These LITM Rock Picks each come with their own unique atmosphere, giving you something different every time – featuring Kingfisher, Louie Cameron, Gerard & Leo McFadden, and more!
1. Kingfisher – Breakdown
Kingfisher describes themselves as “indie-rock with a modern edge; melancholic, punchy, halfway between,” and their latest single, Breakdown serves as the perfect example of that. Opening with a sound that’s airy, spacious, almost ethereal, it soon explodes into a captivating arrangment that never once loses rhythm after it gets going. Buzzing guitars demand your attention as they occasionally cut through the haze of distortion created both by the production and the relentlessly energetic drums. The track employs repetition with grace – it’s only once you take a look at the lyrics that you realise how much of it they use, because the melody grips you tight enough to never realise. Listen here!
2. Louie Cameron – Canina Canoona
Even before you hit play on Louie Cameron’s latest single, Canina Canoona, its title catches you by surprise, creating an atmosphere that you’re not quite sure what to make of yet. And once you do put your headphones on and let the song wash over you, it doesn’t disappoint. A dreamy, hazy track that makes you feel ten times lighter as you listen to it, it carries tinges of shoegaze and Americana that fuse together to create something that truly feels like it’s an undiscovered gem from a long bygone era. All its quirks and personality make it all the more charming – a track you’ll want to immerse yourself in again and again!
3. Gerard & Leo McFadden – Don’t Look Back
Gerard & Leo McFadden’s debut release is the album Light Shade Light, which is what Don’t Look Back opens. In many ways, it’s an introduction to them, and it does its job with understated gusto. It’s a track that in parts embodies the intimacy and softness of indie-folk, which in parts steps over the blurred line to become a sound more based in grunge sensibilities. Underlining all this, though, is a subtle rock energy that drives the track forward with rhythmic, consistent drumming and a string section that adds depth to the whole arrangement without announcing itself too loudly. Give Don’t Look Back a listen here!
4. Makhyli – Hissy Fit
From its very first seconds, Makhyli’s Hissy Fit goes from a zero to a hundred – and stays there. The result is a song that’s ready to burst at the seams with angst, and barely-repressed anger. “Here I go being a bitch again / A lot of angst for a girlie from Michigan / I’m sick of being quiet / I need to start a riot,” she hisses out, backed by a steady drum line that never wavers, and riffs that emphasise everything she says at all the right places. Lyrically, Makhyli approaches the idea of a hissy fit with intention – this isn’t a toddler throwing a tantrum, it’s a self-aware woman who’s reclaiming the idea of women’s anger. Listen here!
5. Aaron Lewis Moore – Miss Henderson
Miss Henderson is UK-based independent rock guitarist Aaron Lewis Moore’s latest single. On first listen, it seems a little too soft and almost shimmery to be a ‘rock’ song, but you soon realise that it’s filled with rock sensibilities – they’re just under the surface, waiting to be heard. Backed by an electric and acoustic guitar – both performed by Moore – that slides from note to note perfectly, giving Moore’s vocals the support they deserve, and Erim Ahmet’s drums that walk alongside the song’s pace, matching it step for step with ease, it’s full of character and personality. Check Miss Henderson out here!
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