Browsing Tag

Pop-Rock

Daniel Henry blurs genre boundaries in his latest anthemic release, Circles.

Posted on 21 June 2021

Indie pop-rock earworms don’t get much juicer than Daniel Henry’s latest single, ‘Circles’, which completely blurs the line between contemporary alt hip hop and pop-punk.

The Oman, Middle East-born, Dallas-based artist evaded formal music education but has no problem formulating mind-bendingly infectious choruses and catchy hooks, such as the ones that will ensnare you in his latest up-vibe hit. Daniel Henry takes influence from the likes of Shinedown, Blink 182, Machine Gun Kelly and Post Malone, but nothing in Circles feels assimilative – despite the swathes of genre-bending music that has hit the airwaves in recent years.

The lyrics may be delivered with a stinging antagonistic tone, but the feel-good factor in this radio-ready single has been turned up to 11. So, if you’re looking to vent your frustration that comes through cyclical torment, hit play.

Circles is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KrizRok has released his summer pop taste breaker, ‘Welcome to My Show’

Posted on 12 June 2021

After a successful 2020 debut, the artist that is impossible to pigeonhole, Krizrok, has unleashed his anthemically eccentric sophomore single, Welcome to My Show. With elements of tropic dance-pop coalescing with indie vibes and reggae rhythms, the sun-kissed release reaches the pinnacle of summer pop while playfully resisting the constraints of your average pop earworm.

The German singer-songwriter and instrumentalist truly comes into his own with his boundlessly magnetic vocals that defy convention while simultaneously leaving you enamoured by the quirky soul on offer.

It is always refreshing to hear a seasoned professional session musician embracing self-expression own with their solo work, and KrizRok is certainly no exception to that rule. Notably, he has a keen sense of which aural rules are made to be broken to find the perfect balance between distinction and infectious appeal.

Welcome to My Show is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get your nostalgia hit with Smooth Retsina Glow’s funk-pop jazz-fusion single, Memories Made

Posted on 4 June 2021

‘Memories Made’ is just one of the singles that alt-rock outfit, Smooth Retsina Glow, has toured the US with since making their debut in 2020; with international airplay and 60 shows under their belt, they’re well on their way to shedding their ‘up and coming’ status.

With enough funk to give Nile Rogers a run for his money and sticky-sweet pop sensibilities to the female vocals, Memories Made is a tranquil yet equally enlivening track. There are serious melodic grooves in the rhythm section but with the choppy staccato guitar chords, there’s plenty of upbeat energy pouring from the heart and soul of this nostalgia-inducing track.

You can check out the official video to Memories Made by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lucy Bullock owns her creative expression in her pop-rock earworm, ‘You’ll Find Out’.

Posted on 27 May 2021
Lucy Bullock

If you’ve never spent time contemplating how brave it is for artists to write love songs about people they know, pop-rock singer-songwriter Lucy Bullock’s debut single, ‘You’ll Find Out’, will allow you to do just that. With her boundlessly energetic delivery and unapologetically honest lyrics, ‘I’m not afraid to write a song about you’, it is impossible not to get wrapped up in this high vibe hit.

The choruses are catchy enough that you’ll practically feel the euphoria catch in your throat when the crescendos hit. You’ll Find Out is as quintessential as perennial pop earworms come. Yet, it is the raw soul infused in this single that allows it to stand so far apart from the rest, while the guitar solos make sure that rock isn’t a secondary element in this galvanizingly sweet release.

We can’t wait to watch her debut single climb the charts along with the rest of her debut EP that is due for release on June 1st.

Check out Lucy Bullock via her website or on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Azure Wolf orchestrated the ultimate alt-indie pop-rock anthem with their single, ‘Honey Rush’.

Posted on 26 May 2021

On May 21st, 2021, Azure Wolf released their most visceral work to date with their double a-side single, Chateau / Honey Rush. Both of the singles are fervent exhibitions of the Winchester, VA-based alt-indie artist’s authentically accessible experimentalism. Yet, with Honey Rush, Azure Wolf orchestrated a dark pop-rock anthem that unequivocally affirms that they need to be on your gig bucket list.

With pop elements creating an all-consuming chorus constructed with sweeping sonic progressions, anthemic production and catchy lyrics that you’ll probably need a serious concussion to forget, Honey Rush is the ultimate anthem for anyone whose mentality errs on the side of melancholy.

The breaks that follow the tension-fraught build-ups offer a serious amount of catharsis as you get caught up in the tumultuous momentum of the radio-ready single. It is one of those tragically rare singles that becomes more impactful and meaningful the more you listen to it.

Azure Wolf’s latest release is now available to stream via Spotify and Bandcamp.

Connect with Azure Wolf via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ralph Pezzullo sings the ‘Lockdown Blues’ in his latest single

Posted on 22 May 2021

Plenty of artists have released lockdown-inspired singles, but no one can sing the lockdown blues quite like a blues artist, case in point, Ralph Pezzullo’s latest sonically swampy bluegrass single, ‘Lockdown Blues’.

The up-vibe funk-bridled single comes complete with frenetic keys, quite simply virtuosic guitar work and Pezzullo’s expressively honest lyrics that come alive through his country pop-rock vocal timbre. If you could bottle what Lockdown Blues has to offer, we’d finally have bottled Serotonin.

The anthem is all too efficacious when it comes to reminding you that everyone can pull light out of the dark, even if we don’t have the multi-faceted talent that was exhibited in Lockdown Blues. If you could imagine what it would sound like if the Stray Cats merged styles with Wild Cherry, you’ll get an idea of the aural euphoria that laces the soundscape.

Lockdown Blues is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Make Rachael Wood’s latest single, Be Mine, your summer pop-rock playlist staple

Posted on 21 May 2021
Rachael Wood

‘Be Mine’ is the latest pop-rock earworm released by up and coming artist Rachael Wood, she may have only made her debut during the 2020 lockdown, but her sound readily oozes sonic finesse.

After the Paramore and Pale Waves-Esque choruses, Rachael Wood finds space to exhibit the versatility of her style through Slash-style soaring guitar solos that won’t fail to leave you arrested as you appreciate the bluesy sleazy grit in the otherwise sticky sweet-soundscape.

With her distinctive voice bringing an intimate indie feel to the release paired with the powerful melodic hooks, Be Mine is a radio-ready track that easily sets itself apart from the rest.

You can check out Be Mine via Spotify; for more ways to listen, head over to her official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Burgundy delivers hazily cinematic soul in ‘Cigar in the Snow’.

Posted on 19 May 2021

Right from the first note in Burgundy’s latest single, Cigar in the Snow, you sink into the sublime aural rabbit hole that the experimental artist carved out with dreamy notes, choral tones and vocal timbre as mesmerising as the sandman’s lullaby.

Any fans of Jamie Cullum and Jack Johnson will want to experience the soulful alchemy through which Burgundy was able to pay tribute to a familiar and timeless sound while putting his signature sonic spin on it by feeding in glitchy garagey, indietronica.

Like many of his singles that have racked up hundreds of thousands of streams, Cigar in the Snow is an obsession-worthy track that you won’t hesitate to add to your playlists. Without hesitation, we’d name Burgundy as one of the most promising artists we’ve heard this year. Get his hazy cinematic sound on your radar.

Cigar in the Snow is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joonas Tanner – Ordinary Day: A Cinematically Raw Sign of the Times

Posted on 14 May 2021

Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter Joonas Tanner finds the inspiration for his country-pop crossover singles by introspectively delving into the complexities of love, life and human emotion. His latest single, ‘Ordinary Day’, explores the relationships that reached a breaking point during the 2020 lockdown. Even if you didn’t feel that disjointing feeling first-hand, Ordinary Day still hits bruisingly hard by stripping the grandiosity out of modern romance and replacing it with the reminder of how mundane loveless ordinary days can be.

Ordinary Day was produced by Nashville’s very own Simon Reid, who allowed the soundscape to unfold as an all-consuming feat of country pop-rock that holds sonic reminiscence to the likes of Shinedown and Staind. If you want to test your soul’s capacity to feel, hit play on this cinematically raw sign of our times.

Ordinary Day is now available to stream via Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ethan Yates will be here for the ‘Rest Of Our Lives’

Posted on 7 May 2021

Ethan Yates is a Christian singer/songwriter from East Texas, USA; don’t let that tempt you into making assumptions about his music, though – this is no confessional, congregational piece, rather a beautiful, gentle acoustic-focussed track with a definite Americana-meets-indie, college-radio vibe.

There’s a real Paul Westerberg/Replacements feel to Yates’ vocal, some delicate slide guitar, and an almost Kings Of Leon feel to the rockier parts. Little bits of alt-rock like Paramore and mellower Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, or Dashboard Confessional meld with choice Americana like Counting Crows and the Jayhawks, with some beautiful harmonies and a perfect understanding of melody and composition, ‘Rest Of Our Lives’ really is as good as it comes.

You can check out ‘Rest Of Our Lives’ on Spotify; Follow Ethan Yates on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes