S J Denney- High Flying Birds
S J Denney is a UK-based singer and songwriter who centres his work around alternative folk-rock. He started his journey as a Church Boy who played the Clarinet. S J naturally gravitated toward Rock music, which significantly influence his work. You can see how much he values the classic with his Elton John-like texture in High Flying Birds S J Denney’s latest release- High Flying Birds follows Wishful Thinking, another single. S J plays with perspective remarkably well in his music. We see this In High Flying Birds too, from the perspective of melody, it feels jolly. Especially with the way the song blooms in the beginning with the strings, the tangerine and the piano. The instruments' tone, the gospel-like layering, and the choir cushion you into safety. But with soul-touching lyrics such as“I don’t need your sympathy. it just reminds me that I’m all alone in a world of my own.” it leaves you lonely. He related more to birds than humans. The way the orchestra engulf’s you with its beauty is like a wave welcomed in an ocean. This quality truly sets it apart. Into The Wild by Sean Penn is a masterpiece of a film. With the film’s aesthetically detailed camera work and cinematography, it has you hooked from the start. The film centres around a young man who gives up everything to hitch-hike to Alaska alone. The entire film consists of him helping himself and others to figure things out about life. High Flying Birds’ quality of yearning makes it custom-made for the film. You can imagine the song play as he sits and drives an immovable trailer. S J Denney does a beautiful job of neatly wrapping up a complex piece of art to be devoured by an audience, leaving you wanting more. You must follow him on his socials to see other such genius songwriting.
Justine Vandergrift- Little Bird
Justine Vandergrift released her new single- Little Bird and it whisks you away with its melody into another world. The track is a mellow number that bubbles to life with this intimate quality to it. This happens only because of the delicate and meticulous concoction of the guitar and the backing sounds. This elevates her gentle yet powerful voice. The lyrics of Little Bird are effortlessly beautifully crafted. The track begins with a simple guitar riff that gives us the first stroke of a picturesque song that is to come. The lyrics feel so intimate. It feels like Justine picked out words from every woman’s (young and old) journal. Following this, she gave them a gift they had never received before- a prompt to give in, let loose and fly. Justine's expertise in music really stands out in little Bird with her dynamic shifts and vocal harmonies. This creates a vivid, rich and lush soundscape to dive into. Real Women Have Curves by Patricia Cardoso is an exquisite film that is a hug to society. If you are someone who has had experiences with body shaming, this film will gently hold you. The film showcases how generational trauma gets passed on and we have the power to address it and break the pattern. In this case, it is body shaming. Little Bird would be a beautiful song as Ana gets her female family members to strip in their shop and celebrate their bodies. What a wholesome watch that would be! Little Bird by Justine Vandergrift is a testament to her ability to create an incredibly moving number that resonates with a large audience. This is all thanks to Justine’s craftsmanship that has us invested. It's no wonder she is gaining listeners across America.
Kelly Phoenix - Move On Up
*WARNING* addictive song up ahead, the accused being Kelly Phoenix with his latest sweet crime- Move On Up. Phoenix truly knows how to mix things up and mix he does with this alt-rock-jazz number. His vocals and instrumentals dazzle and make their talent known, up until the very end. Phoenix sets the mood with the thumping beats that fill the room with haze, ready for Phoenix to enter the stage. And Phoenix pulls up with the most “cool as a cucumber” aura. He injects the room with energy as the guitar has the room soaring to new heights. The track would be perfect in This Means War. The playfulness in the song can make the rom-com drama, that much more delicious for the viewers. So sit back and buckle up while Kelly Phoenix takes you into a techni-coloured wonderland. You must check out the links attached above and give him and his work the attention they so rightfully deserve.
Mia Giovina - Without A Note
To hear an array of sounds in a world that is drowning at the moment feels like the perfect antidote we need and Mia Giovina gives us exactly that. Her new album Without A Note is the giving tree that does not stop giving. The album consists of 5 songs that will knock at your heart’s door in all earnestness. Mia is a gifted melody craftsman who has given us the perfect album to ease into. She has embellished the track with different textures that add a whole lot of dimensions to the album. A walk with Mia Giovina to Deathbed Deathbed begins like a gloomy choir on a rainy day with a guitar pushing the song forward. The track is gradually propelled forward with Mia’s voice. She delicately sings of heartbreak. The track is everything we need to be gracefully angry at ourselves for giving an undeserving person a chance. We’ve all been there. The album opens with a bang where the lyrics clearly make you taste the acid she feels for this past relationship. Losing time This is followed by Losing Time and we are back to feeling the fear but rather a fear that radiates from within. Losing Time is a track that is dedicated Mia’s younger self. The track really touches upon some of the most ancient and insecure nerves in our bodies that need so much love. In this track, she sings of loving while also competing with our past selves. We sit with so much comparison as it is and we don’t realise how much of ourselves tries to live with our past, past lovers, past bodies, past homes, friendships, everything. Not realising how much of our present and future selves we lose by committing this act. Without a Note We finally hear Beckett’s gun go off with Without A Note. The album is already embellished with a whole new variety of gentle- heartbreak- sway. All this while it remains soft on the ear. The track has a slight spiralling quality to it with the way the background music swells and dips, adding to the tension. Mia manages to hold onto and build on this tension. With such a well-crafted heartbreak track, it would work incredibly well in Sex Education. Particularly when Ruby says “I Love You” to Otis. I have never wanted to punch anyone as hard as I wanted to punch Otis at that very moment. Ruby deserved and deserves so much more! When we look at this album, we know that Mia Giovina has given us the perfect break-up album to sing our hearts out to. Mia has all our hearts in a jar already. This fresh release deserves so much more attention so go, don’t be shy. Click on the links attached above and enter a forest with gentle streams of heartbreak!
Jakob The Liar - Vi@gr@ Falls & P!$$ Graffiti
Vi@gr@ Falls & P!$$ Graffiti is a big stick it to the regime kind of song by Jakob The Liar. The track is a water slide that, twists and turns, taking you on a a whirlwind ride. Vi@gr@ Falls & P!$$ Graffiti is unlike any song out there by any standards. Jakob knows what he is doing by giving us fresh textures to experience and get lost within. Jakob has created a track for us to immerse ourselves in, it is honestly a meditative journey. It is a treat as we allow ourselves to get carried away in this whirlwind of a track. It takes us swishing in its ocean of sounds. The track cannot be trapped within one genre. He has given us a punk-rock-rap mixture. The sound section in the song feels like pieces taken from different puzzle sets. Yet, it goes together perfectly well. He evokes a plethora of images and colours as we allow our imagination to dive into his soundscape. The track belongs in an iconic yet mundane and elevated reality film, a film like Birdman. This cult classic is one of the few films that has the wingspan to carry a masterpiece such as this single. Jakob The Liar is a name to watch out for and trust me, you would want to follow the links attached above. Especially because you will be screaming his lyrics out loud in the coming years. Watch out for this rising star as i have no doubt that he will be making waves in the Indie music scene.
Amy van Keeken - Wave At Me
Wave At Me by Amy van Keeken comes at you like Newton’s apple, with a whole lot of gravity that might change the course of knowledge. There is a brilliance to the production process that Keeken brings to her music. As listeners, you feel a sense of intense calmness owed to the minimalist texture in her music. Keeken gives us a zinger of an album that blows our minds with a palette full of flavors and depth that will blow your mind. She brings an 80’s pop meets modern-day experimental sensibilities to the table that gives us fresh energy to hold onto as listeners. Amy Van Keeken says Wave At Me The first track of the album is the reason for the album itself. She doesn’t beat around the bush. Keeken comes at us with intense music and a voice that sounds like Christmas on the shores. Much like the waves her voice ebbs and flows and comes at you one after the other through her layering. Much like the rest of her album, she has kept it simple- it’s her and her guitar with a few other instrumental chimes here and there. But all you need is this much to give the listeners goosebumps. We Cried On The Phone We see her layering the song with more than just instruments and her own voice in We Cried On The Phone. She uses soft nature sounds and she uses it with such technique to create depth through this layering. She uses this depth to bounce off her voice. The track feels like the gushing of a waterfall amid a forest but in slow motion. It also feels like the last goodbye in a relationship when you are left to process everything alone. Follow Me We have Follow Me after She Don’t Cry About Time. I truly believe this is one of her more special songs in the album. You hear the birds and the day goes by as she sings in the foreground of this perfect backdrop. The sound of her voice is truly ethereal in this song. To end with this song also feels like we are ending with a note of hope. Keeken gives us early morning dew drops on rich green blades of grass in the form of a song in Follow Me. Initially when I heard the first set of songs in the album I truly believed that it would be perfect in Lone Ranger but later I felt like it would also be perfect in Penelope. Both films are brilliant in their forms of storytelling. This also tells us how versatile of a writer Amy van Keeken is. You can see for yourself what I’m talking about if you click on the links above. She is a unique singer and a trial blazer of a writer. Very few singers and songwriters possess the grace with which she writes her powerful songs.
Archie Ray - End Of The Line
There is nothing more joyous than having the sky opening up and having a gift of song by Archie Ray plop straight onto your lap. End Of The Line is almost like a mature version of what the music scene was like in the mid to late 2010s. I would describe this song to be the perfect rainbow in the sky. It makes you want to jump, celebrate and thank the universe for the gift of all sorts of relationships. Archie honestly has a pulse of what the people need in this day and age. The track is up and bubbly through and through not in an annoying way but more so in an engaging way. While the energy of the song is up and high throughout, there is enough and more variation. This is because of the vocals of course but I would like to take a moment and thank the backing music composer. This song is well-stitched, what I mean is, that the production sensibilities of this song are spot-on. When you hear this song, you feel the youth ooze out of the song and it is only fair to through a little bit more texture in there and say Sky High. In fact, this song is so universal that you can envision this song playing during the credits of a rom-com, comedy or even a film about friendship. We are the passengers as Archie Ray drives us into the future where he has the Indie music in the palm of his hands.
Wishpenny - Day After Dark
This Nashville group is all set your senses on fire unapologetically with Day After Dark and they do this in the most Wishpenny manner. They swagger in with their gravity-heavy folk-rock vibes that send chills down your spine. This album seems to be more magnetic than ever. It is peppered with all sorts of instrumental bits that need a stage of its own. What they have shown us is the power of collaboration . They have successfully found that sweet spot of balance, it particularly shines through in Closer. Day After Dark with Wishpenny The album is kick-started by Day after Dark, this seems to be the most talked about track and for good reason. It begins with this classic guitar section that is propelled with the drums and we hear Regina’s vocals enter the stage. The minute we hear the vocals we are left gasping and it only gets better with the Trumpet. Day After Dark feels like a party in your ears that makes your senses dance all together. Generally speaking, the production on this album is immaculate, there is an earthy texture that shines. Not About Love We get into the thick of Wishpenny’s experience with the Glide and Cover and Better Than We Found It. Both these tracks have excellent instrumentals that have their graph clear. We feel Not About Love crescendo in our bones. By the time we get to Not About Love, Wishpenny has successfully immersed us in their world. This track is a steady pace but we hear the folk roots clear as day, it sounds earthy. We can almost hear the texture and layout of the dry mountains in this track. Every aspect of the song is purposeful and shines through and yet they display a sense of spontaneity, that has us itching to get on our feet and groove. Step Into The Sun Generally, the pace of the songs is slow and upbeat-y but there is something special about Step Into The Sun. This one has a beat structure that doesn't surprise you like the rest and that is so comforting as we’ve experienced a rich soundscape until now. The vocals are soft and gentle and hold you throughout the journey to the sun. I truly believe this album is as earnest as the storytelling in Juno is. Juno has a special energy about it, especially because it handles a complicated topic such as teenage pregnancy and the consequences of it so tenderly. This is very similar to the style of writing Wishpenny offers us, complicated yet earnest and warm. The craft that the band displays is undeniably one of the best out there in the indie music world. You can hear this yourself, all you have to do is click on the links attached above and let Wishpenny take you on a joyride.
Faith Zapata - wallet picture song
Every receipt of love and hurt stored away in our hearts deserves to be acknowledged and helped and Faith Zapata helps us do this with wallet picture song. Every memory stored beneath the years of experience that has been collected like water. This song takes away the stillness and calm of that water. Faith ruffles that water and brings these memories to the surface. This track is so raw and relatable to anyone who has loved and deserved better. The many shades of melancholy and yearning that Faith brings to the table is one of a kind. Faith has bled on paper and given us a personal number with just her guitar and her. The track wanders. And by the time you feel like you are lost, you look back and realise that Faith has carved out a neat path for us. She for us to follow in a forest full of memories and feelings. Faith’s voice is propped up by not just the guitar but also the violin and the white paint that makes the many colours of her voice pop all the more. The intimate nature of the song makes it perfect for a for a close-up shot. Over here, the actor as they watch the love of their life walk down the aisle for/with the wrong person. I believe that this song was made for My Best Friend’s wedding. Faith Zapata is the voice of this generation who knows exactly how to disarm you and capture your heart. In order to have your heart stolen and broken through music, you can follow Faith’s work by clicking on the links attached above.
Vanilla Franco - Traction
You better make way for Vanilla Franco, you can smell his brilliant bars from a mile away, especially with his latest release Traction. Vanilla mostly centers his music around Rock and a lot of major influences shine through, especially in this album. His influences include Tame Impala, Mac De Marco and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. There is also a hint of My Chemical Romance in there if I’m not mistaken. This album- Traction lives up to the name, each song has influences and a life of its own. The album consists of 9 songs and you can see that it was Vanilla’s labor of love. The detailing on each song- chef’s kiss. Vanilla Franco is Building Pressure The album begins with Building Pressure. You know Vanilla Franco means business when you listen to this opening number. Each note is crisp, and the balance between sung notes and said notes is impeccable. The same can be said for most songs on this album as they follow a similar pattern. He makes a strong entrance with a strong drum calling his entrance. Right when you think the instrumentals are overpowering the song, it takes a step back and allows Vanilla’s voice to shine through. Invisible Boys Invisible Boys somehow breaks this pattern of pure rock and brings in the influences of synth. It is also one of the songs where the instrumentals are as strong as the vocals. The quality of the high hats rings in your ear in the best way possible. Each song has a life of its own, especially Monkey On A Mission. The track is more pop than any of the songs on the album. This might be because of the guitar on the song, it’s as prominent as the drums. James Bond Vanilla Franco sure has an interesting mind, every name (of songs) on this album is attention-drawing. Leaving us with images and our imagination doing its work, we make up a personality for the song even before we hit the play button. And we aren’t mistaken to a large extent, when you hear James Bond you feel a strange sense of euphoria and drive. Almost as though you can do anything. The beat structure of this song seems a lot more meticulous as well. The strings take the foreground here, unlike the rest of the songs on the album. Every note in this album will be seared into your memory by the time you hit the pause button. Much like Monkey Man, although the film is out for barely a week, it has made quite the noise at the box office. The energy of Traction matched the energy of Monkey Man and deserves to be on its playlist. Follow the links attached above and allow Vanilla Franco to make a note in the neural pathway of your brain.
Nick Noon - Who Needs Who
If Nick Noon were a time machine, it would be a maverick of a time machine, zooming through space with a mind of its own, especially with his latest release- Who Needs Who. Nick is known for his timelessness when it comes to his music. You can rake through a whole bunch of genres and he wouldn't fit wholly in a single genre. His music is a cocktail of genres, of folk, country, rock and pop. Who Needs Who begins with a playful energy with notes that twist and turn with a “catch me if you can” energy. It starts with a strong guitar statement entrance followed by a chiming tone and before you know it the band comes in full force. The fact that you have to pay close attention to what Nick is saying is a cheeky move production-wise. Almost leaving us no choice but to acknowledge the expert band's performance. And this tango between the vocals and the band goes on. Like a tennis match, sometimes the ball is in Nick’s court and sometimes the ball is in the band’s court. Keeping us on our toes on the whole. While there is this layer of playfulness, Nick has things to say that critically analyzes the current state of affairs, in a sociopolitical context. This track would work like a charm in The Umbrella Academy. The series literally has a character that jumps time, so Nick Noon would be the perfect match for the series. Considering his music has a mix of eras in terms of style. Not to mention the thought evoking music video that Nick presents will most definitely catch your attention. If you haven’t clicked on the links attached above, what are you doing? Don’t you want to know more about the future of the indie music scene?
Pat Piperni - Senza Te
There is a deep sense of longing that draws you in with every word that Pat Piperni sings in Senza Te, their latest release. The Montreal-based singer and composer in collaboration with Jack Walker and Vincent Ricciardi has created music that can shake the very foundation of your heart. Word of the brilliance that Piperni must be spreading because their followers list only seems to be growing. Piperni only has two songs on Spotify and has already accumulated over 5000 monthly listeners. The track is an operatic exploration that will leave you clutching your heart with the amount of longing that is buried in the vocals. The Vocals really is the star of this single. The sheer conviction in Vincent Ricciardi's voice has the song rumbling and roaring in our chest. When the song picks up pace and intensity, we float away, getting lost in the music. His graceful performance of a complex arrangement of notes gives off the illusion of simplicity. Until he hits that final note, the mirage is stripped away. This is the moment where you feel the fourth wall strip away, and you feel every ounce of the singer's emotions. The track would be wonderful in a musical like Les Miserables or West Side Story. Either way, both musicals have elements of longing in them. You feel the stage lights dim and the spotlight grow in intensity on the performer who belts his heart out. Leaving nothing but pure emotions between him and us. Pat Piperni has no business being this good at what they do. You must follow the link attached above and follow the future of Indie Music.