Browsing Tag

Marina and the Diamonds

The sandman chewed bubblegum (pop) in Delila’s third single, Sex Dreams

Posted on 29 June 2023

Not many pop hits can rival Marina and the Diamonds’ Primadonna and Icona Pop’s I Love It, but the NY-hailing pop icon-in-the-making Delila effortlessly matched the sticky-sweet floor-filling energy with her third single, Sex Dreams.

Sex Dreams, which hit the airwaves on June 28th, is a drastic change in tone from Delila’s previous releases, Mad World and Killerkiller; it is safe to say she’s come into her own with the sugar rush of a single, which was created in collaboration with the production team, Supperclub.

In stark contrast to the title, Sex Dreams is a romantically rapturous release which celebrates the strength of a connection that goes beyond the conscious and spills into the subconscious to litter dreams with wanton lust.

Building an infectiously electrifying pop hit around real emotion is more than what artists with decades of experience in the industry can achieve. The sincerity resonates through the vibrantly honeyed euphoria in Sex Dreams while the production gives Taylor Swift’s discography a run for its money.

Delila said:

“Sex Dreams is about an off-and-on long-distance relationship, which left us mostly communicating over the phone. After a long period of not speaking, I received a text asking me if I was manifesting them because they couldn’t stop thinking about me, and I was in all their dreams. I wrote the song to say, listen to yourself and be with me.”

Stream Sex Dreams on Spotify now.

Follow Delila on Instagram and TikTok.

Chelsea Silva reclaimed power in her vindicatingly catchy electro-pop debut, hades has a daughter

Posted on 30 November 2022

Alt-indie-pop singer-songwriter Chelsea Silva spilt fabled glamour all over the standout single, hades has a daughter, from her spell-binding EP, But What if You Fly?

Using Greek Mythology for her narratively clever exposition on how this mortal world puts kinks in our soul, the Sydney, Australia luminary newcomer proved that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Not even the god of the underworld can match a woman determined to reclaim power and question, “why do the happiest ones leave a trail behind?”.

The catchy, moody electro-pop beats playfully pop around Silva’s sultry theatrical vocal timbre to ensure that everyone who tunes into hades has a daughter gets a shot of vindication through the quirky arrestive sensation of a debut. She shimmers with all of the star power of Marina and the Diamonds while ensuring her own autonomy is the centre of gravity in the infectious hit.

hades has a daughter will be available to stream from November 30th. Catch the earworm on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Amela is the epitome of individuality while advocating it in her hook-decorated pop hit, Who You Are

Posted on 11 July 2022
https://soundcloud.com/amelamusic/who-you-are/s-3VatgJQOYAa?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

With ample resonance to the structure of Lorde’s hit, Royal, there is no denying that Amela’s latest single, Who You Are, has the earworm factor nestled into the contemporary production.

Beyond the catchy pop vocal hooks, there’s a sticky-sweet celebration of autonomous freedom around the feisty and moody electro instrumentals that give the track enough of an edge to ensure it etches itself into your synapses and demands repeat attention.

There’s nothing more irritating than pop artists that encourage individuality while presenting themselves as fresh from the cookie-cutter stars. With Amela, she leads by infectiously quirky example. The Australian singer-songwriter has blown up across her home continent, but clearly, her sound carries all of the hallmarks of an internationally successful artist. We can’t wait to see her climb the charts.

Who You Are will officially release on July 8th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud or Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emma Hunter formidably extended the conversation around domestic violence with ‘Here I Go’

Posted on 13 February 2021

Singer-songwriter, Emma Hunter, has been the voice of popular Oxford-based bands such as AmberState and the Halycons, and since 2019, she’s worked alongside drummer, Tom Bruce, putting her own formidable spin on alt-indie-pop.

With vocals which pull you in with the same strength as Florence Welch’s or Marina and the Diamonds’ coalescing with instrumentals which veer from mainstream archetypes while retaining all of the commercial potential, it’s impossible not to become consumed by her viscerally poignant releases. The single which caught our attention and refused to let go was her latest single, ‘Here I Go’, which demonstrates how seriously Emma Hunter takes her responsibility of creating light from the dark.

Here I Go artfully extended the conversation around domestic violence by a perspective-shifting length. It exhibited the weakness of perpetrators compared to that of survivors who have been psychologically crushed or physically abused by ‘romantic’ partners. For the first time as I watched the nuanced video unfold, I contemplated the unlikelihood of abusers being able to endure what a victim does, concluding that intimidation through power is the ultimate form of weakness.

With lead guitar tones which insidiously creep throughout the soundscape, the trepidation leaves you transfixed from start to finish, it’s a track which keeps your breath bated until long after the prelude. I honestly couldn’t have more respect or admiration for Emma Hunter and her classy controversial sound.

The official video to Here I Go is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NIGHT RIDE Release New Single LAY YOU DOWN

Posted on 13 November 2017

Trailed by a captivating overall musical performance which was further adorned with a catchy electro-pop sound that leaves one twirling and swirling to its gracious vibe, Night Ride really proved that they are still belligerent, camera-ready and more focused to reach the zenith of their music career in their sojourn thus far. This duo is the next best thing to happen to the Electro-pop music industry.

No, this is not like the usual drudge we do take in with a hard pinch of salt, It only takes 3 seconds out 4 minutes total play time of this amazing song for you to be entrapped and unfurled into a forever porch light of beautiful reverie.

So out goes the pop-electro-rock hybrid; which in its place sits a broad EDM party mix that initially manifested itself as One Republic pastiche on a subtle tale of unrequited love and emotional trauma. It’s exactly when the beam of awesomely pitched melody and amazing sexy vocals entwines with the synth-pop vibe of this song that its power of transfixion sets in.

The accentuate music group; Night Ride, is an electronic pop duo embracing synth-pop and rock, and fusing it with theatre, fashion, technology and art which creates a comfort zone that feels genuine.

Night Ride band draws their inspiration on this song from the tale of their sexual experience and couple of situation-ships which isn’t really what you would likely notice at the first listen since the vibe would rather make you pay less attention to the lyrics of the song. This also further backed up the reason why their music influencers happen to be the likes The Weeknd, CHVRCHES, Grimes, GusGus, and Paramore.

As the first track to be released from their forthcoming E.P. ‘Neon Dreams’, Lay You Down gives a good insight of what to expect from the up and coming duo and I simply hope they’d surpass my imagination just like they did in this song when I eventually get my hands on their EP album when it’s released.

A north star in a psychedelic milky way is the overriding theme of Night Ride’s “Lay You Down”. Everything was more than I expected. Simply put, It was nothing short of class and quality.

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-Lilian-Debrah.