I’m a big fan of all things rock and roll, so after completing a round-up review recently about hard rock, I decided to take things down a notch and look at rock music with a softer side to it. These tracks may appeal to a broader audience due to this, so make sure you listen to every song on the list to see if there’s something that appeals to you!
Review by Jane Howkins
Picture by Sam Scherdel
Sam Scherdel – The Answer
First up is Sam Scherdel with his captivating piece, The Answer. The song opens up with some lovely twinkly sounds before the music kicks in proper. Sam’s vocals have a raw sense to them that sounds very genuine, showing off masses of emotion, which is also helped by the beautiful strings that appear later on, working well with the little guitar melody running throughout the song. It’s a great opener for this list!
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Ordinary // Colours – Pacific Division
Ordinary // Colours are a midfi/bedroom rock outfit based in Toronto, creating pretty little indie ditties with an uplifting vibe. Despite the positive vibes of Pacific Division, the song also has quite bittersweet feeling to it, due to the little xylophone melody that permeates the verses of the song. The melody changes slightly on the choruses, with the dreamy vocal style drawing the listener into this ethereal song as it slowly progresses.
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The Banquets – Restless
The Banquets are a quartet based in our very own Leeds, making them a must listen for anyone in the local area! They’ve been described as a modern Fleetwood Mac and Restless shows the comparisons to be correct, although they’re unique enough to stand on their own! Their music has a 60s/70s folk-rock sound, with a lovely acoustic guitar melody working its way through the song, alongside a slow percussion beat and little piano motifs. The vocal harmonies sound simply lush!
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Ainsley Costello – Two Ships
Ainsley’s Costello’s Two Ships sounds beautiful from the start, opening with a gorgeous electric guitar melody that seems utterly majestic, running through the piece in style. Ainsley has a stunning vocal range, reaching great heights later on in the song as the huge percussion arrives. The song raises up to a wonderful crescendo, building up over the course of the song in a haunting way to its satisfying conclusion.
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Lisa Froment – Overrated
Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Lisa Froment has created a country-rock masterpiece in Overrated, which certainly isn’t overrated at all! The song has a certain groove to it, also sounding bluesy at times! Lisa’s vocals suit the style of music well, having a small sense of attitude to them that really plays across well on this track. It also helps that it’s catchy as all hell, with lovely piano motifs appearing on the chorus and intro.
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Helen Edgeworth – I SAID WHAT I SAID
I SAID WHAT I SAID has a melancholy sound from the start, featuring a minor sounding piano melody that is interspersed with little guitar lines, alongside the percussion and vocals. The song stops before the chorus to display the piano in all its glory, before starting up again, with Helen Edgeworth’s vocals showing a great sense of urgency and emotion within them. The breakdown towards the end only serves to make it sound more beautiful.
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Belle Scar – Kyiv In My Heart
Belle Scar is a musical project created by London based multi-instrumentalist, artist, producer and singer-songwriter, Geeta. As the title suggests, Kyiv In My Heart is a song dedicated to the Ukrainian people in this trying time, and the slow nature of the song certainly helps to portray that message. It starts slowly, building up over time, before the music kicks in, featuring a gorgeous string section that fits perfectly with the piano and Geeta’s emotive vocals.
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Vince Chinaski – Unconditional Love
We’ve actually featured Vince Chinaski’s music a few times before, so it’s great to be able to share his new track, Unconditional Love. The song has an old school rock sound, also including elements of soul, classic r&b and the blues. Bluesy guitar licks mix well with the organ, providing most of the main instrumentation for the song. Vince’s raw sounding vocals are very genuine, adding an extra texture to this song.
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The Prickly Pair – The Long Parade
The Prickly Pair are another act that we’ve featured fairly recently, with their new song being titled The Long Parade. If you’ve not listened to their music before, it’s a form of folk-rock that also sounds rather bluesy at times, with a classic rock quality. The dual vocals harmonise perfectly together, especially on the catchy chorus. The rhythm of the track really makes it stand out, working amazingly well with the guitar lines.
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Will Soma – When You’re Asleep
Next up is Will Soma’s song When You’re Asleep, which has quite a slow tempo, adding to the melancholic feel of the music. The guitar lines and slow percussion make the song sound quite dreamy at times, having a stripped-down acoustic rock quality, as well as folk and country vibes. Will’s vocals are full of emotion, with his raw voice giving the song an extra ambience as it progresses on.
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Tobin Rock – Breathe Again
Tobin Rock is a singer-songwriter and musician who has collaborated with many musicians, so you may have inadvertently heard his music before! Breathe Again is a dark and eerie folk song, featuring a slow tempo and a stripped down vibe, due to the minimalist guitar and piano melodies the song contains. His vocals are very unique, sounding almost spoken at times, which adds a haunting quality to the piece that I’ve never heard before.
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Flossy Jones – Ten Minutes To Make You Love Me
Brighton based musician Flossy Jones has created something that branches across different genres on Ten Minutes To Make You Love Me. It’s quite poppy, but more in alt-pop way, and I would still say it has some elements of soft rock music present. Her vocals are brilliant, oozing through the song in style. The organ in the background provides a great ambiance to the music, with the chorus also sounding very catchy.
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Fox Fagan – Hot Streets Of Hell
Hot Streets Of Hell sounds immensely catchy from the start, also having an old school rock and roll vibe to it, in part due to the rhythm, the soulful vocals and the groovy guitar lines that run their way through the music. Fox Fagan have produced a fantastic piece of music here, making you want to dance along in style from the very beginning! The chorus is particularly infectious, drawing you in even more!
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Lie Supine – Open Eyes
Open Eyes opens up with a gorgeous piano melody, with little electric guitar motifs appearing every so often to complement the piano. The vocals come in shortly after, sounding very powerful throughout the song. Lie Supine’s latest track is fairly slow and stripped down, until the percussion kicks in towards the end, changing the dynamics of the music nicely. As well as the soft rock vibes, I also felt the song had a Britpop quality, adding another nice element.
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Vix 20 – Invisible Girl
Vix 20 are a progressive power pop band, with latest release Invisible Girl having a lovely bouncy rhythm to it, sounding almost ska-like at times. This makes the song sound incredibly catchy, with little synth and piano melodies appearing ever so often to change things up. The rhythm really makes this song, with the music following it in style. The chorus is a little more steady, with the verses being the real stand out here.
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