyrics. I think we can all get behind the sentiment “The TV is all that’s real” after 3 months in lockdown.

You can check out Gooseberry’s single The Protagonist by heading over to Spotify.

Keep up to date with new releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grant Maloy Smith has shared their all too relatable Alt Country Folk single “Waiting for the Good Old Days Again” with the airwaves

Posted on 30 June 2020

We may not have heard any lockdown songs from Cat Stevens, but US artist Grant Maloy Smith has achieved the very same evocative effect as Wild World with his latest single “Waiting for the Good Old Days Again”.

The Alt Country Folk single shares the all too relatable emotion which has transpired from being left in stasis with the days bleeding into one another because there is nothing to set them apart. The soundscape certainly isn’t without its melancholy, but the stunning semi-orchestral instrumental arrangement makes it hard to slip into a morose state as your listening to the ethereal pull of the strings.

It really comes as no surprise that Grant Maloy Smith entered the Billboard charts with their previous releases. There is an incredibly nuanced and matured air to their latest single which can only come from an artist who has dedicated their life to their art.

You can check out the official music video for Waiting for the Good Old Days Again via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sukh pays ode to care workers in their empathy-invoking Alt Indie single “Nightingale”

Posted on 27 June 2020

Manchester-based Indie newcomer Sukh is due to drop their latest single “Nightingale” which pays a soulful ode to the care workers who have selflessly put their lives on the line during the pandemic.

If you didn’t have empathy for nurses before, you certainly will once you hear the semi-orchestral, slightly psychedelic feat of Indie. Sukh found inventive ways to allow you to imagine just what care workers endured and he was just as inventive with the piano-led soundscape. Lou Reed might not be around anymore to soothe our souls, but Sukh has proven with his latest release that he can offer the same level of resonant catharsis.

You can check out Nightingale for yourselves from the date of the official release on July 3rd via Soundcloud. In the meantime, you can check out Sukh’s other feats of mould-breaking Indie.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mute the TV – Only the Good Times Matter: Anthemically Exuberant Wholesome Indie Pop

Posted on 24 June 2020

There was no forgetting Mute the TV after having the pleasure of falling in love with their synthy-sweet debut single “With You”. Thankfully, they didn’t keep us waiting for all too long before the release of their soul-soothing Indie hit “Only the Good Times Matter”.

If we’re all being honest with ourselves, our playlists could all do with a little bit more wholesome Indie Pop on them right now. And that’s just what Mute the TV’s anthemically exuberant hit achieves. We’ve all had three months in stasis to decide on what really matters, and I have to say I’m with Mute the TV on this one.

With sonic synth lines and super-charged Indie Rock riffs in a well-rounded and practically effervescent instrumental arrangement, Only the Good Times matter efficaciously feeds you organic feel-good vibes. Existentialism is out, optimism is in.

You can check out Only the Good Times Matter for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Starr Blazerz Has Dropped Their Infectiously High-Vibe Alt EDM Trap Quarantine Track

Posted on 23 June 2020

While we definitely didn’t expect a track written about Quarantine to be such an energising good vibe hit, we definitely appreciated the electrifying energy which Starr Blazerz’s latest Alt Pop single “Quarantine” offered.

The ingenuity isn’t just limited to the beats which will stick to your synapses like superglue. The lyrics are insanely connectable. There’s resonant wordplay such as “1, 2, 3, 4 anxiety knocking at your door” weaved into the Alt EDM Trap hit along with other poignant observations about our absurdly isolated times.

To ensure Quarantine was as high fire as possible, Starr Blazerz teamed up with Johnny Polygon who added even more fire the dynamic adrenalizing hit.

You can check out Quarantine for yourselves by heading over to Spotify where you’ll also find Starr Blazerz’s previous releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tjuan Trouble has gone viral with their fiery perspective on the BLM protests “READY 2 DIE”

Posted on 17 June 2020

US Rap artist Tijuan Trouble’s latest single READY 2 DIE, which captures the unfaltering resilience behind the BLM movement has already amassed 18k streams on SoundCloud alone. There’s little room to wonder why.

The viscerally powerful track contains an empowering mix of anger and passion which draws you in from the first verse. As the fiery Rap verses run through, you’re grounded by the reality by the situation while being simultaneously in absolute awe of the sheer amount of conviction which Tjuan Trouble has thrown into the flawless mix.

If any Hip Hop track deserves to go viral this year, it’s this one. It hits devastatingly hard that to this day people are willing to trade their lives for respect. But it’s tracks like this that we all need to be paying attention to.

You can check out READY 2 DIE for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast