Browsing Tag

pop ballad

Cailyn Currie opened up the conversation around mental health with her sonorous lullaby ‘Dying Star’

Posted on 14 March 2021

Nashville singer-songwriter, Cailyn Currie extended the conversation around mental health with her latest single, ‘Dying Star’, it’s a sonorous lullaby for anyone contending with feelings of futility and a delicate reminder that while you’re still breathing, life isn’t over.

Cailyn Currie’s vocals carry sincerity as she shares her hard-fought for introspection while the sparse folk-pop instrumentals create the perfect atmosphere to fall into as powerfully meta wisdom wraps around you.

Dying star was recorded in Nashville and mastered in London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, so it comes as no surprise that the quiescently resounding single cuts deep while simultaneously tending to open wounds. If tracks such as Dying Star started hitting the airwaves decades ago, we’d undoubtedly be better prepared for the global mental health crisis we’re facing today.

Dying Star is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anna Smith & Cédric Joel Ziegler catch the sands of ‘Time’ in their sem-orchestral pop ballad

Posted on 12 March 2021

Swiss pop singer Anna Smith caught the slipping sands of ‘Time’ with her semi-orchestral pop ballad, created in collaboration with film composer Cédric Joel Ziegler.

With crescendos powerful enough to bring you closer to God paired with Anna Smith’s vocals which simultaneously exude tenderness and strength as they bring an evocative charge to the lyrics which compel you to do the best with the time you have, it’s hard not to feel things fall into perspective as you drink in the celestial air.

We can only hope that there will be more collaborative work from Anna Smith & Cédric Joel Ziegler soon. Evidently, the Zurich University of the Arts, where the two artists met is doing something right. They could boost enrolment on the strength of this phenomenal release alone.

You can check out the official video via YouTube.

Or you can head over to apple music and purchase the single.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Annie Tisshaw takes us back to ‘Last Night’ with her confessionally powerful pop single

Posted on 4 March 2021

‘Last Night’ is the latest confessionally powerful pop single from Norfolk-born singer-songwriter, Annie Tisshaw, with classical piano training behind her and resounding vocals to project, it’s impossible not to pay attention to the intense indie neo-classic ballad.

In the same way Kate Nash’s ‘Foundations’ leaves you gripped by the amorous drama, Last Night suckers you in through narrative lyrics brought to life with Annie Tisshaw’s striking vocals which also carry a classical touch.

After making an unapologetically feminist debut with ‘My Body’ in 2019, Annie Tisshaw has consistently exhibited her dynamism through her discography, needless to say, we’re already excited to hear what comes next from the magnetically multifaceted artist.

Last Night is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Floridian singer-songwriter, Megan Wheeler, has made a classy debut with ‘Replaced’ 

Posted on 8 February 2021

From Trina to Mandy Moore to Gloria Estefan to Ariana Grande, Florida has a habit of producing stunning female singer-songwriters; on the basis of ‘Replaced’, 16-year-old Megan Wheeler could be the latest in that long and prestigious list. Opening with a gentle, ‘Imagine’-like piano part before Wheeler’s delicate-yet-potent vocal kicks in, ‘Replaced’ is a subtle little piano-led ballad, poppy yet mature, a story of a girl betrayed and of love lost in an instant.

Wheeler’s voice is superb, a mix of Dolores O’Riordan, Avril Lavigne, and maybe a touch of Taylor Swift, her piano playing a perfect accompaniment to the vocal. She already has a classy understanding of technique and of the craft of songwriting, despite her tender years; on the basis of ‘Replaced’ she’s got a stunning future ahead of her, but that’s not to say that ‘Replaced’ isn’t a great track all by itself.

You can check out ‘Replaced’ on Wheeler’s HearNow page; check out the real Meg Wheeler on Twitter.

Review by Alex Holmes

Molly Clare Soars High On New Single ‘Wings’

Posted on 1 January 2021

Classically-trained singer-songwriter Molly Clare here brings her stunning, soaring voice to new single ‘Wings’, a divine, heartfelt piano-led ballad of love. Already garnering multiple radio plays, ‘Wings’ is the follow-up to ‘The Sun After The Rain’, which notched up over 40,000 views in support of NHS charities.

‘Wings’ really is an absolutely beautiful creation, the piano carrying the melody whilst leaving just enough space for Clare’s magnificent vocal to really shine. It’s no surprise that it’s already seen Clare into the semi-final of the International Song-Writing Competition and the John Lennon Song-Writing Contest, and as one of five finalists in the ‘Snowdrop Song-Writing Conpetition’ in front of judge Glastonbury-supremo Michael Eavis. With soft-but-supremely-powerful vocals in the style of her inspirations Joni Mitchell and Dido, ‘Wings’ is the lead singles from Clare’s forthcoming EP ‘The Sun And The Stars’, released this month, and it’s a perfect introduction to the incredible talent that Clare has at her disposal.

Hear ‘Wings’ on Spotify, and follow Molly Clare now on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Jack Buckley has made his soul-rippingly-raw debut with ‘Let Go’

Posted on 31 December 2020

Indie pop artist Jack Buckley has made his debut with the soul-rippingly-raw hit ‘Let Go’, which will hit you with the same evocative weight as tracks by the National and Frightened Rabbit. There’s even some Dessner-style sonic guitar blazing behind the trepidation-laden piano keys which take the score to a cinematic level.

Stylistic reminiscences are incredibly fleeting in Let Go, as the track runs through, you won’t have much cognitive function left to find similarities as you’re overwhelmed by the sheer amorous agony the single contains. In a time when most relationships are superficial and disposable, it almost feels like a blast from the past hearing Jack Buckley’s ardent vocals, but it’s a kiss with a contemporary fist.

With their sophomore single in production, you’ll definitely want Jack Buckley on your radar in 2021.

You can check out Jack Buckley’s single, Let Go, on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Abi Mia – This Life: Confessionally Powerful EDM Pop

Posted on 31 December 2020

Following on from the success of her debut single, ‘Fly Your Way’, London-based singer-songwriter, Abi Mia, has released her confessionally powerful sophomore single ‘This Life’ and proven that it is possible to offer a monumental dance track and pop ballad, all in one evocatively arrestive package.

With her unflinching vocals paralleling the sheer veracity of the pulsing synth notes and euphoria instilling beats, if you don’t feel something while listening to This Life, your soul might have checked out.

Abi Mia may take influence from the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato and Alicia Keys, but discernibly, she runs with her own resounding style; and the airwaves are all the better for it.

You can check out This Life for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Frederika has put soul back into moody electro pop with her third single ‘Not Him’

Posted on 19 December 2020

UK singer-songwriter, musician and producer Frederika has released her captivatingly raw third single ‘Not Him’ and poured soul back into the moody electro pop genre.

Her faultless harmonic vocal timbre draws you into the melancholy which the track was penned with. Anyone who can relate to being stuck on someone while the rest of the world seems odious at best will undoubtedly feel the weight of this powerful yet sonically delicate soundscape.

With an EP in the works, Frederika is well worth putting on your radar. Her ability to capture the agony in romantic disparity is practically unparalleled.

You can check out Not Him for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alise Ashby – I Will Carry You (Feat. Gabriela Martina)

Posted on 29 November 2020
Alise Ashby

Love and loss go hand in hand, two sides of the same coin, and there is no more final hurt than the death of a loved one; written as far back as 2006 for a dear friend who had lost his wife (and released for the first time now in response to the unprecedented losses of the Covid 19 pandemic), Alise Ashby’s ‘I Will Carry You’ is a stunning, delicate, piano-and-strings ballad of grief, healing, and the pain of heartbreak and passing.

Commissioned to write her first independent film score at the tender age of just 16 (and presented at the Cannes Film Festival), Alise Ashby is a stunningly gifted composer and musician, and ‘I Will Carry You’ is an exquisite piece of work, soaring and hopeful yet dazzlingly compassionate and sorrowful all at once.

Uplifting piano chords sit amongst an orchestral arrangement heavy on strings and woodwind, the cinematic, swooping arrangement perfectly suiting the lyrics, panoramic and uplifting without ever feeling schmalzy or overdone; Gabriela Martina’s alluring, graceful vocal performance carries the song, bewitching and classy, hand-in-glove with the tenderness and elegance of the narrative.

‘I Will Carry You’ is an absolute treasure, inviting the listener to feel comfort and connection, hope and composure, and perhaps – just perhaps – a little less of the desolation and detachment otherwise wrought across the past twelve months.

‘I Will Carry You’ is released on the 11th December. Follow Alise Ashby on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Laela Giovanna – Wish I Would Have: A Tenderly-Imploring Piano Pop Ballad

Posted on 10 November 2020

NYC singer-songwriter & producer Laela Giovanna has released her tenderly-imploring piano pop single “Wish I Would Have” which allows you to find your own fraught regret within the stunningly extended vocal notes.

Think along the lines of Christina Aguilera’s iconic hit ‘Beautiful’, and you’ll be close to the mark. But no comparison could ever elucidate the striking authentic evocative appeal in this passionately stormy, melodically mellifluous track.

Wish I Would Have isn’t without its lament, but as Laela Giovanna runs through the verses, you hear her ascension from the ashes as she proverbially rises and you’ll get to share in the empowerment.

My only criticism is that the provocatively poised single should rank higher in the Pop charts.

You can listen to Wish I Would Have for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast