Following the release of Dead Wolf Club’s excellent ‘Healer’ EP in 2013, the band’s vocalist Jon Othello launched a more goth and new wave inspired side project, West Wickhams. Before the year was out, the new band shared a demo online, but then seemed to disappear. Jon resumed duties with his DWC bandmates the following year, and they seemed to tour relentlessly before calling it a day prematurely in 2015. Their demise left a massive hole in the world of noisy indie rock. For a time, they seemed to have a hugely reliable presence as a support act, and ‘Healer’ had very much promised bigger things to come.
Tag Archives: indie
THE SILVER LINES – Sleaze EP
London based rock band The Silver Lines sometimes convey a very retro sound, but unlike some, they’re keen to take a few key influences and at least try to twist them into something new. On their debut EP, you’ll find swathes of retro indie jangle, even a heavy dose of funk, and yet the band never sound as if they’re settled within either camp. Their sound can seem a little busy, yet remains focused; their song writing is hooky, but never anthemic. You might say that The Silver Lines sound absolutely natural – and that would certainly be true of frontman Dan Ravenscroft’s unmistakably British vocal delivery – but whichever way you approach their music, there’s something interesting lurking beneath the surface.
Check out the new video from Nightspell
US noise pop band Nightspell made an impressive sound on their ‘Pegasus’ single back in June 2021. The US trio really captured the best elements of a very 90s sound, and the track whipped up a welcome nostalgic element of old shoegaze, but was able to give that a modern twist.
JATK – Shut Up And Be The Light
Since the release of their 2019 EP, JATK – a band featuring Matt Jatkola and a revolving cast of friends – has slowly built a solid online following. A series of digital singles released throughout the lockdowns of 2020 and ’21 showcased some great and fuzzy, retro rock music, but also seemed unafraid to throw a few pop influences into the mix. This showed a band who were keen to avoid easy labelling; a band starting out on an adventurous path, and a band who had the potential to deliver a rich and varied full length release somewhere down the track. Simply put, JATK quickly marked themselves out as a very cool collective.
GENTLEMEN ROGUES – Francy / I’ve Got A Match
As a particularly troubled 2020 began to draw to a close, US retro rockers Gentlemen Rogues released ‘Do The Resurrection!’, a brilliant single that blended various 90s rock influences with a few Thin Lizzy-esque guitar parts, creating an almost timeless number that was massive on both riffs and hooks. Having reeled in various listeners, its flip side was arguably even better. By mixing elements of Lemonheads, Superdrag and My Bloody Valentine tracks, ‘Bloody Rudderless In Ursa Major’ raised the bar in terms of how to construct a brilliant and inventive medley. It was definitely the kind of release that left listeners wanting more…but the band appeared to go into hiding, and 2021 came and went without even a whisper from the Rogues’ camp.