DATE ARCHIVES : November 2021

Sub*T – ‘Table for Four’

Based in California, Sub*T are a garage rock duo who’ve got a penchant for laid-back, lo-fi, 90s inspired grunge-tinged indie.

‘Table for Four’ is the latest single from Jade Alcantara and Grace Bennett and it delivers all that and more. Endearingly ramshackle, it introduces us with an easy going languid air as riffs meander amid a mild layer of warm fuzz, there is an overwhelming sense of melancholy and loss. The latter qualities are rendered by the emotional weight of the rousing vocals, which spurs ‘Table of Four’ toward an impassioned, rousing climax that is explosive. Ramshackle indie packed with passion, fuzzed-up distorted guitars, sweet licks and crashing drums – it is a potent blast of noise and distortion that is so pretty damn irresistible – it is rare that just two people can make such an appealing racket. 

A brilliant intro to the pair’s wares, listen to ‘Table of Four’ below. It is lifted from their debut EP So Green, which is coming soon.

Vanessa Van Ness – ‘The Early Bus’

Vanessa Van Ness is a New York-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a penchant for eerie post-punk with psych brush strokes.

Van Ness’ latest single ‘The Early Bus’ is a very personal one, intimate and hypnotic, it is fraught with a harrowing sense of eeriness as it deals with her brother getting hit by a car when they were kids, and taking an early bus each day to visit him in the hospital over a span of six months. A stirring, emotionally charged and sentimental track that musically nods in the direction of 70s/80s UK post-punk and motorik krautrock. Melancholic vocals whisper and flicker above a hypnotic groove while guitars shapeshift and evaporate amid the sparse sea of atmospherics, synth and psych brush strokes. ‘The Early Bus’ is incredibly powerful, moving and captivating – it may be dark and eerie but is also extremely touching too.

Listen to ‘The Early Bus’ below:

SPRINTS – ‘Modern Job’

We’ve been tracking Dublin-based post-punk outfit Sprints for a while now and have impressed no end on each time of asking with their raw, raucous and potent post-punk sound.

Following on from the phenomenal Manifesto EP earlier thai year, Sprints return with news of new EP called A Modern Job, which is due out via Nice Swan Records on March 11 2022. Sprints have already left an indelible mark with releases to date and like their previous work is a fired-up, raucous blast of post-punk. Exploding out of the blocks with ferocious vitality and energy, Karla Chubb’s spoken-sung vocals bite and rise with a focused anger amid the dark, bass-heavy rumblings, sharp guitars and searing noise. Dark, brooding and bone-rattling, potent and poignant;  impressive stuff as usual.

Listen to ‘Modern Job’ below:

Lauran Hibberd – ‘Charlie’s Car’

Lauran Hibberd is an ever reliable source of irresistible blasts of fuzz-filled guitar-pop with a satiric, tongue-in-cheek manner, and wrapped with fuzz, crunchy guitars and anthemic might.

The Isle of Wight native never fails to impress and Hibberd continues this trend with new single ‘Charlie’s Car’. It is the first new material from since the release of the ‘Goober’ EP back in the summer and like the EP, is produced by Suzy Shinn (Weezer, Fall Out Boy). Filled with recognisable attributes that have marked Hibberd’s work to date; it is punchy, potent and powerful with crunching guitars, massive soaring riffs and hooks you could hang your hat on, all bathed in a wall of warm fuzz and distortion. Oh, and it is so catchy. Did we mention it’s catchy? Well it is catchy, so bloody catchy. This fuzz-filled anthem will be bouncing around your head all day long.

Give ‘Charlie’s Car’ a spin below – you’ll be all the better for it.

Kelp – ‘Polygon’

Kelp is a Belfast-based purveyor of loungey cosmic electronica fronted by an inch high, ethereal deep sea diver with a preoccupation for vocoders and additive synthesis.

The surrealist project was introduced around this time last year through debut single ‘Spleen’; an ethereal, slumbering and woozy slice of escapism. Kelp is back with a new single ‘Polygon’. A two-and-a-half minute sojourn to a spellbinding interstellar loungey paradise. It slinks coolly on by, leaving us in a dream-like state, with an alluring blend of slinky, synth-pop with psych brush strokes and woozy synth lines bewitching us entirely. Instantly lovable, ‘Polygon’ breezes gracefully with a seductive soulful underbelly and charm to woo you, so powerful is this that it will have you headed straight for repeated listens.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say we are witnessing Ireland’s, indeed the world’s, greatest musical miniature deep-sea diver fishbowl figurine. All joking aside, this is a marvelous single from a wonderful talent.

Listen to ‘Polygon’ below now – it is yet another absolute joy.

Louiza – ‘Kind Coincidence’

West Coast multi-instrumentalist Rebecca Mimiaga, aka Louiza, has impressed with a slew of super releases over recent years – Trick (2017) & Swim at Night (2019) & On, Off (2021) – and Louiza is back with a stunning new single ‘Kind Coincidence’.

‘Kind Coincidence’ sees Louiza embrace the synth/electro-pop side of her sound over the crunchy guitars and power pop riffs that marked some of her earlier work but while sweeter, it remains recognizably Louiza’s sound. It is a catchy, groovy and fizzy slice of synth-sprinkled indie-pop; sweet honeyed vocals cruise coolly above an insistent bass/drum locked in groove as guitars shimmer and twinkle amid the lush and hazy cosmic atmospherics. It is super catchy, fresh and rather hypnotic – another absolute gem from Louiza.

Listen to ‘Kind Coincidence’ below and the White Light EP (limited edition cassette) is out on October 29, 2021.

Amber Jay – ‘Equal’

Amber Jay is a Liverpool-based artist and musician with a real flair for captivating, synth-splashed, electronic alt-pop – and a flair matched by an enviable embrace for experimentation and pushing the boundaries.

Jay introduced this penchant for futuristic synth-fueled alt-pop with debut EP Never Too Far From A Dark Thought earlier this year, and has followed that up with new single ‘Equal’.

Deep basslines whisk us into a trance as suave blissful vocals deliver precision tones sending an eerie shiver down the spine while synths burn and shimmer, as Jay’s message of equality is cast in an ever-evolving and cinematic soundscapes. Rarely does an artist bring so many alternating facets of sound to bear, while crafting a sound so cohesive, captivating and transfixing – but in the case of Amber Jay, that’s the raison d’etre.

Listen to ‘Equal’ below – yet another piece of brilliance.