Category: Alternative

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Mokita & Stand Atlantic – I’m Sorry

To say that I’m Sorry was a catchy song would be a massive understatement. It’s hard not to get hooked with it after just a couple of seconds in. Nashville-based chill-pop singer and producer Mokita wrote it after a conversation with his brother about past relationships and how regretful they felt about mistakes they made. Trying to make it sound even more nostalgic, he decided to make it a duet and managed to convince Bonnie from Stand Atlantic (remember them?) to join forces with him. I’m glad this happened because her voice gives the tune a really nice touch that makes it even more haunting.

Don’t miss this great tune out. It’s really good.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Pop
  • Alternative

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Ashland – In Your Head

If you enjoyed recently featured bands such as Rivals, Monowhales and Fireflight, then you’re in for a treat because Ashland is right there in the same league as those bands, delivering guitar-led tracks with powerful choruses. After flirting with pop in their last full-length album, the extra spare time caused by the pandemic made them go back to their rock roots and return with a new EP, I, that leans more towards rock. In Your Head is exhibit A of that.

A song about how we often make things worse than they are in our own heads, In Your Head is filled with all the repressed energy from a year without proper live gigs. As it must be evident by now, Ashland is a band fully deserving of our attention. Led by such a talented vocalist as Asia Marie Dupuy, they got what it takes to reach new highs after each release.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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Everything
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Indie
Pop

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The Wallflowers – Three Marlenas

You might have heard this week’s news on The Wallflowers releasing their first album in 9 years next month. They even released its lead single already, which is okay, I guess, but nothing to write home about. While I’m not a die-hard fan of Jakob Dylan‘s band (I wasn’t even aware they had made an album in the last decade), they do have some really great songs that were very popular during the The Wallflower‘s heyday. Their most famous –and probably best– song is One Headlight, which won two Grammys and became the first song to top all three of Billboard‘s rock charts: modern rock, mainstream and adult alternative.

All that being said, I do have a soft spot for a far more modest single from the same Bringing Down The Horse album: Three Marlenas. It peaked at number 51 on the Hot 100 chart and is not the song most people immediately think about when they hear this band’s name, but it is that song for me. Take a walk with me down memory lane with this week’s #ThrowbackThursday song.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Twenty One Pilots – Trees

You can love them or hate them but you can’t deny Twenty One Pilots is one of the biggest musical acts out there. They hit it big in 2015 with their album Blurryface and basically every single song they have released since then has become a success. Until not that long ago, I thought that record was their debut album but, as probably know, I was very wrong: it was their third. In 2019, I decided to watch some of the performances from that year’s Reading Festival on video-on-demand, which included this musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. That was the first time I listened to Trees, a little gem from their second album, Vessel (2013), and that they used to close their show (which made me think it was a fan favorite). They put an amazing spectacle performing this track then (you can watch it below) and it blew me away. It immediately became a #musicalcrush.

Tyler Joseph and Josh Dunn are releasing a new album, Scaled And Icy, in May. While we wait for it, please enjoy this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry: Trees.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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4 Non Blondes – What’s Up

I wasn’t planning to feature What’s Up as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday song when I mentioned it in the Marcelo Deiss‘ entry, but I’ve stumbled upon it quite a few times since then, I even listened to a nice cover I might feature in the near future. It is a great and extremely catchy song, don’t get me wrong, but chances are you know that already. After all, it’s a classic.

4 Non Blondes are considered one-hit-wonders but that’s basically because they didn’t give themselves another chance. The band broke up shortly after What’s Up became an international hit, and it was just the second single off their first and only album. However, lead singer/songwriter Linda Perry remained active within the music industry, founding record labels and writing and producing hits for other artists, including Beautiful by Christina Aguilera. By the way, Linda hated how What’s Up was produced for the commercial version we all know. She preferred her demo version but it hasn’t been released.

One final piece of trivia: the song’s title is never mentioned in the lyrics. What is mentioned, quite prominently, is “what’s going on“. However, there is a classic Marvin Gaye song with that name, which is why, in order to avoid any confusion, they went with What’s Up instead.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Marcelo Deiss – One

Marcelo Deiss

Just to avoid any confusion, One is an original song and not a cover of the famous U2 classic. That being said, for some reason, it reminds me a lot of another classic: What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes. It is a magnetic alternative rock track with nice guitars and even elements of blues. The lyrics intertwine Portuguese and English to deliver a message about fighting back and standing together as one. The end result is pretty uplifting and invigorating.

One is also the first track of Hurl, the new EP from Brazilian-born and London-based musician Marcelo Deiss, whose goal as an artist is to evoke emotions through his music. As a keen observer, he writes about society from his experience merging his Brazilian culture with his English surroundings. He’s particularly worried about people getting overloaded with fake news, advertising and social media post and subsequently losing touch with reality and themselves. As a talented artist with a conscience, he makes it very easy to root for him.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie
  • Pop

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Fireflight – Wrapped In Your Arms

Fireflight - Wrapped In Your Arms

Earlier this week I mentioned the Grammy-nominated band Fireflight. They do have a decent fanbase, but they are not household names. Therefore, I thought it would be relevant to talk a bit about them in this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

“Fireflight is technically a Christian rock band, but not all of their songs are about religious themes. (I could be wrong, but I think the track I’m recommending today is simply a love song.) They are often compared to bands like Evanescence and Paramore, just because they are also female-fronted rock bands that often lean towards the heavier side. (Paramore not so much anymore.) They were formed in 1999 and have released seven albums so far, including one last year. For Those Who Wait (2010) is their most successful record to date.

This band from Florida has quite a few nice tracks, but my favorite one is this overlooked gem called “Wrapped In Your Arms” from their third studio album, Unbreakable (2008). It wasn’t even a single, but it is a really outstanding song. The first half of it is very laid-back and features the beautiful voice of lead singer Dawn Michele prominently, but what I really love about this tune is how all of a sudden the whole band comes in after the second chorus, taking everything up a notch. I hope you enjoy this track as much as I do.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Rivals – Lavenders

Rivals - Lavenders

Los Angeles quartet Rivals just released their sophomore album: Sad Looks Pretty On Me and it contains 12 tracks of what they describe as dark-pop. I would call it simply alternative rock but regardless of how you call it, you will definitely enjoy it if you like bands like Fireflight and even Stand Atlantic. My favorite track in the album is Lavenders and even though you could argue that it is a bit formulaic, that does not make it any less compelling. Vocalist Kalie Wolfe got the perfect voice for this style of music.

Lavenders is a song about facing your own demons but nobody said that it couldn’t be catchy. If you are looking for an energetic track to help you get through this week, you came to the right place. Here it is:

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Vega4 – Life Is Beautiful

I will keep this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry short and simple after discussing Vega4 on Monday’s post. In summary, Vega4 was a short-lived band fronted by Johnny McDaid from Snow Patrol. They released two albums but the first one is really hard to find. The follow-up, You And Others (2006), is the one featuring Life Is Beautiful, which had a lot of exposure back then. This song is certainly special but the whole album is really good. I highly recommend it.

It’s sad that Vega4 didn’t release more albums but the silver lining is that the band’s demise allowed Johnny to join Snow Patrol and also write songs for other artists such as Kodaline and Example. As a piece of trivia, Johnny has been dating Courteney Cox since 2013.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Lyon Tide – Closure

Please let me start this entry by talking briefly about a different band. You are probably aware of Snow Patrol and its frontman Gary Lightbody. They are pretty popular, but you might not be familiar with Johnny McDaid, who plays piano, guitar and backing vocals for the band. Before Snow Patrol, Johnny fronted a short-lived but really good alternative rock band called Vega4. One of their singles, Life Is Beautiful, got a lot of exposure after it was featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (by the way, how on earth is that show still on?). They were a great band while it lasted.

Closure is the debut single of Lyon Tide, a band based out of Birmingham, UK. They describe their music as  Indie Post-BritPop, which may or may not mean something to you, but for what is worth, Closure somehow reminded me instantly of Vega4. It turns out that one of Lyon Tide‘s main influences is Snow Patrol. When I saw that, it all started to make sense to me. This was all a convoluted way for me to tell you that this single is outstanding. And it is just their debut. Just imagine what else could be coming from them in the future!

Lyon Tide is named that way after the tidal effect caused by the electromagnetic waves generated by the excessive amount of cellular antennas located around the French city of Lyon. They usually joke about the band’s origin saying that it was formed when a Brit, an Italian and an Indian man walked into art class. However, their music is something we should all take very seriously. They are really talented and could become something special. Enjoy Closure below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie