Piano and acoustic guitar meet for a classic four-chord ballad set-up, alongside Pete Byrd’s shaky and expressive leading voice – a distinct tone that naturally meets the interesting bar set by these deeply revealing lyrics. With artwork and a title as artistic and intriguing as this, the music and performance simply had to follow suit, and I’d say the rising emotion and energy of Sally It’s Raining Again absolutely does.
Music
Coming in at over six minutes of exploration, Time Irrelevant sees its listeners plunged into a web of multiple layers of distorted guitars and classic eighties rhythms. At the same time, subtle waves of synth and electronic instrumentation meet with organic, acoustic ones, to craft something that’s both a looping realm of comfort, and a consistently evolving delivery of rising anticipation.
Introducing an intoxicating balance of high-octane rhythms and euphoric production – Child of SP fuses genres with relevance and fluidity, for the boldly thought-provoking single Halo.
Colourful indie pop with a clean vocal and a quirky balancing between RnB and Pop songwriting, even with a twist of something rap-like on occasion – Kibs unites the relatable and unorthodox, with the catchy fluidity and relationship longing of Find A Way Back.
It’s a the all-too familiar story of keeping up appearances, carrying on and putting on a brave face in order to maintain the respect of those around us; rather than letting the weight fall away by sharing it with a friend or someone who actually cares.
Light and breezy indie pop with an organic guitar and bass combination, guides us into the quirky vocal stylings and story of DAS.D’s Face in the Crowd.
An ever-inventive and often ground-breaking composer of our time, David Ratmoko continues to push the boundaries of modern instrumental music, with the vastly immersive layers and euphoric intensity of Prelude Two.
The intimate piano format and cleanly-mixed vocals seem incredibly rare these days. Even the biggest pop ballads of recent years have had some kind of huge moment where drums crash and a choir joins the process. Rafael Montecruz keeps things refreshingly genuine though, and the song is so well written and performed, that really, nothing else is needed to communicate its intentions.
Poignant lyrics and piercing sound-design carefully intertwines delicacy and depth – St.Serpentis carves out a gritty and contemplative new lane, with the fascinating and consuming single Razorblade Laced Lullaby.
Organic vibes and distinct vocal leadership guides with humility and calm, through an intriguingly arranged yet infectious new release, from singer, rapper and artist Yeno LND.
In an industry loaded with flashy images and intentions, with showboating and volume and the constant pressures dictating that we all aspire to own Lamborghinis – above purely being better individuals – artists who truly adore the wonders of the real world, and who make music and create things purely out of a love for doing so, are increasingly the ones worth listening to.
Beautifully intoxicating purely on the surface of this dreamy and reverb-drenched arena of contemplation, Dance With Darkness is impossible to ignore, yet it’s also impressively modest and calm in its confrontational realism.