Browsing Tag

Emo Pop

Grand Nights descended with his demons in the orchestral pop-rock masterpiece, Falling

Posted on 8 August 2023

Render your heartstrings raw with the latest single, Falling, from the alt-pop evocateur, Grand Nights. The orchestral pop-rock outpour of artfully uninhibited emotion takes you on a cinematic cruise through the kind of introspection that only dares to visit you in the dead of night; hang onto the ornately atmospheric nostalgia tight as you’re driven through the 80s and 90s via a route never taken.

After cutting his teeth as a drummer in a metal band, honing his talents in rock, punk and pop bands, the one-man powerhouse behind Grand Nights was ready to take to the centre stage and exhibit his heart-in-throat lyrics that amplify in visceralism to the tune of his panoramically immersive melodies.

With his EP, South of Everything, in the pipeline, there has never been a better time to implant Grand Nights on your radar.

Start the descent with Falling, by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

nasir mf. turned up the heat for electro heads in his hyper-pop exposition of obsession ‘romantic fury’

Posted on 21 January 2023

nasir mf. won us over with his emo hyperpop debut in 2022; for 2023, the queer icon in the making reached stratospheric heights with his sophomore single, romantic fury. It is impossible not to feel the heat while revelling in the affirmation that there is nothing sane or rational about passion.

The independent Brooklyn, NY-based artist created a world of carnal pleasure through the cascade of luminous synth lines and beats built to body rock to – crafted by Flame Yuppie. For any fans of PC-adjacent music in the same vein as Charli XCX, Namasenda, Caroline Polachek and SOPHIE, the ECHOVALLEY remix may be more your hyper-sonic 8-bit cup of tea.

“This track is a hyper pop banger with rap verses for the electro-loving hopeless romantics. I made this track about experiencing limerence – that obsessive, unhealthy feeling that we often get for someone. I wanted to appeal to all the people who have someone who fucks with their mental state. It is super unhealthy, but hey, it happens… it is honest.”

Stream romantic fury and the ECHOVALLEY remix on Spotify now.

Connect with nasir mf. on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alternative artist, GAINES, took us to the twilight of loneliness with ‘I JUST WNT YOU’

Posted on 27 December 2022

Somewhere between the Twin Peaks opening score and the tonal palette on Slowdive’s iconic record, Souvlaki GAINES’ latest single, I JUST WNT YOU, starts to unravel. Vocally and lyrically, the conceptually dark and disenfranchised single veers close to the emo genre. Yet, affixing that genre label to such a visceral triumph of a release that pushes the envelope further than most dare to feels derivative.

This abstraction of loneliness and almost primal pain exhibited is profoundly resonant. It is a testament to GAINES’ ability to execute his expression so that it translates into a strikingly artful demonstration of a sense of ennui that we can all relate to.

The synth sequencing towards the outro is an efficacious demonstration of the twilight of desperation that unrequited love can drive us to before the dandelion hands-Esque spoken-word verse delivers one final evocative blow.

The New Orleans-based artist has been writing and producing since 2020; the experimentation within his string of singles is definitive proof that his music is a project of deeply intrinsic passion driven by a desire for artistic connection. We can’t wait to hear what comes next.

I JUST WNT YOU is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Synth-pop meets pop-punk in XUINN’s resonantly sharp single, I Don’t Know Anymore.

Posted on 20 December 2021

For anyone feeling disjointed through perpetuating confusion and a lack of direction, XUINN’s pop-punk-meets-synth-pop track, Don’t Know Anymore, is powerful enough to become a lifeline.

With the weight in the resonant lyrics and the light ever-ascending melodies, it’s a perfectly balanced track. It appeals to those who have found the futility in the fight with ennui while the colourful and snappy beats impart the strength in resilience.

I Don’t Know Anymore became definitive proof that with enough humility, sincerity can be at the heart of any pop track. Since making his debut in 2017, the Floridian alt-pop artist hasn’t failed to gain traction in his career; and it’s unlikely that we have heard the best from him yet. Save space on your radar.

I Don’t Know Anymore is taken from XUINN’s debut, Hide in Silence. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

RudyWade – Won’t Reply: Emotion Driven Indie Hip-Pop.

Posted on 21 April 2021

18-year-old singer-songwriter and producer RudyWade’s music always blossoms from pure emotion. His latest single, ‘Won’t Reply’, is a perfect testament to his emotional intellect and versatile style that allows him to create without constraint.

Won’t Reply kicks off with a jangly ukulele melody before hip hop, rap, and contemporary RnB influences start to take hold in the genre-melding soundscape that will inevitably lead the recently ghosted to comfort. The Boston-based artist’s track may be raw in sentiment, but in the delivery, you’ll find nothing but maturity and an excuse to add RudyWade to your playlists.

Won’t Reply is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Welcome To Earth: K3NDY (feat. Rass Limit) show us what is wrong with the planet on ‘Ground Zero’

Posted on 27 March 2021

As they both look outside the tainted window and tell us exactly what they see, K3NDY (feat. Rass Limit) show us into their honest world of knowing that greed and selfishness of so many in power, will be the end of the human race before too long on ‘Ground Zero’.

K3NDY is a Cologne, Germany-based indie singer-songwriter who fuses emo-pop and rock-punk together into one explosive mixture of incredible sounds. She has linked up with fellow Cologne-based former rapper and now punk artist Rass Limit, as they show obvious chemistry, to lab up a powerful concoction which is one of the more truthful songs of 2021.

They know we are so lost as a race, as they confidently step on the gas and throw down all the cards onto the table. The guitar skills are highly impressive, as the honest lyrics link so well together with vibrant vocals that has your head moving and your mind working extra. You know that they are right and the time for change is definitely here, before it is too late and the whole world burns down.

‘Ground Zero’ from the unmistakably talented Cologne singer-songwriter K3NDY (feat. Rass Limit), is a thunderous display between two artists who mesh so well together. Hand in hand, they take us on an honest ride through the streets to see the destruction – on land and water that will ultimate define us as the generation that didn’t do enough – to stop the hurtful carnage that is seeping into our planet each second.

Always wanting more has turned so many into blood thirsty zombies, and this is crushing all the love that has been build up over so many centuries before us.

Hear this top new song on Spotify, check out K3NDY’s IG plus Rass Limit’s IG too.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

MICLEY has made a cuttingly catchy debut with their Dark Pop single “Inside My Head”

Posted on 6 October 2020

“Inside My Head” is the alluringly dark debut single from Alt Pop artist MICLEY who utilises the raw evocativeness of artists such as MCR and Muse and pours it into a Pop production which oozes with commercial appeal.

The tender vocals verse lyrics which convincingly tell you that change is inevitable, but despair doesn’t have to be. Embrace it, ride the waves of torrid emotions and appreciate that such melancholy, apathy and grief can inspire things as beautiful as Inside My Head.

It’s catchy and cutting at the same time. More pertinently, the piercing vulnerability in the soundscape has earned MICLEY more respect than we know what to do with. Naturally, we’re obsessed with their debut, and we’re all too eager to hear what follows.

You’ll be able to check out Inside My Head from October 15th. You can pre-save the single via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast