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Solo Artist

Drift into the ether with Pinwheel Valley’s latest alt-indie-rock hit, Hot Air Balloon

The Canadian, Cyprus-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Pinwheel Valley, has released his metaphorical alt-indie rock masterpiece, Hot Air Balloon, which uses the slightly archaic mode of transport as a parable to reflect the importance of persevering our mental space.

It takes some serious reading between the anthemic uplifting lines to pull out the protestive fire that any establishment would be desperate to put out through fear of it cutting profit margins that are boosted by dull hiveminds. On the flip side of that, texturally, Hot Air Balloon is a dreamy, kaleidoscopic blister of bliss, which is all too welcome in these easy to lament times.

Every time, Pinwheel Valley breezes back even better than the last time we heard his exploratively introspective tracks, which still come with that A-list radio-ready appeal, despite the seemingly infinite depth.

Here is what he had to say about his latest release

“In some ways, Hot Air Balloon is a metaphor for pregnancy, inspired by the sequence of moving along and the process revealing itself, where a spirit permeates the boundless world, reflecting how a hot air balloon grows and rises into the ether, where our thoughts drift and amalgamate. The ether may be our final escape from those who manipulate us with vested interests in how we think and act.”

Hot Air Balloon will officially drop on June 6th, 2022. Hear it for yourselves on Spotify, SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Rochester roots-rock renegade Brian Lindsay has delivered the ultimate riff-licked ‘Revival’

Ahead of his fourth album, Revival, the NYC roots-rocker, Brian Lindsay, teased the modernity-weary, whiskey-soaked soul within it by giving us a sneak peek of the title single, which throws you right back to the time when lighters were held in the air instead of iPhones.

His virtuosic yet humble approach to songwriting is one of the best escapes from the 21st-century that you could possibly ask for. Between the deep yearning romanticism and the swoon-worthy soaring guitar licks, you get the affirmation that Brian Lindsay is the real revival deal. As much as he taps into Springsteen and Ryan Adams-Esque high energy melodicism, he leans into his signature rugged yet smooth intoxicating aural juxtaposition style.

Revival was officially released on May 20th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify or via his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Runner and Bobby has released his surfy and psych-tinged indie release, For Marcy

‘For Marcy’ is the latest sweet, surfy, and psych-tinged indie single from the Chicago hailing independent artist Runner and Bobby. The choral and blissfully sun-bleached single allows you to imagine what Pavement would have sounded like if they amped up the dreamy melodicism in their sound and met Velvet Revolver halfway.

After a mellow tape-saturated intro, the 100% DIY artist breezes in with his bright yet tinged with artistic and romantic existentialism vocal timbre. Butter wouldn’t melt on his harmonies against the uplifting chord progressions that carry you through the affectionally unforgettable release.

For Marcy is now available to stream via YouTube

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Elegant Chasers created a high-IQ-sanctuary in his latest scuzzy alt-rock hit, Clowns

The Elegant Chasers

For anyone that finds themselves frequently in despair over just how deep the IQ-deprived antagonists drag us down into late-stage capitalist suffering, The Elegant Chasers’ latest scuzzy alt-rock single, Clowns, will bring a slight reprieve from the crushing weight.

The harbingering guitar solos, the sense of carnivalesque chaos and the distortedly enigmatic yet hooky alt-rock vocals pull together in the high-voltage protest to the idiocrasy that resounds more than most things these dystopic days. Here’s what The Elegant Chasers had to say about his latest release:

“It’s easy to dwell. To be angry and upset about situations that have conspired against you. To feel cheated. It’s even easier when this has happened more than once. Then paranoia kicks in, those who transpired against you will massage the paranoia and try and blame anyone but the culprits – i.e., themselves. The reality is it’s hard to shake off that feeling. Inevitably time is a healer, but it still feels that justice was never served. Clowns was written in 1st person but taking on the role of The Company Man for most of the song…The Clown! Lyrically I took inspiration from the people that hurt me most in the last 6 years. People who I thought I could trust. But it was just the same old story, just like many of you who have suffered under the corporate kings, rogues, rats, fools, the pretenders, the charlatans, the clowns. Call them what you like, they deliver the same outcome, a stab in the back, and quite often you’re thrown out to the wolves.”

Clowns will officially release on April 22nd. You can check it out for yourselves via Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Follow The Elegant Chasers via Instagram and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

djamesk13 plays with discordant ethereal phenomena in his latest single, ‘An Angel- The Devil’

https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/djamesk13-an-angel-the-devil

London alt-rock solo artist, djamesk13, came in with his scuzzy Champagne Supernova-ESQUE latest single, An Angel- The Devil, which plays with ethereal phenomena and no-wave-y discord that will throw you right back to the alt-90s.

The lo-fi production caustically compliments the overarching moody energy of An Angel- The Devil as djamesk13 uses his magnetically deadpan vocals to deliver the hooky meta lyrics. There’s no room to wonder why so many alt-rock fans have already jumped on the singer-songwriter’s fourth release. We hope number 5 is already in the pipeline.

An Angel- The Devil is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Max Muscato’s razor-sharp pop-rock hooks cut like a knife in his latest earworm, Valarie.

After a five-year stint away from the airwaves, Max Muscato proved that you can’t rush perfection with the release of his rock-licked smitten seminal single, Valerie.

The singer-songwriter, guitarist, and CEO of the NPO, Rock Autism, allowed Valarie to unravel as a matured version of Girl All the Bad Guys Want by Bowling for Soup with his eclectic range of influences, which include John Mayer, Maroon 5, Wolfmother, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Beck.

The long-awaited track which follows on from his 2017 debut album, Act One, is an intoxicating blend of razor-sharp pop-rock hooks, virtuosic riffs, blues rock interludes and, of course, Muscato’s endlessly energetic sense of soul that pours through his drunk-in-love raconteur vocals. We eagerly anticipate what follows.

Valerie is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joe Hellmore brings the funk in his self-titled debut alt-rock LP

If it has been a while since you discovered your last guitar hero, delve into the singer-songwriter Joe Hellmore’s self-titled debut album, which delivers everything from hard rock to funk to alt-rock to blues-rock in practically virtuosic fashion.

The eclectic release may not be short on dynamism but one thing that you can always count on is Joe Hellmore’s edgy and technical solos that take up plenty of space while never hindering the fact that his debut LP is a deeply experimental one. Another constant through the eight playfully orchestrated tracks that are never short of visceral energy is the lack of the lyrical cliches that many artists depend on as the bedrock to their sound.

Joe Hellmore’s debut album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Elegant Chasers went off-kilter with the grungy panache in their sophomore single, Sunshine Mourning.

The Elegant Chasers

The Elegant Chasers brought their grungy panache back to the airwaves with the release of their sophomore single, Sunshine Mourning. We’d scarcely lost the earworm that was implanted through their debut single, Lets Ride, but we found ourselves gripped by Sunshine Mourning in a completely different capacity.

This time, the post-punk tinged track is as caustic as one of Sonic Youth’s most discordant releases in the verses and hooky enough in the choruses to give that stadium-filling effect that resonates as volatile gravitas once you get caught up within it.

The one-man powerhouse is taking full advantage of his independent artist freedom. Instead of attempting to appease moguls by pandering to the mediocrity in their tastes, he opted for an off-kilter track that splices together Nirvana-reminiscent drums, cleverly distorted vocals (we are talking Mike Patton level clever here) and guitars that are pliant enough to make your head spin. It is the epitome of an alt 90s aural riot. We can’t wait to hear what follows in his debut album.

Sunshine Mourning will officially release on February 11th. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Cagri Raydemir bites the hand of ego-greed in his single, Attention Hunger

Attention Hunger is the latest intellectually scathing alt-rock track from the Munich, Germany-based artist, guitar virtuoso, songwriter and producer, Cagri Raydemir. With vocal reminiscences to Serj Tankian and an instrumental atmosphere that carries similarities to Incubus, any true alt-rock fan will allow Attention Hunger to resonate as a smorgasbord of dynamic alt-rock innovation.

It’s been a while since I had a quite literal jaw-drop moment at an instrumental interlude, but the one that brings in the outro in Attention Hunger gives Mr Bungle an Avant-Garde run for their money.

After releasing 12 albums and 3 EPs, Munich Germany-residing alternative artist has discernibly honed in on his craft to the point of peerlessness. It’s beyond refreshing to hear an artist with the ability to catch you broadsided by their talent.

Attention Hunger is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shake the cobwebs off romantic regret with Michael Vincent’s alt-indie pop-rock hit, Mine

The up and coming artist Michael Vincent came into 2022 with a bang with the release of his infectiously upbeat alt-indie pop-rock track, Mine. With lyrics that shake the cobwebs off of romantic regret and fiery vocals that will throw you right back to when Fall Out Boy was reigning supreme on the airwaves, Mine has all the makings of a playlist staple, and then some. The snappy percussion, crawling basslines, and rock virtuoso guitar licks break into exuberantly electric radio-ready choruses that won’t ask permission before glueing themselves to your synapses.

One of the hardest life lessons to learn is that there is no guarantee of closure after a messy relationship. Michael Vincent finds a sticky-sweet way to lend compassion to his amorous-less fans looking for consolation that their ex was too douchey to offer. In every conceivable way, it is a hit.

Mine was officially released on January 1st, 2022. It is now available to stream here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast