Among The Rest dig in, Ingrid St-Pierre soars, Nick Noon brightens your day and more in the latest submissions from Groover, a platform that connects artists with critics like me for a small fee. You can (and should) follow me on Spotify HERE, check out my Top 200 playlist HERE, or listen to it via the widget at the lower right of every page on this site. If you want to be in an upcoming playlist, go HERE. But first, warm up to these tracks:
Among The Rest | Cold Bones In Shallow Graves / Headstones And Hollow Caves
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Metal.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Windsor’s Among The Rest stand on the fringes of various genres of metal: Metalcore, Djent, alt-metal, progressive metal and more. Their 2021 Morté EP begins with the hard-hitting opener and lead single Cold Bones in Shallows Graves / Headstones and Hollow Caves. The track is about a person’s physical form within the afterlife, breaching reality in moments of fear, anxiety, poor mental state/health, and how to cope with those challenges. It’s also a perfect example of Among The Rest’s mutating musical style, filled with ultra-quick riffs, disgusting breakdowns, brutal lyrics, and warpath drum fills. Among The Rest are working on new material to follow up Morté sometime in 2023.”
Ingrid St-Pierre | L’Onoclée
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Through her airy and candid songs, Ingrid St-Pierre has quickly become a beloved figure in the public eye, receiving numerous awards and nominations along the way. As a self-taught artist, she soars through her imagery and dreamy melodies, inviting whoever will into her vibrant and lyrical universe. L’Onoclée is the second single from her next album Reines.”
Nick Noon | Bring Out The Sunshine
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “One of Nashville’s most talented rising musical artists, Nick Noon returns with Bring Out The Sunshine, a single that will induce goosebumps. The single, mastered by Brian Lucey (Arctic Monkeys, Black Keys), delivers an upbeat indie rock production and lyricism that will resonate with listeners. Through an ear-catching guitar and a nostalgic rock composition, the single delivers a refreshing take on indie rock. Nook’s message-heavy and positive lyricism will take listeners on a sonic journey that will have people appreciating life a little bit more. If you are looking for a song that takes you back to the ’70s and yet provides that modern indie punch, look no further. Bring Out The Sunshine is the second single from Nook’s forthcoming EP A Jejune Affair.”
Nairolf | En Attendant (ft. Alex*)
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Born and raised in France, Nairolf chose English as his language in art and Ontario for his home. He released his debut solo album Lights & Shadows in 2020, and the followup Forecast From The Past in 2022. Nairolf mixes textures and rhythms, and uses both layered ambient guitars and punchy electric riffs to create an intimate but surprising atmosphere. His influences are a combination of ’90s grunge, progressive rock and electronic music, including Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Placebo, The Cure, Steven Wilson and Pink Floyd. “Forecast From The Past contains the track Brighter,” he says. “En Attendant (While Waiting) is a rework and translation of that song. The bass and electric piano give it a warm soul vibe, whereas the strings give it a touch of classical music. All strings were played by the talented violinist Alex*. En Attendant is a more mature love song, an hymn to taking chances and trusting your gut feelings. Everything in this song is a reach out of my confort zone of alt-rock.”
Christopher Gill | Unfinished Thought 985
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After many years DJing in and around the U.K. and creating music that rarely left my own ears, I decided to just put out some of the many creations before I can’t. This is my first release, and the number signifies the many thousands of unfinished thoughts and feelings I have captured.”
Magon | Enter By The Narrow Gate
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Psychedelic Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Newly found surf rock influences, Biblical themes, country music and a drop of acid are all part of this new record that captures the artist at a transitional time between the city and nature. With Enter By The Narrow Gate, Magon finds himself at his most spiritual and thus most accessible. It is the self-portrait young a man who’s ready to close the first chapter in his career and move on to new horizons.”
Levi Mann | Disorder
HOME BASE: United Kingdom.
GENRE: Electronica.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Levi Mann is an electronica producer from the East Midlands. Sourcing inspiration from the uplifting sounds of the ’90s, as well as a multitude of genres such as break, trance, techno and house, Levi’s melodic and kaleidoscopic sounds evoke feelings of nostalgia and waves of euphoria along with atmospheric and mind-bending textures. Influenced by trips to U.K. festivals, Ibiza and Berlin, as well as artists such as Bicep and Dusky, this track has skippy drums, swirling vocals and a heavy bassline.”
April And The Drift | The Road You’re Travelling On
HOME BASE: Australia.
GENRE: Reggae-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “With delicacy and soul, Copenhagen singer-songwriter April lays out her truths and vulnerabilities in poetic and boldly observational ways as she guides listeners through a sweet and romantic journey of visionary and jazz-kissed soundscapes. No walls surround her songs and her catalogue touches on free-jazz and blues as well as ska and reggae. Far from writing to simply win attention, the Australian-based duo delivers hypnotically emotive lyrics and natural instrumentation with an immediate warmth and blissful softness.”
Chok Kerong | Cry (ft. Vanessa Fernandez & Weish)
HOME BASE: Singapore.
GENRE: Jazz-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Chok Kerong is one of Singapore’s most versatile talents. Traversing numerous genres under the umbrella of popular music with equal finesse, he has distinguished himself as a swinging, harmonically inventive pianist and organist, and has also emerged as a composer of extraordinary clarity and depth. Coming together for the very first time, Kerong and vocalist Vanessa Fernandez have announced their new collaborative single, Cry. “It’s a song about how we manage the overwhelm of life by being vulnerable in our emotional release,” Fernandez says of the song, which also features multi-disciplinary artist Weish. Cry is part of a forthcoming album Spiral, due in early 2023. Says Kerong: “Even though this project sounds and feels very different from my last two albums, it’s the result of a very natural progression for me.”
Gold Record | Kool Aid
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Synth-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Gold Record are a movement created to bring people together and beget joy. Music and art are the mediums for this movement. Currently the artist is working on unique but lofty projects: A live album produced by Nicolas Vernhes (Dirty Projectors, War On Drugs); an indie-pop LP produced by Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, City and Colour); and the Extended Summer LP. Kool Aid is our newest single, mixed with additional production from our friend Ewan Pearson (M83, Jens Lekman).”
Vicky Chand | Lobby
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Rap.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “After receiving over two millions streams in 2022, we would love for you to hear our new single Lobby, an uptempo Dance / R&B record with sultry vibes and raw energy. The energy is about overcoming the obstacles in your way and making it on your own!”
Annie Wicca | On The Road
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Pop.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Annie Wicca creates loud and dreamy music — a mix of art-pop, indie, electronica and rock. Lyrics play a significant role in Annie’s self-expression. Her music is her diary; the sung poems unravel the themes of fear, madness, love for music, magic and what being young and running around the town in this era of unsureness feels like. “On The Road is a song about my devotion to music,” she says. “It portrays the poetic myth of the sacrifices artists make in order to be able to create (isolation, loneliness, etc.). On a personal level it explores my need to keep moving, and how changes manifest in my personal life — I left Riga to go to Paris and make music at the age of 19 with no money or connections and now this journey has become a part of my personality and art. My devotion to stay on the road means trusting my vision and I know that in doing that, I’ll be able to find community in other human beings, that experience the same sensations as I do, and together our loneliness can dissolve into creativity.”
Isle&Fever | On Yr Mind
HOME BASE: Mexico.
GENRE: Funk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “On Yr Mind is the first song in two years from indie-funk groove / chill band Isle&Fever. After their last single U Never Know, lead singer Donald Eley moved to a small beach town in Mexico, while Tiger Smith remained in L.A.’s Echo Park, working through a folder of idea sessions in his basement studio. The result of this long-distance collaboration culminated is On Yr Mind, a fusion of classic disco, funk, soul and indie-rock. It is the first of many tracks the duo plan to release over the next few months.”
_telemaque_ | The Sailor
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Indie-Folk.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “An artist on the border between folk, rock, and jazz, _telemaque_ just released a poetic new title The Sailor. This is the first extract from his new EP We See You When You Don’t See Us, to be released in spring. The Sailor is inspired by Homer‘s Odyssey and the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley. This is a songwriter’s song — just guitar and voice with some brass orchestrations on the end. Written shortly before the birth of his third child, the lyrics are an allegorical tale of a boat that has just come through a storm and is enjoying a calm sea. “The blue serene, and the sky is near” is a message to children about how to appreciate the beauty and the fragility of life.”
Moore | For Me
HOME BASE: Germany.
GENRE: R&B / Soul.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m a 22-year-old independent artist from Berlin. I recently released my second EP Cards, which inclues the song For Me. With my music I always try to deal with heavy topics (love addiction, toxic relationships, etc.) in a colourful way (my music has been described as ‘a beautiful bouquet of flowers left on top of a grave’). I really try to put myself in every note that I sing and play, and in every word that I write.”
Bernd | I Believe In The Future + The Tyger
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Pop-Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Born in Africa, raised in the Parisian suburbs, fed in London, Bernd was part of the band Beau Geste in the ’80s. He recently returned to the studio to record his first solo album The Story Of Sonny Watts. I Believe In The Future is the first single. It is the story of life — ideas and sounds create attitudes, attitudes create actions, and actions create stories. I Believe In The Future is the first stone on a narrow path to another way of thinking, of living, calling for others behaviours. The Tyger is based on Willam Blake’s poem.”
Eduardo Díaz | Subiendo La Montaña
HOME BASE: Mexico.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I’m sharing my guitar composition Subiendo La Montaña, which I dedicate to all the mountaineers of the world. This piece uses tremolo, one of the most beautiful techniques of the classical guitar. it gives the impression of a sustained, shimmering note — a continuous thread of pure sound. It is a delicate effect that still mesmerizes audiences.”
Byebyefish | Snowflakes Are Dancing
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: NEo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “I am Byebyefish, a French artist from Garches near Paris. I explore two main musical styles: Neo-classical piano and indie-rock. Since 2021, I have released several new solo piano singles that combine melancholic, relaxing and romantic moods with deeply expressive composition and playing. Snowflakes Are Dancing is the latest. Recorded and mixed 2022 at GAM Studio by producer Armen Bedrossian, it is a relaxing and uplifting work. Composed in winter, it was influenced by Christmas. Recorded on a C. Bernstein grand piano, it sounds pure and natural, like Christmas bells and crystal flakes.”
The Independent Sound | The Road Song Challenge France (Antoine Zakar Malihas Remix)
HOME BASE: Canada.
GENRE: Remix.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “The Independent Sound are meant to be heard, not seen. The Independent Sound are the stage, not the star. Antoine Zakar Malihas was a finalist in the Road Song Challenge France. This is his remix.”
My Perfect Alien | The Comma Conspiracy
HOME BASE: France.
GENRE: Rock.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Like all good stories, this one starts a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … Born of a big-bang mother and an asteroid father, My Perfect Alien are a complex cosmic entity, but yet so naturally obvious, that roams the planetary systems aboard a ship from the depths of time and space. The flight plan includes rock music as powerful as a supernova with electro tones that remind you of meteor showers. Since 2014, the four crew members are making their riffs revolve around planet Earth. Their musical mix is a peaceful weightless journey but also asks for rough emergency landings with melodious and tortuous tracks. It is jubilant UFO Rock! Buckle up! The Comma Conspiracy is that little and imperceptible voice from which you can not escape. The one that gets under your skin and whispers at any time into your ears that happiness stands in all those things that you do not need.”
Paul Terry | Soaring Into Theaters
HOME BASE: United States.
GENRE: Neo-Classical.
THE EDITED BIO & PRESS RELEASE: “Paul Terry is a music artist, producer, and bestselling author. This song/theme is taken from his new original soundtrack album for Dave Stevens: Drawn To Perfection, a feature documentary about the life and art of the creator of The Rocketeer (the character/comic book that became a 1991 Disney film). This year marks the 40th anniversary of The Rocketeer’s 1982 publishing debut — hence this documentary (and soundtrack). Although the piano leads the score, it covers numerous eras (1930s, ’50s, ’70s, ’80s) and ranges from fully cinematic orchestral themes through to jazzy, late-night vibes and more.”
