#singlereview

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Love Ghost and Blnko’s new pop-punk collaboration ‘Veneno’ wraps up the woes of a toxic love in atmospheric guitar and catchy vocals

Love Ghost are a musical force to be reckoned with, as these self-proclaimed misfits find themselves sharing new releases more often than not, already offering 2023 a handful of singles, a full-length album and an EP. Conjoining a style equally informed by Seattle tradition and Souncloud-era fearlessness, Love Ghost find themselves coining their music to be something of emo trap-rock, a niche that no artist has truly been able to capture in the same way. Now collaborating with Mexican artist Blnko’s, their newest single ‘Veneno’ - meaning poison - sees the two acts creating a patchwork of their stylings into something new and unique.

Storming in at full atmospheric force, ‘Veneno’ sees soaring, quickly strummed electric guitar placed front and centre of everything as it leads us into the release, delivering a pop-punk-esque core for the track to shine as well as Latin rock elements that push its individual flair to the max. Steady, hard-hitting drums commence for the verse, with the instrumentals feeling clean but striking all the same as Love Ghost’s vocalist delivers a spoken-sung performance atop it, championing his staple whine-y emo sound that’s a distinctly catchy staple part of the group. The chorus only ramps things up further, with the drums hitting harder and the guitar more vigorous as well as Blnko’s screamed backing vocals making this an angsty moment you won’t be forgetting or failing to head-bang along to anytime soon. Taking hold of the second verse, Blnko’s clean Spanish vocals carry both a charisma and confidence that’s perfect for the song’s teetering bridge between gritty and smooth. At just two and a half minutes in length, this short but sweet offering is one you’ll need on repeat a handful if not more times to get the full flavour of as Love Ghost and Blnko get in your head and plant one hell of an earworm to be remembered.

As the lyrics deliver a conflicted narrative of a relationship that’s evidently a two-way street of toxicity, ‘Veneno’ finds itself fighting between knowing it’s best to let go, but instead clinging on like its life depends on it. With a contrasting internal battle evident in every line, Love Ghost spew a monologue of thoughts, admitting ‘I’m done putting up with you, I can’t get enough of you’ but never capable of making up their minds. As lines like ‘the venom you give is like a dream’ sugarcoat this progressive downwards spiral, ‘Veneno’ doesn’t hesitate in offering quite the truthful depiction of how it feels to be consumed within a toxic partnership, finding a rush in every blow and feeling incapable of walking away. An air of codependency also surrounds ‘Veneno’s narrative, clinging onto lyrics like ‘I can’t be without you’ that make it very clear they’re not just infatuated but also feel so deeply dependant on this person they don’t believe they’re capable of walking away even when they’re causing so much pain. Every hard-hitting word of ‘Veneno’ captures a side of a toxic relationship that many don’t speak so openly of, and as always we can’t help but adore Love Ghost’s continued willingness to set the stage for others to relate and feel less alone within their darker narrative topics. With Blnko’s second verse also entirely in Spanish, ‘Veneno’ doesn’t limit itself from offering an experience a little different from everything else out there, surely becoming an anthem you’ll be singing for a long time after first pressing play.

With a video incorporating the trio performing in a rundown location amidst depictions of a toxic relationship constantly teetering between thrilling highs and broken lows, ‘Veneno’ also sells its poignant narrative in every visual.

Check out ‘Veneno’ for yourself here to enjoy the addictive soundscape and hard-hitting lyrical matter that Love Ghost and Blnko have to offer!

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

Veneno

[dustedmagazine]

F.U.K.—“Road Kill” b/w “I Got a Head” (HoZac)

Detroit 1977 by F.U.K. (Fucked Up Kids)

A lot has been written about how culture’s shift into digital connectivity has irrevocably changed how we find and listen to music. Much of that writing strikes skeptical stances, expressing a longing for the sustained experience of waiting for a record to come out, then having to leave the house to go buy the thing, and then sitting in front of a turntable to play the whole thing through, song by song, and so on. Now, it seems, we just click and click and click, often anxiously clicking midway through a track, hopeful that the next one will be more urgent or present or pleasurable. And the next click can take you to Indonesian crust as easily as it can to Palestinian hip hop. (Go ahead. Click.) Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. It can make the world feel bigger and smaller, at the same time.  

A decided benefit of the proliferation of digitally mediated music venues and sites of exchange is the greater ease of circulation for sounds that used to be relegated to subcultural margins, and of sounds that had seemingly been lost. That’s the story with this single from F.U.K. — the Fucked Up Kids — originally released in 1977 and reissued by the folks at HoZac, with an assist from Byron Coley’s inexhaustible archival erudition. It’s the only record the band put out, and it’s alleged that they played only one gig. The fleeting nature of their musical presence begs the question: Who cares? Certainly listeners of Mission of Burma and Birdsongs of the Mesozoic should prick up their ears. F.U.K. is some of Roger Miller’s earliest musical output — a bit later than the goofy psych rock he made in Detroit in the late 1960s with his younger brothers as Sproton Layer, and certainly a lot more punk.

 In early 1977, Miller’s brothers Larry and Ben were recruited into Destroy All Monsters, which Jim Shaw and Mike Kelley (yes, that Jim Shaw and that Mike Kelley) had recently left, bound for art school. Chatter around the campfire suggests that the acronym F.U.K. was a joshing—and more stridently obscene—response to that other band’s D.A.M. moniker. But there’s more than brotherly one-ups-manship between the bands. D.A.M. were still working an artsy, avant garde angle in 1977; “I Got a Head,” the B-side of the F.U.K. single, is sloppy and raw, but longtime listeners of Mission of Burma will hear Miller working out the melody and vocal cadence that he would later employ on “Max Ernst,” the B-side of Burma’s first single, “Academy Fight Song.” Miller’s later song name-checks the dada artist, but “I Got a Head” is a dada song. Check out those kazoos.  

“Road Kill” is a more together tune, an energetic punk riff that erupts into flaring fuzz not once, but twice. The song features snotty vocals by Miller’s bandmate, Sue Rynski, a fixture in Detroit’s prolific punk and hard rock scene through the 1970s (check out her excellent photographic documentation of those days of ferment). She caterwauls, “Nothing tastes better than fresh road kill,” which is a heck of an application of Detroit’s principal industrial product. Cars, blood, meat, sex. What could be a more essential summary of American appetites? In 1977, or now?  

So, is the internet to thank for these six minutes of punk kicks? HoZac is marketing the tunes as a 7” record, once the key commodity form through which punk penetrated culture and the market for rock music. Vinyl is a solid thing, a presence in the world. A vinyl record acquires a history—dust and pocks, scratches and warps—that marks that specific version of that recording. Nothing else will ever sound precisely like it. But it’s likely that most purchasers of this record by F.U.K. will find and buy it online, in a whirl of pixels and digitized credit. Good, bad, it’s where we find ourselves. At least we can play these songs. You can click right now.  

Jonathan Shaw

[chrisggarrod]

Wednesday Single Review: Teddy Swims’ “Mr. Know It All” (2026)

There’s a moment early in “Mr. Know It All” where Georgia-based Teddy Swims pulls back instead of belting, and that restraint reveals where he is as an artist now. This isn’t the same maximalist, vocal-gymnastics-first performer who powered songs like “Lose Control” and “The Door” into ubiquity.  This is someone more interested in tension than release, in self-interrogation rather than…

[chrisggarrod]

Single Review: ROREY – “Temporary Tragedy” (2026)

At just 2 and a half minutes in length, this is a lovely song from start to finish.

[thenwothm]

Review: Wailing Banshee –“Lord of the Flies"

Release date: Out now! 2 minutes Hailing from the Greater Manchester area, WAILING BANSHEE are a relatively young Heavy Metal/Hard Rock five-piece formation with half a dozen singles and an EP to their name, led by a charming front lady and standing at the forefront of the UK’s trad scene. A couple of weeks ago, we witnessed the premiere of their latest creation – “Lord Of The Flies,” backed…

Review: Wailing Banshee –“Lord of the Flies"

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Wild Horse’s newest infectious indie-pop tune ‘Attraction’ glows through romantic storytelling and a charismatic sway

Boldly bearing their fifth single of the year, the rising indie-pop group Wild Horse are on a roll with their success and momentum of what has been a very busy year for the trio. Touring and gigging across England to get their new music in front of new faces, Wild Horse are just as dedicated in putting on a live show to remember as they are in putting out tracks you can’t get enough of - and their newest ‘Attraction’ fits the bill perfectly.

Glowing in with their signature groove and sway, ‘Attraction’ cascades through your eardrums right from pressing play with all the much-loved charisma and charm that Wild Horse always have to offer. Laced between a sensual electric guitar riff and floating vocals airily gliding through a loose higher range, ‘Attraction’ establishes itself to be an intimate treasure that’ll in many ways leave you swooning. It’s not long before it’s pushed forward by a thumping scattered beat, propelling the song along with a much-needed energy and rhythm while a building backing sound effect leaves you awaiting the choruses’ explosion. Falling into place with more dominant guitar strums, heavy beats and a looping guitar riff, Wild Horse maintain their personal feeling sound while bumping up the spirits, an atmospherically soaring assortment of instruments that continues its’ warmth the entire way through. Keyboard keys add a subtle vibrant edge as the track progresses, keeping things exciting in terms of progression while limiting their palette of sounds to one that’s upbeat but tender all the same. At two and a half minutes long, ‘Attraction’ doesn’t waste a second of its time with you, infectiously wrapping its colourfully infused sound into your brain and always leaving you wanting just that little bit more.

As per their speciality of songwriting, ‘Attraction’ is yet another glowing romantic serenade that Wild Horse have utterly perfected at this point, writing straight from the heart but always edging in a painful depth to their every sweet word. Written by their frontman Jack Baldwin, ‘Attraction’ soars out as a fast-paced anthem delving into attraction at its highest forms, at times leaving you hurting - whether that be from yearning to advance their relationship, or never being satisfied with what they get unless they’re entwined 24/7. Seemingly romanticising someone from afar, ‘Attraction’ looks through rose-tinted glasses at an overwhelming new crush, mesmerised by their every move: ‘when I see you moving like that, wish you’d do it like that for me.’ Singing ‘I don’t really know if this is too far, but I always think about you when it gets dark’ , Wild Horse also entangle lyricism that’s multifaceted in interpretation, alluding to both potential lust as well as the intimacy of the night’s solitude. But this love is almost too much, like an all-consuming obsession that leaves them pained when there’s any distance between them: ‘it’s getting to the point where it’s hurting.’ It’s clear their emotions are almost out of control in lyrics like ‘it ain’t even been two weeks, but I know it’s you’, falling head-over-heels at first sight without thinking deeper. As Wild Horse continue to tear apart the constructs and perceptions of love we all share, their every word and song allows for an insight into relationships and raw emotion that’s not always flowers and rainbows, showcasing imperfect humanity in its purest form.

Check out ‘Attraction’ here to enjoy Wild Horse’s ever-addictive sound with a more meaningful message than you’d expect.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Love Ghost and Ritorukai collaborate for new single ‘Human Error 404’, an angsty emo-rock anthem drowned in mental health struggles

Returning with yet another new release in collaboration with Ritorukai, the emo-rock stars Love Ghost have just shared their newest single ‘Human Error 404.’ As Love Ghost’s Finnegan Bell is currently in Mexico recording with many Latin artists, we’re sure this won’t be the last single the duo have to come, continuing to offer a staggering amount of new tracks to listen along with while never letting their sound suffer for it.

Just like all of Love Ghost’s work, ‘Human Error 404’ finds itself angstily encapsulated by a sound of grit and down-to-the-bone emotion, unafraid of the darkness and embracing it wholly. From the rich electric guitar strums and the emphatic riff that leads things in, ‘Human Error 404’ immediately captures a sense of foreboding, floating through a raincloud cloud that’s only seconds from a downpour. Thudding drum beats and subdued guitar strums add a more pounding resonance for the opening shortend chorus, all the while Love Ghost’s vocalist offers a more clean, hooking vocal delivery that urges you learn and sing along to every word. Things shift for Ritorukai’s introduction, wrapped between electronic scattered beats, dark guitar strums and hoarsely half-screamed backing vocals that lace around his cleanly sung emo-rap styling. The second verse makes way for Love Ghost to take centre stage, continuing scattered beats and prominent guitar strums while he offers an emotive set of lyrics to unpack. The final chorus climaxes into a peak of everything, from vigorous guitar strums to thundering drums and multiple layers of clean and raspy vocals, ‘Human Error 404’ wraps up with a heightened moment exploding from all the built-up emotion tied within. Delivering yet another emo-rap and alternative-rock anthem, Love Ghost have been knocking it out the park as of late, and ‘Human Error 404’ is just another hit you’ll be eager to add to your playlists immediately.

Delving into mental health complexities, ‘Human Error 404’ is another staple from Love Ghost that entangles within it a poignant message of struggling through depression and darker thoughts without an escape. Led in by the line ‘weightless I am floating, watching the sky turn red’, it’s made clear that the reality for Love Ghost has seemed to shift, no longer seeing the world for its blue-tinted skies but instead drowned in the darkness of their mind. Continuing ‘I wanna find a place where I can’t be in my head’ , Love Ghost yearn to be freed from the shackles inside of them, desperate for an exit from the never-ending stream of bad energy their mind continues to forge. Though the world fails to offer them a much-needed escape, lyrics like ‘I haven’t slept for three days, I’m always uncomfortable so I’ll make a new world in my head’ focus on transporting them elsewhere, creating a safe-place to go when the world’s torment becomes too much to bear. As the song closes out with the hard-hitting line ‘please don’t give up now’, Love Ghost seem to sing to both themselves and their audience listening along, urging anyone in a similar place to keep on living and make it through. With a mass of thought-provoking lines and an achingly real resonance of what it feels like to go through the burdens of mental health issues alone, ‘Human Error 404’ is a song you’ll both want to scream along with and hurt for all the same.

Check out ‘Human Error 404’ here to appreciate the hard-hitting lyrical lines and edgy soundscape Love Ghost have to offer.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[existentialmagazine]

Review: The new single ‘5am’ from Ghost Prom seeps through a soft-rock and alternative-country edging, hazily warm in sound but candidly speaking of addiction

The husband and wife indie-folk duo Ghost Prom hail from New York, mesmerising audiences since their 2021 debut. With a few years since their last offering, the pair have since spent a rainy morning inside of barn studio down the road from their Hudson Valley home, penning what we now know as their new single ‘5am.’ With two years of refinement and hard-work, it’s never been a better time to spare Cameron and Eden a moment of your time to fall in love with their growing catalogue of creations.

With an alternative-country twang and a loose soft rock edging, Ghost Prom have created a western feeling melancholic serenade within ‘5am’, taking you on a journey through muted and mellow interwoven instrumentals that lightly set a bedding for you to wrap and warm yourself inside of. Led in with thudding drum beats and eccentric guitar twangs that resonate out into the soundscape with a poignantly fitting depth, ‘5am’ atmospherically layers sounds from the get-go with a rich and delicate front while still pertaining a deep and impactful backing that rings out with a great strength. Simmering as the first verse commences, Ghost Prom relax into steady subdued drum beats and a carefully picked, looping guitar riff, setting the stage for an intimate lyrical delivery to unfold through their vocalist’s heavy-hearted words. The chorus collapses into more of a rising instrumental moment, haunting through rich guitar strums, pounding beats and backing vocals that almost seem to harmonise with Cameron behind every word, with Eden’s stirring range that adds an even more agile and intimate air to the release’s glowing sound. Continuing to unfold through this washed-out, hazy soundscape, Ghost Prom have surrendered a release soaked in the most captivating of sounds.

Lyrically drenched with raw and personal confessions, Ghost Prom heart-wrenchingly explore through the complexities of addiction in candid ways many would shy away from. Consumed by the weight of their battle; working through trauma that led to their dark path; smothering thoughts of self-doubt and of course the eventual surrender to recovery and healing, ‘5am’ seeps out like a patchwork of sprawling diary entries entangled within moments of hope and moments of relapse. From the opening setting of the scene, Ghost Prom sing ‘it’s 5am and the fog rolls in, and my hand shakes like a young man with a gun’, a painfully painted picture of their withdrawal that aptly explores both their fear and lack of control over their body. Continuing with the line ‘last cigarette and it trembles away’ , Ghost Prom almost seem to leave you with a multifaceted interpretation of their words, almost feeling double-edged in how the cigarette either takes the edge off or exacerbates their growing dependance tenfold. The chorus attempts to shift gears, revealing that ‘I told you that I would change, and I must’ve told you that a thousand ways but I swear that this time it is different in my mind’, perhaps both a self convincing announcement as well as for those around them. Seeking to turn things around, ‘5am’ journeys through both the light and dark of addiction as well as the greys that are often unseen, tackling thoughts that many would prefer to bury than share. But reminding everyone struggling through their own path of addiction that it’s more of a fuzzy trek than clear sailing, Ghost Prom look to share an insight into an inconsistent pattern of recovery and relapse, as well as the motivation to finally get through to the other side.

Check out ‘5am’ here to soar through the tender sound of Ghost Prom and their truthfully real lyrical journey.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.