The Underground Stage
A disposable culture based on short-term sugar hits is always surprised by work that requires time and depth. Rolling in to shake the ground like a thundering bank of stormclouds, Taken from his ‘Low Key’ album, ‘3-6-27’ is the sort of track to jerk anyone out of their complacent modern stupor. Anyone who can take […]
Coming off like the lead song from the punk version of Grease, this celebration of youthful antics is a spring tonic for the soul whether you’re a giddy-eyed teenager or a jaded old cynic. “We’re having the time of our lives / But we won’t always be this young” is a killer line – and […]
The chorus on Wishful Thinking’s latest just EXPLODES out of the speakers like fireworks. Three minutes of absolutely note-perfect punky jumping that triggers uncontrollable grins just as it demands repeated listens.
Fraser A. Gorman’s delicate vocal and intergalactic arrangement creates an atmosphere almost entirely made of Flaming Lips, but the addition of swooning pedal steel and a distinctly bucolic twang take it beyond mere pastiche. This is a rich and delicate song, evocative and emotional in all the right ways, a bright and warming light for […]
Stressless’ lo-fi jangle is as sweet as ever on their latest, slotting neatly in-between Strokes-y thrum and Wedding Present-y crackle. Trebly guitars flit around in between blasts of shimmery shoegaze, while the woozy vocals float through the gaps, like smoke. A lovely, noisy dream.
Joining the ranks of songs-about-COVID, Beddy Rays’ musical exuberance is tempered here by the effects of the pandemic on the mind. They might bounce around like mad’uns on this track (and it’s just as much giddy and goof-around fun as ‘Sobercoaster’) but singer Jacko’s Eeyore-ish, almost mournful vocal notes get the starring role. It’s a […]
Taking cues from the Bugs or Ball Park Music school of enthusiastically happy guitar pop, Kogo’s new one is as cheery as a box of balloons. With a mix of that aw-shucks vocal and sharp instrumentation, this is high-energy songwriting that delivers a potent sugar rush. A guaranteed day-brightener.
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Bursting out of its own seams with vein-bulging energy, After School Care summon the ghosts of The Replacements and inject a hefty dose of Bad//Dreems dustiness to conjure up a high-tension gem. Twitchy and jerky, travelling at an unsafe speed, this is as much pure stress relief as it is a grand explosion of spiky, […]