Bosola – This Time Buddy, It’s All On You
Newcastle-based singer songwriter and musician Tim Cox has been releasing infectious indie pop song after another. In the past few months his name started doing the rounds and his upbeat and uplifting alternative pop sound kept making appearances on blogs, playlists and in venues while waiting for live music to start. ‘This Time Buddy, It’s All On You’, is possibly one of our favourite songs as well as the last release ahead of his upcoming EP! Bosola create a soothing sound for fans of Tom Waits, Flyte and Conor Oberst.
Phantom Atlantic – Man Like You
We continue our afternoon with an intriguing intro that sets of the tranquil alternative folk pop song that was just released by Toronto outfit Phantom Atlantic. With vocals that resemble those of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, ‘Man Like You’ is intriguing and flows like a waterfall; boisterous yet refined. It is a grand song, a sound with an edge and something that we can completely lose ourselves in. The single will make an appearance on the forthcoming EP, and lifts a tip of the veil of what we can expect of their upcoming work. “‘Man Like You’ cinematically explores an ideal self that feels continually out of grasp – and may only be an illusion.”
Transit Club – Metro
Stockholm-based emerging outfit Transit Club have mesmerised us with almost all of their previously releases and are now back with a more upbeat and uplifting alternative pop rock single. ‘Metro’ is a bopping anthem about a love for trains and meeting someone on the metro… It is refreshing, sounds and tastes like summer and without a doubt brings a smile to its listeners’ faces!
4B2M – Money For Sale
The past year brought us many positive things and one of those is the first recorded music of 4B2M being released. The Dutch sensation is currently taking over the Dutch scene by storm, after having performed together for a while without having anything recorded and released. Last year was the time for the four brothers to step out of the shade and into the sunshine. ‘Money For Sale’ is just the ray of sunshine that we needed, almost jazzy, calming and peculiar. The band show off their experience in previous formations with unique compositions and fun vocals harmonies!
Cloudland – St. Elmo
We continue with more warm vocal tones, combines with an interesting and fun soundscape building on distorted riffs and surprising rhythm-changes. Those warm vocals with their soft edge are what give Cloudland’s ‘St. Elmo’ its personality and make it an outstanding and infectious indie pop track that is so hard not to move along to! The band are releasing their debut EP at the start of July this year and hopefully it will be one available on vinyl because we could all use a little more Cloudland in our homes!
The Sarandons – Stand Down
Put on your dancing shoes, plaster a smile on your face and let your hair hang loose. The Sarandons bring a positive and uplifting sounding track in the form of their latest release ‘Stand Down’. We go from fast paced to slow paced, enjoy their filthy hooks and the vocals that playfully dance around a large field of green filled with daisies and busy bees flying around. ‘Stand Down’ is made up of dripping guitar lines, billowing melodies and defiant drums and bass!
Raye Robinson – Daisies
Indie alternative pop songstress Raye Robinson just released her debut single ‘Daisies’, it’s a soft and warm-hearted song with a simple yet infectious soundscape. ‘Daisies’ is the first release of her upcoming EP ‘Crushes & Love Songs’ and sets the tone for what we can expect of future releases from the Los Angeles-based artist. Her sound is determined and well-produced, a tad too slick at times but catchy and soothing with a successful chorus that is quite the earwig. For fans of early Lily Allen, Raye Robinson will be right up your street!
Fabri – Here Tonight
Fabri’s pensive pop sound is intriguing and almost mysterious. His latest single ‘Here Tonight’ builds upon a slow intro, and an ever more filling soundscape that evolves throughout the track’s 3 minutes and 8 seconds. His soft and warm vocals lead through ‘Hear Tonight’ and make it a comforting alternative singer songwriter song. His sound is simple yet refined and makes us think back of winters around the fire, being surrounded by friends and family. Fabri doesn’t create songs, he creates short and genuine stories that most of us have been through.
Joe Fox & The Frantics – Smoke Show
‘Smoke Show’ is the grand and anthemic return of Joe Fox & The Frantics and despite it being our first encounter with the riff-oriented indie band, it couldn’t have been a better first encounter! They’re another LA-based outfit that are blowing our socks off with their loud and energetic new sound, the band is inspired by British indie rock and combines influences from both geographical areas into compositions that are unique to their own musical personalities!
Nylon Six – We Are Smart
‘We Are Smart’ is the debut single of eccentric duo Nylon Six, also being the lead track of the debut EP that was released at the end of April. The humble and experimental alternative pop outfit are bringing us an interesting sound in the form of single ‘We Are Smart’. It’s an almost comedic, light-hearted sound that is essentially about plastic. “The ever-growing proliferation of plastic waste and the destruction that it wreaks upon the world and its inhabitants.” The Dutch-American duo create progressive pop and wrap their critical messages into simple yet refined pop soundscapes!
Martha St. Arthur – Flicker
Captivating songstress Martha St. Arthur is back with her latest single ‘Flicker’, a pensive slow burner of which the mix folds slowly and carefully around her grand and sparkling voice. Its slightly dramatic tone and slow paced soundscape bring extra attention to the lyrics, which makes ‘Flicker’ more of a short story than a song. The song was released alongside the debut album ‘Greatest Hits!’ and is the acceptance of the unexceptional. “‘Flicker’ is the long exhale that rids you of your anxieties that tell you that you aren’t enough. We are conditioned to believe that we are special and important and deserving of fame and fortune and ‘Flicker’ is the relief felt when you realise that we aren’t special at all – that the universe will continue on without us and that there is beauty in the everyday things that we often overlook.”
JAWS – Untitled
An ethereal new alternative shoegaze track has been released by Birmingham-based outfit JAWS, ‘Untitled’ is mesmerising from the very first notes. Its slow build up makes for an intriguing and almost mysterious alternative track that spins around vocals that keep seeming to slowly disappear within the mix however never truly fade. ‘Untitled’ is grand yet fragile and was recorded for last album ‘The Ceiling’, “but just didn’t make the final track listen. It’s a track I’ve always loved,” says frontman Connor, “it reminds me a lot of our earlier stuff and I guess it’s a nod to that.”
Azu Yeché – Somebody
Azu Yeché swept us off our feet with one of his previous singles ‘Lagos’, and now that he’s back with new single ‘Somebody’, he shows that he has not lost any of the charisma of his soulful and anthemic pop sound! Its glorious vocals and the soothing and rather simplistic soundscape of ‘Somebody’ embody a situation most of us have found ourselves in, “the situation where someone falls in love with their idea of who you are as opposed to who you actually are. The song deals with this struggle at its breaking point where there is no other option but to break away from the cage created by this. I personally have felt quite misunderstood even in some very close relationships and I think that’s where this song came from.”
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