Tag Archives: indie rock

Reviews

Piece of Me: How does Ash Tustain’s Solo Debut Compare to Dig Lazarus?

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The Dig Lazarus frontman, Ash Tustain, has decided to venture out on his own, plugging away at a solo album the last year or two and building plenty of hype for it in the process. I’m a huge fan of his band and we’ve become pretty close to them through this channel, so I’ve been rather impatiently waiting for this for a little while now! We got it across our emails and I knew I had to do a review of it ASAP, so let’s dive right in!

‘Supposed to Be’ opens on a pretty decent chord progression, the rest of the instruments filling out the sound perfectly. It gives off immediate early late1990s/early 2000s radio-rock vibes. Think Hootie & The Blowfish or Third Eye Blind. Not at all what I was expecting for a usually heavy blues/grungy frontman! It’s a nice change of pace though, and shows off Ash’s impressive range. His vocals fit perfectly over the top of the chilled instrumentation, too, almost having a Brit-pop edge to things. The multi-tracked vocals for the chorus are perfect for the track and immensely catchy. The lyrics are fantastic too, pretty uplifting and upbeat. It’s a fantastic song, and a great choice for an album opener!

‘Borrowed Time’ jumps straight into the infectiously catchy chorus, hooking the listener in immediately. The track still has a chilled-out feel to it, the rest of it all feeling like it builds perfectly to that excellent chorus. It’s going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, I’m sure of it! The rest of the track is of course awesome, but everything from the vocal melody to the lyrics to the chord progression of the chorus is definitely where it’s at. It easily makes our playlist!

Check out our interview with Dig Lazarus here!

Tracks like ‘Love More Than I Hate You’ and ‘Eggshells’ have more folky feels to them than the more pop-rock of the early album. The former really reminds me of some of the more reflective Frank Turner tracks, and I love it. The strings in the back of the chorus are a beautiful touch, too. It’s the second in a row that makes our playlist and is a massive highlight of the album. Meanwhile, the latter closes the album in rather epic fashion.

The likes of ‘Three Words’, ‘Are you Awake’ and ‘Let You Go’ go back to the radio-rock-pop formula from the opening tracks, and again, simply nail it. They’re all amazingly enjoyable songs, with the emotional ballad ‘Are you Awake’ being my personal favourite of the three. The lyrics for it are fantastic and the delivery of them from Ash is incredible. 

The other three songs on the album, ‘Booshelf’, ‘Warning’ and the title track, all draw more from Ash’s rock roots. The former perfectly skirts the line between grunge and early 2000s alt-rock, giving off heavy Staind vibes in the best ways. However, it still maintains the bouncy, Brit-pop-style chorus, which was really interesting and made for a fun listen! Meanwhile the title track is much more of a straight-up rock song, an awesome riff running through it and it’s dripping in swagger and energy. It also has an awesome, foot-stomping chorus, another song that easily makes it onto our playlist! The penultimate track on the album is similar, though has a slower, suaver pace to it. All three songs are amazing and all are highlights, filling the gap between more Dig Lazarus music for a tad longer.

And check out a review of his band live here!

Overall: I loved this! It’s a pretty relaxed album for the most part, and is compact as anything. Only 10 tracks long, it feels like every song was meticulously selected as there really isn’t a bad one on it. It’s been arranged amazingly too; it flows well yet never once gets boring, the style and tempo changing in the perfect places. Ash has done a fantastic job here and has a really promising solo career if he wanted to carry on down this path! 

The Score: 8.5/10

Reviews

Shadows of a Silhouette and Friends Rock The bless!

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While we have a slight up-and-down relationship with indie music here at Overtone, local boys Shadows of a Silhouette have been making massive waves lately, playing huge gigs up and down the country. Plus, a few of them are good friends of ours and they lean a lot into their rock and grunge influences too, so we just had to pop down to one of their two SOLD OUT Derby shows. Add that to the fact that The Bless has only just started to dip their toes into live music again, and it had all the makings of an epic evening. This is what went down!

The show opened on a couple of acoustic acts, including the wonderful Mollie Ralph, who we arrived just in time to see. The vocals were incredible and they simply seemed like they were having a really good time up on stage. The venue was already pretty packed out which was nice to see; she had a great crowd! Sadly, our interview with the headliner caused me to miss parts of this set, so hopefully I can see Mollie again soon!

Next up were local lads, The Roster. They were awesome, and packed out the small space in front of the stage. And it was well deserved too, as they put on a great show. The band too have a slight grungy edge to them, but also wouldn’t sound out of place in the NWOCR movement at times. I can get over just how amazing his vocals were, and it fit with the instrumentation perfectly. They cranked out a fantastic set filled with amazing songs, too. This is the second time I’ve seen the band and neither time did they disappoint! I’d recommend them to anyone who is a rock or indie fan!

Check out more live reviews here.

Up next we had PASTE.. The heaviest band on the lineup, I loved them. We even had some screams in here, which sounded great and surprisingly fit with the music well. The music itself had much more of a doom metal feel and pace to it too, which was fucking awesome. Yet it still also had the hints of indie and even punk to it, being a really interesting blend of styles. It really had no right fitting on this bill as well as it did! It helped that the band played their asses off from start to finish, ripping through an awesome set. They certainly have a new fan in me, and I’m gonna have to see them live again soon!

We finally reached the headliners of the night then, the wonderful Shadows of a Silhouette. It’s honestly hard to find much more to say about this band that hasn’t already been said by so many other fans and writers. They are very clearly on the up and up, and there is no ceiling in sight for the guys. Their original music is incredible, playing crowd favourites like ‘Closing for Good’ and latest single ‘Abuse Me’. Plus, they even threw in a couple of covers for good measure, the highlight definitely being their incredible rendition of Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’. And, on top of them sounding fantastic, they also totally looked the part. They played their asses off, opened the stage and has the crowd in the palm of their hand from start to the very finish. They are clearly set for huge things and much bigger stages than this, and with their big momentum currently and rumours of an album in the works, they’ll be there sooner rather than later!

And there we have it folks, an absolutely awesome night of rock music in a pretty great venue! I cannot recommend any of the bands on the bill enough, both live and on track. And it’s so great to see the Derby music scene kinda booming right now, especially with sold out events like this featuring local bands.as I’ve said already in this review, all of the artists have huge futures ahead of themselves, and I feel lucky we got to head down to this before they exploded into the mainstream!

Reviews

Too Hot to Handle: Are The Now Set to Release One of the Best Debuts Ever?

South Wales’ own The Now are set to release their debut album this coming Friday. They’ve been building an awful lot of steam lately with their single releases, so I’m curious to hear them and see if the whole album lives up to the hype. Without wasting any more time, let’s dive in, shall we?

The album’s title track opens things up with a fun guitar riff and some instantly indie vocals. It soon kicks into more of a heavier gear with another awesome distorted riff, being more hard rock now in the vein of Wolfmother or The Hives. It drops back down for the verses, adding some great dynamics to it all. Then the awesome riff comes back for a truly MASSIVE chorus. It’s catchy and made for big arenas and stadiums. I love the simpler start to the 2nd chorus too, constantly keeping it interesting and playing around with the formula. And, on top of all of that, we get an excellent guitar solo. it’s slower and simple but so full of emotion and attitude, and fits the track perfectly. This was an amazing way to open an album, and instantly makes our playlist!

Single ‘Devil Inside Me’ opens on another great riff, almost having a sludgy, stoner vibe to it. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a Queens of the Stone Age album. It again drops down in the verse, but still has a pretty driven pace to it, building up perfectly to another huge chorus. Some of the vocal melodies are damn impressive, too, reminding me even of Matt Bellamy at times. The harmonies/backing vocals for the chorus made it even more catchy and added a great element to it all. It doesn’t have much of a bridge but it doesn’t need one, as the chorus is that good. It’s kinda Kasabian at times, too. Another excellent track!

Check out a similar review here!

‘Special Kind of Stupid’ follows a similar formula to the previous two tracks, but does have a little more of a steady, almost ballad-like pace. The slower pace definitely makes it feel more of an indie track than a hard rock one, the band constantly walking the line perfectly. It again builds to a fun chorus, it fitting the tone of the song well. It gets a little heavier in the bridge; a great build which was all a lot of fun. It’s another great song, and definitely the sort of heavy indie that I can really get into.

I love the change in styles for ‘Truth Always Comes Out in the End’. It’s very electronic/synth heavy, sounding more like something The Weeknd would put out. However, it still fits rather perfectly with The Now ‘s style, and builds into a pretty rocking chorus. It sounds a lot like another band we love here at Overtone, Anchor Lane. I’d love to see a tour of both bands! The lyrics in this particular track were incredible, and some of the delivery of them was incredible; full of attitude. We also get another fantastic, if all too brief, guitar solo tucked in the middle. I LOVED this song; everything about it was awesome. It’s another that easily makes our playlist!

Another single, ‘Live and Die’ is the true ballad of the album. Being piano lead for the most part, the electronic elements and subtle acoustic guitaring all combined perfectly into a fantastic sound. Yet again, the vocalist fits the tone of the song perfectly, almost giving off Robbie Williams vibes this time. It’s a beautiful track and the perfect placement on the album, around the midpoint. The lyrics are incredible and everything combines together to make an truly special song.

‘Get Out’ picks up the pace again, but still has more of an 80s synth-rock feel. That isn’t a bad thing at all, however. It’s a great track that again builds to a big, catchy chorus. And the heavy emphasis on the synths is interesting, adding another layer to the album and the bands sound. Meanwhile ‘His Last Dimension’ heavies it all back up in almost a Muse way. I can’t get over how well this album is arranged, constantly keeping it interesting and changing things up. And it helps that it’s another awesome, heavy indie track, too.

A fuzzy, heavy riff forms the basis of ‘Wind Up’ which, surprise surprise, is another excellent track. The Anchor Lane comparisons return to my head; that modern heavy indie-mixed with QOTSA which I really think is going to be the next big thing in radio rock music. And yet still, it has some of the electronic elements too, drawing everything together perfectly. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album, and another that easily creeps onto our playlist!

The final single on the album, ‘Girl You Got Me’ is more of a traditional rock/blues track, and is a lot of fun. Pretty bass lead, everything else builds perfectly over the top of the great low melody. The feeling continues through ‘Friendly Fire’, too, though the more indie sound does return a little more in it. Having said that, it does have an amazing guitar solo in the middle. Kirk Hammett would even be proud of it, it being perfectly full of wah. And the dropped-down bit after it with the ‘woah’s is going to go down so well live. It’s another amazing song!

The final track of the album, ‘Time is Over’, follows the modern trend these days and is another ballad. However, it’s suitably epic and a fine way to close out the album. It’s just vocals and piano for the first half and is truly beautiful. The lyrics well written and it honestly gave me goosebumps. Then the drums and guitars come in, going so very Muse/Queen in all the best ways. The second half goes into more rock opera territory and I love it. I can’t get over how good this song is, and it’s yet another that makes our playlist. I HAVE to see this live, it’s so incredible and the perfect way to finish things off.

Overall: This is an incredible album. Not only is there not a bad track on it, but a huge number of them I love and will be listening to a lot more over the coming weeks and months. I don’t know what the hell is going on in Wales but damn, it’s produced yet another fantastic band and album. It blends genres seamlessly and never once feels like it drags. I’d recommend this album to absolutely anyone, regardless of what they are into. The Now are going to be a massive band sooner rather than later, and this release will do a lot to get them there.

The Score: 9.5/10

Interviews & Features

Burridge.: ‘Wow this is gross, let’s do it!’

Alt rock singer/songwriter Burridge. recently released her second EP, Here Are Your Words (read our review of it here). We got to speak to her about it, alongside her plans for the future. Check it out down below!

How would you describe your sound?

I would say it’s just generic angry girl rock. I don’t know. I’ve always struggled with… you know when people are like ‘oh, my band is this genre’, I don’t really understand strict genres. A lot of the music I listen to crosses over so many genres. Or maybe I’ve just not got a very good ear for them! But yeah, I’d just say it’s generic angry girl rock.

The EP came out recently, it seems to have gone down well?

I think so! I’ve had some good feedback and some good streaming numbers which is apparently what it’s all about nowadays! So yeah, I think it’s gone down okay!

And is there a specific story running through it?

So there kind of is and isn’t. There wasn’t meant to be. But my first EP, if you listen to it from start to finish, is kind of a journey from me being early 20s, discovering the world and realising God, this is an experience. Then with this EP I’ve not released in order of when I wrote the songs, but the whole thing is me getting to grips with ‘okay, life is not always great, how are we going to work it out’. So, there is a story, but it isn’t linear, it’s kind of everywhere. But then so is life, so it’s fine!

And do you use session players, I assume?

So my producer, Sean Kennedy, plays everything. He’s a genius. I can’t ever thank him enough. I’ve worked with him since I was 22, so like nine years. I’ll go in and Ill hum a tune or I’ll take my guitar and I’ll play something really badly and sing along and he’ll be like ‘no, that’s great, we can make a song out of it’. He’d just pick up his guitar and he just gets me, he gets exactly what I want things to sound like.

But I do have a full live band now. We are a band so we’re gonna start writing together. Kieran, my guitar player, is an incredible songwriter so we’re gonna start. Maybe the next EP or album or whatever we’re going to do, we’ll do it together instead of just me. I’m excited to do that as I’ve never done any co-writing before.

Are you aiming for an album next or EP or more singles?

I don’t know. I never like to force writing. I’ve never sat down and been like ‘I need to write a song because I’m recording next week’. It’s always ‘I’ve written a song, lets get it recorded’. If we start writing stuff together and suddenly we come up with a huge album worth of songs that we feel is great and has out sound then lets do it.

But I’m quite happy to just keep dropping singles every now and then. That way it keeps you relevant. Unless you’re like, Fleetwood Mac where you can disappear for 10 years and then suddenly drop an album. Wehn you’re at my stage you’ve just got to keep as relevant as possible so singles might be the way forward. Maybe we’ll then compile them all onto an album. But we’ll see, you never know what can happen in this industry. It could all change overnight! It’s just about being reactive and proactive.

Do you have a general plan for the next 5 years? Any goals?

I have like realistic goals, and then I have huge goals. I would love to record with Dave Grohl, that’s my pinnacle. But I just want to go out and play as many shows as possible. Now that I have a band and I don’t have to just do acoustic shows, I just want to play everywhere, anywhere that will have me. What I want is to play all the really dirty, small venues that no one else wants to play. I thrive off it, I love it! Like wow this is gross, let’s do it! It’s that like nothing to lose attitude where I can try new things, I can throw myself on the floor I can climb things, whatever. That’s what I want to do anywhere, I don’t mind if it’s central London or a tiny village in North Wales, let’s go!

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Reviews

Listen Up: Are Excuses Excuses the Next Big Thing in Radio-Rock?

The surprisingly Canadian (hearing them I thought British for sure) band Excuses Excuses made waves with their previous few singles, especially earlier this year with ‘Far From Perfect’. Capitalising on that success, the band are releasing their much anticipated debut album this coming Friday. We managed to get a sneak peak of it and, if the singles so far from it are anything to go by, this is going to be good! Check it out with us down below!

The band waste little time with their opening track, ‘Say’. Opening on a pretty fun riff, the vocals soon come in over the top, walking the line between indie and hard rock pretty masterfully. It all builds through the catchy verse and pre into a huge chorus, the echoed vocals making it sound massive. Speaking of the vocals, the lyrics are great, a fantastic ‘be yourself’ anthem. The brief guitar solo bridging the gap between the 2nd and 3rd choruses was fun, even if it did just follow the same melody as the vocals. Still, it’s an effective way of making both more catchy and memorable. Then we get a final pre and chorus to take us home in style. Good stuff to start the album with, and easily playlisted!

The title track bursts right into the chorus, full of attitude and swagger. A call not just to ‘Listen Up’, but also a call to arms, this track perfectly encapsulates the whole feel and message of the album. The guitars dropping out for the verses is a very well used trope but never gets old, and it works perfectly here. The pre is somehow even catchier than the chorus due to the fantastic backing vocals, the band channeling their inner Queen or Muse. It’d be great to hear live. Even the bridge is catchy. The whole track screams massive radio hit, which is perfect given the lyrics. Another fantastic song and another that makes its way onto our playlist!

Check out our last review here.

‘Feeling Sorry’ is another typical heavy indie rock track. Bouncy, lower verses build up into huge, catchy choruses, with plenty of great lyrics across both. The structure was interesting though, given that it was essentially just verse-chorus three times and then done. In and out in just over two-and-a-half minutes. Straight to the point and I love it. We even get a scream for the last second of the track, which I was not expecting. Good stuff!

‘My Nicotine’ is a little slower paced but channels the same sort of energy as the tracks proceeding it. It’s a love song this time, in case you couldn’t guess from the title. The lyrics are well written and it’s a catchy track. I’m struggling to say much more about it, it’s pretty standard but great radio rock! I guess it’s a ballad, and a good one at that!

‘Wasted Alone’ is another slower track, opening on an almost sleazy guitar riff before the vocals come in over the top. It’s a nice touch to break up the album with something different and it honestly sounds great. The drums come in before the verse ends and turns it into ‘just’ another ballad, but that intro was certainly cool. From there it’s fairly similar to the previous track, but I’d argue it’d make a better single, it’s definitely catchier vocally. The guitar solo, while short, was a nice touch too!

‘Breakdown the Silence’ is another typical indie/punk rock track. Then we reach the final two singles of the album to close us out. ‘Meaning of Life’ is another slower track but all of the vocal lines will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. They’re so memorable and well written. It’s the most indie track on the album so far but to my surprise it’s my favourite. It makes the playlist.

Then we reach the final track, ‘Hardship to Sail’. It’s very similar to the previous track. It’s mid-tempo, fun and catchy. It is just a little samey and not quite as good as the previous track, in this writers opinion. That being said, it’s a fantastic way to close an album, epic, memorable and just a damn good track. The build-up to the final chorus is fantastic and adds to the pay-off perfectly. Plus, the gang vocals in the background of the final chorus makes everything feel more granduous and final. A good closer, but I wish the second half of the album had a little more umph. One more faster track would have been perfect.

Overall: I really enjoyed this. As not typically a fan of indie music, there was enough grit and heaviness here to keep me entertained and make me want to listen to it more. The guys are already making a big splash in the underground scene, but if they keep going like this they’re going to be massive sooner rather than later. A short, to the point album packed full of good songs, catchy vocal hooks and some good riffs!

The Score: 8/10

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Reviews

Fool’s Gold: Are Lyoness The Next Big Indie Name?

Lyoness are a band formed from the ashes of Gallows’ first incarnation. However, anyone going into this expecting hardcore punk may be rather disappointed. The band have released their debut EP, Fools Gold, and demonstrated their indie/folk rock leanings. I remember checking out one of the singles last year and enjoying it, so I am looking forward to checking out the full EP!

Dylan Nolte World-class Documentary Photography

‘Deliverance’ starts the album off on some tribal-style humming. It’s becoming a rather popular style these days after US indie groups started using it, and has since branched out into other genres like here and with Zeal & Ardor. It’s a fun technique used fantastically well here as the clean guitar builds up behind it. The riff build out of the hum is definitely one to bang your head to but is gone again as quickly as it bursts in. The vocals fit the overall style well, being soft and melodic. The killer riff kicks back in for the chorus and the vocals have a bit more power behind them. It’s very much the dark hard rock-country-folk style that is getting popular these days. It’s a damn good intro track for the band!

‘Fever Dream’ goes in an entirely different direction, heading into almost stoner rock territory with the huge, sludgy riffs. My god is the bass tone pretty in this track too, it’s filled with fuzz and attitude. The vocals are also impressive here, fitting so well that I find it hard to single them out on their own. The guitar was the main highlight here for me but the drums were solid and the vocals were impressively powerful. Playlisted!

‘Heroine’ heads straight into the verse, a fun, simple guitar riff with the vocals playing awesomely over the top. The heaviness comes in for the chorus, the huge guitar chords filling out the track behind the catchy vocals. It drops down to just vocals around the middle and gives the perfect chance to highlight her impressive indie voice. She definitely makes the most of it, too. We even get a guitar solo in the track, albeit a rather basic one. It fits the track well, though! The track stopping dead at the end was a little odd for me and a tad jarring, but it’s a minor gripe really.

For the most part ‘Know Thyself’ seemed pretty similar to the previous two tracks, so much so I wasn’t really going to mention it much. However, it dropping down to the palm-muted electric and then utilising the acoustic guitar was fantastic. It created such an amazing atmosphere for the rest of the track. I honestly wish they’d used it throughout the track, but having it in that part is enough to make it onto the playlist for me!

The distant drumming to open ‘The Silence’ set the track up as slightly more of a jazzy one, continued throughout. It’s an interesting blend with their style as well. However, while it might have just been my laptop, that riff that kicks in mid-way through the verses didn’t hit near hard enough for me. Maybe it’s because the drums didn’t go harder? Lyoness rectify it with the closest thing we’re going to get to a breakdown on the EP too, and it was pretty heavy (for an indie band) and good fun. Another good track on an EP full of them!

The band slow it down, but keep it pretty heavy, on the final track ‘What is Left’. It reminds me of almost a darker Fleetwood Mac, it definitely has those pop-folk-rock elements. She even kinda sounds like Stevie Nicks here, too. It’s an interesting way to close an album by I very much dig it. This is my favourite track on the album, it’s a heavy ballad that blends together so many different styles. I hear everything from Mac to Tool to Evanescence. An awesome track that you should definitely check out from our playlist!

Overall: for going in completely blind, I loved this! While some of the indier stuff isn’t quite my style, their other tracks are phenomenal and could hopefully push them far in this business! A fantastic start and I cannot wait to hear where the band go from here.

The Score: 7.5/10

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Interviews & Features

Baby Strange: Loud and Direct indie rock music from Glasgow!

Baby Strange are a Scottish indie rock band from the wonderful city of Glasgow. The band have been going strong for nearly ten years and have gained quite the following in the UK due to their mashup of influences – be it rock, punk or even hip-hop. Frontman Johnny Madden describes their sound as ‘high energy, loud and direct.’ The three band members met at a community centre when they were kids, partaking in a seminar that encouraged children to get into music. It later inspired them to form the band Baby Strange. We got the chance to speak to them a little about their music, the industry today for a grassroots band and their plans for the future. 

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Baby Strange’s Official Facebook

So, firstly, we had to ask the same question as we ask everyone we interview here at Overtone: What is the one song that Johnny Madden wished he had written?

“Teenage Kicks by The Undertones! Surely that’s everyone’s answer?”

Obviously the last year or so has been very hard on the music industry  with the seemingly endless stream of lockdowns. Baby Strange used the unusual time to produce their latest release.

“It was really weird at first. We’re used to making music together week in and week out so not being able to do that for a while was a strange feeling. We did write the majority of our new EP over lockdown though and we’re really happy with the way it’s turned out.

“There’s a lot of things [we miss] but one that comes to mind is walking out to a packed room and diving into the first song of the set and seeing the place go nuts. It’s a feeling I’ll never get tired of.”

Speaking more widely about the music industry, Johnny listed his most liked and disliked parts:

“We’ve never really seen ourselves as part of the industry to be honest. We just do our own thing, but the best thing about being in a band is getting to play in front of people every night on tour. We love being in the studio recording too, it gives us a real buzz.

“I wish bands and artists were given more time to grow and develop. It’s mostly a major label thing; you get signed, put out a few singles and if it’s not clicking straight away, you’re dropped. I’ve seen it happen too many times and I wish it was different.”

The band released their much-anticipated new EP, ‘Land of Nothing’, back in March of this year. Speaking about the experience, Johnny told us:

“It was recorded at Castle Of Doom studios in Glasgow with Chris Marshall. The major difference this time round was the location, we’d never recorded in Castle Of Doom before, it’s amazing.

‘’There’s Something There’ from our new EP is one of my favourites. Lyrically I pushed myself to talk about things I’d always hid from, such as my struggles with mental health in the past. It was quite freeing, putting pen to paper and doing that. Lyrics aside, the music is next level.”

They have an upcoming UK tour towards the end of the year which are the first shows they have been able to play in months. They also revealed to us that they are planning a European tour for the beginning of next year, although they were unable to divulge any specifics. Follow them on Facebook or Instagram to keep up to date with them and be the first to hear about their tour when they announce it!

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