Browsing Tag

UK singer songwriter

Peter Beatty unveiled a wanderlust dreamscape with his acoustic indie folk single, Tell Me Where To Go

Posted on 13 October 2023

After picking up the best song award from the Cannes World Film Festival in 2023 and picking up more awards for his music and accompanying music videos from The London Independent Film Awards and The Independent Shorts Awards, the critically acclaimed and endlessly accoladed UK singer-songwriter Peter Beatty has unanchored his nautically meta single, Tell Me Where To Go.

With layered vocal harmonies as magnetically compelling as Jack Johnson’s and Richard Hawley’s atop honeyed and intricate acoustic instrumentation, listening to the organically resolving orchestration will set your imagination alight, awaken even the most dormant of wanderlust proclivities, and unequivocally convince you that in this generation of singer-songwriters, few can infuse their elysian soundscapes with a paralleled shot of alchemy.

I couldn’t think of a more stunning way of attesting to the fact that life is little more than a collection of explorations, whether that’s inwards, towards another, or into territories that will show us pieces of ourselves we never knew existed. Great songs stir emotions; superlative ones have what it takes to reconceptualise your take on existence in a few lyrical lines. Beatty is definitively in the latter camp. Someone exhume and tell Sartre I’ve just found the cure for existentialism.

Tell Me Where To Go hit the airwaves on September 29; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Matt Wescott orchestrated a nirvana of honky pop rock euphoria with ‘Run Away with Me’

Posted on 5 October 2023

Matt Wescott’s latest single, Run Away with Me is a proposition no retro pop rock fan could refuse. If Elton John’s Honky Chateau was a little more cosmic, the honky tones would be as interstellar as the chord progressions in this piano-led ode to nostalgia that blasts into the stratosphere of futurism.

The rugged odyssey of an earworm stands as a testament to Wescott’s lifelong immersion in the music industry. Before establishing himself in the digital era of music as a solo artist, Wescott performed in multiple bands that were laudable enough to headline Bristol’s Carling Academy, be lavished in equipment by Wharfdale, receive director’s awards from Paramount, and support Newton Faulkner, Razorlight and Alabama 3.

After reminiscing on the glory days with his father shortly before he passed away, Wescott had the epiphany that life is too short not to do what makes you happy, which has seen him release a string of phenomenal singles that defy indie pop rock expectations and lead listeners into 3-minute nirvanas of honky pop rock euphoria.

Run Away with Me officially released on September 27; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chloe Chadwick confronted short-fused ghosts in her captivatingly all-consuming alt-rock hit, Temper Gene

Posted on 29 August 2023

Cheshire’s most promising singer-songwriter, Chloe Chadwick, has stepped off her international touring circuit to strike sonic gold once more with her latest single, Temper Gene.

The impassioned pop-rock soundscape that delivers a captivatingly all-consuming indie-country twang digs deep into the phenomenon of falling head over heels for someone who will only inevitably keep you under the thumb with their short-fused psychopathic tendencies. How she managed to stay true to her brand of unadulteratedly passionate song crafting while exploring such a dark theme is a mystery that only lends itself to magnetism.

Her ability to spin such arrestive melodies around the maladies of the contemporary trappings of sociopathy transcends talent to paint Chadwick as one of the most seminal artists of our era. Just one hit of Temper Gene will leave you with the compulsion to lose yourself in her diverse back catalogue, which was created with a little help from world-class producers, including Chris Garcia and Kevin Dippold.

Temper Gene was officially released on August 11th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rumours have it the sandman entered Nick Cody’s cover of ‘Dreams’

Posted on 25 August 2023
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UK singer-songwriter Nick Cody serenaded the iconic single, Dreams, by Fleetwood Mac in his latest release, featuring Towse, Corwin Zekley, and Harry Orme.

The single may only comprise accordant timbres from a resonator guitar, violin strings and dualistic harmonies, but under Cody’s tender duress, the cover became infinitely more than the sum of all parts as Rumours was melodically resurrected as a more intimate serenade.

After releasing five albums under different guises and in other ensembles, Cody has turned his talents to producing a forthcoming mini cover album featuring seminal singles from across the decades, with a little help from revered international artists. If the other fixtures on the mini album carry an ounce of the soul-stirringly sweet beguile of Dreams, Nick Cody will be the orchestrator of one of the most seminal albums of 2023.

Dreams will officially drop on the 25th of August; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Blue gazed into the twilight of the soul in his jazzy feat of soulful folk, Saphire

Posted on 24 February 2023
Mike Blue

The soulful rhythmicality of the folk singer-songwriter, Mike Blue’s latest single, Saphire, will tattoo itself to your memory from the first euphonically melodic meeting. As a departure from his previous sound, along with his band, Blue melded elements of blues, jazz, prog and rock to construct a track visceral in authenticity and sticky sweet in emotionally balanced sentimentality.

The first single taken from his forthcoming album, The Unbearable Weight of All Things Considered, stands as a soul-stirring testament to his ability to envelop you in the stories he eloquently weaves atop his acoustic guitar strings. The sax solos, which soar as high in the mix as the electric guitar riffs, amplify the intimacy of the lyrical expression while never compromising the resonant impact.

If the singer-songwriter was born decades ago when folk raconteurs were celebrated in modern culture, there would be few names as revered as Mike Blue. After the release of Saphire, the luminary artist will take his full band on tour across the UK, which also featured on the accordantly-bodied release that has the capacity to captivate a stadium.

Saphire will officially release on February 24th. Hear it via Mike Blue’s website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lanchasire’s loquacious bard Oliver Hulme struck again with his twangy country-folk single, The Paper

Posted on 22 February 2023

After a stint of silence, the Lancashire country-folk singer-songwriter, Oliver Hulme, has followed on from his relatable deadpan debut single, I Hate the Bus, with the just as resonant stripped-back lo-fi hit, The Paper.

With instrumentals that find the triadic middle ground between Tom Waits, Gogol Bordello and Neutral Milk Hotel, Oliver Hulme effortlessly made the twangy staccato rhythms and folky baroque vocal timbre his own.

The Paper brashly drags you in even deeper with the balladic lyricism that will be an instant hit with fans of Nick Cave. It’s only a matter of time before Hulme is more than just regionally renowned. He undoubtedly deserves more legacy than a hotpot.

The Paper is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joe Astley sings the everyman blues in his world-class single, Suburbia

Posted on 25 November 2022
Joe Astley

Drawing parallels between Bitter Sweet Symphony, sans the bitterness, Joe Astley’s orchestral feat of folkish rock, Suburbia, taken from his forthcoming debut album, is for anyone who has ever felt the gravity of their hometown dragging them down more insidiously than anywhere else.

The opening lyric, “this city’s got it in for me, there’s a thousand other places that I wish to be”, delivered through harmonic lines that soak the record with sepia-tinged lament as they resound over the rugged acoustic guitar chords, orchestral strings and soaring electric guitar notes as they wind old school Americana into the release starts the single on a sombre note.

The profoundly uplifting release seamlessly progresses into a defiantly strident score through the refusal to fade away into the misery that soaks the streets of working-class towns and cities across the UK. The Wigan-based professional singer-songwriter and instrumentalist sonically attested to the bleakness scribed in Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier while simultaneously pulling beauty from the destitution that his accoladed career is pulling him from.

As some artists bemoan the current climate of the music industry, Joe Astley is thriving as definitive proof that with the right balance of tenacious songwriting, insurmountable talent and effortless charisma that immerses you into the emotional states he orchestrates, success is still in the sightline.

Between his residency at the Cavern Club, SKY TV streaming the live run-through of Suburbia, his debut EP on the shelves in HMV, and all his singles charting in the iTunes top ten, it’s impossible not to feel giddy when anticipating his next move.

The launch of his debut album, Twenty-First Century Times, on January 20th, 2023 will undoubtedly open up even more roads for Astley as he takes his boy-next-door resonance wherever he goes.

Purchase Suburbia on Apple Music or add it to your Spotify playlists.

Follow Joe Astley on Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Martin Paul Cuthew made hope permissible in his synthy pop-rock soul-stirrer, The Machine

Posted on 16 November 2022

Following a dark Nine Inch Nails-Esque prelude that reflects the drudgery of the late-stage capitalist hellscape we call modern society, the bright and rich melodicism in Martin Paul Cuthew’s latest single, The Machine, starts to break through the soundscape like sunlight piercing a storm cloud.

The switch in the guitar and synth tones are effortlessly matched by the luminously humanist soul projected through the lyrics and optimism-inspiring vocals, which spoke to me on a level that normally only James Dean Bradfield reaches.

The UK-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is the ultimate testament that awareness doesn’t have to be synonymous with pessimism. His vibrant expositions on love, hope and longing which complement his soul-stirring pop-rock proclivities effortlessly guide you to a perception that makes hope permissible. Take that Nietzsche.

The Machine is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

In the wake of trajedy, Alexander Joseph found the beauty in his piano score, Waiting for You

Posted on 11 November 2022

The UK-based singer-songwriter, Alexander Joseph, created an intricately ornate balance of faith, regret and grief in the piano version of his single, Waiting For You, which captured the complexity of the emotions following his grandmother’s passing.

If you know how it feels to know that someone is at peace while they endured the opposite amongst us and for those torrid emotions to be confounded by guilt for not being more supportive while we had the opportunity, Waiting for You will weigh down on you like a tonne of bricks.

Yet, there’s ample solace within the pure soul of the vocals, which anticipate reconnection while the lyrics vow to go on in a way that will minimise regret when our time comes. By blending striking minor keys with major keys in the progressions to brighten the score, Waiting for You unravels to sonically amplify the message that even in the wake of tragedy, life can never be black and white.

Alexander Joseph’s commitment to orchestrating uplifting heartfelt messages is seen throughout his body of work, plenty of which has been lauded by BBC Introducing. When he’s not enriching our musical culture, he coaches the British Wheelchair Tennis Programme. My faith in humanity is officially restored.

Waiting for You will officially release across all major platforms on November 11th. Hear it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK singer-songwriter Kwun has made his spectrally soul-chilling debut with his single, Supernatural

Posted on 1 November 2022

On October 21st, the UK-based singer-songwriter and producer, Kwun made his melodious debut with the soul-chilling single, Supernatural, which fuses the songwriting styles of Nick Drake & John Lennon.

With vocals void of veneer flourishing in their own distinctive timbre instead of forced into assimilation, surrendering to the emotion in Supernatural, especially with the bitter-sweet vibrato, is non-optional.

Atop the trickling upbeat piano keys, shimmering motifs, gentle percussive fills, and orchestral swells, Pang’s spectrally sweet vocals lead you into catharsis; the healing propensities of Supernatural were no mistake. The single was recorded at 432 Hz, the frequency which resonates and harmonises with nature and the human body. While lyrically, Kwun provokes the listener into questioning adages old and new to become the greatest versions of their beings.

Mark Prentice (Johnny Cash & Bruce Springsteen), Sam Wheat (Pharrell Williams & Amy Winehouse) and Tony Cousins (Adele & George Michael) all put their deft finishing touches on this resoundingly promising release. We can’t wait to hear what his forthcoming album, Ancient Ageless & True, has in store.

The Radio Edit of Supernatural is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast