Browsing Tag

US Indie

A Crystalline Cathedral of Sound: The Sleepless Elite’s ‘Glass’ Reimagines Heartbreak

Posted on 1 October 2024

From humble beginnings in Boston to renown as indie pop royalty, The Sleepless Elite has carved out a niche where sincerity and ethereal soundscapes coexist in haunting harmony.

Listening to the arcane harmonies in their latest single, Glass, glide against the intricately evocative melodies, it is easy to understand their rapid ascent. The euphonically crystalline production wraps an arcane aura around powerhouse vocal lines, which bleed unadulterated emotion into a release that deftly weaves together the most affecting elements of Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, London Grammar, and Enya.

It’s a phenomenal score that will linger long after the final artfully poised note and practically a spiritual awakening in sound form. Forget art pop; this is haute couture heartbreak.

The project originated when Carolina Kehoe met Baylor Carter at Berklee and found its feet when, via a Craigslist ad, the duo ended up living with Ben Deily of the Lemonheads, which set their creative spark alight. Encouraged to pursue their own style, Carolina and Baylor honed their unique sound, inspired by Paramore, Blondie, and Sia, and drawing from their collective love of Blink-182, The Strokes, and No Doubt.

With Carolina’s theatrical roots and Baylor’s indie-punk edge, they created a distinct sonic palette, first heard under the name Carolina’s War. Now, as The Sleepless Elite, they’ve found their stride, producing two albums and opening for Thunderpussy. Glass epitomises their evolution, offering an otherworldly catharsis that showcases their innovative, emotional storytelling. For fans of alternative music, this is a siren song worth answering.

Check out the official music video for Glass, which has already racked up 15k streams, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the groove with the intimately quirky single from Discount Art, ‘My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon’

Posted on 9 February 2023

The indie project, Discount Art, led by the disarmingly candid artist, Jay Hemphill, is fresh from its deeply compassionate latest release, My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon.

The track may come with a smorgasbord of titular quirk, but once you are enmeshed in the funk in the indie grooves and feeling the weight of the soulful lullaby-ESQUE vocals, any notion of novelty soon falls by the wayside.

The emotionally intimate bass lines bolster the rhythm section while the accordantly timbered synths add dreamy layers around the account of public humiliation stemming from an electronic benefit transfer being declined at the supermarket.

On the surface, it seems a strange lyrical precipice to jump off. When you look at the full picture, you will see what Discount Art set up; a narration of the series of blows delivered by a crippling economic climate and how they strip humanity away from us; you get a snapshot of the detriment of the human psyche at this late stage of capitalism.

The official music video for My EBT Got Declined at Erewhon is available on YouTube.

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

Go Go Gadget Pink Packet shakes it up in his intimate alt-indie hit, Sno Globe

Posted on 14 August 2022

Taken from his sophomore album, Unfinished Art, Go Go Gadget Pink Packet’s standout single, Sno Globe, is an emotion-driven hit of alt-indie, which throws back to the 00s while simultaneously embracing autonomously expressive melodic innovation.

Starting with an almost outtake-y prelude, the zealous lo-fi indie single breathes bedroom pop intimacy, with an extra flavour of sticky-sweet power-pop in the overdriven guitars, which carry as much emotion as the raw yet sugared vocal harmonies.

In his own words, the Sherrill, NY-based solo artist, writes common man blues records, perfectly encapsulating the immediate resonance you find in the dejection.

Sno Globe is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

David Wakeling looks into the future of this dystopia in ‘Living at 45 Degrees’

Posted on 24 June 2022

With the melancholy of The Verve in their best years, the folky narrative introspection of Bob Dylan and psychedelic layers not all too far removed from the kaleidoscopic textures from The Legendary Pink Dots, David Wakeling’s seminal single, Living at 45 Degrees, hits a plethora of spots.

The Anthropocene-conscious single only runs on par with Amanda Palmer’s Drowning in the Sound in terms of the wit in the metaphors, which cleverly shine a light on the ridiculous state that humanity has shaped itself into.

It’s tracks like Living at 45 Degrees which truly prove the worth of music in society. It’s something for the minority of humans that are self-aware enough to see into the futility of existence to meld into and find reason within.

The official video for Living at 45 Degrees is now available to stream via YouTube.

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

Spotlight Feature: Melancholy Goes Pop in Castle KYD’s Alt-Indie Single Melatonin

Posted on 8 April 2022

After leaving us infatuated with the brevity in “The Mess You Leave Behind”, the Rexburg, Idaho alt-indie artist, Castle KYD, has rekindled our penchant for his artfully affectionate sonic signature with his latest release, Melatonin.

Melatonin may have started as a proclamation against people who push you towards progress that you’re not ready for do more harm than good. But the jangly up-vibe single easily carries Castle KYD’s innocently defiant soul in the nuances of shoegaze and no-wave indie.

Castle KYD is by far one of the most promising artists on our radar. His artful inclination that reads in his sonic textures is one thing, his un-bittered sense of enlightened and reflective soul is another thing entirely. Melancholic indie-pop has scarcely been more infectious. Which goes a fair way in explaining how the independent artist has amassed over 54,000 streams since making his debut with ‘Menagerie’ in 2021.

Here’s what Castle KYD had to say on his latest release

“Most of the growth I’ve had happened when I just let the hurt flow through and let time do its healing.
I chose Melatonin for the title and overarching metaphor because it’s much like the hormone, or when you take melatonin pills. For me, I don’t want to move until it’s out of my system after I wake up, I usually wait, but it doesn’t help when I feel rushed, that’s how the concept for the song.”

Melatonin will officially release on April 8th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud or Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Klo transcends the ‘Small Town’ mentality in his latest alt-indie track.

Posted on 31 December 2021
https://soundcloud.com/klomusic343434/small-town-prod-splashgvng

There’s nothing like small towns for dragging us down; anyone relating to that sentiment will undoubtedly find the resonance in Klo’s latest single, Small Town, produced by Splashgvng.

With reminiscence to Lil Peep in the melodies and vocals, Small Town is instantly familiar but Klo easily sets himself with the quintessentially Midwestern indie vibes which allow Small Town to unravel like an accordantly candid dream.

The single grooves through every consideration when it comes to cutting the ties with our hometown roots – the suffocation imparted by small-town mentalities to the faces that we will regret leaving behind. It’s a gorgeously well-rounded track that proves Klo is well worth a spot on your radar.

Small Town is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chandler Poe shows us a sign of our world-weary times with his latest single, decay.

Posted on 27 December 2021
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/kVN7bhCJDVLPUdRn9

By starting with the resonant admission, “Every day I wake up and I’m already exhausted”, Chandler Poe’s latest single, decay, is a striking sign of our world-weary times. With the same artistic dejection shared by the likes of Arab Strap, John Grant and Jack Ladder paired with the blisters of soul that yearns for something sustaining and real, Chandler Poe taps into the collective loss of meaning to give us a tragically rare visceral emotion hit.

The Bukowski-style downbeat barfly lyrics become infinitely more powerful through Poe’s deep, gravelly vocal timbre that practically oozes sex appeal around the fiery beats and reverb-drenched keys. With more hits in the same vein as this, Chandler Poe has all it takes to become the next alt-indie icon.

Chandler Poe’s latest single, decay, is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New Jersey indie outfit Rabbit Dream delivered swathes of alt 90s nostalgia in their debut album, The Golden Gone.

Posted on 12 December 2021

New Jersey’s most promising alt-indie rock outfit, Rabbit Dream, have released their debut album, The Golden Gone, which pulls in nuances of grunge, indie, art rock, garage rock and unravels as the ultimate alt 90s fan’s aural wet dream.

The standout single, Stander, is the perfect introduction to Rabbit Dream’s indulgently distorted tones, massive stadium-filling guitars that are just as robust as the licks in the National’s most anthemic tracks and the vocals that embed authenticity in the progressive single. Before the first instrumental buildup, the vocals are honeyed and sweet; after, they start to gather reminiscence to Julian Casablancas as the guitars dial up the frenetic energy. It isn’t your average indie rock earworm, but you’ll be more than inclined to return to it and give it repeat attention. Rabbit Dream is definitively one to watch; for your own sake as much as theirs.

Stander is now available to stream along with the rest of Rabbit Dream’s debut album via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast