Browsing Tag

Folk Pop

Laura Mustard extended a folk-pop invitation into the wild with ‘Will You Go Walking?’

Posted on 6 December 2023

As the days get darker and the chill in the air compels us to stay indoors, the folk singer-songwriter, Laura Mustard, provided an opportunity to rekindle your affection for the outdoors with her latest single, Will You Go Walking?

The captivating arrangement beautifully intertwines Irish musical roots with a contemporary folk-pop sensibility as the track blossoms under Musgrave’s artful composition, where sun-soaked progressions and warm melodies create an inviting and heart-warming atmosphere.

Musgrave’s Nashville-based background, combined with her rich and diverse musical influences, shines through in this enchanting piece. Her love for rhythm and syncopation, rooted in her classical piano and percussion training, adds a unique depth to the song’s structure.

Will You Go Walking? is more than just a melody; it’s a reflection of Musgrave’s personal journey and her deep relationship with introspection. Her experiences with learning how to embody body positivity and live with a chronic illness imbue her songs with a profound authenticity and emotional resonance.

Musgrave’s storytelling prowess, influenced by the poetry of Walt Whitman and Mary Oliver, is evident in the song’s lyrical depth. The lyrics take the listener on a journey, evoking images of nature and emotional landscapes that are both vivid and poignant. Take the invitation into the wild; you won’t regret it.

Will You Go Walking was officially released on November 10; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

aimée became the queen of quiescence with her superlatively stripped single, Poison

Posted on 12 November 2023

Irish singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer aimée is no stranger to euphonic etherealism; with her latest single, Poison, she reached the pinnacle of dreamy, decadent-with-soul art-pop. Like a sonic intravenous shot of intoxication, the single unravels through complex time signatures the choral consolation of her glassy vocal lines and a sense of quiescence which allows the track to deliver all-consuming catharsis.

After receiving plaudits from BBC Introducing, YEO Magazine, and airplay from Northern Ireland’s biggest radio station, aimée has been making major strides with her beguilingly pure sound that remains untarnished by the serious accolades. There’s a real sense that there’s no room for ego in her explorations of the beauty of life and the ache of heartbreak.

Following a string of sold-out shows at some of the most iconic venues in Dublin and Belfast, the songstress has relocated to London to work alongside some of the country’s top producers on her forthcoming singles and form her six-piece band, which is set to take her live performances to the next level.

Stream Poison on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ava Valianti reigned indie folk pop supreme in her debut single, Bubble Wrap

Posted on 20 October 2023

At 14 years old, the Massachusetts-hailing indie folk-pop breakthrough artist Ava Valianti is delivering definitive proof that maturity doesn’t come with age; it comes with emotional intelligence, and her emotional IQ is lyrical leagues above the rest.

Her debut single, Bubble Wrap, distinguished her as one of the most promising new arrivals of 2023. The sharpened poetic volition is a magnetic juxtaposition against her harmonically rich and airy vocal timbre which effervesces against the acoustic guitar notes.

The power in her metaphors is one thing; her ability to entice you into a relatable vignette which comes to life with the vindication delivered to anyone who knows how it feels to be made small by people with petulant and puerile minds puts her on an entirely other level. We’re stoked to hear what she and her producer, Chris Plante, will create for her sophomore release.

Bubble Wrap is due for official release on October 20. Check it out on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Maverick lived up to their moniker with their folksy easy listening debut single, I love coffee culture

Posted on 15 October 2023

The debut single, I love coffee culture, from Maverick is a tongue-in-cheek, bean-in-cup twee triumph. The twinkling piano keys atop the simple yet as delicious as a caramel macchiato easy guitar chords orchestrate the same kind of laidback atmosphere you would want to sink into in your favourite den of caffeine as the vocals prove it is the small things in life, especially if those small things are made by the hands of a barista who can take the mundanity of the corporate world away.

It is somewhat ironic that Maverick is a virtual band composing songs for tangible experiences, but given the sticky-sweet feel-good factor of the folksy easy listening release, we can easily forgive the band spearheaded by the song crafter and vocalist, John Crystal and feel stoked for the singles we have been promised will follow. We already need our next fix.

I love coffee culture was officially released on October 4; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mark Ben Wilson is searching on the other side in his compassionately warm folk-pop single, Horizons

Posted on 22 September 2023

Some tracks allow you to fall in love with a three-minute experience; others allow you to develop a deep kinship with the artist through their inviting warmth. After listening to Mark Ben Wilson’s single, Horizons, it is safe to say that he puts his listeners in the latter camp with the evocative resonance in his guitar work that is only matched by the compassionate honey that drips from his vocal lines.

His humble yet highly assured approach to passionately pure acoustic folk-pop is intoxicating from the first melodic breath; as Horizons continues to unravel, you’re taken along for the emotive ride as he searches for meaning on the other side of the kind of storm that leaves you alone holding up an umbrella. It’s a stunning vignette that will easily enamour any fans of Ben Howard, John Butler and Fink.

Horizons will release along with Wilson’s LP, Roots & Wings on September 22nd. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alexander Joseph illuminated the airwaves with his elevated folk-pop single, Guiding Star

Posted on 3 September 2023

If your folk-pop playlists need a boost, the evocatively uplifting latest single, Guiding Star, from Alexander Joseph will elevate them until they reach a new plateau of accordant soul.

If you know all too well how it feels to fear fading into obscurity, Guiding Star will deliver illuminating resonance. Traversing themes of desperation to escape while having no sense of direction was the ultimate affirmation that the singer-songwriter crafted this compassionately melodic single straight from his jaded soul.

There may not be any way to abstract the complexities and uncertainties of life, but hitting play on a track and knowing you’re not the only dog in the disjointing fight is as close to a sanctuary this society can provide.

If you can’t get enough of Alexander Joseph’s consoling lyricism, you don’t have long to wait for the UK artist’s EP, Stop and Breathe, which is due out in October. The EP will be used to raise funds for the charity One Tree Planted, which is combatting the impact of global warming through vital reforestation work.

Guiding Star was officially released on August 25; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

It is ‘All About You’ in Cristina Movileanu’s summer folk-pop serenade

Posted on 4 July 2023

If you noticed it got a little hotter on the 16th of June, that may have been due to the scorching hot summer folk-pop single, All About You, from the vibrantly vivacious singer-songwriter Cristina Movileanu.

Each year, artists compete against each other to orchestrate the hit that will become their audience’s upbeat soundtrack to the summer. Never one to make pedestrian or predictable moves, the Emerald Isle-haling originator created a gateway to a parallel world brimmed with positive energy and joyful moments.

The jangly upbeat indie folk guitar melodies will be your main mode of transport, while Movileanu’s soulful vocal timbre will take you the rest of the way. There really is no overstating how captivating All About You is. For your own sake, don’t hang around in delving into the carresive Elysian chemistry in All About You.

Check out the official music video for All About You on YouTube, or add the sun-bleached hit to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brandon Amor crooned us onto a higher plateau with his indie-folk-pop serenade, 109 Days

Posted on 9 May 2023
Brandon Amor

Brandon Amor’s single, 109 Days, which concludes his LP, The Waltz of 109 Days, is a sonic odyssey; orchestrated by the dreamy layers of indie-folk-pop and waltz-y rhythmics under his 50s-style jazz crooning that almost makes a lullaby out of this sentimentally spacey outpour of intricately impassioned soul.

Any fans of Trudy and the Romance will be effortlessly swooned by the kaleidoscopic melodicism of the single that cushions his visceral vocal lines, which amplify in conviction until the track quiescently fades out on gentle guitar strings and birdsong.

I’m not one that believes that good artists always need to have an X-Factor-winning set of vocal cords, but when they complement such a stunning instrumental arrangement, it certainly takes the aural experience to the next transcendent level. It is safe to say that 109 Days will leave you on a higher plateau from the first hit, and believe me when I say you won’t be able to resist repeat spins.

109 Days will be available to stream from May 9th. Stream it on SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nico David – Turn Your Magic On: A Renaissance of the Age of Innocence

Posted on 5 May 2023

The Avant-Garde artisan of evocative contemporary folk-pop tones, Nico David, created a renaissance of the ages of our respective innocence with his latest alt-piano-pop piece, Turn Your Magic On.

Starting as a tender ballad with chamber orchestral strings, the single amasses momentum within the ascending progressions and ardent vocal lines to pay a fitting ode to the endless power we possessed as children, granted to us by our limitless imaginations.

The process of maturity strips our senses of wonder and gift of naivety before replacing them with weary cynicism unless you’re lucky enough to find someone you feel safe enough to reignite that spark around. Turn Your Magic On is the ultimate sonic solace.

The lyrical depiction of a conversation between a man and an imaginary child is a reminder that our younger versions exist within us all, and they all need nurturing. It’s a stunning release through and through; the euphonically diaphanous beauty is equally matched by the tender sentiments expressed.

Stream the official music video of Turn Your Magic On via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Denim Dan created a capsule of 70s folk-pop-rock nostalgia in their sixth studio album, This Way, That Way, The Other Way

Posted on 26 April 2023

NYC’s Denim Dan fortified the folk-pop-rock realm once again with their sixth studio album, This Way, That Way, The Other Way, which will ricochet you back to the 70s via an aural time capsule you have never experienced the like of before. Under the heart-on-sleeve influence of Tom Petty & The HeartBreakers, Lou Reed & Leonard Cohen, you will also be able to reminisce on the slightly zanier production styles of Zappa and the Legendary Pink Dots in this warm vignette of fond memories forged in an era of personal freedom and revelation.

There are few things as sonically sweet as coming-of-age tales after decades of retrospect. The kaleidoscopically honeyed soundscapes in This Way, That Way, The Other Way allows you to cruise right back to the 70s while allowing your perceptions to shift around the pearls of wanderlust wisdom.

“This Way, That Way, The Other Way is our sixth studio album. A non-fiction coming-of-age narration of loosely factual true events from my time in New Mexico in the mid 1970s. The title track and first four songs were written in Florence, Italy during the pandemic when I felt inspired to write about my experiences of four decades earlier. The next eight songs – also written about that period – including Let Your Love Fall Down On Me [too] were recorded in 2001 right after 911 in Boulder, Colorado. They were forgotten…but my son, Marcello, found them in an old computer.”

Stream This Way, That Way, The Other Way on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast