Browsing Tag

post-punk

Zurich-based post-punk act 4 Beat Grace travel through space and time to find that peaceful place on ‘Voyage’

Posted on 22 March 2022

After accumulating much love from their debut “Violence Dance” from earlier on in 2022, 4 Beat Grace strap on those seatbelts and get us thinking about a new discovery with their new single ‘Voyage‘.

4 Beat Grace is a mysteriously captivating Zurich, Switzerland-based post-punk/alt-rock band who are still new on the scene but have made a huge impact already.

”A detour to dreamland, where there are no obstacles, where everything is possible and happens. It is not for nothing that the voice asks: “Am I flying? Am I on a spaceship?”. ~ 4 Beat Grace

Turning heads with a performance so striking that you might need to take a sip of cold water to cool down, 4 Beat Grace raise our consciousness from the gutter and urge us to look above to see how much potential there is out there. This is a band who have made their mark recently and have set out to keep that momentum supercharged all the way to the top, with astonishing vocals and a style that has you shaking in anticipation.

‘Voyage‘ from Zurich, Switzerland-based post-punk/alt-rock band 4 Beat Grace, is a shift-shaping experience that will take you into a whole new world about opening your eyes no matter where you are. With loud and proud vocals, a toe-tapping soundtrack to awaken your soul and smartly-penned lyrics that capture your imagination, this is a magnificent single that will get your heart flooding with blood again. It feels like this is a track perfect for a movie intro, as its class is so transcendent and will get you to turn up the volume rather quickly, as you figure out your next destination.

Listen in to this meaningful single on Spotify and see more of their story via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Post-punk meets jazz blues in The Illucid’s defiantly protestive single, Stone Cold Soldier

Posted on 2 March 2022

Taken from their debut EP, Somebody Else, The Illucid’s jazzy post-punk standout single, Stone Cold Soldier, couldn’t have fallen onto our radar at a more sobering time. The catchy rock hooks from the British Indie band almost feel like an act of defiance in today’s chilling geopolitical climate.

On the basis of the frantic bluesy piano keys, the theatrical vocal lines and their ability to squeeze euphoria from darkness, The Illucid almost becomes the thinking man’s Nekrogoblikon while they deliver their Magazine-style enigmatic energy in the single that shames the cold inhumanity behind the eyes of stone-cold soldiers.

Not many bands can convince me that they’re worthy of seeing live with just one single, but the Illucid are easily one of the best outfits to come around since Melt Yourself Down. Get them on your radar.

Stone Cold Soldier is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Life is but a dark dream in Fox Evades’ latest indie-pop single, Strange Forever

Posted on 27 February 2022

If you ever needed definitive proof that no city breeds dark indie like Manchester, delve into the atmosphere in Fox Evades’ latest single, Strange Forever.

With a beguiling vocal style reminiscent of Jo Bevan from Desperate Journalist paired with the instrumentals that will remind you why you fell for post-punk and new wave in the first place, Strange Forever is an indulgent hit of tonal nostalgia.

When it comes to the substance in this viscerally evocative confession, Fox Evades well and truly stands in a league of their own. There comes a time in every outlier’s life when we acknowledge that we will never grow into normalcy; Strange Forever captures those cutting feelings while unifying the similarly minded with the lyrical affirmation that it’s a choice to be alone.

Strange Forever will officially release on February 25th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Magnapinna brought in the new wave of no-wave with ‘Party Rumours’

Posted on 27 February 2022
Party Rumours by The Magnapinna

With riotous vocal reminiscence to Against Me paired with their scuzzily volatile new wave energy, The Magnapinna’s single, Party Rumours, is just a few voltages short of taking a bath with a toaster.

The Magnapinna started as an online international outfit before evolving into an Ireland-hailing collective that has garnered positive press across the board. They have been lauded by Kerrang, who rightly observed the maniacally eccentric band are like no other.

The title single from their 2022 LP has all the party rock energy of Andrew WK’s Party Hard paired with the discordant punk edge of Dead Kennedys and lofty nuances of surf punk in the gorgeously layered backing vocals. The LP itself scales the entirety of the alt-rock spectrum in absorbingly visceral fashion and lets The Magnapinna’s Mike Patton influence shine through.

Party Rumours is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oxford act Shaven Primates decimates those dark demons with inspiring single, ‘Answers’

Posted on 10 February 2022

After searching for help to rid the halls of those scary ghosts that can clutch onto you like poisonous sludge in the river, Shaven Primates join forces within and aim to heal from those mental scars which need to be remedied on ‘Answers‘.

Formed by Mark Elphinstone, Shaven Primates is an Oxford, England-based 5-piece dark-wave, art-rock, post-punk band. After a 17 year hiatus from music, Mark decided that he needed to fully heal from all the trauma from his tough childhood and has used music for therapy purposes, with results that are quite bone-tingling.

”Our music is a narrative of human emotion and experience: fear, love and anger resonate through the orchestration, giving our audience a deeply cathartic release.” ~ Shaven Primates

Bringing us their vivid story to life while sending a groovy ear-booster with some aplomb, Shaven Primates show us that you can indeed retrain your mind and destroy all past memories that are holding you back from doing what you love in life.

‘Answers‘ from the Oxford, England-based band Shaven Primates, is a breaking-the-walls thunderbolt that gets your eyes to widen and your thoughts to break those rusty bars with your mind so you can regain control of your destiny. Blending in with dynamic forces that is almost superhero-like, this is a must-listen for all those who have suffered from disgraceful abuse growing up. Music heals if you join together with those who get it.

Hear this rocking new track on Soundcloud and see more via the IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

LUXTHEREAL bring in the new wave of classic rock with their ethereal hit, I Got You

Posted on 13 January 2022

After an entrancing synth-driven prelude, the Phoenix-based alt-rock outfit LUXTHEREAL’s standout single, I Got You, grips you with the alchemy that pours from the cinematic cocktail of classic rock, new wave, and post-punk.

The dreamy and ethereal instrumental interludes wrap around the robust vocal timbre of Rachel Guilbault and the increments of classic rock that pull you back to the 80s while simultaneously immersing you in a brand-new sonic world, defined by its emotive gravitas and atmospheric magnetism. Any fans of Christian Death will undoubtedly want to make LUXTHEREAL a firm fixture of their playlists.

I Got You is available to on YouTube and on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chandler Poe shows us a sign of our world-weary times with his latest single, decay.

Posted on 27 December 2021
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/kVN7bhCJDVLPUdRn9

By starting with the resonant admission, “Every day I wake up and I’m already exhausted”, Chandler Poe’s latest single, decay, is a striking sign of our world-weary times. With the same artistic dejection shared by the likes of Arab Strap, John Grant and Jack Ladder paired with the blisters of soul that yearns for something sustaining and real, Chandler Poe taps into the collective loss of meaning to give us a tragically rare visceral emotion hit.

The Bukowski-style downbeat barfly lyrics become infinitely more powerful through Poe’s deep, gravelly vocal timbre that practically oozes sex appeal around the fiery beats and reverb-drenched keys. With more hits in the same vein as this, Chandler Poe has all it takes to become the next alt-indie icon.

Chandler Poe’s latest single, decay, is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

No Wind Blows: Ireland’s Movment wonder when the madness will end on ‘We All Must Go’

Posted on 8 December 2021

Taken off their just-dropped 10-track album that communicates to us their ‘Transformation‘, Movment returns gloriously with their 2nd single that unconditionally heats up the veins and this one is called ‘We All Must Go‘.

Movment is an Ireland-based indie alt-rock/post-punk band that is honest to the core and make a gripping blend of hard-edged music that slices diligently through into the truth and endeavours to set us free.

”There is a divergence in society. The new album Transformation, due in December 2021, explores this situation. We are bombarded with information, opinions, viewpoints, and words. We drown in ideas, in solutions, in propaganda. There needs to be a TRANSFORMATION from where we are now.” ~ Movment

Movment smartly slam the door on anything that isn’t sincere and toss away the key. They alternatively ask us to have faith and climb off this fake mountain we live on right now and join them into a new world where everything is completely transparent. With simmering energy that urges our confusion-filled eyes to see clearer, this is a precise effort from an introspective band.

‘We All Must Go‘ from the Ireland-based indie alt-rock act Movment, is a colossal track from an experienced band who seem like they are on a mission. Fed up with all the nonsense and false news narratives that confuse so many – this is a ravaging effort that should wake up those slumber-filled minds – into finding out what really is going on. The truth shall set you free after all.

Educate your ears on Spotify and see more about their evolution with IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

New Rock City – Da Ratman!: Bop-Worthy Dark Punk Rock from NYC with Scuzz

Posted on 5 December 2021
Da Ratman! - Single by New Rock City

With a scuzzy punk rock viciousness that could only have ever come from NYC, New Rock City’s latest single, Da Ratman!, is a blackened bop-worthy hit that could single-handedly and simultaneously restart the New Romantic and Horror Punk scenes.

With no two singles from the duo ever the same, they keep their fanbase guessing what revivalist tones they will deliver next. Based on Da Ratman! It’s safe to say that they know just how to pull different stylistic elements together to energetically complement each other. It’s as hooky as any Misfits track, jangly as Johnny Marr’s licks and comes with devilishly macabre undertones in the same vein as The Creepshow. Da Ratman! is a firecracker of a track that no one will regret hitting play on.

Da Datman! Is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lazywall is set to reach nirvana if they ascend any further with their latest single, ‘I Will Rise’.

Posted on 30 November 2021
Lazywall

Hard rock hits don’t come much hookier than the latest single, I Will Rise, from the UK-based alt-rock outfit, Lazywall. They give Rise Against and Shinedown a run for their money when it comes to curating bursts of energy that you can’t help getting caught up in.

It’s rare in the industry to find an artist getting the kind of attention they deserve but from the moment that you hear the volatile post-punk vocals against the steady rolling swagger of the grungy basslines in the intro, you know exactly why they have had such a successful run since 2003. It makes sense why Steve Albini worked on an album with them, why they have performed at SXSW in Austin and Garorock in France and to 50,000 people at the Festival of Casablanca and why they have amassed a global and loyal fanbase.

Bravely, Lazywall doesn’t care about catering to hard rock purists; notably, they have far too much fun pushing the boundaries to the point of eruption to create a brand-new sound. After the teasing post-punk nuances in the intro, I Will Rise bursts into a defiant feat of Avant rock sound with the vocals carrying a Dave Grohl-Esque robustness. Then, it demands repeat attention.

I Will Rise will officially release on November 30th. The lyric video will be available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast