Browsing Tag

Electro Pop

Tyler Shamy has already released the breakup track of the year with ‘without a trace’

There are few sadder things than watching the co-creator of your memories disappear and become past tense; the up and coming pop sensation, Tyler Shamy, explored just that in his latest artfully crafted electro-pop ballad, without a trace.

Beyond the sonic finesse, it is the sentiment the single was created with that allows it to resonate as breathtaking from the first hit. With its vulnerability, the single calls all those possessive ‘I will never let you go’ pop singles into question as Shamy gives a far less toxic perspective on mourning an amorous loss. The visceral pain is there, but in place of the bitterness, there’s an acknowledgement of the tenderness in the intimacy that once existed. This gravitas-bursting break-up track should be on every coupled-up person’s playlists – just in case. The LA-based artist is evidently one to watch. Whether he’s scoring for TV and film or creating for the airwaves, he always knows how to deliver the maximum evocative effect.

Tyler Shamy’s latest single, without a trace, is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Agaaze proves that pace is the trick in his electro-pop-meets-neo-psych single, Take it Slow

The New York-hailing multi-instrumentalist and producer Agaaze is fresh from the release of this debut 7-track EP, A Portal Inside, which features the eclectically progressive, Take it Slow.

Take it Slow was curated to prove that when it comes to progress, pace is the trick. The progressive single starts with the downtempo, dreamy textures you would expect from a track under such a name. By the time Take it Slow reaches the outro, expect to find yourself in a trippy, psychedelic rabbit hole that is structured by Agaaze’s soulfully sweet magnetism and the sheer range of his experimentalism. At the age of just 19 years old, his songwriting talent transcends the majority.

The world will never see another David Bowie for the simple reason that they’d rather place icons on pedestals and believe independent artists can never reach them. As far as we’re concerned, Agaaze came pretty damn close with Take it Slow.

Watch the visualiser of Take it Slow on YouTube or add it to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marked Since Day 1 has unleashed his dirty electro-rock earworm, Dirty Little Lips

‘Dirty Little Lips’ is the latest sultry industrial electro pop-rock track from the renowned multimedia artist and model, Marked Since Day 1. By matching the galvanising sex appeal in She Want Revenge, Mindless Self Indulgence and Alec Empire tracks, apathy isn’t an option once the fiery track builds to full momentum.

If Taylor Swift is the lyrical angel that sits on your shoulder, the Chicago hailing alternative artist, Marked Since Day 1 (David Gabriel) is the devil that sits on the other. The macabrely meta lyrics allude to the nefariousness that comes to the surface in modern dating etiquette while never letting the realism slip. The devilishly twisted single hits the spot in every conceivable way.

Dirty Little Lips is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Darkness & the Light traverses the cosmos in ‘Nice to be in orbit’

under a distant sun by Darkness & The Light

If any track can remind you of how lucky you are to be a blip in the cosmos, it can be found in Darkness & the Light’s latest album, under a distant sun. Nice to be in orbit is paradoxically grounding in its cinematic delivery; the Sydney-based artist gives you the sense that they have the rare ability to emanate the grandeur of the cosmos in all of its glory instead of choosing crevices to aurally explore.

The ambient synth lines work their way through ethereal layers of reverb while the percussion brings lucidity to the mix, and the guitars take the track to an Avant-Garde, almost post-punk realm. The vocals may never go beyond choral echoes above the psychedelic grooves, and Nice to be in orbit is all the more celestial for it.

Of all the ambient music we have heard this year, nothing comes close to the intricately explorative alchemy in Nice to be in orbit. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Nice to be in orbit is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Time slips away in James Bene’s latest fiercely impassioned balladic electro-pop anthem, Hours.

James Bene

Right from the first note, the urgency of American singer-songwriter James Bene’s hyper indie-pop ballad, Hours, grips you. The strong melodies and visceral vocals resound so powerfully that any indication of the intensity of the balladic electro-pop anthem seems like an understatement.

Lyrically, you couldn’t ask for rawer intimacy, but sonically, the soundscape is almost matchless. With the overdriven indie guitars searing around the snappy percussion and the depth in the keys, the instrumentals are only just robust enough to platform Bene’s fiercely impassioned vocals as they question waning affection. Needless to say, it is a hit. If any up and coming artist has what it takes to dominate the charts, it is James Bene.

Check out James Bene on SoundCloud & Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sofia Werner’s latest single, Lost, reaches the pinnacle of alt-pop

After a moody Twin Peaks-Esque intro, Sofia Werner’s latest indie electro-pop single, Lost, lures you in through melancholy before bursting into a spectacular feat of vibrantly visceral future pop. If you can imagine what it would sound like if London Grammar found some serotonin along the way in their soundscapes, you’ll get an idea of how much panache Werner is bringing to the contemporary pop scene. Lost finds a poignant way of alluding to how people act as our biggest anchors and centres of gravity while wrestling with an almost arcane level of passion.

The Mexico City-born, Atlanta-based artist started honing in on her vocal and instrumental talent at five years old. So, by the time she was ready to make her official debut in 2020, she had what it took to rack up over 200k streams with her hit singles on Spotify alone. We would tell you to get her on your radar, but we’re fairly sure that she will be impossible to miss in the near future.

Lost is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Electronica artist and producer, StartFromSKratch has released his soul-awakening hit, If I’m Yours.

‘If I’m Yours’ is the latest spacey hyper-pop hit from the up and coming electronica artist and producer, StartFromSKratch. After releasing his debut single, Took a Minute, in 2020, he’s proven that he’s got an insatiable hunger for success and the ability to curate an emotionally charged hit.

The Chicago-born artist looks far beyond electronic textures for inspiration. For the soul-awakening energy behind his sound, he looks to jazz, hip hop and RnB to put the authentic flair in his grooves.

If I’m Yours is an unadulterated drunk on love dance floor hit with the production quality to make a viral artist of StartFromSKratch. The female future pop vocals perfectly complement his sonorously sweet melodies. We can’t wait to hear the rest of his upcoming album. His album, The Heart Grows Fonder, is due for release on November 19th.

If I’m Yours is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Wally Hoak opens up in his dark pop hit, HARD FEELINGS

Dominican Republic-born, Brooklyn-based dark pop prodigy, Wally Hoak, has been garnering plenty of hype since making his debut in 2020. His most popular track to date, Complicated, has racked up over 33k streams since the release, and based on his latest single, HARD FEELINGS, it is unlikely that his career will stop gaining traction any time soon.

In HARD FEELINGS, raw emotion is projected into dark, thorny synth lines as reverb swirls around the 808s under Hoak’s emotionally sultry vocal timbre. Lyrically, it became the ultimate ‘don’t talk to me, I’m angry track’ as it alludes to the alienating emotions that sting at the surface in the wake of toxic relationship dynamics.

Hoak went so far beyond scratching around at surface level with HARD FEELINGS; he cut right to the marrow. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear the next confessional masterpiece.

HARD FEELINGS is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Wally Hoak on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gard Read pops the perfectionist bubble in his anthemic indie pop debut, All We Can Do

Indie electro-pop artist Gard Read joined the swathes of artists making their debut in 2021 and scarcely left any commercial potential for the rest with ‘All We Can Do’.

While every faction of the media convinces you that you deserve nothing less than perfection while implanting unrealistic romantic ideals, Gard Read popped that naïve bubble with the reminder that Nobody is perfect. The stunning Slowdive-reminiscent guitars cushion the blow while the fiery production mimics the torrid state of mind  we enter when we contend with our insecurities and question if we’re worthy of affection.

Gard Read is right up there with Empathy Test for the way he can turn raw emotion into an anthemic hit that unifies through the resonance. If any track is going to convince you to embrace your imperfect autonomy, it’s All We Can Do.

All We Can Do is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Sandra Grace has dropped her latest hyper-pop hit, Got 2B Famous.

Sandra Grace

‘Got 2B Famous’ is the latest flawless hyper pop track by the breaking artist Sandra Grace; the low growling bass guitar rumbles against the light, euphoria-instilled beats create the perfect platform for Grace’s effortlessly emotive vocals that pull you in from the very first vocal note.

With her arrestingly unique style, any and all pop icon reminiscence is fleeting. The Ukrainian-born, US-based singer-songwriter has been writing songs for a form of catharsis since the age of 13; discernibly, she had perfected the pop formula by the time she made her debut with her single, Hotel, in 2019.

Got 2B Famous will be available on all major platforms from November 5th. Check out Sandra Grace on her official website, Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast