Browsing Tag

indie-pop

Elena Louvis gave her latest indie-pop single This One’s on Me, the tender touch.

Posted on 6 May 2022

With the same tender touch as Bill Ryder-Jones, Daughter and Tom Odell, the NYC up-and-coming artist and indie record label owner Elena Louvis’ latest single, This One’s on Me, is a masterfully raw feat of downtempo indie-pop.

With the neo-classic nods, her vulnerably glassy vocal timbre and the immersive yet stripped back and meditative production, the mournfully humble single hits the evocative spot with bruising precision. The confessionally honest lyrics which spill the ink on idiosyncratic regret are so intimate and personal, yet, at the same time, the sentiments are universally recognisable.

This One’s on Me will be available to stream from May 6th. You can check it out for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kuya! Gave Indie RnB Pop a Fresh Lick of Soul with ‘What I Gotta Do’

Posted on 5 May 2022

The Floridian genre fusionist and 90s & 00s nostalgia peddler, Kuya! Is fresh from the release of his third single, What I Gotta Do, which takes you back to the bliss of old school while showing you the future of indie soul-pop. The unapologetically loved-up track would be exceptionally placed on playlists of fans of The Neptunes, Nelly and Gwen Stefani.

Through the Niles Roger-Esque guitars, Daft Punk dancey disco grooves, Kuya!’s effortlessly soulful creative charisma and the sonic curveballs with the rap verses, What I Gotta Do is an earworm that keeps on giving. It’s the fresh lick of soul that the airwaves have been crying out for. We can’t wait to eek the dopamine out of what follows.

What I Gotta Do is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK indie pop duo ISYLA has unveiled their consciousness-driven cinematic single, Pretty Lies

Posted on 30 April 2022

The UK’s most promising pop duo, ISYLA (Lizzie Freeborn & Woodburn) has further staked their claim with the release of their latest dynamically cinematic single, Pretty Lies.

There is a touch of Nadine Shah’s Kitchen Sink to the jazz-tinged prelude, but ISYLA soon breezed into their ethereal own through the breathy vocals, flamenco guitars and arresting lyricism. “I live and let live but what if a choice takes a life” may just be the most perfect lyric I’ll hear this year. Yet, that’s just a splinter of the refreshing consciousness carried by the duo that formed in 2020 as a musical response to the climate crisis.

Since making their debut, they have featured on BBC Introducing, Music Declares Emergency, and the Consciousness Festival. Their selfless sense of holistic interconnectedness makes every soundscape they touch resound with a rare sense soul that is enough to make everything else on the airwaves feel superficial.

Pretty Lies is now available to stream on Spotify.

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

Gian Majidi explores the amorous side of ‘The Moon’ in his latest single

Posted on 27 April 2022

Before releasing his self-titled 2022 pop album, the uniquely inspired multilingual Helsinki-based singer-songwriter and composer Gian Majidi has given us a taste of what is to come by giving us a sneak peek of his single, The Moon.

Through his love of 60s pop and 70s rock, he’s orchestrated a nostalgic yet passionately refreshing take on music from decades past. The Moon comes with artfully supple vocal harmonies, intricately picked Spanish guitars and butterfly-evoking progressions that won’t fail to pull you into the colourfully rich release that will undoubtedly put Gian Majidi on the map.

You can check out Gian Majidi for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alex Krisi comes in as an evocative heavyweight in her ethereal knockout indie pop ballad, Mama Please

Posted on 24 April 2022
https://soundcloud.com/alexandra-nowakowska/mama-please/s-wMybkzHZTGb?in=alexandra-nowakowska/sets/alex-kristi/s-GAYXHfHZMsK&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

‘Mama Please’ is just one of the sorrowfully seminal latest releases from the up-and-coming indie singer songwriter Alex Kristi who tapped deep into the sense of innate guilt that we all carry after witnessing parental suffering. Whether that be through the juvenile way that we push them away through the surge of youthful rebellion or the soul-crushing feeling of knowing that a parent is sharing your pain – for any given reason.

Sonically, Alex Kristi ensured that the piano score carried just as much tension and tenacity as the classically poised yet indie-tinged vocals as they run through the mournfully eloquent lyricism. In every conceivable way, Mama Please is an ethereal knockout. Even more so with the gospel-Esque outro.

Mama Please will be available to stream from April 22nd. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Runner and Bobby has released his surfy and psych-tinged indie release, For Marcy

Posted on 21 April 2022

‘For Marcy’ is the latest sweet, surfy, and psych-tinged indie single from the Chicago hailing independent artist Runner and Bobby. The choral and blissfully sun-bleached single allows you to imagine what Pavement would have sounded like if they amped up the dreamy melodicism in their sound and met Velvet Revolver halfway.

After a mellow tape-saturated intro, the 100% DIY artist breezes in with his bright yet tinged with artistic and romantic existentialism vocal timbre. Butter wouldn’t melt on his harmonies against the uplifting chord progressions that carry you through the affectionally unforgettable release.

For Marcy is now available to stream via YouTube

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Samantha Magdalena – Why: Whatever the Question is, This Artful Indie Pop Single is the Answer

Posted on 20 April 2022

West Valley City singer-songwriter and producer, Samantha Magdalena, has made an enchanting imprint on the airwaves with her latest single, Why. Any fans of Cigarettes After Sex will quickly find the celestial pull in Samantha Magdalena’s blissfully high-range sugared vocals as they question romantic fatalism over the chiming and full-bodied instrumentals that stand as a testament to the producer’s talent and authenticity.

Notably, the up and coming artist has had no trouble finding her voice and aligning it up with her instantly affable charisma. It may be early days in her career, but few emerging artists resonate as distinctively beguiling as Samantha Magdalena.

Why officially released on April 7th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Timothy LaRoque has delivered his sun-soaked indie serenade, Rise and Shine

Posted on 20 April 2022

Romance isn’t dead. Timothy LaRoque is making its heart skip a beat with his endlessly imploring vocals, butterfly-inducing melodies, cinematically soulful production and sheer finger-picked guitar virtuosity in his latest single, Rise and Shine (This Song’s About You).

With Spanish guitars thrown into the mix for the extended instrumental interlude, this kaleidoscopically vibrant release is a sonic gift that keeps on giving. The 22-year-old Floridian would even leave Jack Johnson weak at the knees with his modern spin on the sounds delivered by the Beatles, Paul Simon and Cat Stevens and the artful gravitas in his melodies.

Not all too many contemporary artists can carry the hallmarks of *true* artists, but Rise and Shine is prolific with them. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Rise and Shine will be officially released on April 20th along with the Stuck in the Past EP. Check it out via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SRRY poured optimism on our contemporary isolation in their latest indie synth-pop hit, Talk the Lonely Away

Posted on 19 April 2022

No track quite captures our contemporary isolated times as succinctly as the single, Talk the Lonely Away, taken from SRRY’s latest double A-side release, Sad But True.

The Phoenix indie synth-pop outfit transcended the contemporary curve with Talk the Lonely Away, which melodically explores the disconnections that have led many of us into a semi-reclusive state.

In a punchy power-pop meets 80s synth-pop fashion, the single optimistically celebrates the last remaining connections and the digital tethers that manage to keep us grounded. If listening to it doesn’t fill you with gratitude for the people in your life, you might want to check your pulse.

Talk the Lonely Away is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast