Browsing Tag

Pop-Rock

Alien Al and the Juperoids welcome you to the future of dystopic pop with their standout single, Alice.

Posted on 21 September 2021

After a successful debut with their single, Probe, the electronic space rock outfit Alien Al and the Juperoids, fronted by actor and singer Alyx Nazir, have released their ground-breaking self-titled debut album.

The perfect introduction to their conceptual, expressionist style is the pop track, Alice, which starts with the same arresting atmosphere of existential sci-fi films that welcome you into cold dystopic futures. Through the eerie progressions, the single picks up some more archetypal pop tendencies along the way before a frenetic rock outro. In the strangest and most beautiful way, Alien Al and the Juperoids prove the value and warmth of music in our embittered world through Alice.

The debut album from Alien Al is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nancy Dawn Olsen dares to dream in her ballad, I Don’t Want to Wake Up.

Posted on 20 September 2021
I Don't Want To Wake Up by Nancy Dawn Olson

If reality doesn’t quite hold up to the metaphysical bliss that greets you when your head hits the pillow, sink into Nancy Dawn Olsen’s latest single, I Don’t Want to Wake Up which captures the dreamlike state our minds enter when they entertain our ardent desires that fall out of focus come the morning light.

The ballad kicks off to an ethereal and vulnerable start with minor-key minimalist piano chords; as the orchestral swells raise the energy, Olsen matches it with her resoundingly pitch-perfect vocal timbre. I Don’t Want to Wake Up becomes a firestorm of a single that reminds you that love unparalleled, but there are few things as visceral as the absence of it. Lyrically, it may be the opposite of Aerosmith’s Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, but it carries exactly the same fire.

I Don’t Want to Wake Up is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Franklin Gotham has released their stoically stellar single, Without Being Alone.

Posted on 17 September 2021

Franklin Gotham’s latest single, Without Being Alone, is a tender power-pop embrace that you’ll want to fall into time and time again for the comforting vintage tones, dreamy doo-wop vibes and compassionate lyricism. If you can imagine what Pavement would sound like if they picked up the same romanticism as Syd Barrett, you will be able to get an idea of the sticky-sweet euphoria delivered.

Without Being Alone stoically explores the kind of love that leaves you on the sidelines exploring the infinite possibilities with impassioned impatience. If it’s been a while since you looked at love with rose-tinted glasses, the sweet succinct melodies in this synaesthesia-inducing single will efficaciously remind you.

Without Being Alone is now available to stream and purchase on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OGGY created the ultimate break-free 80s rock anthem with her third single, Find My Way.

Posted on 12 September 2021

OGGY’s latest single, Find My Way, shifted us from curious to obsessed before the first chorus hit. The rock-inclined London-based singer-songwriter has what it takes to leave the same impression on the airwaves as Amy Winehouse with her endlessly uplifting jazz-fused finesse.

After being born in a small, closed-minded Croatian town, OGGY (Olga Savic) found herself inspired to create the good that she couldn’t find in the world through her music. After securing some Croatian festival slots, she knew that to truly make her mark she would have to leave her hometown. After moving to the UK in 2017, she started to study songwriting in 2020 – which is when she came into her own as a songwriter and performer.

Find My Way is the ultimate break free rock anthem that follows the journey of finding new love after heartbreak. This one is definitely for the scorned romantics out there. The shimmering guitar tones, choral atmosphere and OGGY’s sultrily fierce vocals are enough for your heartbeat to fasten alone.

Find My Way officially released on September 10th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify or Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bryan Donoghue leaves us in a Summer Haze with his Britpop-rock hit.

Posted on 12 September 2021
Bryan Donoghue

Edinburgh-born, Ireland-based alt-rock solo artist Bryan Donoghue is set to release his debut album Nowhere Never, Somewhere Always, which features the standout single, Summer Haze.

If you hold the 90s as an era as dearly as you hold summer as a season, you couldn’t ask for a better playlist staple. Summer Haze comes swathed in summer pop rock tones and laced with lucid 90s Britpop nostalgia. The Manchester sound resounds in the psychedelically tinged instrumentals, while vocally, Donoghue will strike a chord with any James Dean Bradfield or Paul Draper fans.

His debut album will be available to stream and download on all major platforms in September 2021.

Checkout Bryan Donoghue on Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pop-punk pioneer Chelsea Lyn Meyer has released her latest single, What You’re Doing to Me.

Posted on 9 September 2021

Chelsea Lyn Meyer reinvented pop-rock in her latest single, What You’re Doing to Me. The feisty anthem averts romantic tropes and explores the obsessive nature of romantic affection around hooky choruses and romantic rock and roll licks.

Rarely will you find a singer-songwriter as honest in their expression as Eastern Pennsylvania’s Chelsea Lyn Meyer. Women all too often get shunted into the crazy category after a relationship has burnt out, but Meyer made no bones about celebrating every ounce of her visceral emotion in What You’re Doing to Me, which may just be the pop-punk anthem of the year.

What You’re Doing to Me is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jon Fritz pulls back the façade with ‘Love Ain’t What it Seems’.

Posted on 4 September 2021

Washington DC singer-songwriter, Jon Fritz, pulled back love’s façade with his single, Love Ain’t What it Seems’. It strips away the romantic ideation implanted in minds from a young age (thanks, Disney) and gives you a far more realistic account of the role of love in our vast and chaotic world.

Love Ain’t What It Seems resonates on such a deep level it almost makes every love song that made your soul fizz seem superficial with lyrics such as “follow your heart, follow your dreams, take all of your memories and don’t ever think of me because love ain’t what it seems”.

The unforgettable acoustic pop-rock ballad is enough to leave you reaching for the tissues and for your lighter to hold in the air. Which might be pretty hard to do simultaneously.

Love Ain’t What it Seems is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

James Sebastian tells us like it is in ‘Love is only Love’

Posted on 25 August 2021
James Sebastian

70s rock revivalist, James Sebastian, is set to release his psych-tinged single, Love is only Love’, which sees his vocals consistently switching from choral 60s psych harmonies to raucous rock n roll affectionate proclamations which makes the single the perfect balance of fiery and sweet.

With his main inspirations listing Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Harry Styles, the 20-year-old Drama and English student’s diverse sound is sure to resound with pop, rock, indie and psych fans alike. He’s one to watch.

Check out James Sebastian on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spin out of control with Nav’s Hook latest indie folk-pop single, Drivin’ Me Crazy

Posted on 23 August 2021

In his latest single, Drivin’ Me Crazy, up and coming artist Nav’s Hook pulled up the roots of rhythm, country and blues to create an indie-folk-pop jam that pays ode to romantic mania. The infectiously uplifting track comes complete with shimmering Gretschy guitars, foot-stompin’ rhythms and some all too efficacious vocal hooks which make an earworm out of the release.

Any fans of Ryan Adams, Chris Cornell, John Mayer and Jason Isbell won’t want to miss out on this expressively seductive radio-ready track that practically begs for repeat attention.

You can check out the official lyric video for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Checkout Rhaina Yasmin’s sonic indie alt rock hit, Grocery Store

Posted on 13 August 2021
Rhaina Yasmin

‘Grocery Store’ is the latest single from 21-year-old indie alt-rock singer-songwriter, Rhaina Yasmin which captures just how small our lives became in the months preceding the release. Anyone who went solo through lockdown will find it all too easy to get caught up in the grips of the stunning shoegazy release that doctors in hints of jazz and 90s pop in the style of the Cranberries as it explores our innate fears of self-obsession and alienation.

From a Slowdive-Esque prelude, Grocery Store progresses through tumultuous sonic storms while offering nothing but sheer tonal bliss. Her defiant yearning lyrics dominate the release, and the hooky chorus gives the track plenty of earworm potential.

Grocery Store released on August 13th. Check it out by heading over to Rhaina Yasmin’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast