Browsing Tag

prog rock

UK Alt Indie Rock quartet SOHLER made their debut with the jaw-dropper of a single “Computer”

Posted on 27 April 2020

When was the last time you hit play on an Indie Rock track and felt genuine excitement for what was being poured into your ears? If it has been a while, indulge yourself in the electrifying ingenuity contained in the debut single Computer by Alternative artist SOHLER.

It’s even better than finding a forgotten tenner in your pocket. Because who can put a price on discovering an aural cocktail of sounds you’ve come to love from the likes of Elliott Smith, Radiohead, The Calling, Arctic Monkeys and Muse all in one tight perfectly produced package?

The progressive single kicks off with an artfully pensive Indie Rock prelude and allows the rhythmic momentum to slowly build while Wil Harvey’s sticky-sweet vocals become increasingly more adrenalizing.

Before you know it, you’re immersed in an anthemic earworm with massive Indie Rock choruses and you’ll be at the mercy of SOHLER who aren’t shy about throwing curveballs your way in the form of explosive instrumental breakdowns.

SOHLER is a rare up and coming act you can quite easily get obsessed with.

You can check out SOHLER’s single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Keep up to date with new releases from the UK-based artist via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Layabout – Party Man: Consumingly Alchemic Post-Punk-Laced Prog Rock

Posted on 25 April 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ZH209Q0o0

Up and coming Jamaican Alt Rock act Layabout created the ultimate teaser of a prelude in their latest single. “Party Man” is exactly how a progressive track should make you feel. It locks you into the constantly evolving rhythms leaving you with a sense of palpitating anticipation right up until you’re consumed by the crescendo you’ve been waiting for.

And Layabout definitely didn’t disappoint with Party Man which allowed Blues, Rock, and Post Punk to converge in the gorgeously immersive single.

As the sweet 80s Rock guitar notes introduce the Peter Hook-style bassline the cymbal heavy percussion follows suit and creates a rhythm as tight and dynamic as the chorus in Teenage Kicks by the Undertones. Yet, all reminiscences are incredibly fleeting in Party Man. You’ll be pulled from bouncy high vibe punk tones to glacially angular guitar work in the space of three and half minutes. Music doesn’t come much more alchemic than this.

You can check out the official video to Layabout’s single Party Man which premiered on March 1st for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Post Rock and Art Rock Converge in 8udDha bl0od’s Standout Single “8Arr3n 5k!35”

Posted on 21 April 2020
https://soundcloud.com/william-orpen/8arr3n_5k135

While there are plenty of transfixing tracks in 8udDha bl0od’s back catalogue, none quite possess the same magnetic allure as their evocatively powerful, genre crumbling single 8Arr3n 5k!35.

If you could imagine a track with the same visceral emotion as found in the Manic Street Preacher’s Gold Against the Soul album paired with gentle nuances of Post Rock and Art Rock, you’ll get an idea of just how emotively bruising 8Arr3n 5k!35 is.

As much as I adore the Brighton-based artist’s moody and experimental tracks which allow 8udDha bl0od to seem like a riddle wrapped enigma, it’s the tracks which offer raw honest emotions and lyrical connections which are the most unforgettable. 8Arr3n 5k!35 is a track which simply demands repeat attention.

You can check out 8Arr3n 5k!35 for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

8udDha bl0od – 17’ll N3<3r 83 0<3r

Posted on 20 April 2020
https://soundcloud.com/william-orpen/itll-never-be-over-mdemo

There will never be another underground UK artist who will blow us away with their versatility the way in which Brighton-based Alternative artist 8udDha bl0od has.

Their aurally chameleonic releases share just a handful of commonalities. If we had to allude to the most tangible, we’d have to pick the kaleidoscopically mellifluous layers of Psych and their tendency to let their creative expression take the lead.

17’ll N3<3r 83 0<3r is one of 8udDha bl0od’s earlier releases which incorporates nuances of Funk and Sleaze Rock, Art Rock and Blues. You’ll pick up influences from Black Sabbath, Radiohead and even Bowie in the progressively magnetic soundscape. I think it’s safe to say that no artist has ever pulled off an influential infusion quite like that before.

You can check out 17’ll N3<3r 83 0<3r along with the artist’s latest releases for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Thomas Bradley Project – Eternal Sea: Progressive Melodic Rock

Posted on 18 April 2020

Folk meets Rock in Thomas Bradley Project’s stunning new progressive melodic Rock single Eternal Sea.

While there are plenty of tonal transgressions in the epic 7-minute long track, each is as beguilingly immersive as the last. The seamlessly captivating progressions offer ample amounts of cathartic escapism as the deftly arranged instrumentals work in complete synergy. So, even though we’re on lockdown right now, we can still allow our minds to explore aurally arcane soundscapes.

With the Folk-Rock vocals, violin strings offering a pensive sting, the acoustic guitar and bass bringing the rhythm and Thomas Bradley’s Stratocaster setting up sweet Blues Rock riffs, don’t be surprised if your consciousness is consumed entirely once you hit play on Eternal Sea.

You can check out the official video to Eternal Sea which was released on March 8th via YouTube.

Keep up to date with the latest releases from Thomas Bradley Project via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WD-HAN – Icarus: Sultry Rhythmic Blues Meets Anthemic Alt Indie

Posted on 17 January 2020
WD-HAN

Alchemy is bound to spill when a nuanced band set their mind to creating an aural earworm out of Indie, Blues, and Rock. WD-HAN definitely succeeded with their first single to be released in 2020 “Icarus”.

The single dropped on January 17th giving us yet another affirmation that the Tampa Bay-based artist is one to watch.

With a prelude offering reminiscences to Daughter, the sudden switch to anthemic Alt Rock in Icarus will have you on the edge of your proverbial seat. When in full swing, Icarus is a monster of a track full of rhythmic sultry Blues, yet those bluesy licks come with plenty of bite.

You can check out Icarus for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Follow WD-Han on Facebook to stay up to date with their latest releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Race to Neptune – Will the King?: Progressively Arrestive Melodic Alt Rock

Posted on 10 January 2020
https://soundcloud.com/race-to-neptune/will-the-king

Generally, palpitations are kind of a bad thing. Except when they come as a courtesy of rhythmically hypnotic guitar melodies such as you will find in Race to Neptune’s single “Will the King?”

Will the King? is just one of the absorbing tracks to feature on the Fort Collins’ based Indie Alt Rock powerhouse’s latest EP “Share My Frequency”. While I would have been quite happy to listen to the melodic guitar progressions for the whole duration, the evocative vocals kick in after an extended prelude and the instrumentals amp up the momentum. This is where you’ll find Race to Neptune’s tendency to experiment with plenty of distortion and effects on the guitars turning Will the King from a cathartically ambient single into a caustically cutting one. The lyrics and vocals also bring plenty of bite to the soundscape.

You can check out Will the King? along with the rest of the EP for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

D.Ni.L – Drop: Evocatively Progressive Alt Rock

Posted on 23 December 2019
https://soundcloud.com/musicationrecordlabel/drop-by-dnil

“Drop” is the first progressively captivating Alt Rock track to be released from up and coming artist D.Ni.L’s new album.

I made the mistake of assuming that the scuzzy angsty prelude would set the tone for the duration. There was no way of anticipating the evolution into a track reminiscent of Radiohead and Placebo. Yet, D.Ni.L made going from biting grungy Garage Rock to lighter artful melodicism sound seem like an easy stretch.

Usually, the vocals and the instrumentals work in synergy with one another in progressive tracks. But as Drop made its way to the outro, it became a melting pot of raw energy and sweet mellifluous concordance.

We’re now officially hyped to hear the rest of the album.

You can check out Drop for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Faunshead – Come Wake Me Up: Ethereally Dark Experimental Indie

Posted on 21 December 2019

LA Rock duo Faunshead’s recently released single “Come Wake Me Up” is a salaciously ominous soundscape which any fans of dark Indie Rock will want on their playlists.

If you could imagine what Marilyn Manson would sound like if he adopted a fuzzy, grungy, melodic Indie approach to his music, you’d get a good idea of Faunshead’s nuanced distinctive style.

With Come Wake Me Up, the US artist created a sublime feat of Alt Rock through the use of cavernous drum rolls, growling ethereal vocals and inventive blasts of synth. But around the experimentalism, they weaved in a massive chorus which is extremely efficacious in snaring you into a feat of rhythmic euphoria. Faunshead’s sound feels like it has already has a home on Mike Patton’s Ipecac record label.

You can check out Come Wake Me Up for yourselves by heading over to Spotify. Or, you can witness the aural alchemy in the making with the live video via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hard Rock artist Evangelia has made her debut with the sobering stylistic single “Bitter Illness”

Posted on 1 December 2019

Up and coming Hard Rock artist Evangelia has made their debut with the emotively striking single “Bitter Illness”. We all experience it, whether that be personally or to someone we’ve come to feel that we can’t live without. Yet, so few artists are bold enough to confront the pain attached to death in their tracks – especially debut singles. But with Bitter Illness, Evangelia has set herself apart with her fearless lyrics versed through strong, nuanced vocals.

The instrumental arrangement may pack a punch, but there are plenty of melodic increments allowing us to soak up the contemplatively resounding sentiment which Bitter Illness delivers.

There’s a slight Country Pop Rock feel to Evangelia’s vocals, which gives her style plenty of authenticities. But more importantly, there’s the sense that Bitter Illness was born through true, raw passion and it shows.

Evangelia’s debut single Bitter Illness is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast