This week The Mic Recommends offer you some fantastic selections from the alternative spectrum.
M1SERY_SYNDROME – nothing,nowhere. featuring Buddy Neilson
Entering the scene as a part of the emo-tinged rap movement, before experimenting with pop punk alongside a full band on his 2021 album Trauma Factory, nothing,nowhere. is now now utilising these instruments for a heavier emo approach, and he never fails to execute every genre he takes influence from. Whilst Trauma Factory did still capture the sound of his early career, M1SERY_SYNDROME doesn’t show any remains of his rap roots, with a soaring chorus that captures the power of his singing vocals and a feature from Senses Fail’s Buddy Neilson that makes perfect sense on the track. The most similar comparison I can make is to the recent work of Bring Me The Horizon, so if you’re a fan of them then I definitely recommend you check out nothing,nowhere.’s music. Gemma Cockrell
bugfood – Alissic
Adventuring outside of the aquatic world of multicoloured frogs and into the depths earth’s soil, Alissic returns with her newest single bugfood. It sustains the mysterious and magical noise we associate with the artist but moves towards a more overtly hyper-pop noise that very few venture to. If you can imagine what twinkles and sparkles sounds like; well, that the backing track for the chorus of bugfood. It’s almost a complete paradox to its title, sounding otherworldly and ethereal rather than something intrinsically unglamourous like the world of insects, creatures, and the food chain. But Alissic has a powerful connection to the world around her, and seems to find the beauty in everything, down to the very soil we stand on. She recreates the unglamourous world into the inspiration and root of beauty. Her discography is still growing, but has, since her first single, been reflective of her worldview and earthliness. Roxann Yus
Barbie & Ken – Scene Queen featuring Set It Off
Scene Queen is quite possibly the campiest rock star you’re yet to hear of. A self-proclaimed bimbo whose plastic, fantastic, and musically dramatic, she is the epitome of self-love and parodic storytelling. Barbie & Ken is her newest release featuring Set It Off, who must definitely share a pleasure for all things camp and parody too. Their third person dialogues include highlights such as “Barbie has a gun with no safety on” and “Barbie thinks Ken is about to get shot”, retelling the tale of these childhood dolls as masochistic partners, instead of a perfect, dreamlike couple we all thought they were. Scene Queen will soon turning the UK hot pink when she supports WARGASM (UK) on their headline tour. Check out the beautiful chaos for yourself at Rescue Rooms on the 21st of October, and make sure you wear your pinkest, campiest outfit and jump right into that 'twerkle pit'. Roxann Yus
YUKON (INTERLUDE) – Joji
Now miles away from his former YouTube identity as Filthy Frank in the 2010s, Joji is the certified king of making sad piano ballads at this point in time. Following the viral success of Glimpse of Us thanks to TikTok, Joji continues with this heartfelt sentiment with a new track titled YUKON (INTERLUDE) and the announcement of his third studio album SMITHEREENS, which will be released on November 4th 2022 via 88Rising. This teaser track is slightly more upbeat in terms of instrumentation due to the faster-paced drums that drive the track, blending the catchy sounds of his 2020 single Gimme Love with the reflective, mellow nature of Glimpse of Us. As always, Joji’s vocals are effortlessly beautiful, made only more poignant by the gentle piano keys that accompany them. Gemma Cockrell
OK – cleopatrick
Like in traditional cleopatrick fashion, they introduced OK to us via their myspace-core website. And in traditional cleopatrick fan fashion, we hit that ‘OK’ button faster than Luke finishes all the OK’s listed on his imaginary headstone. This is exactly the sort of song we expect from the ‘THE LAST ROCK BAND ON PLANET EARTH’. Its grungy, strong, and emotional. It’s the next sound attached to the synaesthesia phenomenon we get from cleo. Out of all the gigs I’ve been to, no memory other than seeing cleopatrick live demands such a multisensory and nostalgic response. One look at any of their film photographs, I hear GOOD GRIEF and relive those sweaty, beautiful moments. Now I hear “She wanted the Nikes and I’m rocking the stripeys, say OK OK OK” when I see Ian and Luke, and it even plays over my gig memories despite it not existing by that time yet. They’re masters of nostalgia, memory, and senses, and I believe it has a lot to do with their musical inspiration rooting from their youth in Cobourg. Let these mighty Canadians infiltrate your mind too with their upcoming EP. Roxann Yus
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Cover image courtesy of Scene Queen via Facebook.
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