After amassing renown for the intensity of their live performances following their 2010 inception, releasing three critically acclaimed LPs, gaining a cult following, winning the Cambridge Band Competition, joining New Model Army on tour and being revered by Classic Rock Magazine, The Simpletone broke their fair share of hearts when they split in 2017.
After a six-year hiatus, The Simpletone sound is sharper than ever; their comeback track, Circles, which teases what’s to come in their upcoming fourth LP, The Eternal Now, dares you to imagine the veins of blues rock running through a sonic love child conceived between Sisters of Mercy and Queens of the Stone Age.
The shadowy rock licks bring the arcane atmosphere as the rhythm section intravenously injects kinetic energy into the anthem, which proves that The Simpletone weren’t down and out in 2017; they were priming for one of the most scintillating artistic reinventions the UK alt-rock scene has seen in the past decade.
Circles will be available to stream on all major platforms from October 4th. Hear the single on YouTube and follow The Simpletone on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with all future releases.
Emerging from the arid expanse of Western Colorado, NIGHT WHIP cast aside all semblances of convention with their electrifyingly debauched eponymous debut single which spans 16 minutes and stretches the mind even further.
If you ever wanted to know what a synthesis of sludge, doom and psych rock would sound like filtered through Tarantino’s cinematic lens, hit play and sink into the tour de force of tonal alchemy, which is far more potent than any substance sampled in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The track deftly balances dusky desert atmospheres with the rhythmic intensity reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age and the tight licks characteristic of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. As NIGHT WHIP tears through their inhibitions, the explosive doom metal breakdowns and relentless rhythmic drive culminate in a deeply authentic and unflinching score.
Formed in 2018 by Griff Chiono and Colin Keefe as a side project of the alt-punk band Bronco Country, NIGHT WHIP has rapidly become a staple in the local music scene. Their sound, described aptly as “heavy western,” captures the profound isolation of small desert towns with its distorted baritone guitars, relentless drums, trippy electronics, and hauntingly layered vocals.
Set to release on June 28th, 2024, under the band’s label, Bureaucracy Records, Night Whip is poised to cast a long shadow over the alternative music landscape. Discover your preferred way to listen via the band’s official website.
With over five million podcasts to choose from, the domain of podcasting is almost as oversaturated as the music industry in 2023. The insightfully observational podcaster, Michael Anthony, has proven to be a cut above the rest in recent years. Not only due to the guests he has been bringing onto The Michael Anthony Show since November 2018. Also from the candidly unfiltered conversations he facilitates.
After eking introspective gold out of the likes of Jaap Stam, Jake Bugg, Alan McGee, and Steve Van Zandt, for episode number 155, he sat down with multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Michael Shuman. Shuman is best known for his role in Queens of the Stone Age and contributions to the Grand Theft Auto V soundtrack in 2013, in addition to his successful side project, Mini Mansions.
During the wide-ranging conversation, they touched upon the inorganic nature of fame in the 21st century. Exploring the entitlement of music ‘fans’, who think they have the right to own and criticise artists after watching their every move. The conversation then veers into an exposition on how the necessary evils of social media take their toll as TikTok rewards viral fame and glosses over the phenomenal artists committed to creating great music. Those who reek of desperation while trying to top the charts cast a musky shadow over the limelight of the artists who see the allure of protecting their privacy.
When asked how QOTSA would fare if they rose from the underground in this era, Shuman alluded to the unlikeliness of the prospect due to the band’s proclivity towards longevity instead of immediate viral success. If that wasn’t enough depression fuel, Shuman also revealed that his side project, Mini Mansions, founded in 2009, much to the delight of Elliott Smith and The Beatles fans, wouldn’t be heading back into the studio. After apologising to his fans, the tone lightens as Shuman gives his witty take on the history of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. How the latter two proponents attempt to keep the unparalleled on-stage high going.
Michael Anthony also gives a fascinating take on how rock n roll stars point out inner conflict and human hypocrisy while participating in loveless physical friction after putting their pain on paper and refusing to let anyone in. Before giving an interesting take on how creative expression gives control over emotion. Following that, the hilarity of over-indulged self-importance is ridiculed. Conversations around death are mused. And Shuman shared his ethos on lifestyle moderation and his take on the hypocrisy of vegans doing cocaine.
Potentially my favourite part of the conversation, and something that every creative should note, was the conversation around Shuman’s single, MY DEMONS, which was put out under the moniker GLU. It is a massive departure from his work in Mini Mansions and QOTSA, with the rap-style versing and the increasingly more vulnerable lyricality. Moving away from the abstract meta lyrical stylings of Mini Mansions, Shuman came into his authentic own in the flow of the new wave genre-obliterating earworm. Describing the track as the most honest thing he’s ever done. He threw away any creative façade and shame around his anxiety and psychologically entrenched trauma to exhilaratingly liberating effect.
Michael Anthony then comments on the beauty of music fans’ tendencies to attribute artists’ creativity to their own experiences and how everyone sells something, no matter what trade they’re in. For musicians, that is connectivity, universality, and the ability to expose beauty in the most tragic facets of life. The relationship between obsessive thoughts/OCD and production guilt for artists was also tracked, which is sure to be music to the ears of everyone with a shred of ambition about them.
Michael Anthony’s compulsion to push past the banal and into the bigger questions is fascinating beyond comparison. While dull minds like Joe Rogan allow the genius of his guests to steal the show, Anthony knows exactly which existential buttons to push to reach illuminating insight.
It is remarkably rare for me to find a voice that fascinates me to such a degree that I am lost in thought, and I can feel the boundaries of my perceptions shift. Yet, this conversation resonated as a slice of philosophical vindication for every dim view I hold for the industry. While simultaneously shedding light on arenas I never knew were darkened. I’m officially hooked. As everyone who wants to understand the artistic mindset to the nth degree should be.
Stream the podcast episode with Michael Shuman on Spotify and Apple now.
On the basis of their latest single, Again,Glass Image is the entire pensively intellectual alt-rock package. With the artfully evocative gravitas of Radiohead, the monolithically melodic guitars and the raw yet honeyed indie alt-rock vocals, it’s enough to aurally lull you into an emotionally heightened state of intense appreciation of their candour and signature brand of riff-heavy alchemy.
After forming in 2018, the NY-hailing outfit got to work on their debut 2019 EP, which stood as a testament to their proclivity to always weave a meaningful narrative around melodic riffs. Following the release of Again, they are set to release their debut LP in 2022. Notably, they’re one to watch.
With a stunning sound and mysteriously tinged vocals that has you mighty impressed, Nine Lives show us what they are made of with the sharp-as-a-knife debut single called ‘Cutthroat Friends‘.
Nine Lives is a noisy Cardiff, South Wales two-piece indie garage-rock band with a panache for lifting the lid off the room, as they swirl their sound to levels of massive enjoyment.
The intense guitar booms throughout the nervous room — as you close your eyes and let the rhythm soak your hungry soul — into believing that quality edgy music is still out there. They breathe that hot fire into your mind, as you are listening to a passionate band that have been perfecting their craft and are ready for anything.
Fans of Queens of the Stone Age will love this, as their raging energy blows in hot and never cools down, as you immerse yourself into their rugged message that you has you automatically turning the volume up to red.
‘Cutthroat Friends’ from top shelf South Wales indie garage-rock act Nine Lives, is the fuzzy riff jam you have been waiting for. They storm into our lives with this debut song that you will find impossible to forget easily.
Stream this new single on Soundcloud and find out more on IG.
American Horror Story taught us that all monsters are human, with the lead single from their latest album ‘Dual Control’, alt-rock artist, Highdiver are here to tell us that all disasters are human too.
With seductive bass grooves, cutting shoegaze guitars and adrenalizing percussion in the sludgy feat of art-rock, Highdiver simultaneously delivered a postcard from the alt 90s and a spacey introduction the future of hard rock.
If you could imagine what it would sound like if Deftones adopted Josh Homme as a vocalist and Thom Yorke as a producer, you’ll get an idea of what’s in store if you hit play on Human Disaster.
Human Disaster is available to stream via Spotify.
On Christmas Eve, the adept alchemists of Alt Rock, House of Weirdos, delivered the ultimate antidote to the claustrophobic restlessness with their Psychedelically-layered Garage Rock track ‘Climbing Up the Walls’.
If you could imagine what Queens of the Stone Age would sound like if they incorporated more absurdity, chaos and psychotropic synths into their sound, you might be able to get an idea of what is on offer. Yet, Climbing up the Walls could easily enamour fans of everyone from the Misfits to The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.
Climbing up the Walls is façade-less, it’s relentlessly ingenious, it’s a visceral invitation to shake off pretence and relinquish shame for the fact that 2020 did a number on your mental health.
The playfully despondent track was made even sweeter with the pairing of the music video which will fill you with gratitude for House of Weirdos, just one of the irreplaceable artists who looked into the stir-crazed frustration and found inspiration so we could be hit with that invaluable feeling of connection and resonance.
You can check out the official video to Climbing up the Walls by heading over to YouTube.
‘Black Hole’ is a bouncy, poppy alt-rock banger from the Cincinnati fourpiece Patchwork’s forthcoming album ‘Hive Mind’. A catchy, hooky ascending guitar riff that lodges inside your brain and doesn’t let go.
There’s an early Foos vibe to it, or maybe Queens Of The Stone Age if the Gin Blossoms’ Robin Wilson was singing lead vocals, but the overarching feel is a ‘Shame About Ray’-era Lemonheads. That’s no bad thing, it’s poppy without being throwaway, the vocal’s infectious and pushed to the fore, and the lyrics marry a certain world-weariness to the grungy guitar melody, but there’s some excellent musicianship going on too. This has got US-College Radio hit written all over it.
“Spring Trap” is the standout soul-swellingly colossal single from LA Alt Rock solo artist Tiger Kid’s self-titled EP. Turn up the volume and let the melodically high-octane anthemic sound blow the cobwebs off your speakers.
Achieving that kind of anthemic sound can only be done with a serious amount of talent when it comes to constructing the track and with the execution which demands a near virtuoso-level of skill, which Tiger Kid discernibly possesses.
Under the influence of The Foo Fighters, Coheed and Cambria and Queens of the Stone Age, Spring Trap was never going to fall flat.
The juicy choruses, the uplifting lyricism and the sheer amount of momentum made Spring Trap mosh pit frenzy fuel. If you don’t miss live music before you hit play, you definitely will after the galvanizing track has faded to a close.
You can check out Spring Trap for yourselves by heading over to the artist’s official website.
If you could imagine what Velvet Revolver would sound like with a driving Indie Post Punk guitars, you’ll get a good idea of what is in store when you hit play on the latest single “Let Go” by breaking artist Josh Who.
Vocally, you’ll pick up on slight reminiscences to both Josh Homme and Alex Turner, but perceptibly Josh Who orchestrates his seductively smooth Rock hits with little mind to assimilation.
With the intensity of the single, you can tell the artist poured their blood, prodigal sweat and tears into it. Despite how polished, matured and nuanced the final product was.
I’m genuinely stoked that Josh Who ended up on our radar. Whatever it takes to transform a track into a hit, he’s got it. Wait until you hear the guitar solo. You’ll understand.
You can check out Let Go for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.
You can follow the artist via Facebook to stay up to date with their latest releases via Facebook.
