Category: Mixtapes

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Creature Fear – Big Summer Eyes

While they have been together as a band for at least 3 or 4 years, 2020 was the year Creature Fear, a five-piece indie rock band from Australia, started to break out in their home country. They’re about to release their debut EP this year, from which they have released three singles already. All of them are really nice but whereas the first two were more upbeat and closer to the band’s 60s rock influence; their latest single, Big Summer Eyes, is more intimate with a soft acoustic intro that showcases the gorgeous voice of lead singer Jacqui Lumsden. It is not, however, an acoustic track from start to finish. The full band joins the party soon enough.

A song about hope during the darkest times, it surely brings a ray of light to our lives during covid times. Creature Fear is just another example of the really talented artists coming out from Down Under. Check them out as I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Nathan Mac – The Boy Who Learned To Fly

Nathan Mac is a cinematic pop artist from Ireland who is in the midst of releasing his debut album, Start of Something Blue, one song at a time. With a background in circus performance and stagecraft, and getting inspiration from sources such as Pixar, Studio Ghibli, and Kingdom Hearts (a videogame series), it isn’t surprising that one of his latest releases, The Boy Who Learned To Fly, feels like a song straight out of a movie from them. It is a beautiful and delicate tune about a child who sees his father cry for the first time. Based on Nathan’s relationship with his own father, the track tell us that it is OK to show vulnerability even when we are grown ups.

Without a doubt, Nathan Mac is a creative force that we won’t want to keep out of sight. We won’t wan to miss what he comes up with.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Diarmuid J Kennedy, sølstrek – Chase A Loss

You may remember Diarmuid J Kennedy from when he was featured here back in September. If that’s the case, you will be happy to hear that he’s back with another beautiful piece called Chase A Loss. This time, he partnered with fellow Irish musician Sinead Hayes, aka sølstrek, who plays the mesmerizing violin part on this piece. A match made in heaven.

This stunning track feels to me like the soundtrack to a beautiful old movie. Call me crazy but I think it got a similar vibe to the Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, composed by the late legend Ennio Morricone. At the very least, it could be your soundtrack to a perfectly fine Sunday evening. Sit bax, relax, and enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Seafei – Mountains

Seafei is a musician and producer from Ohio who lives in Singapore. Naturally, this mix of Western and Eastern cultures get reflected in his work, resulting in ambient and electronic tracks that don’t sound like your typical chill-out tunes. Mountains, his latest single, is a great example of that. It is low-tempo Western electronic music that manages to transport you to the Himalayas at least for a couple of minutes.

By all means, check Seafei‘s engaging music out. He got the talent, creativity and skills to become a renowned name within the genre.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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Foo Fighters – Waiting On A War

Today was one of those days with meetings back-to-back non-stop, which is something that drains my energy levels. For that reason, I’m going to feature today a great band that everybody is aware of. There isn’t much I can tell you about the Foo Fighters you don’t already know.

They’re about to release a new album soon and have dropped 3 song so far, with the latest one being Waiting On A War, released last week. If you haven’t heard it already, do so now. It rocks. I hadn’t liked a new song from the Foo Fighters this much since Walk from 2011’s Wasting Light, so I’m not a diehard fan who will simply love everything Dave Grohl and company do. Believe me when I say that I think this new track is stunning. I love everything about it, from its lyrics (inspired by Grohl’s daughter) to the intro with the soft guitar strums and the strings to its amazing in crescendo finish.

“There’s got to be more to this than that!“

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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FancyNormal – Sober Spaceman

Sober Spaceman is the second single from Australian synth-pop duo FancyNormal. It sounds like the 96th single from a seasoned altpop veteran. The tune is catchy as hell, the production is top-notch and the vocals are simply perfect for this kind of music. In fact, the intro reminded me a bit of “Already Gone” from Kelly Clarkson (co-written by Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic). Lyrically, the song is about conquering fear and living your life to its fullest. I’m telling you, I can’t find a fault on this song.

Influenced by Carly Rae Japsen and MGMT, the duo started during the pandemic and is formed by Noni, the lead singer and who is originally from Indonesia, and Jules, who plays most instruments and is in charge of the smooth production. Together, they are trying to create colorful music at a time when the world really needs it. If you give FancyNormal a chance, it will be easy for you to see they are succeeding at that. This is picture perfect indie pop music.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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The Trusted – Criminals

The first time I listened to Criminals, the latest single from British band The Trusted, it immediately reminded me of some pretty good alternative rock bands from the 2000s, like Vega4 and Carolina Liar (bands that you definitely should check out if they don’t ring a bell to you). This act from Southend-on-Sea started out of secondary school around 2017, when the band members bonded over their admiration of melodic and atmospheric pop-rock. It’s no wonder then that they’ve managed to craft such a great song like Criminals.

Mixed by Grammy nominated Andy Bradfield (Elbow, David Gray), Criminals features hypnotic synth-strings and guitar loops that complement very well the smooth vocals of Tom Cunningham. Sad, honest and beautifully uplifting are adjectives that The Trusted use to describe the track, and they are spot on. The band have garnered acclaim from several magazines and publications and got a strong following in Italy after two successful tours. After listening to Criminals, it’s easy to see why.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Justin Forrest – Hold Steady

If you watched the second season of Cobra Kai, you may have noticed that during a party scene towards the end of the season, a cool song played for a few seconds. It caught my attention then and after a little research, I found that the song was Hold Steady by Justin Forrest. Now, he does have Instagram and Twitter accounts, but other than that, it is not much what you can find about him. He’s from Nashville and got three singles on the major streaming platforms, with Hold Steady being the most recent one. Nevertheless, Justin obviously got a knack for writing extremely catchy pop-rock songs and we should definitely keep him on our radar.

Hold Steady is definitely a #musicalcrush with an explosive chorus. Check it out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Nate Adamson – Grace

At 5:32, Vancouver-born Nate Adamson‘s debut single, Grace, might appear to be too long but it is not because at 04:06 it switches up a gear and goes from being a good song to an outstanding one. I simply love those guitar riffs that complement the song so well. And did I mention that Nate did absolutely everything related to this song? Besides writing the song, singing and playing each instrument; he also recorded and produced every element using the studio he built from the ground up. Pretty impressive, if you ask me, for somebody who is just starting.

This singer-songwriter started listening to legends like Johnny Cash but later discovered more contemporary acts like Kings of Leon and Phoebe Bridgers, which is what ended up motivating him to create his own music. That being said, Grace reminds me a lot of Duncan Sheik, not just in style but also because of the soothing vocals. A bright song the artist wrote for the daughter he would like to have someday, it brings us hope by telling us that no matter how dire things might look right now, everything will be all right in the end. With more songs like Grace, I could totally believe that.

P.S: Since I wasn’t able to write a post on Monday and Wednesday this week, there won’t be a #ThrowbackThursday entry this week. Hopefully, it will return next time.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Middle Part – Busy

After experiencing a major adversity, Brooklyn-based singer Andrew Selkōw moved to Alaska for a while to find himself. Being alone and surrounded by nature rekindled his love for literature and music and planted the seed for Middle Part to be born. Inspired by both 1990s and early 2000s alternative bands, Andrew composes sincere music that connects with you at many levels. On December, Middle Part released his debut EP, I Wish I Was Alive, which compiles the singles he had published already.

One of those singles is Busy, a laid-back tune that relies on hazy vocals, acoustic guitars, and soft synths to deliver a message of vulnerability. Influenced by artists like Natalie Imbruglia and Michelle Branch, Middle Part wrote Busy to warn us about the problems ego brings to friendships. I don’t know if it is because of the guitar, the vocals or the steady beat, but somehow this song reels you in and doesn’t let go until long after it’s ended.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie