Browsing Tag

sad pop

Jake Marshall tore the sutures off his wounds for his folk-pop debut, bad singer

Posted on 14 August 2024

In one of the most vulnerable and soul-baring folk-pop debuts the airwaves have ever witnessed, Jake Marshall tore the sutures off his wounds and stood in front of the world unfeigned with his debut single, bad singer.

With gospel motifs swelling around his vocal lines that simultaneously exhibit his impressive octave range and his ability to convey heavy emotions in even the highest registers, there’s something profoundly sanctifying about the opportunity for connection presented by bad singer.

The titular paradox of this track is just one of the ways Marshall artistically shines in the raw vignette of his trauma that would break most and resign them to shame. The power of fortitude resounds through the release which proves that even if you live and sing in spite, you can salve the pain of others as you chart your arc of healing.

bad singer is Jake Marshall’s candid reflection on overcoming self-doubt instilled by past relationships. With evocative melodies and introspective lyrics, the song chronicles his journey from being told he couldn’t sing to embracing his voice. The track captures the essence of his unique blend of sad folk-pop, setting the stage for his forthcoming EP, Love(s) of My Life.

Stream the official music video for bad singer on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ben Thuesen mastered the art of indie pop euphonic immersion with ‘Angel Face’

Posted on 19 July 2024

In his latest indie-pop release, Angel Face, the affectingly irreplicable Ben Thuesen channelled the soul-wrenching mourning of a love lost into a composition that haunts with its lyrical depth and intricate melodies.

The Sacramento-based singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer exhibited how he has perfected the art of euphonic immersion with this vignette of the bittersweet aftermath of affection. The anthem for the lovelorn echoes the melodic poignancy of artists in the same vein as Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen, while ensuring that no influence overshadows the uniqueness of his distinctly cultivated sonic signature.

By weaving guitar strings and heartstrings together, the independent artist crafted a sonic landscape that mirrors the isolation of heartbreak. The stinging clarity of his guitar lines cuts through the nightscape with the precision of a seasoned jazz musician, his roots bleeding into each note, offering a raw, unfiltered emotional narrative which reflects the alienatingly quiet hours of introspection that often accompany the loss of love.

Angel Face will be available to stream on all major platforms from July 19; stream it on Soundcloud first.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Markomallow is introspectively ethereal in her latest single, Alien

Posted on 15 December 2023

Markomallow’s latest single, Alien, is a masterful blend of emotional depth and musical innovation, marking a significant milestone in her evolving artistic journey. The song opens with a hauntingly beautiful piano score, setting a Christmas-adjacent mood that transcends the festive season. It’s a melody that lingers, reminiscent of a winter’s tale, yet universal in its appeal. Markomallow’s vocal performance is nothing short of spectacular, seamlessly transitioning from the introspective tones of Lucy Dacus to powerhouse belting, reminiscent of Lady Gaga. This vocal dynamism not only showcases her range but also the emotional intensity she brings to her music.

Lyrically, Alien delves into the theme of alienation, a sentiment many can relate to during the holiday season when expectations of joy and transformation often clash with reality. Markomallow’s introspective songwriting shines here, as she explores the dissonance between how others perceive us and our internal transformations. The track is a poignant reflection on identity and the loneliness of feeling misunderstood or unseen.

Markomallow, drawing inspiration from icons like Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, and Taylor Swift, infuses her music with a unique blend of colours and textures. Alien is a perfect example of her ability to combine different genres into a cohesive and captivating whole. Her dedication to exploring themes of anxiety, self-criticism, and perfectionism in her songwriting makes her music not only relatable but also deeply healing.

Alien was officially released on December 8th; stream it on SoundCloud.

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

MASSIVESAD became the cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui with his latest art pop release, Balance

Posted on 7 July 2023

The cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui, MASSIVESAD, will mainline himself into your melancholic veins with his alt bedroom pop deep-cut, Balance. If you know all too well how it feels for your world to be knocked out of kilter as the scales perpetually turn against you, the catharsis you will find and the compassion you will feel will be visceral.

Emanating disorientating dissonance from his e-piano before the flourishing crescendo of a finish was the perfect way to ensure the instrumentals matched the bitter-sweet vocal lines and lyricality, which paints MASSIVESAD as an existentially amorous diehard romantic at heart. From LANY energy in the main body and the arcane touches of Bjork towards the outro, Balance will undoubtedly remain one of the most artful singles that have slipped into my ear canal in recent years.

Stream Balance from July 7th on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jad Saad chases the relationship ‘High’ in his latest indie-pop single

Posted on 3 September 2022
https://soundcloud.com/jadsaad/high-demo/s-qGIYCqdNxQ7?si=014644d0cdbe41fdadc5e458aa28220d&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jad Saad penned the ultimate post-breakup single, ‘High’, which mournfully revels in the highs that affection can take us to.

The intimate indie pop track chases the highs that a now otherwise preoccupied paramour shared while the guitars bring a kaleidoscope of colour in their melodies. The production may be minimalist, but High finds full-bodied resonance in spite of the stripped-back instrumental arrangement; Jad Saad’s vulnerable vocals, which run under the perfect touch of autotune are more than enough to flood the sad boi summer anthem.

The demo of High is now available to stream on 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

Lex Gibbon – All I Do (Is Cry): The Only Viral Pop Newcomer You Need on Your 2022 Playlists

Posted on 28 March 2022

All I Do (Is Cry) is the latest bruisingly candid pop track to infuse emotional realism on the airwaves from the UK pop singer-songwriter Lex Gibbon.

Seventeen years old may be young to start a pop career, but age is irrelevant in the presence of her emotional intelligence and unflinchingly fearless honesty. She’s a viral sensation on platforms, such as TikTok, has featured on BBC Introducing and ITV and even made strides in the fashion industry as the first curve teen model to walk at London, Paris, New York and LA fashion weeks. Perhaps more impressively, she’s fresh from a UK school tour that promoted her single, Dear Hater and advocated for mental health, positive body image and against bullying.

After being bullied from a young age, Lex carries the same outlier introspection as Camus and Bukowski. The main difference is her ability to craft rhythmically arrestive hooks around her pensive admissions. I don’t say this lightly, but Lex Gibbon evidently has what it takes to be a bigger aurally talented supermodel of the world than Ru Paul. Get her on your radar.

All I Do is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA Luminary Pop Singer-Songwriter Mariah Counts Has Released Her Haunting Single, Nothing

Posted on 3 August 2021

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Mariah Counts has brought her hauntingly connectable presence to the airwaves once more with her latest single, Nothing. The softly downtempo contemporary electropop ballad is dark in an unexpectedly tender way that will leave you utterly mesmerised from start to finish.

With ethereal effects laced around the acoustic melodies and trip-hop beats, the progressive instrumentals take you for an evocatively tumultuous ride while Mariah Counts’ true-to-voice vocals expressing relatable hollowness that love can cause to linger.

It is easy to see how so many have been left enraptured by the luminary artist who has exactly what it takes to define the future of pop. Counts truly proved how out of trend plastic pop facades are with Nothing. With a 250k-strong fan base, it is only a matter of time before she sheds her up and coming status.

Nothing is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Leire –  The hauntingly delicate “Box Of Chesterfield”

Posted on 15 August 2020
https://vimeo.com/438661602/7002c753e9

They told us smoking wasn’t cool; judging by Leire’s ‘Box Of Chesterfield’, ‘they’ were seriously wrong. This is a beautiful, haunting tale of anxiety, of existing rather than living, surviving whilst drowning; it’s a personal song, the sparse electronic music echoing behind Leire’s husky, plaintive vocal.

There’s a touch of Sia in the delivery, but the hushed verses give way to an emotive, soaring chorus which allows Leire to properly showcase her vocal talent. And that’s some serious talent, having already taken Leire from busking in Leicester Square to sharing stages with the likes of Tom Walker, Jake Bugg, and Rag’n’Bone Man,

‘Box Of Chesterfield’ is a slow-burn (no pun intended) beauty; Leire’s debut EP, telling ‘the truth about society’ and released later this year, can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, you can hear ‘Box Of Chesterfield’ here.

Review by Alex Holmes