Browsing Tag

dark pop

The Dresden Persuasion – The Stars Have Faded: Phantasmally Consoling Darkwave Electronica

Posted on 20 December 2020
I Am the Skeleton King by The Dresden Persuasion

Any fans of Bowie, Empathy Test, Bauhaus and Type O Negative will want to jump on the latest album ‘I Am the Skeleton King’ from The Dresden Persuasion.

Track 1, ‘The Stars Have Faded,’ is a faultless introduction to the mesmerising German artist. From the first verse, it’s perceptible that their soundscapes are crafted to offer the listener just as much catharsis as they experienced when creating their hypnotic feats of Electronica.

The Darkwave single pairs phantasmal instrumentals with Craig Dickerson’s sensually absorbing vocals which ensure that with each progression, you’re immersed even deeper in the evocatively multifaceted release. The Stars Have Faded captures the complexity of nihilistic emotion while allowing your own emotions to slip away as they’re replaced with the consoling ones relayed to you in resounding whispers.

You can check out The Stars Have Faded via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dark Electro Pop duo Anaté have debuted their emboldening single ‘Confusion’

Posted on 19 December 2020

‘Confusion’ is the darkly beguiling standout single from lockdown-born multi-national alt-electro-pop duo, Anaté’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Confessions’. It serves as the perfect introduction to the European artist’s empoweringly soulful style. Given the state of collective uncertainty which 2021 has instilled in psyches across the globe, it has ‘playlist staple’ written all over it.

Confusion opens up the conversation about duality and the conflict which courses between our intrinsic desire and the desires we sate because of societal expectation. There’s been plenty of talk in recent years about ‘living your best life’, Anaté put the emphasis on *your* with their exhilaratingly polished track which allows layers of overlapping vocals to trip over themselves, illustrating the essence of the track.

Confusion also lingers in the trippy downtempo production which mimics the disjointing nature of doubt and uncertainty. The glitchy beats are efficacious enough to resonate with your own experiences of confusion and offer consoling validation by the affirmation that the rest of the world feels exactly the same, despite pretences of togetherness.

With their ability to paint a picture of agitation while also allowing the listener to indulge a track which is powerful enough to remove the shackles of societal pressure, we’re all too eager to hear what the rest of the Trip-Hop-inspired album delivers.

Any fans of Hooverphonic, Morcheeba and Massive Attack will undoubtedly want this trailblazingly emboldening artist on their radar.

Anaté’s single, Confusion, is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

That burning smoke: Dark-pop singer-songwriter Edd Ward drops real song about how ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’

Posted on 16 December 2020

Edd Ward is back and this time he sings with so much real vividness about the horrific and seemingly endless fires in LA on ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding‘.

Etibar Gangur aka Edd Ward, is a record producer, singer-songwriter and evolving creative who started making music three years ago in his Aunt’s basement. Making music has helped Edd to get through personal issues as his depression was getting really bad at one stage. Keeping busy and creative has saved his life and the results are easy to see now as the hard work has certainly paid off.

With the legendary producer Benny Blanco assisting with the writing on this new track, the sky is the limit for this talented artist who is only getting better and better all the time.

He sings with such meaning and soul, the new school singer/rap style is brought forth with a Post Malone kind of tone that takes us for a plane ride over these terrible fires, They never seem to end and something needs to be done about it as it can’t carry on. So much has been damaged and burnt forever which is really upsetting this young musician. The feeling of being pushed to the ground while no one is really listening, is tough to bare and change has to happen with more songs like this.

‘Hollywood’s Bleeding‘ from the multi-skilled Edd Ward is a deep track about life and how things don’t make sense sometimes. When things are obvious to the eye and nothing seems to happen, frustration can boil over.

With a real talented for music and an introspective look inside the fireball, this is the type of song that makes other notice that things need to be better.

Hear this quality new single via Soundcloud and hear more via his IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Ride the celestial highs and sonorous lows in L.H.B.’s standout single ‘You Are Fire’

Posted on 5 December 2020

If your Ambient Electro Pop playlists are crying out for some fresh ingenuity, Leeds, UK-based artist and producer L.H.B.’s standout single ‘You Are Fire’ won’t disappoint.

With celestial highs and sonorous lows within the artist’s dynamic vocal arsenal, you’ll feel every ounce of emotion poured into the contemplatively resounding single. As the lyrics conjure imagery which sits synergistically against the glitchy yet lush Synth Pop melodies, it is all too easy to get lost in the captivating mix.

Stylistically, it sits somewhere between the overwhelming prowess of Lady Gaga’s more stripped back hits and one of Empathy Test’s melancholically tinged works of Synth Pop. Expressively, L.H.B. is in a league of her own.

You can check out You Are Fire along with the rest of L.H.B.’s album Down Yonderland via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Make room for GelaX’s Avant-Garde Electronic Rock earworm ‘Voodoo’ to creep in.  

Posted on 5 December 2020
GelaX

There was no forgetting Toronto-based artist GelaX after getting acquainted with the Alt-Rock outfit through their single, Mr. Square, now, they’re set to drop their debut EP ‘Dreamsonic’, any fans of alluringly scathing Dark Electro-Rock are going to want to hear it.

The standout track ‘Voodoo’ exhibits the best of GelaX’s signature empowering sound, this time, they’re making no bones about humiliating and eviscerating gas lighters and people who need to crush the sanity of others to feel like they’ve won. I’m sure we all know PLENTY of those.

While GelaX exude all of the commercial potential and accessibility of artists such as Massive Attack and Garbage, there is a darker Avant Garde edge to their tracks in the same vein of Industrial artists such as Angelspit and Emilie Autumn. Yet, Voodoo retains its rhythmic melodicism with the indulgent bends of the bass notes sitting alongside bluesy rock textures which come with a kick of kaleidoscopic Psych.

Voodoo is due for release along with the rest of GelaX’s debut EP on January 8th, 2021. In the meantime, you can check out their earlier releases via Bandcamp.

Keep up to date with their latest releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Reject your nihilism with Etoile Marley’s alchemically eclectic track ‘LockItDown’

Posted on 1 December 2020

I would probably sell my soul to be able to exude as much confidence and positivity as Etoile Marley did in her latest release ‘LockItDown’ which throws back to 70s Funk Rock, weaves in elements of Neo Soul and finds its structure around Old School Hip Hop.

The jazzy-soul driven hit is practically an intervention, you’ll feel any lingering apathy or pessimism evading you as soon as you hit play. LockItDown is an accordantly high-vibe hit, but it makes no bones about confronting you with the very real fact that you’re in charge of your mentality.

Only an artist with an insurmountable amount of talent and vision could blend elements of Hip Hop, Blues Rock and Dark Pop to such an alchemic effect. It’s safe to say that you’re going to want her on your radar.

You can check out LockItDown via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Pleaseprettylea – Yack!: Conceptually Avant-Garde Dark Pop

Posted on 17 November 2020
Pleaseprettylea

West Midlands, UK artist Pleaseprettylea is due to hit the airwaves with her artfully enticing Dark Pop single “Yack!” on November 25th. With elements of Hip Hop within the darkly hypnotic production, the single transcends genre as it unravels as a powerfully conceptual single which deals with the concept of sickness in relation to vulnerability, trauma and vices.

Pleaseprettylea is never afraid to tackle taboo or difficult concepts in her tracks, Yack! is definitely no exception. It unravels as a theatrical breath of fresh air in a time when baseless information around mental health and self-care seems to be found in every corner of the internet. But with Pleaseprettylea’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in counselling, you can fall into the soundscape and find trust in the artist’s wisdom and alluring sound which shares the same immense level of expression as artists such as Bjork, PJ Harvey, Amanda Palmer and Kate Bush.

Yack! is due for release from November 25th, pre-save the track on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

I Passed Away serves a smorgasbord of 80’s Goth, 90’s Emo and Electro Alt Pop with ‘Brainwave’

Posted on 13 November 2020
I Passed Away

Starting off as a modern hyperpop dance/rock banger, ‘Brainwave’ showcases I Passed Away’s versatility, moving through 80’s goth, 90’s emo, and electro alt-pop disco crossover at the swelling instrumental middle eight breakdown.

There are elements of early 90’s alternative rock around the vocal production, coming across at times like a slightly more mellow Layne Stayley, but overall I Passed Away has a unique and instantly recognisable vocal sound. ‘Brainwave’ is a well-crafted piece, marrying solid, gripping melodies with catchy keyboard hooks, a driving bassline, and clean, crisp production. There are clearly influences of hip hop and ambient artists in ‘Brainwave’ too, along with the more obvious indie and emo tropes, but primarily I Passed Away has crafted a novel, individual, and mature piece of modern dance/pop crossover that bodes well for future releases.

Check out I Passed Away on Soundcloud and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Mivedrix shows us her ‘Alien Soul’ with this slice of deep, dark electropop.

Posted on 11 November 2020
https://soundcloud.com/user-442666859/alien-soul/s-Dz3NA2pKXNw

Dark, brooding electropop from the effortlessly cool and rebelliously anonymous Mivedrix, ‘Alien Soul’ builds synthesisers, electronic samples, percussion, and acoustic instrumentation with Mivedrix’s multi-layered, prominent harmonised vocals to paint a glowering, ominous tale of alienation, loneliness, and the ever-present struggle to ‘fit in’.

Singer, songwriter, performer, and producer Mivedrix sells a story of the fears of self-expression in a world where the negative impact of ‘difference’ can be catastrophic, yet ‘Alien Soul’ is ultimately empowering, uplifting, and inspirational. Inspired herself by artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, The Weeknd, and classical composers such as Debussy, Mivedrix’s debut single will be released across all platforms on the 11th November.

You can check it out via SoundCloud.

Review by Alex Holmes.

UK Alt Pop artist Parkerxx gets dark and Avant-Garde with her latest release ‘Lights Out’

Posted on 6 November 2020

Horsham, UK-based artist Parkerxx proved with her latest single ‘Lights Out’ that she is blessed with the ability to offer a mainstream sound without ever having to compromise on the distinction you can find within it.

With her tendency to take inspiration from a myriad of sources such as fashion, art and literature, her sound boasts a transfixing Avant-Garde air. Paired with her striking vocal range, Lights Out is a commanding mix which will allow you to feel like a moth to a flame right from the first verse in this intoxicating Dark Pop track.

All artists create music for different reasons. Parkerxx’s reason to endeavour with aural expression makes investing in her sound even more worthwhile. In her own words, here’s what she had to say:

“I create music because it is impossible for me not to. It has always been an outlet for me and has allowed me to process emotions and experiences. I find the human experience fascinating and I hope that when people listen to my music they feel less alone and connect with the messages.”

You can check out Parkerxx’s single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast