Browsing Tag

Pavement

snailosaur – Nature:  A Panorama of Eccentrically Untempered Alt-Rock

Posted on 21 September 2024

snailosaur’s seminal single ‘Nature’ shreds through the veneer of indie banality with a ferociously eccentric bite. This single, paired with ‘Kaleidoscopic Mind’ in their double A-side release, is a gritty symphony of dissonance and melody, interlocking the spirits of alt-rock, shoegaze, and noise/art rock. Laced with spoken word, the tracks assert themselves as fierce declarations of style.

Emerging from New York City’s music scene, snailosaur has been tearing up stages across NYC and Brooklyn with their unabashedly raw energy. Following their debut album ‘Talk Therapy’ released in January 2024, the band has etched an indelible mark on the indie map with their sonic scriptures of rebellion and introspection.

‘Nature’ channels the nostalgic echo of The Psychedelic Furs and melds it with the anarchic edge of Dinosaur Jr and the quirky kicks of Pavement as the vocal style, reminiscent of Frank Zappa’s iconoclastic drawl, merges into harmonies that subtly nod to the Beach Boys in the chorus.

The track is a visceral punch of tangled harmonies and textured disarray which peaks with a guitar solo that strips back the layers of grunge to bare the skeleton of Snailosaur’s musical genius—unrefined, unapologetic, and underpinned by technical intricacy.

Nature & Kaleidoscopic Mind was officially released on September 13; stream the double A-side single on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Wrong Party is ‘California Bound’ in their glimmer of indie garage rock nostalgia

Posted on 14 September 2024

The Southern Kentucky/Northern Tennessee fourpiece, The Wrong Party, delivered an irresistible invitation to revisit epochs of rock via an unchartered route with their third single, California Bound.

With nods to everyone from The Strokes, Pavement, Placebo and Iggy and the Stooges in the honeyed with vintage hues production which also teases the distortion of 90s Seattle grunge and grooves through bluesy psychedelic guitar licks, California Bound is pornography to sonic nostalgists.

The way the influences and eclectic stylings enmesh in the garage-rock-esque release is an undeniable attestation to the band’s unique vision and mission to make up for the shortfall in real and raw rock in the past few decades. If you would rather get a lobotomy than listen to Highly Suspect or Royal Blood, The Wrong Party, fronted by Matt McNew, is made for your playlists.

California Bound hit the airwaves on September 1st; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Return to the alt-90s with Trailerfuss’ debut single O Rei da Solidão

Posted on 29 April 2024

Trailerfuss’ debut single, O Rei da Solidão, from their EP Roteiro Sem Final, revisits the 90s grunge era via a route never before taken.

By fusing the sludgy rhythmics of Dinosaur Jr and the fierce soul of Hole, Trailerfuss created a solid foundation to lay their innovative approach to evoking alt-90s nostalgia on. They didn’t stop at emanating two influential artists; you’ll hear everyone from Bob Dylan in the opening harmonica blows, Grandaddy in the lo-fi intimacy, the Beachboys in the surfy layered vocal harmonies, and nuances of Pavement and Pixies synthesised between.

The debut single is a visceral statement from the Rio de Janeiro-based band that is strong enough to carry their fans back to the rose-tinted sanctity of the alt-90s while also delivering potent punches of their own authenticity.

Stream O Rei da Solidão on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find out why the city never sleeps in snailosaur’s indie rock vignette, Apartment Boxes (nyc poem)

Posted on 18 January 2024

Forget what you know about New York from the over-romanticised depictions and acquaint yourself with the true nature of the cityscape, which juxtaposes grit and grime with the monolithic architecture and the egregious egos of Wall Street wolves. snailosaur’s standout single, ‘Apartment Boxes (nyc poem)’, taken from their indie rock LP, Talk Therapy, paints a fond vignette of the infamous city over the luminous tonality of their angular guitar lines, which weave elements of new wave into the nostalgia-kissed release.

While the upbeat melodies embed the single with a light and dreamy air as they cruise through the Pavement-esque progressions, the vocals act in contrast with their nonchalant drawls, adding depth to the track as they allude to the sins and cultural salvation of the city that never sleeps – and now, thanks to snailosaur, we know why; the working class are confined to coffins as they live and breathe. Yet, suffocation is a small price to pay to walk the streets that become portals in time, if you know which avenues to take.

Apartment Boxes (nyc poem) is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Jesters borrowed from Pavement in their reinvention of the 90s DIY sound in ‘Magnet’

Posted on 31 December 2023

The standout single, Magnet, from The Jesters may have been released in the Summer of 2023, but it is the perfect hit to place on your playlists as we move into the new year with the underpinning themes of pining for personal reinvention that, on some level, we all know we’ll never achieve because the force of our habits is far too strong to resist.

The grungy pop-punk pierced aura of the track, which finds the middle ground between Fidlar, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr, was the perfect atmosphere to pour the self-disdain into to ensure it rings with relatable and rogue down-and-out blues. Veering away from self-pity and right into the inner trappings of the human condition that compels us to tread the hamster wheel as creatures of idiosyncratic convention enabled Magnet to unravel as every antihero’s feel-good hit.

When it comes to reinventing the DIY sounds of the ’80s and ’90s, few do it better than the Philadelphia four-piece, whose sound falls under the new wave retro alt-folk punk banner while spilling out into other nostalgic avenues to lead you to the sounds you adore via a route never taken before.

Magnet is available to stream with the rest of The Jesters’ three-track release, Mental Model, on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

McKay exhibited cybernetic sickness in their indie folk punk single, Plugged

Posted on 14 September 2023
https://soundcloud.com/mckay-608898721/plugged/s-KL9ziCSNpVD?si=96964519eb94489d9d6a39b352cda082&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

If the Beatles psychedelically strode across Pavement’s indie rock obscurity and checked into the Neutral Milk Hotel, the sonic result would groove in the same vein as McKay’s single, Unplugged.

The indie folk punk outpour of raw striking rancour inhibits nothing as the track veers from kaleidoscopic psychedelia to gritty instrumentation and lyrical volition that allows you to feel the inward visceral frustration that encompasses our inability to be a perfect portrait when the landscape that surrounds us warped by increasingly digital dystopia.

I’m pretty sure we can all relate to the exposition of how toxic dopamine habits compel us to stay hooked up to all the wrong lifebloods and leave us at further odds with ourselves. Given the evocative immersion Plugged provides, it is no surprise that McKay has become one of the hottest indie acts in the Nashville scene.

Plugged will debut on September 14; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Psychosomatik showed their psych-rock ‘Roots’ in their progressively electric single.

Posted on 19 March 2023
Psychosomatik by Psychosomatik

Miami psych rock pioneers Psychosomatik warmed up the vintage overdriven tones to match their sun-bleached climate in their latest progressively surfy single, Roots.

If Pavement saw a little more sun, I’m entirely convinced that Brighten the Corners would have emanated the same colourful radiance of Roots, which hit the airwaves on March 13th. The influences of The Doors and The Beatles are also easy to note in the kaleidoscopic grooves of the release from the independent duo, which amalgamates influences from a wide range of artists and genres to orchestrate a sound that couldn’t be more authentic.

Experimentalism and accessibility don’t always come hand in hand; it stands as a testament to Psychosomatik’s songwriting chops that Roots is a hit that you’ll want to dig deep to immerse yourselves in from the first hit. The vibe couldn’t be sweeter.

Roots is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London indie-rock renegades JW Paris shared their lascivious appetite for destruction with ‘She’

Posted on 14 November 2022

The shimmer of wavering Pavement-esque guitars meets the indie anthemics of Blur in the standout single, She, from the London indie trio JW Paris’ debut EP, Stuck in a Video, which implanted off-kilter killer hooks into the airwaves on October 28th.

Reminiscences aside, the band that has sent distinction ricocheting through the underground since their 2017 debut always bring a potent shot of their own renegade indie-rock flavour to their tracks. The critically acclaimed act has a habit of drawing you right into the swaggering melodicism through the lyrics that will smother anyone who has ever felt the odds stack against them with resonance.

Never ones to toy with cliches, JW Paris found a gritty way to pay ode life’s protagonists who sell sanctuary to us amid our appetite for destruction with She. With “she tried to run me over, she blows my mind” written into the lyricism, JW Paris cut to the marrow of the human proclivity to gravitate to modern-day sirens. If you haven’t been there, in the words of Bukowski, what truly horrible lives you must lead.

Stream JW Paris’ debut EP, Stuck in a Video, in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Real Zebos captured the banality ‘Indie Girls’ struggles in their latest single

Posted on 10 September 2022

Humility goes a long way in the indie scene, which is just one of the reasons The Real Zebos haven’t failed to amass a staunch following on their journey from Craigslist strangers to a 5-piece garnering over 3 million hits on their most popular tracks.

I’ll be honest; I thought I was going to hit play on their latest single, Indie Girls, and hear yet another cringe exposition on Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Thankfully, the garagey pop-rock jam is an addictive continuation of the same playful hubris found on Pavement’s seminal album, Brighten the Corners, with hilarious observations on the trends of try-hard e-girl vampires and the banality of their struggles. Admitting to loving this track is probably the most un-feminist thing I will ever do, but I can think of infinitely worse hills to die on.

Indie Girls is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast