Featuring moments of funk, punk, trip hop, new wave, rock, dance, Latin and even reggae, New Loser resounds as a slick and often lick-driven alternative rock album. We get instrumental gems and smart references, relatable vocals, the likes of Scars presenting warmth and good vibes contrasted by an intriguing subject matter.
Alt Rock
Unconfined by genre is the songwriter who writes because there is no real alternative. The songs are the answers to our inner conflicts and concerns – they provide solace, an outlet, and some kind of clarity, and you can feel that as an observer of Paper Crown. The authenticity is impossible to fake, and the emotion woven into each performance, each original song, reinforces that throughout.
Superb tone, heavy rock smoothly captured – a new metal take with a twist of grunge, indie, post-punk. Jessica (Fucking) James gifts iconic vocals, to the infectious and timeless alt-metal anthem No Such Thing.
Stylistically, Friendship Commanders have their own thing going on entirely here. The songwriting, for me, tips its hat to the likes of Pearl Jam, for its depth and reflection, its meandering melodies – that meeting of the unpredictable and the satisfying. Again though, there’s something clearly their own about these lyrics, and the way they’re performed.
A song for the people, World War Infinity reacts to the authoritarianism that threatens our freedom, and reflects upon the ongoing destruction of progress – the ruling class’s greed and thirst for power. It’s a song of despair, but it’s rooted in hope, and that positive angle is ultimately what resounds, as we roll through these hugely impassioned moments of all-together-now chorus.
It’s an exciting, dark and engaging listen, and every time those quiet moments take hold, the wait for the drop is immense, and the hook ultimately pierces through with a perfectly captured vibrancy and passion.
UK alt-rock band Dissolved Girl continue to blend the atmospheric and intense, with their fifth single release, the brilliantly complex and nostalgic Granite State.
Featuring the perfect balance of slick, distorted riffs, high energy, the roar and melody combined to create pure impact, BLOOD DRIPS leads with an hypnotic level of rising anticipation, following whispered, grunge-like vocals through tuneful verses, towards the full rock explosion of an instrumental drop.
Why this title? What connects these ideas and feelings? There’s so much to unpack, and yet at the same time, the cinematic presence and performative charm of the project lets the music simply engage with and entertain its listener. In short, Pertinax is stunning, and impressively free in its artistic and playful creativity.
Organic, live, psychedelic indie-rock sets a strong groove, while gentle vocals and complex, captivating original lyrics paint stories impressively original and genuine. New York rockers The Grasping Straws hold authenticity in high regard, with the dreamy riffs, fresh melodies, thoughtful musings and brilliantly framed ideas of Shapes.
Fellow Mancunians The Alicias carve out a refreshingly organic and energised lane, as their brand new EP What In Me Is Dark? intertwines conceptual depth with nostalgic alt-rock passion and power.
Hugely immersive rock production lets the evocative metal tones of Death is Calling set an unignorable vibe. Deflecting Ghosts bring a uniquely intentional style and sentiment to the realm, with this impactful and subtly genre-fusing original.