Browsing Tag

Indie Funk Pop

The Royal Leisure – Pastries: Get Your Indie Funk Pop Sugar Rush

Posted on 1 August 2022

Connoisseur of melodic indie funk pop hooks, The Royal Leisure has tackled the human tendency of indecision with his latest nostalgically sweet single, Pastries. It will groove you right back to the synth-driven culture of the 80s, only after taking a pitstop in 90s noise rock.

The Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter (AKA Horace Tam), started the project with the inclination to offer a reflection point to listeners looking for a sense of perspective on themselves, the world, and all the connections we make along the way.

One thing is for sure; Pastries is a refreshing reprieve from the contemporary sonic trends. Its playful approach to aural nostalgia and even more affable inclination to drip some colour into your psyche while it forces you to question your tendency to want your cake and eat it won’t fail to stir your soul. The reprise of “this could be the only thing I want” around the endlessly ascending melodies makes for one hell of an oxytocin rush.

Take a bite for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get your summer funk-pop fix with Monté’s red-hot bubblegum earworm, Heart2heart

Posted on 1 July 2022

The electro funk-pop trio, Monté, has been feeding the airwaves sticky-sweet euphoria since forming in 2019. They brought out their sharpest arsenal of pop hooks yet with their summer 2022 release, Heart2heart.

Far from your average fawny proclamation of passion, the track was written for those who deserve better. With the vibrant energy in the Disco-Esque crescendos, the seductively smoky horn stabs, and the sheer soul oozing through Leah’s vocals, with Heart2heart on your playlists, you’d be hard-pressed to forget to have self-worth. There’s something subversively genius about the lyrics “you’re a piece of shit” versed through butter wouldn’t melt vocals.

Heart2heart is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cade Whitt quietens ‘Loud Thoughts’ in his colourfully cathartic alt-indie hit

Posted on 23 February 2022

The up-and-coming alt-indie singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cade Whitt has recently released his 100% DIY single, Loud Thoughts, which mellowly reaches out to frenzied minds with ample colourful catharsis.

Notably, there are few genres that the 18-year-old artist is unwilling to draw from in his eclectic sound. Around the angular indie guitars that are fed through plenty of echoey tape delay, there are hints of 80s pop, soul, and a smattering of indie-funk to bring the grooves. Cade Whitt’s connectable resolving indie vocals are the cherry on the aural cake, as they work through the consoling lyrics in a semi-lucid fashion; it’s a vibe.

Check out Loud Thoughts on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Redlands serve a slick slice of indie synth-pop in their latest single, ‘Shades Down’.

Posted on 24 May 2021
Redlands

Indie pop-rock artists brave enough to run with their own sound may be few and far between, but the latest funk-riddled single from Redlands, ‘Shades Down’, more than makes up for the shortfall.

Their slick synth-pop style comes with distinctively swaggering vocals, tribal percussion and guitars that wouldn’t be out of place in a Nile Rogers single. Since forming in 2014, Redlands haven’t failed to make an impression with their constraint less sound. After the release of their first EP, Lonewolf, they found themselves playing the Ernie Ball Stage at the Vans Warped Tour.

After the release of their second EP, Adventurer, they earned a spot on the roster at South by South What? Music Festival. In the following years, they were dubbed as Denver’s most promising up and coming artist, and they opened for Imagine Dragons. Indie accolades don’t get much sweeter than that. If any artist has what it takes to be the next big thing in indie pop, it is Redlands.

Shades Down will officially release on June 4th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube from the date of release.

Review by Amelia Vandergast