Browsing Tag

Pop-Rock

Hex Date cut right to the carnal core with their debut alt-rock hit, DIE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY

Posted on 21 September 2023

LA’s literally and figuratively hottest new alt-rock outfit, Hex Date caused a Dionysiac stir on the airwaves with their vehemently hook-rife debut single, DIE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY.

The track title may appear maleficent and macabre, but the sonic experience of DIE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY is a sensually awakening revelation. With the rhythmic salaciousness of In This Moment and Deftones and Mars Rose’s dark pop harmonies drawing you into the carnal centre of the single, the alt-rock scene will never recover from the genre-defying storm that tore through it by the fair hands of the prodigal fourpiece.

Taylor Momsen might not have any choice in moving over for Mars Rose; the superlative siren has exactly what it takes to take Hex Date to the top of the charts.

DIE ON YOUR BIRTHDAY was officially released on September 8; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Matt’s Keys borrowed from Fleet Foxes in his trip around the human condition, I Won’t Forget

Posted on 8 September 2023
https://soundcloud.com/mattskeys-396096472/i-wont-forget-1?si=40faf228b7da4f4ea30de1086103897b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Whether we like to admit it or not, one of our most pervasive fears is being forgotten and our impact on people’s worlds being ephemeral, if you can relate, you will resonate with the latest star-roving pop hit from Matt’s Keys.

With a featuring vocal artist adding her beguiling harmonies over the pop rock keyboardist’s perpetually poignant keyboard melodies, I Won’t Forget is an uninhibitedly sweet score, orchestrated to lead your emotions to extremes as the lyrics gravitate around the highs and lows of the human condition. From our hopes and fears to our naïve dreams and bitter-sweet regrets, it is all encompassed in the stunning single which reminisces with the sonic style of Fleet Foxes, while delivering panoramically filmic gravitas. It is tracks like I Won’t Forget that prove how interconnected we all are by the commonality in our experiences, despite the rise in individualism. If that isn’t the definition of aural gold, it damn well should be.

I Won’t Forget was officially released on August 31; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mario Vayne put the power in pop rock with his debut single, Baby

Posted on 1 September 2023

If you take your classic rock with a pop twist, the debut single, Baby, from the Queensland-hailing singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso Mario Vayne efficaciously hits the anthemic spot.  There isn’t a stadium on Earth that Vayne couldn’t fill with his boundlessly powerful vocals that could charge a national grid.

With as much passion as I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith, the serpentine rhythmics of White Snake, and Journey-esque melodic hooks, Baby is a triumphant Tour De Force for the solo artist who cut his teeth fronting various rock outfits in the UK and Australia. Between the 70s rock nostalgia and contemporary production stylings lingers Vayne’s tendency to make everything he vocally touches turn to euphonic gold. If this isn’t the start of a promising solo career, I don’t know what is.

Stream Baby on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The enigmatic outfit FAERYS has brought in the new era of electro-pop-rock with their debut single, Nova Scotia

Posted on 31 August 2023

The enigmatic electronic rock outfit, FAERYS, may be keeping their identity under wraps for now, but there’s no containing the hype that has amassed around their storming juggernaut of a debut single, Nova Scotia.

With a touch of Black Honey and She Drew the Gun to the electronic rock reinvention, Nova Scotia delivered a riff-rife rock hit that has left an international audience clamouring all over it – and for good reason.

Between the precision of the songwriting, the polished production, the hooky female pop vox contrasting the slick rap bars and the anthemic energy that oozes from the larger-than-life hit that embraces the future and sonically sucker punches it, there was no room for improvement, and how often can you say that about a debut?

Something (everything) tells us that FAERYS is comprised of a band of industry veterans who have banded together to bring in the new era of electro-pop-rock.

Nova Scotia launched on the 25th of August, hear it on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Follow FAERYS on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chloe Chadwick confronted short-fused ghosts in her captivatingly all-consuming alt-rock hit, Temper Gene

Posted on 29 August 2023

Cheshire’s most promising singer-songwriter, Chloe Chadwick, has stepped off her international touring circuit to strike sonic gold once more with her latest single, Temper Gene.

The impassioned pop-rock soundscape that delivers a captivatingly all-consuming indie-country twang digs deep into the phenomenon of falling head over heels for someone who will only inevitably keep you under the thumb with their short-fused psychopathic tendencies. How she managed to stay true to her brand of unadulteratedly passionate song crafting while exploring such a dark theme is a mystery that only lends itself to magnetism.

Her ability to spin such arrestive melodies around the maladies of the contemporary trappings of sociopathy transcends talent to paint Chadwick as one of the most seminal artists of our era. Just one hit of Temper Gene will leave you with the compulsion to lose yourself in her diverse back catalogue, which was created with a little help from world-class producers, including Chris Garcia and Kevin Dippold.

Temper Gene was officially released on August 11th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ethan Senger augmented retrospective regret in his seminal single, Everything

Posted on 15 August 2023

Ethan Senger became the New Wave Indie Rock equivalent to Springsteen in his fastidiously manicured latest EP, Standing Still, featuring the standout single, Everything.

Balancing anthemic instrumentals with intimate proclamations of ruminative regret, Everything ticks all the right indie pop-rock boxes while setting the bar for any artist who wants to give their heart-on-sleeve lyricality galvanising propensities.

The lyric “I don’t know you but we talk all the time” just goes to show how honed Senger’s song crafting has come since he made his debut; as for the superlative guitar work, which has seen Senger revered by industry tastemakers as a virtuoso, you’ll have to experience it for yourselves to understand why the Atlanta-born-and-raised artist is an icon in the making.

You will often hear music fans moaning that they don’t make them like we used to, but the truth of the matter is that the music industry doesn’t produce global artists as they did in earlier eras. If they did, Senger’s poster would be on the wall of every aspiring guitarist.

Ethan Senger’s Standing Still EP is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blake Robert served Southern-twanged high-octane soul in his country pop-rock single, On My Mind

Posted on 10 August 2023

The Austin sound resounds in the eponymous debut country pop-rock album from the up-and-coming singer-songwriter Blake Robert.

The heart-on-sleeve standout single, On My Mind, spills Southern-twanged high-octane soul by the smorgasbord as the radio-ready production lends itself effortlessly well to drunk-in-love euphoria. With over two decades of experience crafting Eagles-esque earwormy guitar hooks, the rhythmically sharp ones implanted in On My Mind effortlessly reel you into the romanticism, which is just as magnetically sticky-sweet as the affectionate escapism found in Taylor Swift’s upbeat hits.

If you’re a fellow TX native and you can’t get enough of the debut album, catch Blake on his 2024 live tour through Austin, and keep him on your radar for more addictively energetic releases.

Blake Robert’s self-titled LP is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Grand Nights descended with his demons in the orchestral pop-rock masterpiece, Falling

Posted on 8 August 2023

Render your heartstrings raw with the latest single, Falling, from the alt-pop evocateur, Grand Nights. The orchestral pop-rock outpour of artfully uninhibited emotion takes you on a cinematic cruise through the kind of introspection that only dares to visit you in the dead of night; hang onto the ornately atmospheric nostalgia tight as you’re driven through the 80s and 90s via a route never taken.

After cutting his teeth as a drummer in a metal band, honing his talents in rock, punk and pop bands, the one-man powerhouse behind Grand Nights was ready to take to the centre stage and exhibit his heart-in-throat lyrics that amplify in visceralism to the tune of his panoramically immersive melodies.

With his EP, South of Everything, in the pipeline, there has never been a better time to implant Grand Nights on your radar.

Start the descent with Falling, by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dorset’s Nick Capaldi composed a folky odyssey with his single, Sunnies and Guitars

Posted on 6 August 2023

Singer-songwriter, Nick Capaldi, gave his folky odyssey of a fourth LP, You and all the Seasons, one of the tenderest touches we’ve been melodically caressed with in a long time.

The standout single, Sunnies and Guitars, is a sun-soaked celebration of the simplest pleasures in life; the stringed and lensed objects of every man, woman and dog’s burning desire become an abstract lyrical theme as the sonics find themselves in the cosmic middle ground between The Flaming Lips and Neil Young.

With touches of twangy Americana entwined into the spacy layers of the blissfully nostalgic serenade, Nick Capaldi didn’t stop at scribing his signature sound into the single, he projected his interstellar air into an atmosphere that seems far too celestial to solely belong to Earth’s orbit.

Steam You and all the Seasons by heading over to Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LOST and SOUND weaved an illusory indie pop-rock fantasy with their standout single, Weekend

Posted on 5 August 2023

The Fairfield, CA six-piece alt indie pop outfit, LOST and SOUND, has perfected the art of crafting addictively sticky melodies that effortlessly carry the escapism they deliver via their lyricism.

While the indie landfill pile climbs higher than Everest, LOST and SOUND transcend it all with their assimilation-free sonic fantasies; take their synthy new wave-influenced hit, Weekend for the perfect example. Living forever for the weekend may not be a feasible possibility in tangible reality, but with the meta lyrical phrases and the illusory instrumental arrangements, the romanticism of the notion will reel you in, razor-sharp hook, rhythmic line, and smooth vocal sinker.

To date, Weekend has racked up over half a million streams on Spotify. If their debut album, THE SILVER LINING, contains just a slither of ingenuity in Weekend, LOST and SOUND could easily become one of the biggest bands in Cali in 2023.

Stream Weekend on Spotify and keep up to date with future releases by following the powerhouse via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast