Colorize Pretty City’s new album takes you on a journey of sub-indie genres. Every song has a different feel and sound too offer, but still feels very unified. The Melbourne trio, who formed back in 2012, have given an album that feels nostalgic for the late 80’s and early 90’s. The opening track Melt really sets this tone of this album with its acid-rock vibes and dreamy guitar riffs. Yet the next track Running Around brings an almost rock-pop guitar hook with grunge like vocals. The albums then further breaks down into giving a very spacey ambient soundscape DIIV like track with (DEFT). But then pulls it right back to its 90’s grunge scene with soft airy vocals in Part of Your Crowd. This album needs to be played in full, start to finish, with headphones. Each and every song of this 11-track release carries with it vibrant tones that you’ll be getting lost within the variety of melodies you hear in your headphones. The fascinating eclectic mix of sounds on this album gives every type of indie genre lover a chance to find something they like.

Heavenly Bodies This LA trio gives major 80’s electric dreamy pop vibes on this 9-track album. These songs are begging to be played in a scene that has neon lights and fast cars driving with their tops down. The ethereal sound mix of quick tempo synths and pop guitar’s leaves you feeling that you’re at the coolest summer party. The albums open’s with Blue Haze a catchy wall-of-sound song that perfectly sets the tempo for the rest of the album. Sirens which is third on the album offers a quick-twitch guitar with light vocals that sit perfectly on the song. A surprise saxophone helps give the song that 80’s feel the rest of the album has. Space Boy, which is the 7th track on the album, gives a unique blend of sounds to create something that feel very spacey with vocals that feel very singer-songwriter. This album refuses to conform to any dream indie pop genre of category. Just when you think you can pin down what a song might be or what might come next it surprises you. Every song demands to be heard as its own entity while at the same time being part of the larger story that is Heavenly Bodies.

Infamous for selling out since their first performance in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in September 2015, London based duo Oh Wonder, is hitting the ground running. Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht produce a mellow, R&B, keyboard/drum based alternative sound. The duo promised to write, record and release one song a month for a year starting in September 2014. They finished the year with their do-it-yourself album, self named “Oh Wonder,” after signing with Republic Records. The band self-claimed their fame with their viral online streams. In 2015, Oh Wonder was the second most blogged about band in the world. With 15 songs on the album, West and Gucht do a fabulous job at making each song original and intriguing. Due to the fact most songs on the album were written, recorded and released in one month, I am astonished I wanted to download all the songs on my iTunes library. Their first single released, “Body Gold,” is the type of song you would see edited over a GoPro video of a crowd of girls wearing flower crowns dancing at a music festival. In my opinion, songs with this feel are the best way to get a band’s name out in this generation. My favorite track is “Landslide,” which was their 10th single to be released. This song truly intoxicates me. Being the avid indie-pop and alternative music listener that I am, I live for songs that embody the quote “music sooths the soul,” which this song does ravishingly. Josephine has a sweet but powerful sound to her voice. She mends perfectly with West’s mellow voice and overpowers him to the perfect extent without drowning him out. I praise the two for finding a perfect medium. When I first heard “Whiteblood,” I instantly thought of the alternative England based artist, Birdy. However, iTunes compares Oh Wonder to The xx and The Weepies because of their shared alternative, R&B, indie-pop, and electropop genre. Oh Wonder is making its way to to a handful of states in North America, including both Bonnaroo and Firefly music festivals. I would die to see this band at The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on July 21, 2016. “Drive” is another song that brought up a lot of emotions for me. The majority of the album made me want to pitch up my ENO hammock by a lake and find my bliss while listening to it. Every song made me feel at peace, almost like the songs were made specifically for my life. The album seems to be somewhat of a break-up album, which is a relatable concept. Even though I’m not currently going through a breakup, the songs dredge up past feelings. “Oh Wonder” steers my thoughts of my heavy heart toward my past relationship with the most tranquil approach that I am left grateful for. The Duo appeared on the television show “Conan” this month and performed “Lose It,” which is the last song that stood out to me on a personal level. This is the kind of song I would listen to while walking around at night after a long day in my Michael Kors heels and black trench coat. Oh Wonder’s album reached No. 26 in the Official UK Charts, No. 16 in Canadian charts and No. 80 in the United States Billboard. Hopefully, for my want of them to tour in Michigan, they will become more popular in North America. I am officially a fan of Gucht’s and West’s work and I adore the “Oh Wonder” album. I would rate this album a 10/10. This album review is brought to you by the Western Herald. Link to original: http://www.westernherald.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_367124ce-c88d-11e5-8619-6f65a5112c2e.html