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.
Grunge
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.
Eclectic hard rock with a clear alternative angle leaves familiarity and unpredictable freedom running wildly together. The Juan Solo 7 capture the essence of organic alt-rock songwriting, with the ethereal intensity of Persona.
This is genuinely one of the most likable, engaging and rather addictive alternative rock EPs to hit the scene in recent years. Smokedown master the space within which the music exists, not just playing for themselves, nor simply for you, but creating something that feels both comforting in its groove and persistence, and completely unexpected in both topic and tenacity.
Israel-based producer and songwriter Nadav Ettlinger carves out a raw melodic and distorted lane as a contemporary creative.
That’s the key these days, songwriting that balances the quirky and the commonplace, to engage and stand out all at once. It’s a simple psychedelic combination of musicality and playful, cat-like guitar sounds, but it all feeds into the beast that is Radioactive Cat. An angry celebration of sorts – one that will no doubt go down brilliantly at live shows.
The UK’s own Kath Moskvina, an indie-rock musician with a twist of electronic and cinematic design to her sound, stands tall on the strength of contemplative and grunge-like integrity and depth, throughout the engaging and impressively unique single Outsider.
Defiantly unique and rather fearless in bridging the gap between the most intense distorted music and the more charming softness of acoustic and melodic satisfaction, In The Chaos I Return is a fascinating project, which feels profoundly more vast than its three-track limit appears to imply.
For me, tracks like this are few and far between – the vibe is that of an early 2000s alternative rock approach, but the songwriting and personality breathe new life into the delivery; resulting in an independent style that’s honest, provocative, and naturally an earworm.
Chris establishes the artistic journey really well, the final section acting as a brief second verse; a momentary return to quiet poetry, before we explode back into the peak of the arrangement, for the mighty and resounding, familiar ache of ‘I’m reminded that you’re not here anymore – As I pull myself from off this floor’.
“We are sponsored by www.fenderaudio.com and will be giving a speaker away next month through our social media.”
Anthemic by design but also unafraid to push the creative boat out further than mainstream officials may recommend, Signature Gold effectively unite alternative and accessible rock and metal with this release, and showcase great songwriting abilities at the same time.