Browsing Tag

Solo Artist

Dan Zalles laments the monotony of modernity in his 80s-Esque alt-rock single, Email Hell

Posted on 8 September 2022

As digital domains dominate our existence, tracks such as Dan Zalles’ 80s rock-inspired single, Email Hell, feel almost inevitable. Between the atmospheric sonic nostalgia of the soaring guitar lines fed through effects that you’d expect to find on Will Sergeant’s (Echo and the Bunny Men) pedal board and the mundanity of modernity in lyrics, Email Hell is a feat of multi-era convergence that provides ample solace for anyone that doesn’t appreciate the technological advances which left human evolution in the dust.

Email Hell is is just one of the immersively sonorous singles found on the San Francisco Bay Area singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and film composer’s album, Emotionally. We highly recommend experiencing it in its entirety.

Email Hell is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tommy Trull – Citizen Freak: The Only Synth Rock Breakup Track You Will Need on Your Playlists

Posted on 25 August 2022
Nobody Else in the World by Tommy Trull

With guitars that wouldn’t be out of place in The Cure’s earlier records, rock n roll synthetics oozing from the synths and the funk-chopped basslines, Tommy Trull’s standout single, Citizen Freak, from his sophomore album, Nobody Else in the World, gorgeously drips with unapologetic autonomy.

The North Carolina-hailing multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter is known to hop between genres. With his second album, he paid a genre-fluid ode to the transformations we undergo when separations force our hands into parting ways with co-creators of our worlds that weren’t cut out for perpetuity.

Expression runs at the core of Citizen Freak; the experimental alchemy unfolds as refreshingly as Bowie’s did in his funk pop prime (that will sound hyperbolic until you delve in yourselves).

Citizen Freak is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NYC instrumental rock raconteur Alec Berlin has unveiled his latest single, President’s Day

Posted on 24 August 2022

NYC songwriter Alec Berlin has been filling New York venues with his catchy rock hooks since long before telecasters were a twinkle in lockdown-born creative’s eyes. Now he is here with his atmospherically consuming single, President’s Day.

The instrumental track, led by his sublimely overdriven definitively rock guitars and bolstered by the steady percussive panache, takes you through a murky, almost lamenting soundscape, which builds into Foo Fighters-Esque crunchy crescendos and epitomises immersivity. Rarely do instrumental tracks invite you into such evocative depth, but that’s exactly what separates Alec Berlin from the rest.

President’s Day is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: piano rock pioneer Anthony J Fink let the emotion pour in his alt-rock EP, Feel the Rain

Posted on 14 August 2022

As an extension of his commitment to advocate for mental health and spread awareness of the detriment of depression, addiction, and suicide, Michigan’s strongest lyricist and fiercest piano rock pioneer, Anthony J Fink, has released his latest EP, Feel the Rain.

Each of the five singles is a triumph of blazing piano pop-rock-inclined candour, but Fink reminded us why the EP format is so important. From the optimism proclaiming piano pop-rock ballad of an opener to the experimental baroque rock electricity of Masquerade, which gives all of the energy of a rock opera, to the closer title single, which harnesses broadsiding grungy emotion, Feel the Rain is a journey. The final destination? The affirmation that this world breeds disillusion and a tendency to numb the pain but that doesn’t eradicate your power to resist and overcome it.

Rarely do singer-songwriters, of any ilk, achieve such momentously complex and multi-layered productions that absolutely consume you. The Feel the Rain EP made an essential artist out of Anthony J Fink, especially for any rock-inclined seekers of sonic guidance through our vapidly trying times. Buy it. It’s cheaper than therapy.

In his own words:

“Feel the Rain touches on many things. Loss is a big focus. My parents passed away when I was very young due to alcohol addiction. I have struggled with relationships in general in my life and with addiction. This coming January, I will be alcohol-free for four years.”

Feel the Rain is now available to stream on Spotify or purchase on apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Don Pedigo darkened the roots of rock n roll with his dusky track, Messenger

Posted on 5 August 2022

‘Messenger’ is the latest dusky feat of roots-deep rock n roll from the Nashville artist Don Pedigo. From an intro of surfy, swaggy, Gretschy tones, the single opens up through narrative lyrics, which follow the same revelatory path as the likes of Dylan & Tom Petty, reeling you into the depths of Pedigo’s candour and originality.

Each new verse is a testament to the solo artist’s proclivity to pour out his heart lyrically instead of dotting together the usual rock cliches, and there is just as much distinction in the dark production, which puts Messenger on the same level as Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand.

Messenger will officially release on August 5th. You can hear it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Allan Hill muses on impermanence in his sophomore album, Oxford

Posted on 26 June 2022

Unlike many lockdown-born projects, the Indie-folk solo artist, Allan Hill, didn’t give up the ghost when the bars opened again. After his 2021 debut, he’s revealed the delicate melancholia refined in his sophomore 2022 album, Oxford.

In his own words, the LP is a “coming of age turning inwards and an exploration of impermanence, nostalgia, isolation and queerness.” In the title single, the invitingly warm plaintive soul wraps around the simplistic admission, “everything keeps changing, and I’m fine”, which isn’t profound in itself until you start to consider the journey an artist had to go through to make that proclamation.

The fingerpicked Either/Or-era Elliott Smith reminiscences may be strong in the nature entwined single, but Hill’s autonomy as a stunningly talented artist in his own right is enough to quiescently beat them into submission.

Oxford is now available to stream on Spotify. Grab some tissues first though, yeah?

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sani Knight feels like he doesn’t deserve this ‘Heaven Sent’ love

Posted on 22 June 2022

Sensing that he’s rather obsessed with this angelic figure who has flown into his world unexpectedly, Sani Knight wonders if this is real and if he actually warrants being attached to this fine human who has surely been sent from another planet with ‘Heaven Sent‘.

Sani Knight is a 19-year-old Los Angeles, California-based RnB/Hip hop solo artist who is lyrically aware and makes a thought-provoking blend of music to turn up loud.

Justifying his name as one of the more promising artists in the USA right now, Sani Knight displays such a classy style, smooth vocals and comes packed with a catchy beat than will have you nodding your head. There is no flash here, only the real deal to raise your hands aloft with.

‘Heaven Sent‘ from Los Angeles, California-based RnB/Hip hop solo artist Sani Knight is one of those tracks that gets you off your seat and makes you think extra deep about what you have in life. He flows with a confident style that is refreshingly sincere and grabs your attention because of the sharply created chemistry on offer.

A song to roll with when you feel like the person you are with – actually deserves better than you  – that will have you looking into the mirror to find that greatness within.

Soak your soul with this new single on Spotify and follow the socials on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

BREGN set the bar with his plateau-transporting ethereal indie-folk single, Summertime

Posted on 17 June 2022

Here to make me eat my words about the banality and predictability of summer singles is the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, BREGN, with his latest otherworldly feat of melodious indie-folk, Summertime.

With little more than strings and choral vocals to drive and structure the single, immersing yourself within the all-consuming mellifluous accordance comes with an immediate payoff.

Beyond the production that stands as a testament to BREGN’s creative originality, Summertime refuses to lyrically scratch at the surface. If Dylan Thomas himself rose from the grave and speculated on the season in relation to nature, freedom, past, future and present, I’m not all too sure that he’d be able to implant as much poetry.

Hear it for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Henry Liggins orchestrated every hopeless romantic’s quintessential playlist staple with his folk single, Makeup

Posted on 10 June 2022

After a Cohen-Esque acoustic guitar intro, Henry Liggins’ vocals mellifluously float in with the same captivating ease over his tenderly orchestrated piano and guitar progressions as Glenn Hansard in his latest single, Makeup.

The hopeless romanticism in Makeup is nothing short of breath-taking poetry as Liggins muses on his muse, capturing the fragile beauty within the vulnerability of relationships in our chaotic existence. The amount of sincerity is almost a shock to the system. There’s no doubt that this dreamy serenade came straight from Liggins’ sugared Shakespearean soul.

While staying true to his timelessly intimate style, the Birmingham-based singer-songwriter notably has a tirade of commercial appeal behind his ornately captivating sound.

Makeup will officially release on June 10th. Hear it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt-indie artist, André Molina became everyone’s idea of seductive with his latest single, Euphoria

Posted on 8 June 2022

Everyone’s definition of seductive is different, but few will disagree on the broodingly demure power of André Molina’s third single, Euphoria, which explores the visceral highs which follow a hopeless romantic falling deeply.

Indie, alt-rock, orchestral dream pop and extremely nuanced RnB layers all became part of the fabric of the teasingly intimate track, which sensuously blows Closer by Nine Inch Nails out of the water; or at least provides a cinematic modernist alternative.

The Philippines-born, New Jersey-residing artist has an aptitude for giving the rough (almost industrial distortion) with the knee-weakening smooth (his lushly layered vocal harmonies). We can’t wait to watch the inevitable rise of André Molina. Few deserve it more.

Euphoria is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast