Browsing Tag

post-grunge

Adelaide’s hottest post-grunge pioneers, The Yellow Wallpaper, prescribed volatile vindication in the chaos of their sophomore single, Run Your Mouth

Posted on 28 September 2023

The Yellow Wallpaper made an eternal impression with their debut single, Tell Me to Beg; their spiky attitude punctuated the ensnaring sphere of artful alt-rock, but that was nothing compared to the volition that went into as much overdrive as the guitars in their sophomore single, Run Your Mouth.

Veering more towards the 90s Seattle sound but still sinking their teeth into post-rock production styles, Run Your Mouth is a kaleidoscopic vortex of vindication. In a time when it feels like there’s a cacophony of vacuous contempt at every turn, every bark is worse than the bite and every bitch is in heat, sinking into the single, which delivers an exposition of the shallowness of the hypocrisy of public perception and the psychological effects, is as close to utopia as our dystopic epoch will allow.

Following the sold-out launch show of their debut single in mid-2023, the band is priming to do it all again by launching the single to their hometown crowd in Adelaide.

Run Your Mouth was officially released on September 22nd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The lo-fi sludgy rock raconteur Reel Boy’s sophomore hit Julissa is just like honey

Posted on 30 July 2023

After making himself well known on the Utah touring circuit in the outfits My Dad the Astronaut, MoonSugar, Doll and A 1/2, and Indie Seoul, Jayson HaslamBrock took to the centre stage and went solo in his new alt indie rock project, Reel Boy.

With authentic and intentionally imperfect vocals that will be a hit with Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr. fans and simple yet hooky pop choruses that transpire after the minimalist chord progressions, his sophomore release, Julissa, is just like honey – literally. The same sweetly sombre textural distortion that made The Jesus and Mary Chain hit so indulgently unforgettable becomes the central gravity in Julissa.

It isn’t your average earworm, but it will stick with you long beyond the outro all the same for Reel Boy’s tenaciously songwriting chops that are sharp enough to seal his illustrious fate in the industry.

Julissa is now available to stream via Spotify and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

HeadWar say R.I.P. to cognitive autonomy in their rancorous installation of grunge-punk ‘Sheep (2023)’

Posted on 18 July 2023

Don’t wage war; wage HeadWar by listening to the Madison WI-residing grunge-punk trio’s latest single, ‘Sheep (2023)’. While saying R.I.P. to cognitive autonomy, the trio pulled out their heaviest instrumental artillery before sludging it up to the nth degree to replicate the chaos currently breeding in socio-political landscapes across the globe.

While I wasn’t all too convinced by the idea that hard times breed good music before, HeadWar is headstrong enough in their vindication to create an irrefutable testament to the adage. With Dalton Aerts ensuring that his vocals are just as savage as his guitars, Sam Tisue paying homage to the drum fills that make Metallica so ferociously cathartic, and Kyle Eith making the rhythm section as tight as possible; for three minutes, Sheep (2023) may convince you to stop banging your head off the wall and bang to the sonic absolution instead.

Add Sheep (2023) to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Every Glazer has unleashed their Orwellian post-grunge protest, Lesser Men

Posted on 18 July 2023

Industrial rock meets post-grunge and riotously protestive RATM-esque alt-rock in the latest single, Lesser Men, from the experimental solo artist, The Every Glazer.

Describing their music as audio glue for a fractured world tells you all you need to know about the MO of the musician and recording artist who uses his talent to give a glimmer of hope in our dystopia that has manifested via Orwellian fiction.

Just as it has done for millennia, music has united us and scribed our stories; Lesser Men is a continuation of that tradition, which affirms as dark as the days seem, curtains haven’t quite closed on humanity yet, regardless of the corruption, greed, devastation, and oppression; as long as society’s swan song plays, there’s no reason to give up your dog in the fight and down tools when we can better the world in the same way The Every Glazer did with Lesser Men.

The official music video for Lesser Men is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Call To The Void rampaged the UK rock scene with their eclectically experimental debut single, Uncontrollable

Posted on 25 June 2023

For their scuzzy garage rock debut, Uncontrollable, the Southeast, UK-hailing prodigal sons, Call To The Void, pierced protestive proto-punk energy with a gothy 80s atmosphere that will beguile any fans of Bauhaus.

Doused in Nirvana’s Bleach with a touch of the New York Dolls’ rancorous attitude and fleeting Pantera-esque guttural vocals, the eclecticism of Uncontrollable is an achievement in itself. With each member bringing their own sonic penchants to the table to blend into the same soundscape, their heavy, raw, and haunting alchemy was always an inevitability.

After operating as a duo under the moniker, DENY ALL, the brother duo enlisted the boundless dynamic vocal prowess of the frontman, Jack Osborne. His ability to switch between post-punk crooning in the same vein as Echo and the Bunnymen, PIL-reminiscent snarls and Kurt Cobain on a vehement day is a gift that will undoubtedly see Call To The Void go far.

Uncontrollable is now available to stream on Spotify.

Follow Call to the Void on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Yellow Wallpaper – Tell Me to Beg: A Post-Grunge Antithetic Love Song

Posted on 18 June 2023

With a similar grungy kick to Kyuss, the atmospherically angst-charged debut single, Tell Me to Beg, from the up-and-coming luminary five-piece, The Yellow Wallpaper, is the ultimate anthem to your ennui.

Starting with clean vocals that ring as sweetly as Hozier’s harmonies, the hit quickly descends into sludgy virtuosity, with each instrumental breakdown and crescendo amplifying the ferocious scorn. Clearly, hell hath no fury like someone pre-empting the inevitable end of a turbulent relationship and the uncertainty and loneliness that will follow.

In reality, there is little sex appeal in heartbreak; in Tell Me to Beg, the masochism of the messaging through the frontman and songwriter Troy Rapscallion Benson’s hopeless clutching of faded love subversively switched the narrative. In the process, Tell Me to Beg became the antithetic love song that will undoubtedly pave the way towards a bright future for The Yellow Wallpaper.

Tell Me to Beg was officially released on June 9th. Stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London Graffiti put the writing on the wall in their art-rock tour de force, These Words

Posted on 2 April 2023

Keeping the soul of grunge but stripping back the sludge, the Oxford, UK-based alt-indie rock outfit London Graffiti unleashed the ultimate aural eye-prickler with their latest single, These Words.

If you melded the pensive folky panache of Frightened Rabbit with the art-rock arrangements of Radiohead and the progressively dark atmosphere of Porcupine Tree, you’d get close to the evocative mark made on the indie rock landscape by the band that has already won the favour of plenty of mainstream radio stations, including BBC Introducing.

It is impossible not to be choked by the emotion-fuelled energy in the single, which also pays tribute to the National, Joy Division, and the Doves. Originality oozes from every effortlessly cool pore of These Words, yet never to the detriment of the projection of frantically inhibited dejection.

These Words was officially released on March 16th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Vaulted Skies unleashed their poetically primal post-grunge exposition of complicated desolation, Hollowhead

Posted on 13 November 2022
Hollowhead by The Vaulted Skies

The Vaulted Skies wrapped their signatory angular guitars around eastern rhythms in their achingly resonant exposition of grief, Hollowhead; penned and arranged to pay tribute to the singer-songwriter and guitarist, James Scott’s father, who left a legacy tainted by racial discrimination behind him in 2000.

Between the lines, tones, and artful aural abstractions of complicated desolation, Hollowhead transcribes personal loss while painting the universally relatable possessive nature of grief as it wraps around the physiological senses to leave us cold, dark, and hollow. I couldn’t help but see the contrast in the hallmark platitudes that cascade around the grief-stricken and the primally poetic outpour of emotion.

In the evocative context of the release, which uses dark post-grunge-y cascades accentuated with stinging orchestral layers to mirror the grappling sensations of grief that contest you into subjugation, the solid rock riff that sears towards the outro may be one of the most visceral I’ve ever heard. And if that sounds superfluous, you evidently haven’t heard the existential death roll off a riff in question yet. Get to it. From start to 6-minute finish, it’s sheer perfection.

Stream & purchase the official studio recording of Hollowhead on Bandcamp.

Follow the goth antics of The Vaulted Skies on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SCREECHER CREATURE explored the duality of disquietness in their alt-rock debut, Fever Dream

Posted on 21 October 2022

Between madness and reality, SCREECHER CREATURE’s debut single, Fever Dream, encompasses the disorientating duality of consciousness to the tune of grungey down-tuned guitars, chorus vocal hooks, and hair-raising riffs.

The atmospheric hit wouldn’t be out of place on playlists including Drowning Pool, Eighteen Visions, Soil, Coal Chamber and other bands that reigned supreme in the 00s alt-metal scene, but SCREECHER CREATURE came into their own with the catchy pop elements and the immensity of the lyricism that gets right into the crux of mental disquietness that gives little reprieve when your head hits the pillow.

SCREECHER CREATURE is the solo rock project for the Nashville-hailing songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer Wesley Steed. For the debut single, Steed collaborated with co-writer Jordan Brooker. We hope the sophomore release is already in the pipeline.

Fever Dream will officially release on October 21st across all streaming services. Check it out via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Rewind to Vince Spano’s grungy alt-rock revival, RELAPSE

Posted on 24 July 2022

We’ve kept our eye on Vince Spano’s increasingly luminous career for a while. With his latest single, RELAPSE, the Texan prodigal son unveiled his most striking alt-rock aesthetic yet, while simultaneously dealing with the proclivity for fear around the notion of romantic regression.

The single, the first to be released from his upcoming EP, The Prescribed Project, delivers rock nostalgia as you’ve never known before. With vocals that are somewhere between Soundgarden and Highly Suspect against the warmth of vintage tubes and overdriven distortion, RELAPSE is as rhythmically arresting as it is revolutionary sultry.

Here is what Vince Spano had to say on his latest single

“This is my first single off my new EP, The Prescribed Project, it’s a project that I have been working on for a very long time in hopes of bringing the sound of the music I grew up on, back into the mainstream to inspire a whole new generation of people.”

RELAPSE was officially released on July 22nd; check it out on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast