Browsing Tag

dance pop

Sophia Gonzon goes ‘Dancing With The Devil’

Posted on 11 April 2021

Working with producer Cesar Da Emperor is clearly working well for Florida-based Italian-American Sophia Gonzon, who – in collaboration with singer-songwriter Ryan Curtis – brings us her new single ‘Dancing With The Devil’.

Poppy, dancy R&B with enough of a hint of rock to perfectly suit the gritty edge to her voice, ‘Dancing With The Devil’ is all dynamics, soft verses and big, overdriven power-chord choruses. There’s a mix of influences here, from Pink and Christina Aguilera through Gwen Stefani and Gloria Estefan to Flo Rida and Lil Wayne. There’s some well-put together self-harmonies on the choruses, that Stefani/No Doubt vibe coming through on the catchy pop-funk-rock guitar stylings and Gonzon’s powerful vocals.

You can hear ‘Dancing With The Devil’ on Spotify; follow Sophia Gonzon here or on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

MDMelo keeps us euphoric with their latest single ‘DON’T STOP DANCING’ featuring Francis

Posted on 11 April 2021

MDMelo served up a solid slice of funk and disco with ‘DON’T STOP DANCING’, just one of the tracks to feature in their ‘In the Moment’ EP.

By bringing in the smooth vocal timbre of Francis, the single unfolded as a convincingly heartfelt mash of RnB, Soul and Funk. Grooves don’t come much more danceable than the ones that you’ll find in this glossy euphoria dripping sanity-saver.

MDMelo’s lyrical advice is worth heeding. Imagine how much dancefloor awkwardness it will save when clubs finally open. Until then, keep the artist and producer on your radar – you owe it to your serotonin levels.

You can check out the official video which premiered on March 6th via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Beth Macari’s ‘Gotta Get Back’ to 90’s soul.

Posted on 10 April 2021
Beth Macari

Boom! What goes around, comes around, it seems, and ‘there ain’t nothin’ new under the sun’, and in the case of ‘Gotta Get Back’, that’s a very, very good thing indeed: The spirit of 1990’s soul and R&B artists like Lisa Stansfield, Dina Carroll, or Gabrielle, lives on through Newcastle-based chanteuse Beth Macari’s new single. That’s Newcastle UK, not North-Eastern Wyoming, although you’d never necessarily know that from Macari’s smooth, soulful voice and deliciously well-polished delivery. This is solid gold old-school UK pop-tinged soul/R&B (and if you think that’s hard to say, you should try writing it) that equally sounds beautifully up-to-date, immediate, and fresh. It’s got that Ian Devaney/Andy Morris/Nigel Lowis/CJ Mackintosh production feel courtesy of long-term collaborator ‘Phil The Beat’, opening with smoky vocals and stabbed electro-piano before those retro Linn/TR-808 beats kick in, chokky little funk guitar chords and deep, deep bass carrying the melody behind Macari’s stunning vocal delivery and multi-layered chorus earworm hook. It’s catchy, bouncy, upbeat, hopeful, and danceable all at once.

Macari is already lined up to support Alexandra Burke and Will Young later this year; on the basis of ‘Gotta Get Back’, those won’t be the only high-profile artists coming calling for her services in the near future.

‘Gotta Get Back’ is released on April 13th through all major streaming services; in the meantime, you can check out Beth Macari here or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Paper Eros gives us a perfect latin-pop take on ‘Hate Love Me’

Posted on 9 April 2021

With what may be our favourite track title and cover art so far this week, Paper Eros is a Toronto-based alt-pop artist focusing on the relationship between domination and submission and pain and comfort, with the motto ‘Love, Art, and Rebellion’; ‘Hate Love Me’ starts with a vaguely latin-style guitar line before Eros’ smokey vocal kicks in, sultry and low, enticing and seductive all at once.

There’s a latin-pop feel to the track, that ‘Despacito’/’Bailando’/’Danza Kuduro’ vibe that’s evocative of sunny days and sweaty, sexy nights. With its lyrics of a passion-filled night, the samba rhythms, and the Latin-style instrumentation and arrangement, ‘Hate Love Me’ is a killer dance-pop song that – if there’s any justice in the world – ought to be all over the radio this summer-time.

Check out Paper Eros on Spotify, or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Faith Louise has released her empowering EDM pop anthem, ‘Boss’

Posted on 8 April 2021
Faith Louise

While finding fragments of inner strength is harder than usual, Essex-based singer-songwriter Faith Louise is making up for the shortfall with her upbeat KPop-inspired tracks that pay ode to 90s pop and bring the blazing beats of club anthems.

‘Boss’ is the latest single to be released by the 15-year old performer who could easily teach women twice her age a thing or two about empowerment. The high-vibe track provides hard-hitting bass-riding beats, as the vocals bring a touch of RnB hip hop into the verses, easily paralleling the instrumental energy.

You can check out Faith Louise’s music here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Aricka J addresses toxic immaturity in her latest pop track, ‘Man Up’

Posted on 6 April 2021

Boston-born pop singer-songwriter Aricka J pushed the feminist movement forward with her latest release, ‘Man Up’, which addresses the toxic immaturity that every woman, at some point, has probably endured in their lives.

Whether you want to vent about a man reaching out with entitlement and expecting you to save them or a partner dragging you down with them in a relationship, Man Up is an empowering track that reminds the listener that there is no virtue in tolerance, and you have full permission to walk away from what no longer serves you. The upbeat pop track, which is accented by afrobeat elements, is powerful enough to put toxic relationships to bed; for good.

You can check out Man Up for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tom Bailey – Out of Time featuring Diviners and BUNT

Posted on 5 April 2021

Trippy chamber pop, indie-folk and electropop coalesce in Tom Bailey’s latest single, ‘Out of Time, made in collaboration with Diviners and BUNT.

Out of Time is a consistently enthralling progressive single that kicks off as an accordant feat of acoustic pop before sonic crescendos gear the single in the direction of danceable anthemic pop. The track perfectly captures the nature of time, how we start at a meandering pace and find ourselves desperate to do our best before a window of time closes. During lockdown, it may feel like we need to endure an endless succession of indistinguishable days, but Out of Time allows you to appreciate just how precious time is. It comes as no surprise that Tom has achieved over 62 million streams on Spotify, to date.

Out of Time is now available to stream via Spotify. You can also check out his work via his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Georgia Polyniki – Shadows of Brightness: an operatic ode to 80s electro-pop

Posted on 5 April 2021

With slight reminiscences to Enya, Bjork and the Human League echoing throughout Georgia Polyniki’s latest uplifting pop track, the aural nostalgia defined by decades gone by is instantly perceptible. By switching between operatic and pop vocals, with Shadows of Brightness, she stamped down her radiating signature sound on the airwaves.

With her unique take on synthy electronica complemented by her empowering piano melodies, Georgia Polyniki ensured that no other 2021 pop track could lift you higher. It’s a perennial pop earworm that you’ll never want to leave.

Shadows of Brightness released on March 8th; you can hear it for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

River Mara brings us the ‘Lockdown Love’

Posted on 4 April 2021
River Mara

Eighties-inspired, funky soul pop with a jazzy bent; if Paula Abdul and Quincy Jones got together to produce a nascent, ‘Holiday-era’ Madonna it might sound something like ‘Lockdown Love’ by Romania’s River Mara. Fun, flashy, with an immensely danceable groove and deliciously catchy hook, it’s evocative of big hair, sequins, and glitter-balls, a time of velvet-roped night-clubs (remember those?), Ray-Ban Wayfarers, and ecologically dangerous amounts of hairspray.

A classically-trained pianist and composer, Mara is currently studying classical composition at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but that’s still left her time to garner a collective 350 Million YouTube views for her songs ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Lie To Me’ for Andra, one of Romania’s biggest singing stars. On the basis of ‘Lockdown Love’, with its insane little ear-worm chorus and effervescent upbeat enjoyment , it’s really not hard to see why.

Check out River Mara’s website here.

Review by Alex Holmes

RavenRain is a positive presence on the airwaves with her latest EDM pop track, ‘Don’t Back Down’

Posted on 2 April 2021

If descents into darkness have been part of your daily routine lately, your sanity could probably benefit from hitting play on RavenRain’s latest EDM pop hit ‘Don’t Back Down’.

The forcefully rhythmic is strong enough to push back on feelings of existentialism and apathy as RavenRain’s entrancing vocals reach out and offer an olive branch of consolation that you’ll be inclined to grab.

Her positive presence on the airwaves is a breath of fresh air. Not all too many artists can simultaneously offer danceable beats and empowering vibes, but with RavenRain’s alchemic approach to production, she can seemingly do it with ease.

Naturally, we’re all too excited to hear what follows her sophomore single.

Don’t Back Down is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast