Reviews

Banquet Darling is the musical brainchild of Newcastle-based artist Todd Kilby, whose route to songwriting has been anything but ordinary. After years of travelling the world as a circus acrobat, musician and director, Kilby turned his attention fully toward music, writing songs everywhere from Paris to Hong Kong and from…

London-based industrial rock band BLADE OF THORNS channels pain into something louder than despair, building music around real-life struggles and the hard-won hope that can emerge from them. Rooted in the grit of post-grunge and the force of industrial rock, the band takes an uncompromising approach to songwriting, with mental…

Akron, Ohio rapper Zmack has spent years turning an unconventional musical upbringing into a sound that refuses to sit still. His late best friend CJ was his earliest collaborator, with the pair making beats and rapping together since middle school, and that shared foundation still echoes through Zmack’s work. On…

Melbourne-based songwriter Jason McKee, the artist behind Reetoxa, has turned a turbulent life into an unusually expansive body of work. His 26-song autobiographical project Soliloquy, once described as “the diary of a madman,” reaches into years of struggle, recovery, loss, and reinvention. Now, “Strong / Truce” brings two of its…

South Philadelphia rapper Brandon Baich, better known as Spoony-B, has built his persona around surviving chaos and embracing the mess rather than pretending it is not there. Having overcome obesity, survived four car accidents, and reportedly quit smoking seven times, he brings plenty of lived-in disorder to his music. On…

Keesha Blair’s “The Inheritance” begins with the question: what do we receive from those who came before us, and what do we do with it once it is ours? The songwriter and creative director behind Divine Purpose Music turns memories of her mother and grandmother into a broader meditation on…

Independent rock artist TrixxStarr turns a deceptively simple question into an increasingly unsettling meditation on excess with “Enough.” The song circles around the idea of having everything you supposedly need and still being left wondering whether any of it actually satisfies. Its accompanying music video pushes that question even further,…

After spending more than two decades helping shape modern pop, Toby Gad is finally putting more of himself in the frame. The Danish-German-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer has co-written massive songs including John Legend’s “All of Me,” Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy,” and Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,”…

Ultra Funkular Sound, the solo project of Norwich-based producer Gavin Moore, finds its sweet spot in electronic music that values atmosphere over excess. His latest single, “Jump Right In,” channels the chilled spirit of progressive house into a sun-warmed, liberating track that feels tailor-made for watching the sky change colour…

“Love & Hate” arrives with the soulful confidence that makes resilience feel almost celebratory. GrooveGalore Muzik and Valentino Music build the track around a warm reggae foundation, with additional production from Jahred Gordon, creating a sound that balances spiritual reflection with an unmistakably upbeat groove. From the opening seconds, harmonies…