New Music Tag

It’s been a while since we’ve been able to read Kesha’s name in the news without biting back some kind of frustration. Since 2014, the pop superstar has been locked in a legal battle with former manager and producer Dr. Luke (aka Lukas Gottwald) alleging sexual assault and emotional manipulation, while seeking an injunction to be freed from her contract with Sony. So far the law has predictably come down on the side of the record label and the accused (which I’ve already aired my grievances about), but the cloudRead More

After eighteen months off the map, Writtalin’s favorite electropop band is back with new music in tow. Ahead of their forthcoming album, the LA four-piece Parade of Lights have given us a taste of what’s to come in the form of “Touch,” a bright, hook-packed piece of effervescent pop, the likes of which has been sorely missing from the indie scene lately. Gone are the heavily vamped guitars of their debut, frontman Ryan Daly and the gang instead pursuing a straight-forward dancefloor vibe that begs listeners to abandon their seatsRead More

Anonymity allows a certain degree of freedom, does it not? Free from the bounds and obligations of ego one can explore the whims of creativity apart from fear of criticism or judgment. It’s a dimension the internet age has afforded us. Behind usernames, proxies and guises our wildest fantasies come true. This liberation erases the boundaries whether they be personal, political, or in the amazing case of Soundcloud and other uploading services, sonic. Such an auditory liberation has given birth to a cornucopia of artists previously unheard by the massesRead More

“Excuse me, sir. Do you have a minute to talk about rock and roll?” The question comes somewhat meekly during a break in an otherwise vicious wall of sound. Wearing a sharktoothed sundress, Rebecca Bortman looks more Alice in Wonderland than garage rock heroine. Nevertheless, she and her monochrome bandmates that make up lo-fi outfit Happy Fangs serve up the good word of rock and roll with a feverish bite. The night is still young at the Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles. At 9PM on a Tuesday, I’m usually plopped onRead More

The throng inside Anaheim’s famed House of Blues presses toward the stage in silent, rapt attention. In the heart of Downtown Disney with all its lights, glamor and themed uniformity, one doesn’t expect to witness the raw expression and stripped-down performance of the act currently in residence. Keith Goodwin and Dan Schwartz of Philly folk trio Good Old War — armed with only an acoustic guitar and their searing vocal harmonies — hold the crowd in the palm of their hand. “When you play this way, the songs have to beRead More

Fans of British jangle pop rejoice! The 1975 will return later this afternoon with their new single “Love Me,” which drops at approximately 4PM/PST. How can we be so sure, you ask? Two weeks ago, the notoriously cryptic band posted a countdown on the splash page of their website teasing only that something big was on the horizon. Well, the short wait and speculation are both over. // L O V E M E – H O T T E S T R E C O R D – TRead More

The Hi-Dive in Denver, Colorado is quiet as the opening band packs up their own equipment and exits the stage. A quiet electricity hangs in the air; the sounds of clanking classes and friendly conversation replacing the music that was just being played. In the small, standing-room-only venue, you won’t find any top-40 artists or teenaged fanboys and girls waiting around to meet their idols.The Hi-Dive is a bar, and half of the patrons are just there to drink a few beers and check out whatever artists happen to be performingRead More

The Nashville music scene seems to favor a certain type of up and coming artist. But if you don’t wear a cowboy hat and boots and sing about tractors, is it still possible for you to find an audience? In the case of Tennessee natives COIN, that answer is a resounding “yes!” Though they may bear little resemblance to Alan Jackson or Lady Antebellum, they still owe their rise to the same renowned music scene, which nowadays churns out bands in nearly every genre imaginable. Chase Lawrence (lead vocals), JoeRead More

There’s a very good chance that a little indie outfit from Ithaca, NY is one of your favorite bands and you don’t even know it. X Ambassadors have been making waves on the underground for quite some time. From the snowballing success of their EPS to the World Cup virality of their single “Jungle” and a score of featured collaborations including both Eminem’s “Wicked Ways” and Zedd’s “Transmission” released earlier this week, it seems almost impossible to turn one’s head without catching wind of their urgent blend of indie rock andRead More

In the early days of Writtalin–which admittedly isn’t that long ago since we’ve only been going strong for about a year and a half–I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of alternative rock’s rising stars. On the idyllic tract of downtown Fullerton, Ryan Daly, Anthony Improgo and the rest of electoropop quartet Parade of Lights shook KROQ’s Locals Only Show like a firestorm. They were poised to take the alt nation by storm, owning the stage like a post-apocalyptic Walk the Moon or a sweeter pop answer to AWOLNATION.Read More

Remember a little Swedish Kickstarter project making the rounds in early 2014 that played like an 80’s time capsule overload? We certainly do. In David Sandberg’s Kung Fury, a “kung fu renegade cop” travels back in time to defeat the most evil kung fu master of all time – wait for it – Adolf Hitler. Along the way he enlists the help of ancient, gun-toting Vikings, fights a sentient arcade game, and rides into battle astride a Tyrannosaurus Rex all to a bombastic 80’s synth soundtrack that’s equal parts nostalgicRead More

Though their third studio effort Pop Psychology may be just over a year in the past, alt-pop band Neon Trees aren’t ready to take a break just yet. This June, the Provo, Utah quartet will embark on their aptly-titled “An Intimate Night with Neon Trees” tour, during which they will be playing a series of small venues across the US. And since their latest hit single “Sleeping with a Friend” has long since faded from the airwaves, Tyler Glenn and company have decided the best way to mark the occasion isRead More

Punk rock and basketball certainly aren’t the first things that come to mind upon listening to singer-songwriter Stefan Pruett’s debut single, but both make up the cornerstone of “Carefree” – a smooth slice of 80s dream pop that plays like a lost track from The Breakfast Club and the National’s first foray into EDM. If that sounds like an earful, listen and judge for yourself:   If the culture clash of punk and hoops isn’t immediately apparent, Pruett wouldn’t blame you. The evolution of his music into the dark popRead More

This past Wednesday marked a glorious occasion for fans of dance-along, paint-your-face indie pop.  Giddy, metro rock outfit Walk the Moon – still selling out shows on the back of their massively successful second album – released a taste of what’s next in the form of the whimsical dance floor track “Shut Up and Dance.” The Ohio foursome – comprised of members Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman and Eli Maiman – have spent the summer supporting Panic! at the Disco on their Gospel Tour, but it appears that theyRead More

Even those who frequent Pitchfork and BIRP might have a difficult time stumbling upon a certain quintet of upstarts from Hamilton, Ontario. Funny, considering that Arkells all the rage on the Canadian indie scene, amassing the Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammy) for New Group of the Year in 2010 and Group of the Year in 2012. A brief journey through their discography is all it takes to see why. Their debut album Jackson Square announced them as a loud, persistent force backed by a subtle Motown influence and a uniqueRead More