Browsing Tag

singer-songwriter

Sink into the solace of Nesta Stephan’s future-forward neo-soul single, (don’t) Call me

Gabon-born, London-based artist, Nesta Stephan, didn’t just reach the crowning point of her career (so far) with her latest single, (don’t) Call me; she set a new reflectively candid standard while constructing a new trajectory in the evolution of RnB.

The half-French, half-Gabonese artist’s journey from global traveller to singer-songwriter shines through her work; her latest single, which is no exception, initiates with arcane gospel choir-esque harmonies that set a reverent tone, which is quickly juxtaposed with the intimacy of a voicemail message playing in the celestial outro.

As the track progresses, minor key melodies emerge under Stephan’s meditatively ethereal vocals, which paint a vivid portrait of isolation and abandonment. Stephan’s lyrics are a raw exposition of her inner world, addressing the tough theme of finding faith after maternal abandonment. Rather than succumbing to despair, the track radiates hope and compassion through its future-forward blend of afrobeat and neo-soul RnB, signalling a journey of reaching the other side of pain.

(don’t) Call me is the ultimate attestation of how plausible it is to reinvent yourself, regardless of what you’ve been through if you look outwards with empathy and inwards with self-regard.

(don’t) Call me was officially released on July 19; stream the single on Spotify now.

Follow Nesta Stephan on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with her latest releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pain and beauty permeably interplay in djamesk13’s alt-rock single, Through All the Beautiful Storms

djamesk13 consistently finds new alt-rock intersections to explore, the latest emotionally-weighted release from the London-hailing solo artist, Through All the Beautiful Storms, is no exception.

The release finds myriads of ways to allude to how thin and permeable the line between pain and beauty is; without one, there is no other. Just as you can find harmony in the distorted, grungy discordance, djamesk13 ensures you find the blessing in grief, it’s the primal price we pay for love, and that bitter-sweet exchange is laid out right across the affecting no-wave-adjacent chords in Through All the Beautiful Storms, which stands as the artist’s most heart-wrenchingly relatable release to date.

Anyone who has ever loved and lost will know how much the single rings true as it reflects how emotions conflictingly conflate, turning the sweetest memories into haunting reminders.

The intimate, instrumentally visualised, vignette penned in the wake of his mum’s passing couldn’t have unfolded as a more heart-wrenching ode to the soul the world is clearly darker without.

Through All the Beautiful Storms was officially released on July 27th; stream it on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gregory Lee Pickard’s ‘Home’ is a reverent nod to roots and rebellion

Gregory Lee Pickard

In his seminal, soon-to-be-released, solo single, ‘Home‘, the illustriously revered Gregory Lee Pickard, whose career has spanned three decades and spawned countless accolades, distilled a soundscape with the culmination of his extensive experience and his ability to conjure more than sound through his panoramic vignettes.

The single melds country rock rhythms with gruff vocals, which will undoubtedly appeal strongly to fans of Dogs D’amour and The Quireboys. This cultivated ode to the concept of “home”—whatever that may signify for the listener—allows Pickard’s authenticity to shine iridescently.

The country twangs within the proto-punk-esque production allows Gregory Lee Pickard to soar above the mediocrity of artists who debase their discographies with assimilation; this is authenticity at its core. Just one hit of the single will leave you desperate to explore the treasure chest of rough-cut gems which throwback to the 70s NYC punk scene but firmly roots itself in contemporary resonance.

Gregory Lee Pickard, a storied songwriter, singer, and performer continues to lead and shape the sound of his current band, Not Las Vegas, while his foundational work with The Revelons has seen him headline venues from CBGB to the Bowery Ballroom. His broad discography spans influential releases and collaborations that touch everything from indie films to major motion pictures, cementing his place in the annals of music history.

For those who cherish musical integrity and the resonant tales of life’s wanderings, ‘Home’ by Gregory Lee Pickard offers more than just a listening experience—it invites a profound connection to the very essence of personal and musical exploration.

For more information about Gregory Lee Pickard, head to his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lori & the Darlings reached nirvana with the alt-90s nostalgia in their Americana rock single, high

Lori & the Darlings’ standout single, High, taken from their 2024 LP, Main Street, is a richly rendered addition to the Americana rock canon. Lori, whose voice is naturally poised for creating instant classics, shines iridescently bright in this emotion-driven vignette, exposing the capacity of connection to lead to transcendence. The instrumentals efficaciously visualise the inexplicably sweet sensation, with shimmering organ tones stretching to nirvana, giving High oceanic depth for listeners to plunge into and swim with the rhythmically resolving tides.

Lori’s vocals deliver the grit of Courtney Love, infused with the soul of Leigh Nash and Meredith Brooks, nestling into the scarcely-occupied middle ground where artists swathe their harmonies with seraphic sentimentality and project potency to amplify evocative intensity.

No review of High would be complete without pouring plaudits on the guitars that make the track such a sense-gratifying listen. The steady ring of the chords pulls you through the euphonically stripped production until they burst in momentum in the middle eight, proving that Lori & the Darlings have earned their place among their Americana rock icons.

With more releases in the pipeline from the Detroit-based four-piece which captures the highs and lows of big-city dreamers in small-town America, do we really need to tell you to give them a follow?

Stream the Main Street LP from Lori & the Darlings on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Diehard Romantics Will Meet Their Match in Kaleb Cohen’s Bluesy Indie-Folk Release, Our Eyes Met on Friday

Kaleb Cohen is set to become the second biggest Cohen in folk after the release of his bluesy indie single, Our Eyes Met on Friday.

After opening with an introspectively tender extended prelude, inviting listeners into a defining moment that captures the essence of a soul finally finding its home the song unfolds through increments of upbeat folk elements reminiscent of the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons which surge through the ingenuity within the genre-bending energy.

This release showcases Kaleb’s profound ability to make loungey piano keys bleed pure raw emotion, complemented by his seraphically timbered vocals that masterfully blend the gruff with the smooth. The continuous sonic reinventions throughout the track play havoc with rhythmic expectations, yet each new arrangement is as euphonic as the last, exhibiting the devilishly playful innovation of an artist who could easily skate by on his larynx of gold but chooses instead to go the extra aural mile to beguile.

Kaleb Cohen, an indie-folk-rock prodigy from Connecticut who writes, records, and self-produces his music is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Television Production. As an omen of the illustrious path he is destined to pave, his first-ever show in New Haven was a sell-out with fans coming as far as Pennsylvania to witness one of Indie Folk’s most promising names etch their legacy.

Our Eyes Met on Friday will be officially released on July 26; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bang emotional ambiguity cascades into Bang’s alt-indie lullaby, HOLD ON

In his latest single, HOLD ON, the alt-indie visionary, Bang, plunged his eternally expanding following into a pool of lush reverb-swathed ambience, intersected by sharp, reverberant trap beats that push momentum into the hazy lullaby which envelops the senses with wavy dream-like soul.

With this seminal release, bang captured the essence of affection as the harbinger of comfort and the precursor to uncertainty and confusion. The exposition of the dangers of letting down your walls is intricately crafted into the thematic visualisations of the introspective lyrics that are filled with late-night longing.  The sensory expedition into the heart of emotional ambiguity is an irresistible invitation to escape into the delicious delirium.

The seraphically disorientating release marks the Michigan-raised Asian-American artist as the Thom Yorke of his generation while becoming a milestone stride in his set-to-be illustrious sonic journey which was chartered after early exposure to Bollywood rhythms and 00s hip-hop beats.

As the architect of hits that pulsate with modern indie rhythm and find superlative equilibrium between evocative and innovative cultivation, Bang is elevating the airwaves with his solo work and his role in the genre-defying collective, Rarehearted.

HOLD ON will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from July 24th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Classic songwriting meets contemporary cultivation in Col Gerrard’s debut, Sun & Sky

The heat of 90s Britpop summers shimmer through the debut single, Sun & Sky, by Col Gerrard, who is already well on his way to becoming synonymous with seraphic soul-imbued sonics.

Nostalgia-filtered warmth radiates through the magnetic melodies which cast away shadows to invite a spectrum of sepia-tinged colour into your senses as the guitar-driven rhythms in Sun & Sky reverberate in the middle ground between Springsteen, Bryan Adams and the Manics.

The scintillatingly lush synths perfectly round out and modernise the euphoric atmosphere of the classically written single which was produced by the GRAMMY-nominated producer and Brit Award winner, Chris Potter, best known for his work with Blur, Kean, U2, The Rolling Stones, and The Verve.

Inspired by the way Bowie affected his fans, Gerrard has imbued the same soul-affirming stardust into his own work. Yet, when the tonal bliss of Sun & Sky washes over you and the tenderly compassionate lyricism that consoles the lost and pensive starts to resonate, there’s no mistaking that the alchemy within the promising debut is originated to its core.

Sun & Sky was officially released on July 12th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

J Cass subverted RnB with the neon-lit melancholy in ‘In Da Club’

In Da Club by J Cass unleashes itself from the parameters of the typical RnB anthem by subverting expectations with its Weeknd-esque pensiveness layered beneath the shimmering, neon-lit instrumentals.

The follow-up to his debut, What We Gon’ Do, showcases J Cass’s scintillating ability to blend visceral colour and melancholy within smooth, minor key melodies. His vocals, heavy with gravitas, sweep across the trap-infused beats, marking this track as a profound exploration of emotional depth and artistic maturity.

In Da Club tears down the barriers to the soul, inviting listeners to reflect on their own journeys while dancing to its rhythm. As J Cass continues to navigate and reshape the R&B landscape, his tracks invite us to submerge into our own introspective experiences.

Joseph Castro, the man behind J Cass, hails from Tampa, Florida, and brings a rich background in music and life philosophy to his work. As a graduate of Berklee with a BA in Music Business, he is deeply committed to influencing the music scene through his soul-stirring sonics and educating young minds as a teacher at the Bach to Rock Music School, where he is fostering the next generation of musical talent.

In Da Club is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jayne Sugg – Belief is Hard: A Soulful 60s Sojourn Through Secular Spirituality

With her standout single, Belief is Hard, the NYC Indie singer-songwriter, Jayne Sugg, unveiled a strikingly soulful testament to the tribulations that transpire from spiritual metamorphosis. The title track of her forthcoming LP unspools a rich kaleidoscope of introspection, filtered through the soulful echoes of the ‘60s, creating a profound space for Sugg to narrate her wrestle with the ethereal and material reality.

The refraining lyric, “Why should I bring myself to pray if I can’t even find faith”, speaks volumes of her transformation following a deeply religious upbringing in which she was constantly brushing against the billboard legends of her parent’s generation.

Initially confined within the walls of religious music, Sugg deconstructed the constraints to unleash herself from creative stagnation. This transformation is the soul of her crowdfunded album, Belief is Hard, a collection that traverses her shifting perspectives, resonating with a love for soulful, nostalgic sounds that nod respectfully towards icons like Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell. The instrumental backdrop in the title single, a subtle homage to the 60s soul, envelops her lyrics in a cocoon of warmth and organic richness, ensuring the listener feels every vibration of her vocal tremors.

The Good Shepherd Music Collective, a sanctuary for artists exploring deconstructed spiritual themes, finds its spirit woven into the album’s fabric. This collective, and by extension the album, sings of peace, love, and acceptance, echoing Sugg’s liberated spiritual and creative stance.

Recorded in the hallowed halls of Sonic Ranch and Dreamland Studios, featuring the performances of musicians like Tim Lefebvre and Terrence Clark, the lush and layered single is a gateway to catharsis.

Stream Belief is Hard on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Caitlin Lavagna prescribed an artfully amplified pop punk antidepressant with her latest single, Pretty Alright

As you crank up the volume in Caitlin Lavagna’s latest synthesis of art-pop and pop punk, Pretty Alright, the absolution amplifies to the nth degree as the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist fervently strives to let loose the black dog and awaken her listener’s inner power.

The infectiously fiery reprise of “It will take time to feel pretty alright” in the electrifying riff-raw anthem attests to how patience is the ultimate virtue in the process of healing, yet everyone has an active role to play in the reclamation of their serotonin and self-esteem.

With a vocal presence that could rival any of the chart toppers, there’s no denying Caitlin Lavagna’s charisma which acts as a catalyst of resolution and salvation in Pretty Alright.

You just can’t help but succumb to enamourment when your senses are being stirred by her larger-than-material-reality energy and her songwriting stripes which are sliced with more hooks than a butcher’s shop.

Pretty Alright was officially released on July 11; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast