Adrien’s voice maintains its authenticity – the performance feeling genuinely like a simple ode or letter to a significant other, never initially meant to be heard by strangers, but all the more intoxicating for that quality.
Songwriter
Sometimes a song just intrigues you enough with its sense of character and unexpected story that you can’t help but grow to love it. French trio WOooodz seem to have mastered that quality here, blending the mildly unremarkable with the outright unpredictably powerful, for an evocative and catchy indie hit with a clear sense of conceptual relevance.
Perhaps his first masterpiece, Leaving feels like a structurally knowledgeable yet still intriguingly alternative indie treasure of a track. I’ve mentioned The Eels previously in terms of that vocal rasp and warmth, the joyful twinkle of the instrumentation, but from a songwriting perspective Marshall Gray falls somewhere between the likes of the nineties emo artists and the more edgy realism of bands like Radiohead and REM.
Recently made record of the week on FM-R Radio in the Netherlands, When We’re Home offers a timeless sense of musicality and appreciation for the little things in life – the calming sense of stillness and safety provided by coming home; wherever in the world that may be.
These days it seems like a rare experience to stumble upon a song that feels as if it were written during a time when there was not a shallow thirst for fame driving the creative process. Songs that feel timeless, authentic and heart-warming in a manner that’s unique to the listener, are few and far between.
This is the style The Rubicon have mastered, and these songs are arguably the best of the best in terms of their commitment and authenticity in the creative realm. Feel the uplift, the warmth, the honesty and heart, enjoy the genre-free expression and unplugged realness of a band both nostalgic and refreshingly true to their own artistic needs.
If you weren’t a fan of Anti-Hero before, I’d take bets that you will be after listening. And if you already were – here’s a whole new tempo and flavour to reignite your love for it.
Contemporary storytelling complete with fearless vulnerability and vocal character combined – Sid Dorey masters the freedom of creative writing, with the deeply evocative and artistically unique EP Drama In Doses.
Country, Folk and Americana all soulfully united with stories that relate and reflect – Banner Johnson returns, with a full length album of heartfelt gems and outright anthems alike.
While the verses tell a story of deceit and betrayal, the song is essentially a celebration of knowing that things always come back around – a deep-rooted understanding that those who hurt others end up getting hurt themselves soon enough.
New Jersey artist and multi-instrumentalist Brittneyann leads with a divinely delicate and breathy RnB vocal, throughout the smooth-indie pop single Friends Lovers Enemies.
Always a dangerous word to throw around in a relationship, Irrational is a song that explores the genuine issue of overreacting to minor situations, but it does so in such a joyful bounce of a way that it almost feels like a compliment.