Browsing Tag

Independent Pop

Gemma Felicity shared her bitter-sweet learning curve in her evocative indie pop single, Better Without You

Posted on 15 December 2022

With a guitar tone as chorally compelling as Slowdive’s in their latest album, the London-based independent singer-songwriter Gemma Felicity rendered us heartbroken by proxy with her sophomore single and official music video, Better Without You.

The steadily ascending pop artist has been refining her performative and songwriting talents since she was nine years old. After taking a hiatus for her undergrad degree and enduring mental and physical illness, she returned to music with the vow to express her deepest emotions.

Stylish, sincere and self-reflective in equal measure, Better Without You transcends the archetypal breakup song to get to the crux of tangibly resonant emotion. Unless your soul is completely defunct, you can’t help but invest in the matured indie pop masterpiece that fills you with compassion for the vulnerable powerful protagonist she portrays.

With her debut EP, Baggage, in the pipeline, we’re stoked to have her on our radar.

Watch the official video for Better Without You on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nick Cody & The Heartache consoles Anthropocene anxiety in his single, All is Fine Until the World Goes Pop, featuring Towse

Posted on 30 September 2022
https://soundcloud.com/nickcodymusic/all-is-fine-til-the-world-goes-pop-featuring-towse/s-Cx1cPKU0Zbm?si=975686dab187470ca0639c3e3b299658&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

UK singer-songwriter Nick Cody is set to unleash his forthcoming album, All is Fine Until the World Goes Pop; the plaintive piano mockery of the state of our being at this crushing crux of humanity spills its fair share of antipathy while playfully protesting the black mirror reflection of our reality.

The standout single, featuring the glassy vocals from Towse, may not be able to brighten the corners of our contemporary insanity; it does something far more valuable. It euphonically cries out to everyone struggling with Anthropocene anxiety with a nuanced affirmation that they’re not alone in their all-consuming fear.

Artfully, lyrically, and conceptually, All is Fine Until the World Goes Pop is a multi-faceted triumph.

All is Fine Until the World Goes Pop will officially release on September 30th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Divina Blackson made the most promising pop debut of the year with her single, Twisted Fantasy

Posted on 7 September 2022

In her debut single, Twisted Fantasy, the artful soul-pop sensation Divina Blackson explored the depraved depths that lust and love can take us to in a completely candid exposition of affectionate insanity. We’ve all been there; if you haven’t, you haven’t lived.

After an intro of dream pop guitars, her sonorous vocal timbre lulls you into a state of transfixion as the compelling lyrical narrative unfurls; evading every trite cliché along the way as it traverses poetic metaphors to make the ultimate first impression.

She is well and truly one in a million; from the very first vocal note in Twisted Fantasy, the emotional weight of the release slams into your psyche. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Twisted Fantasy is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get over your ex with EMA’s latest hyper pop hit, Habits

Posted on 31 August 2022

After the viral success of her single, Heather, which racked up over 2 million streams on Spotify alone, Canadian singer-songwriter, EMA, has released yet another insightfully addictive single with Habits.

The artfully poignant hyper-pop track explores the habits we pick up in relationships, even after they have reached heartbreak status. Even with such a tender topic under lyrical hand, EMA succeeded in creating an optimistically bright single that also toys with concepts of freedom in love. If any track can get you over your ex, it is this vibrantly cinematic burst of emotion and hyper-pop melody.

Habits was officially released on August 19th; it is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anna Wells became the UK’s brightest pop luminary with her self-actualized single, No More

Posted on 18 August 2022

Starting with the syncopated bluesy piano, Anna Wells’ latest progressive synth-pop single, No More, due for release on August 18th, 2022, instantly draws you in through the quirkiness that assures you that the Essex, UK-residing artist is autonomously electric enough to deserve your undivided attention.

The dance-worthy, marginally Avant-Garde beats and sporadically theatric vocals could sell the record alone; the empowered and self-actualized lyrics heighten the listening experience to the nth degree.

“I don’t need that kind of man in my life no more because I’m not so insecure anymore”, may just be the lyric of the year – if prizes go for those. It perfectly encapsulates theh human proclivity to martyr ourselves to misery through the subconscious belief we don’t deserve more. I officially love her.

Check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Super Love advocate autonomy indie their electromatic pop hit, The Real Me

Posted on 22 July 2022

For the last two years, we’ve followed Super Love’s autonomously expressive career. Their latest single, The Real Me, which was released on July 22nd, is their most unapologetically authentic electro groove-led pop triumph to date.

The effect-laden, almost animatronic vocals fuse into the synthwave production, which keeps the funk rhythms rolling around the angular indie guitars that add to the cold, almost alien atmosphere of the single which acts as a harbingering warning of what it means to lose your sense of self.

We’re all guilty of going into auto-pilot mode from time to time and disassociating from our souls. With The Real Me on your playlist, you’re infinitely less likely to slip into that vacuous rabbit hole.

Check out Super Love’s latest single, The Real Me, via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Laptop Singers appeal to the loveless in their smooth electro-pop hit, Are You Ready for Love? Featuring Roger Arvidson

Posted on 30 June 2022

The Swedish electro-pop duo, Laptop Singers, got even more lavish with the soul in their latest single, Are You Ready for Love?, Featuring Roger Arvidson.

It easily parallels Elton John’s song with the same title for the soul it spills, but it is so much more than your average “everyone be happy summer single”. The gentle protest against cheap thrills shows compassion for the endemic of the defiantly loveless.

The sultry, smoothed electro-pop ballad taps into the modern issue of rejecting lasting affection for meaningless gratification with a classic touch while the self-produced single indoctrinates the lush electronic textures brought about by this era.

The brother duo, consisting of Lars and Per Andersson, have had 30 years of Swedish pop practice. By the time they got round to penning Are You Ready for Love and bringing it to life as a courtesy of Roger Arvidson’s timelessly soulful pop vocals, they knew exactly how to hit the ground swooning.

Are You Ready for Love? is now available to stream on Spotify.

Check out Laptop Singers via their official website, Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Gemïny delivered a vindicating high in his soul-pop debut Too Close

Posted on 17 June 2022

Don’t look to your icons for the hottest soul-pop drop of the year. Find a new one by hitting play on the debut single, Too Close, from the artist and mental health advocate, Gemïny.

I don’t know what I love more, the juicy efficacious hooks up against the stridently raucous energy of rock or the Columbia-based artist’s lyrical vulnerability and intellect. Too Close isn’t just one hell of a debut. It’s a public service announcement to those confined in toxic dynamics wrapped up in an earworm that demands repeat attention.

After experiencing the crazy-making fallout of a toxic relationship that had an appetite for boundless destruction, Gemïny stepped up to the plate to speak for everyone carrying trauma from past relationships and those still confined within the malevolent grips of one. It’s enough to change your perception of Crazy in Love for life.

The inspiration for the track may be heavy; with the poetic wordplay, the nuance in Gemïny’s narrative, the Usher-Esque vocals and the seductively lush production, few singles will leave you on a better vindicating high.

In his own words,

“Too Close is a song that places you in a climactic chapter of a toxic love story, where limits are pushed past desperately failing actions, and everything spins out of control. It is a reflection on my role, a separation from the damage done, and an acceptance of how my actions played into the traumas placed on me.

My biggest goal is to resonate with those in a darker place and show them that there is life beyond that darkness. Not saying you have to put on a smile like Batman, but there is still light out there, and I’m trying to bring that out, despite everything.”

After garnering over 20k streams on Spotify alone with his debut, the humbly prodigal artist is definitively one to watch. Especially with the release of his sophomore single, Avalanche, in the pipeline.

Too Close is now available to stream on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Follow Gemïny via Facebook and Instagram

Spotlight Feature: Laura Loh delivered deeply entrenched empathy in her seminal self-produced single, Closer

Posted on 20 May 2022

After releasing her 2020 debut EP, which instantly attracted attention from BBC Introducing, Laura Loh has continued to move into her profoundly empathetic pop own. The Hampshire, UK-based classically-trained vocalist and instrumentalist is fresh from the release of her self-recorded and produced latest single, Closer.

Closer contends with the very real issue of our innate human tendency to put ourselves through the wringer every time we have realised that we aren’t infallible. In a therapeutically intimate way, the alt-pop single lulls you into a state of self-compassion, guided by Loh’s glassy vocals, the ethereal organ layers and massive percussion that aurally shows you the beauty in resilience.

If only all sonic mental health advocacy had the same visceral pull of Closer, we’d be an infinitely more self-actualised society. The deeply entrenched empathy in the single is an evocative bruiser. We can’t wait to hear what follows from Loh’s freshly discovered production boldness.

In her own words, here is what Loh had to say about her latest single:

“Closer is a song about recovery and personal growth, inspired by my experience with mental health; it is a reminder that it is okay to fall and take your time picking yourself back up. We all tend to be too hard on ourselves; I hope this song can encourage people to celebrate the progress they make every day, no matter how small.”

Closer will officially drop on May 20th; hear it on SoundCloud & Spotify.

Follow Laura Loh on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennifer Jess has changed the perfect pop formula in her latest convictively electrifying earworm, Imagine You

Posted on 28 April 2022

It’s getting impossible not to get caught up in the hype amassing around the Atlanta-raised pop singer-songwriter Jennifer Jess and her demurely modernist nu-disco sound. Equally as affable is her tendency to bring mental health advocacy into her electrifying 80s-inspired sound.

Her latest release, Imagine You, comes after garnering 700k streams on Spotify for viral hits such as her 2019 earworm, Blue. The Shiny Toy Guns fan in me couldn’t be more enamoured with the ensnaring percussion, jangly indie pop guitars and Jess’ emotionally vulnerable yet convectively powerful vocals.

Imagine You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast