Browsing Tag

UK Indie

Turncoat Billy looked through a ‘Kaleidoscope’ in their psychedelically vintage debut single

Posted on 18 March 2023

Indie nostalgia peddlers may have created a massive stink pile of indie landfill on the oversaturated airwaves after realising they can string a few chords together in a way that references the Strokes or Oasis; with their debut, Turncoat Billy is the refreshing soul-stirring antithesis. Familiar yet awash with endearing autonomy, anyone that wants to enliven their playlists with contemporary ingenuity can get a jump start from Turncoat Billy.

With their influence range casting a net over everyone from Big Thief to Chas n Dave to T.Rex to Warren Zevon, the outfit, born in a brewery in Tottenham, will pull you into vivid vintage colour with their debut single release, Kaleidoscope.

Their ruggedly sweet indie rock flavour is addictive from the first taste; with the 60s psychedelic kicks paired with the 70s renegade rock swagger and hints of the Maccabees, there’s no sweeter way to evade the malaise of modernity.

Kaleidoscope is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Whitefeathers are an ethereal dream (pop) come true in their debut, As Always ft Mike Watt

Posted on 25 February 2023
https://on.soundcloud.com/irg8i

For their debut single, As Always, the up-and-coming alt-rock UK/Czech artist, Whitefeathers, collaborated with bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehouse, Stooges) to orchestrate an artfully atmospheric feat of ardent indie melancholia.

Filtering pensive art pop panache into the eloquently composed release created a superlatively reflective soundscape for the lyrics that traverse the theme of losing love and finding yourself. The dreamy melodicism abstracts the ennui that accordantly rings from the scorned stabs of minor piano keys as the aloofly harmonised male and female vocals sigh from the soul.

It’s an impeccably strong offering from Whitefeathers, who undoubtedly have a luminary career ahead of them if they continue to create in the same vein as As Always.

As Always will drift onto the airwaves on February 24th – you won’t want to miss it. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Versonic twisted the melons of 90s Britpop with Come On (Up for Air)

Posted on 19 February 2023
Come On (Up for Air) by VERSONIC

The acclaimed indie rock act, Versonic, has twisted the melons of early 90s Britpop yet again with the anthemic angular melodicism in their bitter-sweet latest single, Come On (Up for Air).

With a bassline that will make any Pixies fans palpitate over and the opening lyric, “how does it feel to be suffocating on your own again”, which grabs your attention by the throat, it’s safe to say Stephen Connor’s award-winning writing skills are as sharp as ever.

How he managed to pull the euphoria from “cos no one’s gonna save you, no one’s looking for you and no one’s gonna make it alright (for you)” was nothing short of genius. The painfully honest yet lyrically liberating nature of Come On is just one of the reasons to delve into the artful reinvention of the 90s Britpop wheel.

Come On (Up for Air) was officially released on February 17th. Hear it on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Hybridic indie punks Junior Bill painted an anthemic picture of injustice with ‘Boys from Jungle’

Posted on 4 February 2023

With socially conscious lyrics as hard-hitting as the ones penned by Bob Vylan, Kid Kapichi, Meryl Streek, Junior Bill are way ahead of the trend of cuttingly observational and compassionate lyricism in their latest single, Boys from Jungle. Punk boomers who bemoan the wokeness of contemporary punk may want to save their blood pressure spiking by looking away from the hit that advocates the rights of asylum seekers and paints a stark picture of the injustice that greets them when they arrive on our blighted shores.

Rather than skating by on their lyrical wit alone, Junior Bill concocts awakeningly volatile alt-indie instrumental ensembles that are lightyears away from the usually brashy swagger of UK indie rock. With off-kilter guitars that wouldn’t be out of place in the alt-90s no-wave movement and the post-punk nuances tearing through the rhythm section, getting wrapped up in the hybridic punk aesthetic is non-optional.

Boys from the Jungle is the first single from their forthcoming debut album, Youth Club!, which more than has the potential to become the UK alternative album of the year.

Boys from Jungle officially released on January 27th. It is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SOHLER philosophise their vexation in their cerebral alt-indie hit, More Blood Than Sweat or Tears

Posted on 11 January 2023

UK-based,  internationally-comprised indie alt-rock powerhouse SOHLER sparked an instantaneous obsession with their scathingly seminal single, More Blood Than Sweat or Tears. With one taste of those high-octane riffs, their superlative devil-may-care swagger and anthemic instrumental hooks, we knew we were onto a winner. They will never fall into the arena of indie filler.

“What is a priest without a whore, are we just circumstantial?” is one of the most philosophically-sharp lyrical expositions of the current state of our society that decides who is sacrificed depending on our proximity to the breadline.

Line after line, the A-side on the single, SOHLER I, allows you to sapiosexually fall for the four-piece who direct their anger with pinpoint precision through this sludgy melodic indie alt-rock masterpiece. It is easily the filthiest earworm you will accommodate all year. With their faint reminiscence of Biffy Clyro, Hundred Reasons, and Arcane Roots with a touch of post-punk in the monumental rancour, it’s only a matter of time before the underground can’t contain their ingenuity.

SOHLER I was officially released on January 6th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Two cultures collide in Rob Carey’s consoling amalgam of Americana and proto-rock NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY

Posted on 3 January 2023

Any fans of Violent Femmes and the Psychedelic Furs will easily find a place on their playlists for the jangly proto power-pop guitars against bluesy twangs of Americana in Rob Carey’s latest era-spanning alt-indie single, NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY.

The blissful harmonies entwined with the enrapturing warmth of his nostalgic tones pushed into overdrive, bypassing innovation, around the Billy Bragg-Esque edge of everyman blues, are a melodiously amalgamated remedy for the soul.

By day, Rob Carey is a mental health nurse and counsellor. By night, he uses his understanding of the complexities of the human psyche in his compassion-driven singles, which efficaciously envelop you in their consoling melodicism.

NEW YORK STATE OF PLAY officially released on December 14th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Iris Brickfield – Cherries: Lusciously Sweet Synth Rock

Posted on 11 November 2022

Iris Brickfield’s ‘Cherries’ is some of the sweetest synth-rock we’ve sampled in 2022. The Newcastle upon Tyne duo run their dreamy indie pop vocals over the lush sweeping synths and honeyed choral guitar lines to create an 80s ethereal atmosphere that comes with a contemporary Adrianne Lenker-Esque kick and swirling reminiscence to Pale Saints.

It comes as no surprise that Iris Brickfield has been selling out venues on their home turf after gaining over 10k streams with their debut EP, Hold on My Lovers, which was released in 2021. They melodically toe the line between nostalgia and trend-carving innovation with gracious gravitas scarcely seen in the indie scene.

Cherries is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sam Scherdel versed from the ashes of a quick-to-burn romance in his indie anthem, Brave Mistake

Posted on 14 October 2022

There was no forgetting Sam Scherdel after he emerged as one of the hottest indie acts out of Sheffield since Arctic Monkeys with his single, Don’t Really Like You. His loved-up anthem has been followed by his vulnerably bold single, Brave Mistake.

The titularly dualistic track opens itself up to a world of ambiguity, but all of that resolves through the lyrics that allude to the termination of a relationship where love lingers despite the toxicity that breeds within the dynamic.

It’s enough to reduce the majority of post-breakup tracks to immature clichés through the soul-deep bitter-sweet reflection that is relayed to anthemic guitars and emotionally distilled keys that hammer home the melancholy as Scherdel reflects on the fleeting beauty of a quick-to-burn romance. The die-hard romantics out there are going to feel their hearts in their throats to this emotionally charged hit that will imprint the seemingly innocuous reprising probe of “how the devil you doing?” across your mind.

We couldn’t be more stoked to hear that a 2023 album is in the pipeline.

Brave Mistake was officially released on October 14th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Glam rock goes indie pop in Dvrk Romantics’ siren of a single, Trouble Won’t Wait

Posted on 7 October 2022

With the dark romanticism of the lyrics that will stir the soul of any Wordsworth, and Lord Bryon fans, Dvrk Romantics stayed true to their moniker while sonically blowing the competition with their cinematic blockbuster of an X-Rated single, Trouble Won’t Wait.

Rachel Di Biaso’s glam rock meets pop femme fatale pop energy across the raunchy guitar licks and snapping beats that drive the anthemic seduction right through the riot of siren-esque hit is a potent blend that will undoubtedly see Dvrk Romantics lauded as the best breakthrough act of 2022.

Seemingly, everything that Micky Waters turns to aural gold; after moving into this alchemic duo from being the bassist in The Answer, who supported Rolling Stones and ACDC, he’s going to manoeuvre those driving basslines right into the hearts of every glam rock, pop and indie lover alike. If you’ve always wanted to back a band before they become the next big thing, the time is NOW.

Trouble Won’t Wait was officially released on September 30th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The transatlantic duo Post Suitcase unpack heartbreak in their debut single, Under This Hood

Posted on 30 September 2022

The debut single, Under This Hood, from the British/American indie-rockers Post Suitcase, euphonically bridges the transatlantic sonic gap. With blisters of Britpop bursting between the American overtones in the post-breakup track, it’s impossible not to get entwined in the narrative, which explores the tendency of others to put the token effort in when it comes to consoling and checking in on the recently heartbroken.

We’ve all been there, although notably, we’re not all capable of forging lyrical gold, “I’ll walk where the grass still grows, where my friends still smile but they really don’t know that, under this hood, is a lot of dead wood.” With the momentum ebbing and crescendoing through the release, which comes with the meditatively artful ease of the trumpet glossing over the angular indie guitars, Under This Hood is as cathartic as it is heartbreaking.

Debut releases don’t get much more promising than this. We’re hoping that Post Suitcase has more emotional intimacy and intellect to unpack in future releases.

Under This Hood will officially release on September 30th; catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast