Hull native and London based Izzy Thomas (aka IZZY T) entered the alternative music scene a couple a years ago with a sonic version of a front snap kick worthy of the legendary Pat Johnson himself. She might not be a martial artist but her singing skills put her up there with the likes of Christina Aquilera, so that’s definitely a black belt territory. A fully independent artist, Izzy T is the poster girl of what the press is calling a rock cross over genre and if you haven’t heard about her yet, you need to do a serious catch up.
Official bio: Flaunting a fresh sound of foot-stomping Alt Pop/Rock, Izzy T brings a unique fusion of guitar melodies and electronic beats, driven by her cooly seductive yet fiercely powerful vocals. Just a few months into 2021, Izzy has released a rock cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Midnight Sky”. This has gone viral over Facebook & Instagram with over 341.5k views. Following this, an explosive, critically acclaimed new single, ‘Nuclear’ ft UK rap artist Ben Hunter was premiered by Wonderland magazine, played by BBC Introducing, and featured by Alt Press, Rolling Stone & more.
She has already been tipped by the likes of Rolling Stone as one of the top 40 artists to watch for 2021. Izzy has already made her mark on iconic stages across the globe, including the Birmingham Barclaycard Arena (supporting Placebo), Nashville’s Tootsies, and LA’s Hotel Cafe. Press highlights include features in Billboard magazine, Rolling Stone, Wonderland, Earmilk, BBC interviews and iconic Pride main stage performances. Her newest single “I Feel Everything” was released on 30th of September 2022.
Single cover
Izzy T brought a lot of attention to herself with her debut single “Trouble (Pull That Trigger)” back in 2019. Uncompromising and empowering, it sent a fair warning to those people in the music industry who usually like to advise the girls not to speak up loudly and not to start trouble. Enthusiastically received by women and criticized by male reviewers as “antagonistic”, it was the beginning of one of the most successful stories for an unsigned artist in recent years. Fast forward to 2022, Izzy T released handful of incredible singles, scored 25 BBC radio plays, toured the US, opened for Placebo and rocked the festival stages in the UK in front of thousands of people. That’s not all – in the meantime her cover version of Miley Cirus’ “Mignight Sky” went viral (now it has more than 440 thousand views), her social media followers sky rocketed and her videos on YouTube are scoring big numbers as well. Two weeks ago, Izzy T released her newest offering “I Feel Everything” and it’s an obligatory listen everybody.
Just like with Glytsh and Delilah Boon, it’s hard to squeeze the music made by Izzy T into one genre. On a cellular level, it is a mix of many styles that rarely can be moulded into one coherent vibe. We can name (among others) industrial, metal, hard rock, alternative rock, classic rock, alterative pop, adult contemporary, indie and EDM (electronic dance music). Journalists love being able to name anything new so they came to call this style an alternative (alt) crossover.
NME points to Cassyette, Mannequin Death Squad and Soap Girls as the leading examples of independent artists falling into this category. The big ones are Miley Cirus, Demi Lavato and Willow Smith – all former pop singers who found new careers playing heavy music. Correct or incorrect, the alt crossover is not a bad name and if it helps new generation of female musicians reclaim the heavy metal stages, the better for us. Since the Lilith Fair tours were scraped for good in the early 00’s, rock music festivals and gigs are predominately male dominated, to the tune of whooping 80% male – 20% female ratio.
In my opinion “I Feel Everything” is much lighter than for example “SAV@GE” released by Glytsh, exactly on the same day. Izzy T doesn’t growl or shout, her vocals are neat and clean, quite high as she has an impressive range. I have been listening to her previous releases and she seems to effortlessly switch between an upper alto range to a soprano. She has been called the Christina Aguilera of indie circuit and it’s hard not to agree with it. I’m not certain but I think Izzy T could even reach the whistle register, the vocals at the end of “I Feel Everything” are fantastic! If I’m right then Izzy T would be the first singer from the indie scene to be able to compete with the soul megastars like Shanice and Mariah Carey. I seriously cannot think of any other rock singer to be gifted with such voice, outside of ladies from symphonic metal genre that are lyrical sopranos straight out of the European opera houses (Laura Macri, Tarja Turunen).
What I really like about the song is the pulsing rhythm, layered vocals and jazz inspired percussion – if you close your eyes and only concentrate on the drumming, you will find out how complex it is. I also love the lyrics – it’s a post break up song, bit angry but also liberating. Dealing with the end of relationship is never easy, the hurt and returning memories can be exhausting but throwing everything out of our systems can be pretty healing. “I called my therapist/She said I should write it down/Here’s your fucking letter/Can you hear me now?” – this has to be the best line from a song I heard this year. Pure genius! I’m sure all us were there at different times of our lives and we can relate.
There is nothing I can even frown upon about this song. I keep listening to it on repeat and I fall in love with it, more and more. Great track, great singer, now I can only wait for a video. When it comes out, I will be thoroughly and utterly happy with, you guessed, everything.
Follow Izzy T on social media:
https://www.izzytmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/IzzyTOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/izzytofficial/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YoA6qpLPKl5KkGbxlxDMg?si=ZI6l194WSumYQbBfseJfBQ&nd=1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiU0IFbRKMcmERNDHoa2rtg
https://twitter.com/izzytofficial
https://soundcloud.com/izzytofficial
https://izzytofficial.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.tiktok.com/@izzytofficial
Support Izzy on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/izzytofficial
Pictures by Talie Eigland
https://talie-eigeland.co.uk/
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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