During the first quarter of 2023, Australian band The Summertimes introduced themselves via a pair of very enjoyable singles. Both ‘The Perfect Wave’ and ‘Inside’ did a great job of selling the still new band’s power pop/guitar based sound, and on the former, a slice of surf rock embellished a very strong jangle, suggesting that these guys could be capable of a whole range of retro sounds.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
THE INCITERS – Boot N Soul / Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)
Over the years, The Inciters have worked hard at injecting a real energy into a soul based sound. The ten piece band’s blend of Northern Soul coolness and mod friendly punch has thrilled audiences since the 90s, and one listen to this double pronged digital release makes it very clear why.
TULIPOMANIA – Dreaming Of Sleep
The word “alternative” gets bandied around a lot in the music world. It’s used to describe all kinds of guitar based music – even stuff that’s found its way into the mainstream long ago – but there are still plenty of genuinely alternative bands out there. It would be hard to consider the dark moods of Decommissioned Forests, or the strange jazz meets metal noise of Kilter as anything but. Tulipomania are another act who’ve wilfully taken their own musical path within a truly alternative niche, rarely concerned about commercial success.
ROBOTS IN LOVE – Gossip In Your Head Remixed EP
In September 2023, Robots In Love returned with a new single, ‘Gossip In Your Head’. The track presented the New Zealand dark pop band’s sound in the most effective way possible, by blending a love of old school electronica with a more modern production values. More importantly, they made a potentially cold sounding arrangement really spring to life with the help of a very inviting vocal, and the end result occasionally sounded like Dubstar colliding with something further within the alternative pop realm. Meatier than La Roux, but poppier than Garbage, it was very much the sort of single that deserved to bring the Robots a new wave of fans.
DEAD FEATHERS – Full Circle
The first Dead Feathers album – 2019’s ‘All Is Lost’ – introduced the world to a solid blues rock/heavy psych band. With a sound indebted to the last gasps of the 60s and steeped in a classic riffs, the record’s ten songs explored a darker tone and shared arrangements which sometimes sounded like Jefferson Airplane’s moody cousin (‘At The Edge’), as well as hinting at an admiration for the slow and vaguely psychedelic blues of Savoy Brown (‘Smoking Gun’). It even wheeled out some brilliant fuzzy fare (‘Horse And Sands’) and a heavier riff or two in a nod to the mighty Black Sabbath (‘Cordova’). Although never as lavish sounding as the best Ruby The Hatchet works, it was one of those records that guaranteed enjoyment for fans of the style, wherever they chose to drop the metaphorical needle.