Browsing Tag

San Diego Pop

Get into the vibe-heavy groove of Jboz’s Cali pop hit, California

Posted on 27 July 2024

Cali pop has an irreplicable sonic flavour and after Jboz debuted his latest single, California, the geographical genre became immensely sweeter. With his vibe-driven approach to production, the earworm fills the soul as much as it commands the senses.

California is a flood of feel-good fervour which ripples through the funk-heightened, bass-heavy electro-pop beats which provide the perfect soundtrack to sun-kissed hedonic escapades. The luxuriantly paced release cuts across the contemporary curve, propelled by the San Diego-hailing singer-songwriter’s mellow with iconic style vocal lines that cruise across the hip-hop-adjacent beats.

In just a few days since its release, California has shot to the top of Jboz’s list of biggest hits which are on repeat for his 7.5k monthly Spotify listeners who know that following Jboz invites them into so much more than a fandom; they become a part of his community, knitted together with his profound love and connection to his followers.

California arrived on the airwaves on July 19; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mia Laren navigates passion and fatal dysfunction in her Latin Dance Pop track, My Heart

Posted on 2 May 2024

Since 2019, the Baltimore-born, Cali-based singer-songwriter, dancer and producer, Mia Laren, has rhythmically and emotionally moved her international fanbase; her latest Latin Dance Pop track, My Heart (can’t live or live or without you), captures Laren at her most infectious, intimate and powerful.

After an intro which nods to Gaga’s Alejandro, Laren opens her single up to a sensually electrifying, moodily hypnotic groove which constructs an exotically rich platform for her arcane harmonies to ascend from. The monocultural mould disintegrates around her infusion of folky Eastern mysticism and Latin guitars in the electro-pop mix which explores the tormenting nature of your heart beating for someone that will ultimately be the death of you if you keep clinging to the dysfunction in the name of passion.

It’s a rare feat to discover a release that is organically rooted in the heritage of Latin and folk yet transcends contemporary pop trends with a stylish flair that embodies couture pop, yet, five years after learning how to produce music on her laptop, Mia Laren achieved it with plenty of sincerity and authenticity to spare.

My Heart was officially released on April 24; stream the official music video on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KANITHA has us gripped in her trauma-bond exploring indie alt-pop hit, VICES.

Posted on 11 March 2022

The San Diego-hailing Cambodian-American alt-pop artist KANITHA (Marjorie Huot) has released her most arrestive RnB pop single to date with VICES, which captures the people-pleasing and co-dependent tendencies that can form through trauma-bond-forming tumultuous relationships.

If you know, you know. If you don’t, VICES will open your eyes Clockwork Orange style to the type of trauma that emotional abuse can bury within us. The lyric, “he only likes me when I’m on my on my knees begging him to give a fuck about me”, is soberingly succinct; few lyrics have captured the nefarious nature of abusers so vividly.

We can’t wait to hear what KANITHA has in store with her upcoming EP; the depth of her emotional intelligence is enough to put most artists on the airwaves to shame. And that is without mentioning the evocative weight of her light vocal timbre against the chamber pop style RnB instrumentals. We’re officially infatuated.

VICES will officially release on March 11th, 2022. You can check it out for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast