Streaming has birthed an odd kind of musical inflation. Albums are deluxe editions. Deluxe editions become “complete” editions. Singles include five mixes that are only discernibly different if you possess the hearing of a bat or the patience of a saint. Somewhere along the line, we became conditioned to believe that quantity was an acceptable […]
Last Second Dropout have managed to bottle the fizzing anxiety of the modern age and serve it up with a side of jagged riffs on their explosive track Aspartame. The song hits with the immediate rush of a sugar high and keeps that momentum going until the very last second. It feels like a wake-up
A Carbonated Rebellion Against Corporate Gaslighting Read More »
There’s a whole subgenre of inspirational music that runs on the concept of if you think hard enough, the universe will reward you with achievement, bliss and the inevitable epic sunset during the montage sequence. Actual persistence is rarely as cinematically inclined. However, it’s usually waiting; waiting for an email to drop in your inbox,
For an artist who has spent the better part of six years releasing genre-hopping indie projects, Dorian seems surprisingly uninterested in hewing to the contemporary dance-pop blueprint. From a bouncy bassline, pristine synth textures, layered backup vocals, a singalong-ready chorus that seems expressly designed to compel you to the nearest dancefloor-but what distinguishes OOO from
Dorian Manages to Spin Awkwardness Into Pure, Ecstatic Euphoria on OOO Read More »
There is a restless energy blooming in the independent circuit and Designer has tapped into a vein of raw power that feels absolutely vital for 2026. Their track Ugly In The Streets arrived like a lightning bolt when I first heard it and it reminded me why we still need guitar music to be messy
Designer Reclaims the Grit of the Streets With a Ferocious New Anthem Read More »
Jeff Hodges’ I Believe enters the world with a press release full of signifiers. This is an Americana-country ballad with all of the typical modern saints in mind spanning Zach Bryan, Chris Stapleton and Leon Bridges, arriving complete with respectable streaming numbers, a burgeoning live performance series dubbed the N4KED MAN Sessions, and a biography
There’s only so many times you can mention that you really miss the ’90s before people begin to ask if you’ve considered buying a flannel shirt and playing Singles in a loop. Grunge nostalgia is an entire industry now. Half the bands who do it sound like they’re painstakingly replicating a museum exhibit titled ‘Kurt
There are two types of independent artists who record at home: The sort that spends 80% of their energy trying to convince you they’re actually living a millionaire’s lifestyle on the sly. And then there’s the sort that takes their existing lives-family struggles, career anxieties, rising pressure and doubts about the future and says, “That
Hope and Need Provides the Truest Picture Yet of Who Gibbz Is Beneath the Mythology Read More »
There is a specific kind of arrogance that only thrives in the neon-baked sprawl of Sunset Boulevard. MAWK3 taps into that vein of pure narcissism with their latest single Everybody Wants To Be You which feels like a mid-afternoon gin and tonic spilled on a leather jacket. It works as a high-octane celebration of vanity
MAWK3 Resurrects the High-Gloss Glamour of the Sunset Strip Read More »
There are, broadly, two types of rap storytelling songs. The first ones you tell you about growing up broke, getting rich, losing your friends, finding your way, or discovering that celebrity isn’t nearly as rewarding as you thought it would be. They exist because people like to listen to other people. The second type are
