OpCritical are turning revolutionary anger into cinematic rock on ‘Guillotine’
OpCritical continue their run of overtly political releases with ‘Guillotine’, a track that uses the imagery of revolutionary France to frame a wider argument about wealth, inequality and the consequences of social division. Musically, the band approach the subject with scale as guitars sit alongside alt-pop elements and orchestral flourishes,Continue Reading
Saline Grace let the darkness seep through on ‘Weeping Wounds’
Saline Grace have spent years cultivating a sound that thrives on atmosphere, and ‘Weeping Wounds’ continues that tradition with a sense of brooding patience. Taken from the album The Tree of Knowledge, the track slowly draws us into its shadowy world. Ricardo Hoffmann’s background across darkwave, gothic rock and sinister AmericanaContinue Reading
They Owe Us let the cracks show on ‘There Goes My Fairytale’
They Owe Us sound most convincing on ‘There Goes My Fairytale’ when the song feels slightly frayed around the edges. The latest single from Kristoffer Ragnstam’s project takes a fading relationship and letts the roughness in the performance mirror the feeling of something already coming apart. The verses have aContinue Reading
Victor V. Gurbo revives the protest ballad for ‘The Ballad of Renée Nicole Good’
Victor V. Gurbo’s ‘The Ballad of Renée Nicole Good’ deliberately reaches back to the older American songwriting tradition of the topical folk song, written quickly, plainly and with little attempt to separate music from the events surrounding it. The song responds to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renée Nicole GoodContinue Reading
Connor Riesen pushes beyond his comfort zone on Beginnings, Vol. 3
Connor Riesen has spent the last few years treating each release as an opportunity to move somewhere new, and Beginnings, Vol. 3 continues that pattern with perhaps his most outward-looking three-track set yet. The Orlando producer has already moved through piano music, jazz, digital production and hymn arrangements, but this third instalmentContinue Reading
A Decade-Old Ayia Napa Mural Finds New Meaning in A!MS’ “Don’t Die”
The story behind A!MS’ new “Don’t Die” video begins years before the song itself. Its roots reach back to 2015, when Chris Brown visited Club Black N’ White following a festival performance in Cyprus and painted a mural bearing the same two words that would later become the title ofContinue Reading
MALUM push their debut into the club on ‘bouncer ep’
MALUM’s bouncer ep takes material from the band’s debut album every body and pulls it firmly towards the dancefloor, reshaping familiar ideas through a heavier, more nocturnal lens. But instead of treating the remix format as an afterthought, MALUM hand the material over to artists with their own clearly defined identities. London producer andContinue Reading
Low Clika expand their sound on ‘El Primer Álbum de Low Clika’
Low Clika’s debut album is most interesting when it allows tradition and contemporary production to sit alongside one another without forcing the contrast. Across its twelve tracks, El Primer Álbum de Low Clika draws from Mexican musical roots while opening up to a wider range of modern influences. It’s a progressive approachContinue Reading
James Bruner maps desire and doubt across debut album ‘Can’t Keep Wanting You’
James Bruner’s debut album Can’t Keep Wanting You is built around a broad idea of love, and the way desire can shape ambition, insecurity, confidence and self-preservation. Across twelve tracks, the Illinois-born, Nashville-based artist uses that theme to connect songs that move between rock, pop, grunge and more reflective territory. The title-trackContinue Reading
The House Flies drag post-punk into the dust on ‘Derelict Crawl’
The House Flies return with a heavier sense of purpose on ‘Derelict Crawl’, the first glimpse of their forthcoming second album Lions and Ore. Built on a relentless post-punk rhythm and thick, churning guitars, the single feels immediate without sacrificing the bleak atmosphere that has become central to the band’s sound.Continue Reading