Organic and honest songwriting, live recordings to match – a singer-songwriter authenticity that’s needed in these times. Gregor Vagner brings the melody and music to move you, with the hopeful tune, acoustic groove, and outer-layered meandering electric guitar, of Rosemary.
USA
To coincide with the launch of his distinct and slick new self-titled EP, we caught an interview with rapper and songwriter Milovay, to find out more about the music, the stylish production, the vulnerability of the songs, and his evolution as an artist. Here’s how it went.
“I wrote it from a place of realizing how loud the world can be, even when you are alone, and how easy it is to confuse anxiety with intuition. The EP is my way of choosing something quieter but stronger, the voice underneath the chaos.”
Everything from the lyrics to the arrangement breathes new life and creative realism into the space. ELROD is humble but effective, the melody short and snappy, the production subtle but purposeful. Vulnerability is bold yet also vague, meaning you can make this your own, attach your meanings and memories, whilst believing that every word is authentic and heavy to the singer.
Electronic pop-rock and evocative self-reflection tackles the process of building, breaking, and redefining one’s identity and life. Sonic Pulse Project’s 4th album to date brings 10 original tracks of slick riffs and contemplative stories, for The Blueprint.
Snappy and catchy as it should be, with great vocals building towards a superb and nostalgic hook, You Don’t Wanna Know is dark and moody but uplifting – the kind of old-school nu-metal track that screams out on behalf of those stories and emotions that weigh heavily in the backs of our minds.
Live guitars, live keys, live vocals – live visuals to reinforce the realness – authenticity rings loud, alongside great songwriting, as Johnny Minkley delivers the catchy hook, poetry, and anthemic power of Forever Falling.
Explosive political artistry of a post-punk vocal energy, scathing lyrical pairing, live vocals and assisted production – Gregory Lioi holds nothing back performatively, with the high-energy weight and theatrics of Uncomfortably Numb.
Knflct returns, the organic chaos of an elusive artist with a level of creative freedom and intention that stops you in your tracks. This two-track release entitled Oh… is as stylistically raw and carefree as its title implies, but it also employs both a colourful and distorted production, to elevate a simple, descending melody, and self-reflective sentiments that feel scornful but empowering.
From the EP of the same name, SOMETIMES I FEEL introduces the melodic and introspective artistry of Sollars in a way that’s both evocative and catchy.
You have to hear it to know how it feels – words can’t really convey. This song has the alt-folk beauty and pop warmth of some of history’s classic, unpredictable hits. Something like Ben Howard’s Keep Your Head Up, an alt-folk legend lifting the mood; this time somehow both catchy and not. Calling For Change is soulful, to repeat that truth again. It’s yearning, mellow then emotionally desperate in its outcry, and the set-up furthers this, with modest guitar solo moments and a huge crescendo at the end.
US rocker and lifelong musician DownTown Mystic pays tribute this season to the legendary Bruce Springsteen E Street Band, with this collaborative two-side single release Hard Enough (Remix) – from the upcoming full-length album.