Browsing Tag

Pop Singer Songwriter

Ipe defied the laws of gravity in his funk-grooved feat of disco-pop, Stratosphere

Posted on 7 June 2023

If you could imagine what the output would be if Nile Rodgers, Nic Hanson, and Daft Punk stepped into the studio together, you will get an idea of the electrifying funk-grooved euphoria which organically spills from the latest single from the Chicago-based singer-songwriter and producer, Ipe.

Stratosphere is the ultimate euphonic aphrodisiac for the way the cosmic lyricality lifts you higher than the upbeat instrumentals, which pay an ode to the heritage of disco while bringing in an electrifying new wave of pop.

The infectiously enlivened vocal lines from Ipe, who has been racking up tens of thousands of Spotify streams since making his debut in 2019, are the ultimate aural pick-me-up. His hedonistically honeyed vocal lines are all you need to get in the groove.

Stream Ipe’s latest single, Stratosphere, on all major platforms via this link

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ro Jordan has released her narratively Elysian acoustic pop hit, Asking Heaven Questions

Posted on 26 May 2023
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The title of Ro Jordan’s latest single, Asking Heaven Questions, isn’t the only thing sonically Elysian about the evocative indie pop release, which will throw you right back to the empowering soul of 90s pop as it establishes the BBC-lauded songstress as one that could define the future of the genre.

Her narratively immersing approach to lyricism has been honed to the nth degree in the single, which effortlessly evades cliches while traversing the well-trodden landscape of heartbreak pop hits. If there is anything that will leave the impious calling out to higher powers, it is being torn from a dynamic that you were once so eager to place the lion’s share of your faith. In its wake, there’s little more than grief and uncertainty, which Ro Jordan so eloquently alludes to in the metaphorical dream of a dark acoustic production.

Asking Heaven Questions will release across all major platforms on May 26; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget Peterson; follow Ninali’s rules for life in her synthy soul pop meditation on mindfulness, Alive.

Posted on 22 May 2023

With her latest pop-dominated melting pot of genre and style, Alive, the singer-songwriter and co-producer Ninali celebrated life and gave her staunch fanbase a few lessons to live by. By eloquently alluding to the irrefutable truth that we all harness the power to choose what we expose ourselves to and ultimately, who we want to be, Ninali will undoubtedly guide countless people to the epiphany that the power to shape reality exists within us all.

The meditation on mindfulness is just as infectious as the hits from Black Honey, as poetic as the indie pop gems from She Drew the Gun, and effortlessly classy as April March. So it’s safe to say that the 18-year-old songstress is a triple threat that could easily find herself at the top of the charts if her songwriting chops remain as sharp as they were in Alive. Feel good tracks have never felt so damn good.

Ninali launched her latest single, Alive, on May 12; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hell hath no fury like YME scorned in her moody alt-electro pop hit, ENEMY

Posted on 8 May 2023

If you like your electro-pop dark, moody, and Avant-Garde, YME’s latest vindicating artful earworm, ENEMY, is a viciously hooked hit that will reel you in hook, line and scintillating sinker.

Never one to mince her lyrics, the Netherlands-based songstress who exudes the experimental spirituality of Bjork and a sense of conviction that leaves her in a hell hath no fury league of her own, is in the habit of cutting right to the core of vulnerable emotion and proving just how much power resides within the protagonists who wear their hearts on their sleeves. All too often, abusers mistake their ability to beat people down as a sign of strength; YME dispels that insipid myth with her highly originated demure style and candour.

ENEMY is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Annabel Hailey took us to ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ in her latest nostalgic pop hit

Posted on 29 April 2023

The jazz-pop siren, Annabel Hailey, has proven why a million Spotify streams came to her with ease after she released her latest evocative world music earworm, The City That Never Sleeps.

In a superficial world, it is hard to find the real ones who desperately seek phenomena that stir the soul; behind the luxe cinematic production of The City That Never Sleeps, there are ample affirmations written into the gentrification-mourning lyricism to establish Hailey as a unique icon of soulful autonomy.

The Finland-born, NY and Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter exudes an effortlessly natural grace as she projects her distinctively unparalleled vocal harmonies into the mic over the trickling keys, mellifluous guitars and smooth sax lines. If you can’t remember the last time you felt aurally awakened, hit play and remind yourself.

The City That Never Sleeps is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lizzie Hosking is back with another infectiously-hooked pop hit, Stress You Out

Posted on 13 April 2023

Lizzie Hosking is back with her catchier-than-a-wildfire brand of pop with her latest infectiously-hooked hit, Stress You Out. With her sultry vocal lines running across the funk-deep disco groove pockets, there’s plenty of era-spanning familiarity to the track but there’s no denying that the one-woman powerhouse is the future of pop.

The Adelaide-hailing singer-songwriter never fails to spin a compelling narrative with her lyricism; when her witty relatability is rubbing up against freshly innovated tones and funky guitar chops that will leave you wanting to enjoy them under a glistening disco ball, her tracks become all the more exhilarating. The electroclash descent into obscurity towards the outro is enough to justify relentlessly hitting repeat on Stress You Out; she’s the perfect antagonist. Vengefully rubbing someone up the wrong way has never been so electrifying.

Stress You Out is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brigton’s Sadie Nix reached the pinnacle of candourous conviction in her piano pop-rock hit, Oblivious

Posted on 6 March 2023

With the minor piano keys, stridently pensive vocal harmonies, and depth of vulnerable emotion in the lyricism in the latest single from Brighton-based aural originator, Sadie Nix orchestrated a superlatively immersive alt-pop score with Oblivious.

With maturity, confidence and her ability to paint pain through melodies all transcending her years spent as an artist, Sadie Nix is a sensation that cuts through the superficiality of pop-rock while carrying all of the instant accessibility of it. What Kelly Clarkson was to 2004, Nix is to 2023.

Traversing the frustrations of invisibility and unaccountability through a lack of caring, Oblivious is one of the most powerful records we’ve heard this year. On the basis of it, I pity anyone that finds themselves on the wrong side of Nix’s conviction.

Oblivious hit the airwaves on February 3rd. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Luminary Lyricist J. Matthews is set to unveil his debut coming-of-age EP, Courage

Posted on 3 March 2023
J. Matthews

After a phenomenally hooky alt-pop debut, Connecticut’s sharpest lyrical narrator, J. Matthews, will release his debut EP, Courage, on March 3rd.

If All the Small Things by Blink-182 reserves a special place in your soul, you will need to make room for the opening single, Courage for Fools. It abstracts the punky bite and implants sticky-sweet melodies comprised of innocently hesitant romantic lines, euphoric beats and buzzing synths.

Wanderlust is a dreamily honeyed indie-pop masterpiece which brings the titular allusion aurally to life. Jack Kerouac would have been enamoured by the restlessly adventurous soul, spurred on by a lust for life.

For You toys around with 80s-ESQUE nostalgia before bringing the indie-pop polaroid of affectionate intoxication into the modernist realm with the poetic lyrical lines that tie together the seamless shifts between indie, electro, and future pop.

Nothing to Fear, which traverses personal growth in an infectiously gratified style, is a resonantly impactful conclusion to the EP that is sure to see the singer-songwriter go far in his career.

It is only a matter of time before the songwriting accolades start cascading upon J. Matthews. His razor-sharp lyrical hooks coalesce with the ensnaring immersivity within his melodies, making each track a soul-awakening hit of sonic ecstasy.

J. Matthews Said:

“My Courage EP carries the weight of my experience, starting as an insecure college kid and growing into confidence. From figuring out love and life in Courage for Fools to the narration of lockdown stagnation and fear of missing out in Wanderlust. For You is a love song, through and through, capturing the serendipity when your idealised partner manifests as though they appeared from the production line in your own mind.

The concluding single, Nothing to Fear, celebrates the freedom of a new-found perspective, such as the one you gain from returning to your hometown after college when you find pride in your scars because, without them, you would have never become better than you were before.”

Courage will be available to stream in full on Spotify and SoundCloud from March 3rd.

Connect with J. Matthews via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Madishu is a contemporary electro-pop cut above the rest in her hypersonically redemptive single, Naïve

Posted on 3 February 2023
Madishu

The Austrian electro-pop artist, Madishu, is off the sonic Richter scale in her latest single, Naïve. The piercing RnB-tinged electro-pop aesthetic will ensnare you from the first melodic hook, while the lyrical vulnerability pushes you deeper into the soulfully disarming hypersonic world, which will be a hit with any fans of 8 Bit-adjacent music.

If any artist can relinquish you from the shame of being naïve, it is Madishu with this addictively vindicating earworm which effortlessly demonstrates the beauty in sincerity when there’s such a scarcity.

“The song is about a toxic friendship I broke free from, and the journey I took in learning to value myself enough to no longer tolerate people who constantly take from me without giving back.”

After achieving viral renown via her collaboration with MOONBOY on the track Need U and off the back of her own original work, the Austrian singer-songwriter is a vision of visceral colour in a drab and dark world.

Naïve will officially stream across all major platforms on February 3rd. Hear it here.

Follow Madishu on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Lindsey Sampson – Sand: An Elemental Folk-Pop Triumph.

Posted on 27 January 2023

With frenetic synth sequencing that made us nostalgic for the soundscapes from Alan Vega, the pop singer-songwriter, Lindsey Sampson’s latest single, Sand, is an elemental triumph.

Oceanic momentum flows through progressive rising tides in the un-archetypally structured single that harnesses deep reverence for natural phenomena and articulately observes how nature often works to reflect introspective sensations.

Lindsey Sampson, who spends her time between Nashville and New England, marries the soul of country with a contemporary indie folk pop edge that is definitively hers. We can fully attest to her ability to appeal to the spirituality that lies within us all – regardless of whether we nurture that relationship or not.

Since her humble beginnings, the singer-songwriter has been nominated for the award of Best Female Performer at the New England Music Awards and received many other accolades along the way while performing solo and as part of her folk-rock band, Visiting Wine. 

Sand will officially release on January 27th. Dig your toes in on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast