Browsing Tag

dark pop

Tokyo’s Sumi has made her dark electronic debut with the hooky anxiety exposition, Closing In

Posted on 10 November 2022

Tokyo-based singer-songwriter Sumi made a strong debut with her dark electro-pop single, Closing in. By utilising metaphors that expose the most insidious aspects of anxiety in the imaginatively amalgamated soundscape that blends her sonic roots into the contemporary moody pop trends, Sumi became one of the most promisingly individual artists on the airwaves.

The emotions in Closing In may be intimately inspired, but in 2022, Sumi is speaking for the masses as we battle with the sharp claws of imposter syndrome and the claustrophobia of reality closing in, leaving our dreams in the rubble of the cortisol spikes.

Before making her solo debut, during her stint in LA, Sumi played with several bands and collaborated with artists and producers to create songs on network shows such as Naked and Afraid, Teen Titans Go and the Ellen Degeneres Show. We can’t wait to see how far her solo career takes her.

Closing In was officially released on September 21st and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LÌONADH delivered poetry in orchestral motion in their single, European Man

Posted on 26 October 2022

Taken from the debut EP, I Cannot Go on Reaching, LÌONADH’s achingly artful lead single, European Man, consumed us with the emotion it was eloquently constructed through. The poet-fronted Glaswegian ensemble with a classical string section at their disposal may be fresh from their inception, but they are already garnering critical acclaim and causing catholic outcries.

Before the launch of their debut EP, the poet, Sean Lìonadh, shared his viral poem, Time for Love, which has amassed over 16 million streams, been published by BBC Scotland and driven the petulantly pious to frenzy by speaking for the LGBTQ+ community. Anyone that upsets the archaically moralistic applecart is instantly venerable in my book. There’s no taste quite like the salty tears of zealots.

As for the single, with the chill-imparting spoken word verses, around Nick Cave-Esque keys and operatic vocal grace, LÌONADH delivered pure art. If you thought that Arab Strap’s comeback album was something, delve into the hymnal sanctity of European Man.

European Man is now available to stream on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ariana Molkara spellbound us with the spectral lexicon in her orchestral pop single, Boogeyman

Posted on 21 October 2022

LA’s Ariana Molkara became the spooky pop supreme with her orchestrally spellbinding single, Boogeyman. By using spectral lexicon to allude to the haunting nature of breakups, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter and actress staked her claim as one of the most talented songwriters of her generation.

Between the lines “now I’m stuck seeing your ghost, except I want you to haunt me for forever, you being gone is the horror” and “Hey Mr Mr, how about we do something sinister” the imagery grips you with a strength far greater than the fear instilled by the most iconic horror flicks.

Of course, there was no forgetting Molkara from her debut single, Birdies Gotta Fly, which introduced us to her effortless pitch perfection and magnetic vocal presence. Through Boogeyman, Molkara well and truly came into her artful own.

Check out Boogeyman for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Klowniac went down the rabbit hole with his playfully pathological single, Mad Hatter

Posted on 16 October 2022

With a twisted vibe that sits somewhere in between Insane Clown Posse and the carnivalesque Avant-Garde brand of Fable Cry with a few dark pop tendencies thrown into the mix, Klowniac’s take on Melanie Martinez’s Mad Hatter, is a true embracement of autonomy. The playfully pathological lyrics around the helter-skelter sonics are an alchemically enlivening sensory experience for the mentally perturbed.

The airwaves are littered with tracks that advocate individuality. But there is still a very narrow parameter of how neurodivergent you can be and be accepted in a society that is all about mental health acceptance until you act TOO weird. The Klown-inspired multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer created the ultimate earworm for anyone who knows just how limited tolerance actually is.

Mad Hatter is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Classic pop meets dark EBM in Shards’ latest single, I Know You Feel the Same

Posted on 16 October 2022

The up-and-coming solo alt-pop artist, Shards, became the voice of melancholic reason in his latest spacey electro-pop track, I Know You Feel the Same, which contrasts dark EBM-style beats with classic pop harmonies as it cries out for mutuality.

The line “I’m so in love I don’t want to be alone” is a poignant testament to his inhibited approach to lyricism, an approach that will undoubtedly see him go far with his romantically scorned fans.

While there is some room for improvement on the mastering of the single and the synergy between the vocal melodies and the beats could be improved, I Know You Feel the Same is still a hard hitter of a single that is powerful enough to test your soul’s capacity to feel.

I Know You Feel the Same is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The One: Jessamine Barham just wants to escape from this hell on Bow Down

Posted on 8 October 2022

Sensing that she needs to get away from a selfish lover who isn’t able to comprehend how poorly they’re acting, Jessamine Barham is in top form with a sensational single that will find your heart beating faster on Bow Down.

Jessamine Barham is a San Diego, California-based indie dark pop/folk singer songwriter who performs with a tenacious edge that will get you listening intently.

Sizzling with a final goodbye wave to the past, which shall echo from the rooftops, Jessamine Barham is a brave soul who has courageously let us into her deepest emotions. Closing the door on someone who showed their devilish side too often, we are shown a story about having the self-love to walk away before it’s too late.

Bow Down from San Diego, California-based indie dark pop/folk singer songwriter Jessamine Barham is a brave single that will get you dusting off the self-doubts. Sung with a real earnestness that will get your whole body inspired to run far from any darkness, this is a real stunner that is filled with admirable honesty.

Listen up on YouTube and see more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Sample Myla Vie’s dark electro-pop delight, CAUTION

Posted on 7 October 2022

Through the influence of pop icons in the same contemporary vein as Dua Lipa and Lana Del Ray, Myla Vie became one in her own right with the release of her single, CAUTION, which is due for release on October 7th.

The moody alt-electro pop production complemented the up-and-coming artist’s artfully vulnerable vocal timbre as it works through the lyrics that allude to the lack of willingness to open yourself up to more torment following a heartbreak.

She has exactly what it takes to become the next UK alt-pop sensation, and we certainly aren’t the only ones under her spell; her previous releases have been in regular rotation on BBC Essex and Amazing Radio UK/USA.

You can sink into the pure soul of CAUTION by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Juliette Irons bends the pop genre to breaking point in her viscerally confessional single, Prisoner of My Mind

Posted on 5 October 2022

Lyrically, Juliette Irons reigns supreme over Baby Queen in her latest candour-fuelled alt synth-pop hit, Prisoner of My Mind. The gritty future-pop production plays with tension in the progressions to further amplify the visceral confessional nature of the track which flows through artfully jarring breakbeats and lush synth chords.

The song was inspired by her experience with panic disorder and her determination to help anyone struggling with the same conditions. As someone on a similar anxious wavelength, I can safely say that the badass icon that Juliette Irons has already become has left me inspired about what people can achieve – even when they are struggling with the exhausting shackles of mental illness.

The Canadian-born, LA-based singer-songwriter and choreographer is becoming renowned for her cinematic music videos and flawlessly raw expositions of heartbreak and the other darkest facets of the human psyche. It’s going to be amazing watching her ascend the pop charts.

Prisoner of My Mind was officially released on September 30th. Watch the official music video on YouTube, or add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fair Verona roll their cigarettes with ‘Starlight’ in their latest evocative alt indie pop single.

Posted on 26 July 2022

‘Starlight’ is the latest sorrowfully ornate single from the Charlottesville, Virginia-hailing up-and-coming alt-pop duo, Fair Verona. In a sea of Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, Daughter and Lorde assimilators, Fair Verona gracefully went against the tide in their raw candour led soundscape.

While the lyrics bite into your sense of empathy, delicate piano keys and the twilight textures envelop you in their efficacious ethereal catharsis. It is impossible not to take on the emotional weight of the single. Unless you are a complete sociopath, in which case, I pity your immunity to the lush spacey blows hammered home by Mickey Vaughan’s evocatively glistening vocal timbre.

Check out the alternative mix of Starlight by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Felicia became the ultimate nu-metal domme by subjugating Boris Johnson in her latest music video, Revolution Business

Posted on 20 July 2022

Even though Boris Johnson does a pretty good job of humiliating himself (and the rest of us while he’s shambolically at it), it was still beyond cathartic to see Felicia sonically flaying him in her latest seductively rebellious nu metal music video, Revolution Business.

It deserves to go just as viral as the video shot by a bewilderedly unsuspecting passer-by when they stumbled on the scene of Felicia dominating Boris Johnson in the market town of Grantham.

The video, (available to view here) has now garnered over 380,000 streams on Facebook, but what is infinitely less measurable is the true impact of the video, which provided a brief reprieve from the existential weight imposed by the futility of faith in our democracy.

How many iterations of “we need a revolution” have you heard recently? Well, now we have the start of one, and Bradford’s most creative antagonist inarguably became one of the most iconic contemporary mononym-toting artists in the process.

The pop-bitten track that instrumentally highjacks your rhythmic pulses through the juggernaut of a cadence keeps on giving. From her originated demurely rapped mischievousness to the screamo lyrical hook “fuck the music business, this is revolution business”, which made her the ultimate metal domme, it is frenetic socialist perfection. My Ruin will never hit the same again.

Fund the revolution by purchasing the track on Bandcamp or check out the official music video via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast