Browsing Tag

Pop-Rock

Freak out with the anthemically resonant single, Trauma, from the Atlanta indie powerhouse, yin.

Posted on 26 November 2022

Discussing inter-generational trauma no longer has to be confined to the therapy sessions you can’t afford, and posting statuses online that will result in a cascade of patronising care reacts. Atlanta’s most relatable alt-indie three-piece, yin, is here to make sure of it with their latest single, Trauma.

The infectiously maniacal high energy lets you ride the rare peaks that intersect the depth of the isolated lows. Strap yourselves in for the most anthemic indie jangle pop guitars you’ve ever heard as they sail through the dynamism that brings Take on Me to mind with the eccentrically soaring climactic choruses that leave the 1975 and Bleachers in the archetypal dirt.

In the style of Yung Blud, yin pair euphonic sonics with dark lyrics that make no bones about alluding to the dark places we drift into and all of the even darker thoughts that keep us company during the bouts of anxious madness that late-stage capitalism has left us to linger in. With their debut LP, Someone Who Isn’t Me, set to release on November 22nd, all eyes and ears should be on yin right now.

“There’s something really wonderful and terrible about being human in the modern age. We’re all struggling with the mere fact that waking up and convincing ourselves that we don’t hate each other is normal, and there’s always this emotional and spiritual push to try and love and cherish the little that we have to call our own. We just want to be honest about all of the sad parts as well as the really amazing happy parts.”

Trauma is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Stop cringing at your own consciousness and tune into the anthemic alt-rock debut single, Overthink, from MANIA

Posted on 25 November 2022

With airy harmonic vocals as smooth as you will hear on Mr Bungle’s California album around the post-hardcore outpours of impassion, Overthink is a funk-slammed progressive rock hit that is set to see MANIA go far after their hair-raising debut which will leave you with the compulsion to drive up the volume to drown out the reprising thoughts that make you cringe at your own consciousness.

The freshly-formed British rock band that rivals Frank Carter and the Rattle Snakes in terms of dynamic energy and Enter Shikari for their future-defining production that comes with hints of pop to drive up the infectious appeal may be new to this outfit, but they’ve converged from other chart-topping acts, including Bollo Bollo, Blushes and Rêve.

We officially can’t wait to hear the sophomore follow up to this cataclysmically hit that sets the bar for polished yet raw rock anthems in 2022.

Stream Overthink for yourselves on Spotify. Follow the band via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go down the downward spiral with Daniel Antonio’s dark electronic rock debut, everything I touch

Posted on 25 November 2022

Any fans of Blue October, Celldweller, and Three Days Grace will be gripped with the evocative raw candour that complements the turbulently dark electronic rock aesthetic in Daniel Antonio’s debut single, everything I touch.

For infectious appeal, the debut fuses pop hooks with glitchy electronica and down-tuned guitars. With the bilingual lyrics adding yet another repeat-worthy facet to the track that exhibits Antonio’s fearless vulnerability equally through the lyrics and vocals, every time you listen to everything I touch, the immense sensory experience becomes that little bit more visceral. The single was written to encapsulate a relatable dark downward spiral that made losing touch an inevitability and admirably as an admission of fallibility.

Away from the music industry, the Sheffield-based solo artist starred in the BAFTA-nominated film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – which explains the colossal cinematic touches in his debut. He also provided backing vocals for Ed Sheeran & Bring Me the Horizon’s earworm, Bad Habits, which hit number 3 on the UK charts. If this single doesn’t chart too, I might start a riot on his behalf.

Everything I touch will be available to stream from November 25th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Pop-Punk’s Fiercest Lyricist, Juliette Irons, Advocated for the Heartbroken in her Latest Anthem, Skydive

Posted on 18 November 2022

After a brush with disorientating heartbreak, the Toronto-born, LA-based artist, producer, and dancer Juliette Irons picked herself up, dusted herself off and released the stormer of a pop-punk anthem, Skydive, as an act of solidarity with anyone feeling the same anxious dejection.

Skydive follows on from her evocative whirlwind, Prisoner of My Mind, which introduced the airwaves to the claustrophobia of anxiety. Still on stellar lyrical form, Skydive ensnaringly traverses the euphoric highs and dark and despondent lows of a situation-ship to prove even if you’re the one broken and bruised, you’re not the loser.

No heartbreak can survive the flood of dopamine that surges from Skydive. The rap verses are the vindicating cherry on the hook-sprinkled pop-punk cake, which tastes like 00s nostalgia, but Juliette Irons always brings her own signature emboldening flavour to the mix.

“Skydive was inspired by the confusion that comes from whirlwind heartbreak. I had just come out of a brief rollercoaster situation-ship that ended abruptly without much explanation. I felt like I had been thrown from a moving plane, woke up on the ground, and I was the only one who jumped.

I had given everything to this person, only to end up a shell of myself as I picked up the pieces during a realisation that everything was over. I hope this song can help other people going through a similar ungrounding shock to the system, and we can be empowered through it together.”

The official music video for Skydive will officially premiere on November 18th. Catch it on YouTube, and stay tuned on Facebook & Instagram, as Skydive is only the first part of the story. The concluding chapter will be told through her follow-up single, The Fear of Flying.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Martin Paul Cuthew made hope permissible in his synthy pop-rock soul-stirrer, The Machine

Posted on 16 November 2022

Following a dark Nine Inch Nails-Esque prelude that reflects the drudgery of the late-stage capitalist hellscape we call modern society, the bright and rich melodicism in Martin Paul Cuthew’s latest single, The Machine, starts to break through the soundscape like sunlight piercing a storm cloud.

The switch in the guitar and synth tones are effortlessly matched by the luminously humanist soul projected through the lyrics and optimism-inspiring vocals, which spoke to me on a level that normally only James Dean Bradfield reaches.

The UK-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is the ultimate testament that awareness doesn’t have to be synonymous with pessimism. His vibrant expositions on love, hope and longing which complement his soul-stirring pop-rock proclivities effortlessly guide you to a perception that makes hope permissible. Take that Nietzsche.

The Machine is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tatum Quinn is nobody’s fool in her fiery pop-rock anthem Short Supply

Posted on 10 November 2022

Montreal-born and raised Berklee college grad Tatum Quinn rolled with the pop-rock punches in her latest single, Short Supply. Not that she has to prove she is a force to be reckoned with after opening for Kool and the Gang, the Pointer Sisters and April Wine. But if any track asserts her unreckonable talent, it’s Short Supply, which galvanizingly proves that she’s nobody’s fool.

With atomically powerful pop vocals laying down the hooks over the stadium-filling crunchy guitars and adrenalizing percussion, it is all too easy to get caught up in the no holds barred account of Quinn’s lack of patience for usury hacks who will use emotional blackmail to claw their way back into a relationship they took for granted.

Ending the trailblazingly authentic anthem with “go fuck yourself” followed by an affable giggle, we couldn’t help falling in love with Quinn’s emboldening motive to create inspirational music that advocates empowered autonomy that little bit more.

Short Supply will officially release on November 10th. Catch it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hana Katana pierced through the veil of plastic pop tropes with her pop-rock anthem, Friends Don’t Make You Cry

Posted on 6 November 2022

California-born, Austin-raised artist Hana Katana tore through the plastic pop cliches with razor-sharp precision to deliver the emboldening indie pop-rock single Friends Don’t Make You Cry. Turns out, wholesome content can sit hand in hand with kickass volition.

The lyric “friends don’t f**k you with their eye” is all proof you need that Hana Katana, who took her adapted adage “the tongue is mightier than the sword” for her moniker is one of the wittiest rising artists on the airwaves.

With touches of Paramore with the sonic glam of Marina and the Diamonds around the gorgeously angular indie guitars, Friends Don’t Make You Cry is a triumph. Kathleen Hanna would be proud. Especially, as the rising artist is doing stunt training while working on her visual album that will feature fight scenes to represent the conflict in each song.

Check out the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Simona-Valentina compels her listeners to follow their dreams in her confessionally quaint country pop-rock single, Head Outta Washing Machine

Posted on 2 November 2022

London-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Simona-Valentina, gave her listeners an intimate view into how her creative life began with her country-tinged pop-rock single, Head Outta Washing Machine, which officially released on October 22nd and spilt 90s nostalgia onto the airwaves.

With a similar snappy melody to Avril Lavinge’s game-changing earworm, Complicated, in the intro, along with a few nods to the 90s, Head Outta Washing Machine is an immersive unravelling of the singer-songwriter’s humble and adorable beginnings as a singer-songwriter. You only have to hit play to see how far she has come as an expressive advocator of following your dreams.

Head Outta Washing Machine is the 12th single released by Simona-Valentina after she made her debut with her single, Unspoken Love, in 2019. She’s also one-half of the acoustic duo SVRPoole, who are melodically enlivening the London music scene.

Here’s what Simona-Valentina had to say about her latest release:

“I used to sing with my head in the washing machine when I was around six years old. This is my genuine and retrospectively funny music story, and what I am basically confessing with this new song.

I was shy and introverted at that age, lacking the confidence and courage to sing in front of people; hence, the darkness and intimacy of singing with my head inside the washing machine appealed to me greatly.”

Listen to Head Outta Washing Machine on Spotify.

Follow Simona-Valentina on Facebook and Instagram

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gratitude envelopes platonic love in Lizzie Hosking’s latest alt-pop single, Skye

Posted on 29 October 2022

Platonic love may take a backseat on the airwaves for fawning declarations of lust; if anyone can push it to the forefront, it is Lizzie Hosking with her uplifting ballad, Skye which soulfully celebrates the lifelong friendship with the person who has lifted her from every downward trajectory.

After realising that she’d written songs about people that don’t deserve an ounce of her time, Hosking delivered this timeless feat of pop which starts with minimalist ambient production around her soulful vocal timbre before building into an epic outpour of gratitude, soaring electric guitar riffs and all.

Skye, titled after her best friend, is a taste of what is to come on Lizzie Hosking’s upcoming album, which will keep the focus on folky storytelling instead of the punchy upbeat sonic style that she’s become renowned for since making her promising debut in 2020. We wholeheartedly approve of this wholesome move.

Skye was officially released on October 21st. Check it out for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Scherdel versed from the ashes of a quick-to-burn romance in his indie anthem, Brave Mistake

Posted on 14 October 2022

There was no forgetting Sam Scherdel after he emerged as one of the hottest indie acts out of Sheffield since Arctic Monkeys with his single, Don’t Really Like You. His loved-up anthem has been followed by his vulnerably bold single, Brave Mistake.

The titularly dualistic track opens itself up to a world of ambiguity, but all of that resolves through the lyrics that allude to the termination of a relationship where love lingers despite the toxicity that breeds within the dynamic.

It’s enough to reduce the majority of post-breakup tracks to immature clichés through the soul-deep bitter-sweet reflection that is relayed to anthemic guitars and emotionally distilled keys that hammer home the melancholy as Scherdel reflects on the fleeting beauty of a quick-to-burn romance. The die-hard romantics out there are going to feel their hearts in their throats to this emotionally charged hit that will imprint the seemingly innocuous reprising probe of “how the devil you doing?” across your mind.

We couldn’t be more stoked to hear that a 2023 album is in the pipeline.

Brave Mistake was officially released on October 14th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast