Complex artistic sculpting akin to the days when each single was a creative ode to a story and sense of intention. Jared Hara builds up the presence and depth of The Chase brilliantly, evolving from these dreamy trip hop beginnings of quietly whispered vocal melodies, to the full-throttle pace and weight of pop punk and new metal at its peak.
Rock
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 deciding factor is not always just my enjoyment of the track, sometimes it helps to note the response of others who hear it playing. My three-year-old son is not easy to please musically, but as I turned this one up loud, he ran into the room dancing, and openly declared it ‘his favourite song’. Strangely enough, it quickly became mine, too.
Neatly-packed as ten original tracks with a fiercely anthemic opener, With Friends & Imperfections is a classic rock album at its core, but offers a fresh leading character, an often hyper sense of pace, and a series of unexpected stories.
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.
Conceptually personal in its intimacy and contemplation, there’s something also quite familiar about these reflections and ideas – as well as about the instrumental build. We approach the mid-section and the track switches gears entirely – a new leading riff, a clear vocal passion and grit, and an overall sense of sudden hard-rock inspiration to really bring home the changing emotions of the song.
A progressive journey but one well-rooted by the unmistakable vocal hook and character found throughout, Symmetry is perhaps Coda Nova’s most ambitious track yet, a quirky exploration of particle physicists who find themselves in deep water, and an instrumental explosion that’s immense; but the band have mastered that process
Featuring the additional talents of Rick del Castillo, Hello Houston is an upbeat earworm at its core – a timeless kind of Bruce Springsteen-inspired ode to the melodic and distorted passion of rock from a simpler era.
Producer and songwriter Simone Contin captures attention beautifully, with the creatively balanced fusion of rock traits that is Nella mia testa.
Coming in at a fairly standard three-thirteen, the make-up and concept of Life’s Sweet Caress is decidedly familiar, but the vocal stylings, the meandering and often unpredictable melody, leans somewhat towards the freedom and piercing artistry of acts like Asaf Avidan.
Adam Layne Fisher is the man behind Kings of Men, a musician blending traditional instrumentation with generative AI, resulting in a fascinatingly successful take on what AI can mean for the future of music.
Switzerland folk and rock outfit Burning Sage continue to bring emotional intensity back to the scene, not least of all with their latest atmospheric, lyrical and melodic gem that is Weapons of My Hometown.