Browsing Tag

dark pop

The Avant-Garde Alt-Pop Sensation Mitchell Zia Struck Again with His Jekyll and Hyde Hit, ‘accelerating’

Posted on 21 November 2024

With almost 80k monthly listeners behind him on Spotify and 157.4k followers on TikTok, the Avant-Garde Dark Electronic Pop sensation Mitchell Zia’s trajectory through the industry since his official debut in 2019 is the definition of a modern success story.

His standout single, accelerating, uses a baroque cabaret pop prelude as an opening salvo before introducing his vocals, which send tremors of deep, dark reverberations throughout the entire mix, easily overpowering the thrum of the basslines and the trappy beat. Weaving light back into the mix, the swanky piano keys ephemerally reintroduce themselves as Zia’s vocal lines chameleonically transform into an infectious pop timbre.

The way the single continues to switch in tone is enough to whip up a schizophrenic frenzy in the single which never allows you to feel complacent within the helter-skelter production. It’s enough to leave you with no room to wonder why Mitchell Zia is dominating the contemporary pop scene.

Accelerating is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gemma Felicity – AM I TOXIC: A Kinetically Electric Alt-Pop Candid Confession

Posted on 28 October 2024

‘AM I TOXIC’ by Gemma Felicity proves that a good pop hit is so much more than a polished set of hooks, a honeyed set of pipes and a catchy chorus line; it’s a songwriter who knows exactly how to stretch your perceptions to let new resonance in through the use of confessional candour.

Felicity’s personal flaws are laid bare in the accountability-driven dance-pop anthem, but even the most scrupulous critic would struggle to find a flaw in the single itself. The perennial pop earworm transcends an auditory experience through the way it alters your emotional state with the euphoric energy in the high-octane, kinetically electric pulse of the track, which is all too easy to get addicted to.

The London-based alt-pop artist has been honing her eloquent craft since the age of 9; in 2024, it has all paid off with AM I TOXIC, which will feature on her first EP, Baggage, which explores how personal baggage can weigh heavy romantic relationships.

Having performed at iconic venues and been featured on BBC Introducing, Gemma’s presence is both resonant and transformative, continuing to mesmerise and energise audiences worldwide as she prepares for a performance at the Miss Planet International Beauty Pageant.

Stream AM I TOXIC on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Julia Kahn visualised the divinity of dark feminine energy with her dark pop installation of etherealism, Badlands

Posted on 25 October 2024
Julia Kahn

With her latest single, Badlands, Nashville’s dark-pop siren Julia Kahn defiantly stepped beyond the conventional boundaries of genre and geography. Born in a city more famed for its twangs of Americana than oscillations of dark cinematic mesmerism, Kahn stridently stepped into her own through the untamed echoes of empowerment and vulnerability in her latest release.

The summons to embrace authenticity, regardless of how messy that reality can be, draws you into a trip-hopped and spiritually awakened vortex of sound where ethereal vocal lines fuse with intricately frenetic drum patterns and strobing synth lines, crafting a soundscape swarming with evocative power and the divinity of dark feminine energy.

Each note demands emotional investment under the duress of Kahn, who has recently stepped off a major international festival tour and amassed a series of accolades that include airplay on BBC Radio and nods from critical platforms like Earmilk and Music Week.

With millions of views on TikTok and skyrocketing streaming numbers, Kahn is at the vanguard of a new movement, one which tempts her cult following into living unapologetically.

Badlands will be available to stream on all major platforms from October 25th; check out her Spotify and official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get Your Freak On with Rockwell Gordy’s Dark Urban Pop Hit, Spooky Bitch

Posted on 24 October 2024

Reanimating after a decades-long hiatus, the unmistakable Rockwell Gordy broke unhallowed ground with his sonic spectre of a comeback track, Spooky Bitch. Fusing his 80s pop sensibilities with contemporary boom bap beats and a dark RnB aesthetic, Spooky Became a bold crossover that beckons the nostalgic and the novel to the dancefloor.

Produced by the illustrious Bullets Production Team—William Junebug Lee and Christopher Spitfiya Lanier—Spooky Bitch straddles the line between eerie and exhilarating with its alchemised amalgam of unsettling energy and infectious rhythms. The light and dark collide, creating a dance-worthy dialectic that Rockwell manipulates with superlative skill.

Beyond the music, Rockwell has orchestrated a mini-documentary detailing his creative resurgence, available on his official YouTube channel. It’s a deep dive into the genesis of ‘Spooky Bitch’, inspired by a cryptic encounter in an Inglewood underground club that sparked this latest artistic venture.

Spooky Bitched dropped just in time for Halloween on October 11; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Arlo Boe ignited a dark electro-pop inferno of infatuation and insanity with ‘Manic’

Posted on 30 September 2024

In her fiercest pop hit to date, Manic, the trailblazing siren Arlo Boe delivered a veritable earworm that could devour a dancefloor. With EDM pop aesthetics, which are as dark as they are kinetic, the electrifying anthem adrenalizes as it empowers listeners who are tired of tempering their manic proclivities when it comes to obsessive infatuation.

There are nods to Lady Gaga in her ‘The Fame’ era in the scathing spoken word increments which interrupt the Goldfrapp-esque production, which harks back to the 00s pop era while simultaneously flirting with the energy and euphoria of 80s pop. Yet, Manic is so much more than a revisitation of pop’s past; Arlo Boe ensured that her latest single won’t be out of place on contemporary pop playlists.

Arlo says, “I have always been fascinated by obsessive loves and the way people can just form these intense infatuations overnight. My favourite movie is Gone Girl and after I wrote this all I could think of was Amy Dunne, this is what semi-inspired the video which I planned, shot, and edited myself. I love the troupe of “If I can’t have you, no one can” … in an entertainment sense of course!”

Manic stormed the airwaves on September 27; stream the single on Spotify now or watch the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lauren Presley lost the past to history in her empowering rock-licked EDM pop anthem, H-I-N-T

Posted on 28 September 2024
https://on.soundcloud.com/XqdqHcpudoAN7A7Z9

Texas’ freshest pop icon-in-the-making Lauren Presley shunted Taylor Momsen and Hayley Williams to the wayside when she dropped, H-I-N-T, her latest dark pop anthem, which uses the augmentation of rock to add even more electricity to the head-spinningly hot EDM pop choruses.

The only thing bigger than the sound in H-I-N-T is the cross-over appeal of this high-octane earworm which sends pulsating surges of adrenaline to your rhythmic pulses as Lauren Presley harmonises over the distortion-slicked hyper-sonic guitars which caustically cut their way through the Grammy-worthy production.

The energy in H-I-N-T gives the recently romantically scorned all the empowerment they could possibly harness to walk away from a toxic dynamic. With this hit on your playlists, you will be unreckonable.

Presley may have gone viral since her debut single, A Little Longer,  after garnering 1 million streams on Spotify and 5.6 million views on YouTube. Yet, she remains committed to delivering unpretentious pop with universally relatable lyrics. Even if she reached the same heights as Chappell Roan, there’s a sense that Presley would never be out of touch.

H-I-N-T will drop on September 27; stream the single on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kimi Nickerson – Boundaries: The Ultimate Dark-Pop Anthem for Self-Reclamation

Posted on 26 September 2024
Kimi Nickerson

For anyone who has felt the desperation to shed the facades worn to appease others and unapologetically don their own unfeigned guise, Kimi Nickerson’s latest alt-pop tour de force is the ultimate anthem for self-reclamation.

Boundaries is an artfully moody electronic pop ballad that quickly breaks away from convention with its dark reverberant synth-driven melodies and bass-punched syncopated beats. As Nickerson layers her vocals to create a one-woman choir, the track takes on an arcane atmosphere that is guaranteed to spill from the soundwaves into your soul.

The production paints a scene of gritty defiance with its cinematic instrumentation and delicate high-end frequencies that purposefully carry the vocal narration. It is a haunting exploration of reclaiming personal power, and if you’ve ever shrunk into yourself to please someone else, Boundaries will scratch far beyond the surface.

Drawing inspiration from NF, Jon Bellion, and BANKS, Kimi fused electronic synths with modern trap and drill drums to create a genre-defying synthesis to platform her raw, thought-provoking lyrics and memorable alternative melodies.

The track is a paradoxical cocktail of soulful spirituality and dark, domineering aesthetics. It’s a juxtaposition that not only underscores the thematic power of the track but also elevates it as a defining moment in Nickerson’s discography.

Boundaries will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from September 26th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From Ghosting to Growth: Trisha Reclaimed Her Self-Regard in Her Trend-Ascending Pop Hit, MVP

Posted on 9 August 2024
https://soundcloud.com/trisha-singss/mvp-demo/s-2IJES7EaZOj?si=17f8d53e4f534e9ea93eb535153ea798&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The airwaves are saturated in laments on romantic rejection, yet few artists are vulnerable enough in their candour to meditate on the disintegration of friendships; the magnetically daring, hypnotic chill pop artist, Trisha, threw down the gauntlet on unchartered vulnerable ground with her latest single, MVP.

The empowering advocation to always treat yourself as the MPV (Most Valuable Player) marks the 15-year-old singer-songwriter as one of the most fearless lyricists on the airwaves. The transformational power of the release belies its chill-pop serenity; therein lies the beauty of the coming-of-age artist who has already mastered the art of emotional maturity and intelligence which filters into her raw-with-resonance releases.

Echoes of 90s pop breathe through the intricately melodic production which paradoxically cuts across and beyond contemporary trends, affirming that if any emerging artist has what it takes to make it to the top of the pop charts in 2024, it is Trisha.

Trisha Said:

“I wrote “MVP” about trying to regain my self-esteem when I found myself frequently ignored by my closest friend. Our relationship had deteriorated into one of apathy and I found myself constantly making excuses for her. Writing this song really helped me reinstate my sense of self-worth, establishing that I am the MVP in this equation.”

MVP will be available to stream on all major platforms from August 9th; stream the single on SoundCloud first.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

khokkosh. incited an industrial art-pop riot with ‘pelicaning’

Posted on 16 July 2024

Exhibiting the artistic freedom of a mind that knows no creative constraint, the 20-year-old dark electro-pop producer and visual artist khokkosh. used her seminal single, ‘pelicaning’, prised from her sophomore two-track release, ‘pelicaning./a duck, a bear, and I.’ to conjure a macabrely avant-garde aural installation that haunts the middle ground of Poppy and Billie Eilish.

By mainlining the harsh elements of industrial into a hypnotically warped earworm which sonically mimics the effects of a trance spiral, the Indian artist found her place at the vanguard of the art pop revolution.  The self-written, produced, mixed, and mastered computer-adjacent, thematically visceral synthesis of caustic beats and scathing synths explores the self-invented phenomenon of pelicaning; the act of caging words inside you until they are forced to erupt.

With this two-track release feeding into khokkosh.’s merciless agenda of piercing through the veil of inhibition, regardless of how ugly we may appear to others we expose our true unfettered autonomy, the revolutionary isn’t just one to watch, her fearless authenticity makes her an artist to admire and emulate.

Stream the official music video for pelicaning, which premiered on July 8th on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

STARR became queen of the femme fatales in her dark pop anthem, Die 4 Me

Posted on 23 June 2024

STARR usurped every femme fatale that came before her with her eagerly anticipated follow-up to her 2023 debut single, Novocaine. Her dark and sensuously debauched electro-pop-rock sophomore single, Die 4 Me, is a bass and seduction-drenched exploration of how luring the sinister side of love can be in a mind inclined towards fatal attraction. After all, what could be a more devoted gesture than a hypothetical willingness to die for the one you love?

Following a film noir-esque intro, STARR emerges as one of most striking sirens on the airwaves with her irresistible vocal lines before the spectrally decorated harsh reverberant beats transform Die 4 Me into an infectiously foreboding dance-pop track that makes Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance seem pedestrian at best.

Like the pop lovechild of In This Moment, STARR knows exactly how to infuse scathingly sultry energy into a rhythmically kinetic anthem that will leave you under her unfuckwithable spell.

Die 4 Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast