Browsing Tag

pop ballad

Hanley showed us the future of the pop ballad with ‘So Much for Being Real’

Posted on 16 November 2023

After the success of the 2022 EP, ALIVE, the up-and-coming artist Hanley has shown us the future of pop ballads with the celestial timbres within their latest piano pop score, So Much for Being Real. Through the sequence of crescendos which punctuate the plaintive piano keys beneath the pure yearning within the vocals, you’ll feel your soul stir as much as the instrumental arrangement which emanates the kind of radiant enlightenment which only comes via acceptance and emotional intelligence.

Promises becoming little more than empty platitudes is one of the greatest betrayals we will ever experience in life, there’s little solace to be found in the bitterness of naivety after being swept up in an idea of perpetuity, but Hanley’s latest composition which was delivered with superlatively spacey compassion hits the mark of solace with perfect precision.

So Much for Being Real was officially released on October 27; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Loulita Gill shared a message of resilience and hope in her classic pop score, Silenced

Posted on 8 October 2023

The singer-songwriter Loulita Gill oozed classic pop class with her recently released single, Silenced, which goes back to the darkest and most vulnerable chapter of her life to offer consolation and solidarity to survivors of abuse.

Few people will ever know the strength needed to keep your head high after you have been subjected to abuse by the people who brought you into the world to cherish and protect you. After the unveiling of this arcanely orchestral score, a deeper sense of empathy will be ingrained in anyone who has never had the crushing experience of vulnerability being exploited first-hand.

Her celestial vocal range, which effortlessly coalesces with the minor piano keys and swells of the classical strings, opens a doorway to compassion. We certainly weren’t coloured surprised when learning the Bristol-based singer’s career has been decorated by accolades. Her music regularly features on global Christian radio stations, GODTV and BBC Radio Bristol.

Watch the official music video for Silenced, which premiered on September 22nd on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bree Gregory cut right to the emotional core with her orchestral ballad, See You Soon

Posted on 22 September 2023

The Adelaide singer-songwriter Bree Gregory captured the bitter-sweetness of impassioned goodbyes and the beauty of uninhibited vulnerability with her latest orchestrally arranged piano pop ballad, See You Soon, which strips the sonorous production right back to her vocals, piano keys and a string quartet.

Between the cutting crescendos and the steady strides in her dynamic vocal register that carries the same sense of beguile as Adele, See You Soon cuts you right to the emotional core.

Moving away from her RnB soul sound, which saw her peak at number 4 in the top 10 AMRAP charts with her single, Waiting, was a bold move, but discernibly, her talents lend themselves efficaciously well to more than one genre. We can’t wait to see where this Billboard & Grammy-worthy exposition of viscerally warm raw emotion takes her. Even greater successes are surely in the pipeline.

See You Soon will debut on September 22; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alen Chicco’s RnB Pop hit is anything but just ‘Another Love Song’

Posted on 27 August 2023

If you know exactly how it feels to be caught out as one of love’s fools, the resonance you’ll revel in when the soulfully hair-raising chorus in Alen Chicco’s latest RnB pop single, Another Love Song hits will cut straight to the core.

The definitively 80s synth lines leave the hit awash with lush reverb as Chicco’s dynamic vocal timbre evolves around the tension-fraught build-ups and classic pop crescendos constructed by the funk-laden basslines and atmospheric drum fills.

With some of the juiciest vocal hooks we’ve heard this year, which prove the singer-songwriter’s capacity to incorporate all of the hallmarks of a perennial pop earworm while never compromising on the viscerally raw emotion, the industry should be eating out of the palm of his deft hands and pop fanatic sycophants should be breaking down his door.

Check out the official music video for Another Love Song by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kailey Tenn constructed euphonic comfort with the introspective gold in her latest single, Happier

Posted on 10 August 2023

People who thoughtlessly bound around the word forever may want to think twice about their choice of verbiage after exposing themselves to the glistening-with-introspective-gold debut EP, Forever is Finite, from the Long Island singer-songwriter and producer Kailey Tenn.

The standout single, Happier, takes classic piano pop ballad stylings and reinvents them through intimately subversive poetic lyricality, which bolsters in poignancy to the tune of the rock-infused crescendos and orchestral motifs that elevate the soundscape to the celestial nth degree.

The 23-year-old artist hasn’t failed to establish herself as one to watch by being one of the rare songwriters with the capacity to create resonance through her soul-stirring melodies and narratively beguiling lyrics that construct mirrors for her audience to see themselves within.

Happier is the ultimate testament to her talents for the way it reminds you that the dream of reaching an idealised state of happiness will only set you up for failure; strive to be happier than you were yesterday instead.

Check out Kailey Tenn’s debut EP, Forever is Finite, on all major platforms via this link.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s queer pop queen Tana reached peak supremacy in her single, Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die

Posted on 25 July 2023

The queer pop queen, Tana, hasn’t fallen short of success and supremacy since we last heard her in 2022 with her pop-rap hit, Supermodel. For her latest single, Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die, the London-based genre-fluid originator stripped back the tempo to unveil an RnB pop single that is steamier than *that* scene in Titanic.

Instead of painting a portrait of perfect – and therefore unattainable – romance, Tana played it pure in Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die by nuancedly alluding to how promises of perpetual bliss only leave us lingering in naivety further down the line. Despite the visceral pain projected into the release, there’s a sense of romanticism that visualises the realities of love instead of paying homage to Hollywood tropes that never actualise in material reality.

In addition to orchestrating originated and awakeningly installations of candour, Tana has hit the main stage at UK Black Pride 2022, performed at NXNE Festival, London Pride and Tallinn Music Week, while being spun BBC Introducing, Soho Radio, Gaydio and Trace Urban. Even if you don’t watch this space, Tana is enough of a phenomenon that you’ll hear about her regardless if you put her on your radar.

Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Umberto Bravo pulled the purity out of salaciousness with his sophomore synth-pop single, Sacred Sinner

Posted on 15 January 2023

Italian independent singer-songwriter and composer Umberto Bravo has unleashed his synthy sophomore single, Sacred Sinner, which modernises the 80s pop tonal palette with explorative vision and lavish layers of soul.

The mid-tempo ballad embellishes the 80s pop sound with gospel traditionalism through the vocals as the instrumentals push lush synth cords against consistently evolving guitars, which know just where to transfuse the gritty and transcendent tones to make the peaks and valleys of the emotional rollercoaster infinitely steeper.

Some view lust as a cardinal sin, but if anyone can make the case for the purity of salaciousness, it is Umberto Bravo in this carnally magnetic earworm that could rouse even the most sexually repressed puritans.

“Sacred Sinner is not a love song, let alone musical pornography. But it certainly goes against the traditional dynamic of the relationships of equality that exist between two people dealing with intimacy.”

Sacred Sinner was released on January 14th across all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luchi shows us the weight of empty promises in his pop track, He Said

Posted on 14 January 2023
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The Me + Tears Ain’t Strangers EP from the Glasgow-based Italian up-and-coming pop artist, Luchi is a meditation in mindful melancholy. The opening single, He Said, is the perfect introduction to the artist’s introspective candour that inspires empathy and reactive vulnerability in equal measure.

There’s nothing rawer than relaying all the empty promises when a relationship reaches an ennui-laden end, especially after we walked into the dynamic with hesitancy over vulnerability. When those red flags start to wave away every shallow word, we’re the ones left with the shame when it was never ours to carry. He Said stands as the ultimate affirmation of the disparity within romantic accountability.

Bringing new contemporary flair to the pop ballad, Luchi utilises climactic piano crescendos and tensile vocal progressions to stick to the roots before implanting modernist twists through the RnB nuances and utilisation of atmospheric reverb around the gently muted guitar strings that flow in synergy with the soft synths.

The Me + Tears Ain’t Strangers EP is due for official release on January 13th. Hear it on SoundCloud. Follow Luchi on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gratitude envelopes platonic love in Lizzie Hosking’s latest alt-pop single, Skye

Posted on 29 October 2022

Platonic love may take a backseat on the airwaves for fawning declarations of lust; if anyone can push it to the forefront, it is Lizzie Hosking with her uplifting ballad, Skye which soulfully celebrates the lifelong friendship with the person who has lifted her from every downward trajectory.

After realising that she’d written songs about people that don’t deserve an ounce of her time, Hosking delivered this timeless feat of pop which starts with minimalist ambient production around her soulful vocal timbre before building into an epic outpour of gratitude, soaring electric guitar riffs and all.

Skye, titled after her best friend, is a taste of what is to come on Lizzie Hosking’s upcoming album, which will keep the focus on folky storytelling instead of the punchy upbeat sonic style that she’s become renowned for since making her promising debut in 2020. We wholeheartedly approve of this wholesome move.

Skye was officially released on October 21st. Check it out for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mist’riii – Sometimes: Acknowledging the Temporary State of Everything Has Never Been More Beautiful.

Posted on 3 August 2022

Nairobi-hailing indie-pop newcomer, Mist’riii has released the ballad to end all others with her beautifully scored feat of expression, Sometimes.

It’s not often that I’m caught off guard, but that’s exactly where Sometimes succeeds. It resonates like a brand-new visceral experience that you desperately want to share with the rest of the world because you KNOW the emotional magnetism transcends genre preferences. It’s a strikingly ornate, moving ballad that deserves to be in the OST for the next Hollywood romance blockbuster – in spite of the intimate indie feels.

In her own words, here is what Mist’riii had to say about her latest release,

“Sometimes, we don’t want someone from our past back; we acknowledge that it is over, but from time to time, we can’t help but wonder if they ever think about us. Not sure if it’s the ego at play in such instances, or just nostalgia (or both lol) but I believe that it’s a sentiment that anyone who has ever lost someone (whether it’s an ex lover or friend) can relate to.”

Sometimes is now available to stream on SoundCloud, where the independently released track has already racked up over 17k streams.

Review by Amelia Vandergast