Browsing Tag

The Beatles

The Star Prairie Project remind us what old school rock romanticism looks like with ‘Queen Isabella’

Posted on 31 December 2021

The international outfit comprising of artists from the US and Portugal, The Star Prairie Project, have released their nostalgically sweet 2021 album, Shine a Little Light, and that’s exactly what they did on the airwaves with this sentimental array of Beatles-inspired soundscapes.

The mellifluously easy chords in the standout radio-ready single, Queen Isabella, paired with the shamelessly impassioned vocals and lyrics that remind you what old school romanticism sounds like put The Star Prairie Project in the same league as Chris Isaak. Isaak may have set the bar high with Wicked Games, but The Star Prairie Project easily transcended it with the soul in their kaleidoscopically colourful melodies.

After starting with a Neo-western intro and working up to one of the most visceral rock homages to love we have heard this year, Queen Isabella is a triumph of an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

Queen Isabella is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

James Sebastian saved our Shipwrecked Soul(s) in his latest 70s rock n roll hit

Posted on 20 December 2021
James Sebastian

After getting hooked on his unforgettably sweet single, Lemon Sunshine, the UK-based solo artist, James Sebastian, has shown us a harsher 70s rock n roll edge in his latest single, Shipwrecked Soul.

While the vintage garagey tones feed the frenzy in the instrumentals, James Sebastian’s raconteur vocal timbre ensures that apathy isn’t an option when you hit play on this unapologetically feel-good hit. The up and coming singer-songwriter found the perfect way to influence his listeners to take their melancholy in their rock n roll stride. In a time when authority and answers are hard to find, it is beyond refreshing to hear an artist with the ability to vindicate our jetsam-like misery so viscerally. That’s before we even move on to his talent at pulling authenticity of vintage rock. So many artists  have left us questioning if that was even possible. Notably, James Sebastian is a diamond in the rough.

Check out James Sebastian on Spotify and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Liverpool’s latest luminary, Louie Miles, has released his latest single, Show the World

Posted on 10 December 2021

If Elliott Smith, Dinosaur Jr and the Beatles met in the middle, the sonic result would be starkly reminiscent of Louie Miles’ latest psychedelically warm and hazy single, Show the World. Instead of following the same old tropes with his tracks, he creates songs born entirely of his imagination. Based on Show the World, I would pay hand over fist to take a vacation in his mind. The sweetly psychotropic instrumentals paired with Miles’ magnetic melancholy-tinged vocals is practically an invitation to nirvana.

The Liverpool-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer made his solo debut in April this year; before that, he contributed to the Birmingham-based band, Sugarthief and Liverpool’s renowned outfit, Astles. At 21-years-old, Louie Miles already boasts the songwriting maturity that other artists have to wait decades for. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Show the World is available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Life gave James Sebastian lemons, and he made Lemon Sunshine.

Posted on 9 October 2021

60s psych-pop and 70s rock collide in the latest single to be released by the Exeter-based newcomer James Sebastian. ‘Lemon Sunshine’ is a stridently impassioned single that is viscerally flooded with raw vocal emotion but the dreamy vintage tones of the consistently ascending instrumentals take all of the sting out of the vocal defiance.

If you can imagine the point where the Beatles and the Stone Roses meet in the middle, you’ll get an idea of the kind of refreshing nostalgia James Sebastian is serving here. Lyrically, Sebastian delivered the ultimate post-breakup track that captures that bitter-sweet moment when you’re reminded of your own power and make no bones about taking it back.

Lemon Sunshine is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Phony Bedtime left us in a haze with their indie psych-pop single, Sundays.

Posted on 26 September 2021

Any fans of The Zombies will find themselves instantly enamoured by the hazily blissful tones in the standout indie psych-pop single, Sundays, from Phony Bedtime’s self-titled sophomore album.

Starting with gentle accordant guitars, intricate percussion and the low reverberating hums of the basslines, Sundays is as easy as breathing to slip into. Once the ethereal vocals drift into the bright and melodious soundscape, your soul would have to be defunct not to be captivated by Phony Bedtime’s sticky-sweet candour. Not every band can get away with being on the twee side of indie pop, but Phony Bedtime could give Neutral Milk Hotel a run for their money.

Sundays is now available to stream on Spotify along with the rest of the album.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

James Sebastian tells us like it is in ‘Love is only Love’

Posted on 25 August 2021
James Sebastian

70s rock revivalist, James Sebastian, is set to release his psych-tinged single, Love is only Love’, which sees his vocals consistently switching from choral 60s psych harmonies to raucous rock n roll affectionate proclamations which makes the single the perfect balance of fiery and sweet.

With his main inspirations listing Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Harry Styles, the 20-year-old Drama and English student’s diverse sound is sure to resound with pop, rock, indie and psych fans alike. He’s one to watch.

Check out James Sebastian on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The 90s indie rock icons Airbus return with their third studio album, ‘You’.

Posted on 13 July 2021
Airbus

If you paid attention to the UK rock scene in the 90s, you might already be acquainted with Airbus who are set to release their psychedelically sweet third studio album, You, via Spira Records.

The album unleashes singles penned and recorded back in the 1990s; the band lifted the audio from master tapes using a 24-track 2-inch tape machine to keep the warm analogue glow of the original recordings. Short of hopping in a TARDIS and pushing your way to the front of the crowd when Mazzy Star performed at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to transport yourself back to the 90s.

If you can imagine what an aural cocktail of The Zombies, Elliott Smith and the Beatles would sound like, you’ll get an idea of the dreamy, colourful accordance that is weaved in the standout single ‘I’. Reminiscences aside, the band’s masterfully melodic presence on the airwaves once more is a breath of fresh kaleidoscopic air. The lead track carries that dreamy feel of wholesome wild abandon that most have forgotten how to offer in the 21st century.

Airbus’ upcoming album is due for release in September 2021. You can check out the band on Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take an Avant-Garde Psych Rock Trip with Chase Hagerman’s single, ‘Scarlet, Crimson, Purple and Blue’

Posted on 19 June 2021

‘The Rainbow Opus’ is the ground-breaking debut album from the up and coming, classically trained psych-rock artist and producer Chase Hagerman. Through each single, the Californian artist brings kaleidoscopic colour, yet, ‘Scarlet Crimson, Purple, and Blue’ is irrefutably the best introduction to Hagerman’s eccentric post-punk-tinged style.

Starting with a cutting and angular intro that wouldn’t be out of place on a Legendary Pink Dots single, the entrancing feat of psych-rock smoothly shifts into a sonic smorgasbord of avant-garde psych-pop, post-punk, 70s electronica. By mixing light accordant tones with harsh fuzzy synth notes, immersing yourself in Scarlet, Crimson, Purple, and Blue is as close as you will get to falling into a rabbit hole aurally.

The Rainbow Opus is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The John Michie Collective – Nothing to Die For: Existentially Relatable Indie Psych Rock

Posted on 2 March 2021

There was no forgetting multi-instrumentalist, The John Michie Collective, after hearing their 2020 release, I’ll Write Your Constellation’. After the release of their latest single, Nothing to Die For, their psychotropic experimentalism is permanently etched in our freshly altered minds.

With a touch of 70s rock in the spacey dreamy alt-indie single, you get the same feeling of ascendence as when you hit play on Lou Reed’s most psychedelically sweet tracks.

The romantic-in-spite-of-nihilism touch to the vocals and lyricism acts like an emotional sucker punch. For the aurally sensitive out there, don’t be surprised if Nothing to Die For has a bruising impact. It perfectly captures the collective sense of futility which breathes throughout our locked-down society and illustrates that your outlook can be as sweet as the tones in this enrapturing relatable release.

Nothing to Die For is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Major Fantasy deliver a driving Vintage Rock hit with ‘Car Stereo’

Posted on 15 December 2020

‘Car Stereo’ is just one of the instant classic hits found on Major Fantasy’s self-titled debut album. The Vancouver based newcomers may have used the same formula as Rock icons such as Zeppelin and Whitesnake, but there’s no denying that the artist’s signature zeal was infused.

Major Fantasy formed in 2016, but they’re already amassing plenty of hype with their ability to cook up psych-tinged vintage Rock earworms. Setting aside the usual sleaze, aggrandised pretence and ego, Major Fantasy opted for a more self-assured soulful sound which you can’t help but get gripped by as you feel the soaring guitar hooks pulling you in deeper.

You can check out Car Stereo for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast