Browsing Tag

Summer Pop

Charles Pam – dancey jazzy dance groove with ‘Give ‘Em Back’

Posted on 10 April 2021

Charles Pam is a multi-instrumentalist composer, performer, and producer, with a background in classical composition and jazz. Working with lyricist Matthew England, ‘Give ‘Em Back’ is a soulful, jazzy dance groove with an upbeat R&B feel, bouncy, fun, and uplifting. It’s a cute little electro-pop tune, a touch urban at times but with a definite ‘club’ feel that should see it – and the forthcoming EP (due June 2021) – pushing club and radio playlists this summer.

Pam’s vocal carries the track, but there’s a great backing in the piano, bass, and electro-drum beat; it’s a proper little toe-tapper, lyrically catchy with an ear-wormy hook-line that will have you singing along well after the track finishes.

‘Give ‘Em Back’ is Charles Pam’s first – self-produced – single; we look forward to hearing more when the EP is released later this year.

Check out ‘Give ‘Em Back’ on Charles Pam’s website; follow Charles on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes.

Paper Eros gives us a perfect latin-pop take on ‘Hate Love Me’

Posted on 9 April 2021

With what may be our favourite track title and cover art so far this week, Paper Eros is a Toronto-based alt-pop artist focusing on the relationship between domination and submission and pain and comfort, with the motto ‘Love, Art, and Rebellion’; ‘Hate Love Me’ starts with a vaguely latin-style guitar line before Eros’ smokey vocal kicks in, sultry and low, enticing and seductive all at once.

There’s a latin-pop feel to the track, that ‘Despacito’/’Bailando’/’Danza Kuduro’ vibe that’s evocative of sunny days and sweaty, sexy nights. With its lyrics of a passion-filled night, the samba rhythms, and the Latin-style instrumentation and arrangement, ‘Hate Love Me’ is a killer dance-pop song that – if there’s any justice in the world – ought to be all over the radio this summer-time.

Check out Paper Eros on Spotify, or on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Songs by Ruth – I Love You: panoramically passionate electro-pop

Posted on 14 February 2021

Pop singer-songwriter and lyrical poet, Ruth Garnes, has been making waves under her moniker, Songs by Ruth, since 2014, if you’re still lucky enough to call yourself a hopeless romantic, you’ll undoubtedly want to ingest the straight-from-the-soul ardour found in her latest electro-pop single ‘I Love You’.

I Love You is a solid slice of sun-soaked summer pop which stands as a testament to the artist’s ability to take you on a journey with her narratively immersive sound. Let’s face it, we’ve got nowhere else to go at the moment, so, you may as well delve into the romantic imagery in this panoramically passionate release.

I Love You is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

 

TeawhYB – All Gas No Breaks: Intellectually Inspirational High Vibe Alt Pop

Posted on 27 January 2021
TeawhYB

If you’re always on the lookout for intellectually inspirational artists with the ability to cook-up high-vibe perennial pop earworms, you’ll strike gold when you hit play on the latest single ‘All Gas No Breaks’ from LA artist TeawhYB.

With their indulgent blend of Pop, Old School Hip Hop, R n B and New Wave Trap, All Gas No Breaks grooves with danceable sun-soaked melodicism while TeawhYB lays down their lyrics which act as a call to action for all entrepreneurs and creatives to keep their foot on the pedal.

TeawhYB proves that self-awareness holds just as much importance in music as infectious hooks and vocals which speak directly to the soul by making statements such as “We, as in the world, can’t continue entirely the same way it has before the pandemic. We went through it together, like a relationship gone bad. We’re going to make it out but we’ll have transformed into something we weren’t before.” Putting him on your playlists is practically an act of self-care.

You can check out TeawhYB’s tracks by heading over to their SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gabe Angelo x Neguine Niktash deliver exactly what we need with ‘A Miracle’

Posted on 29 December 2020

If you’re always in search of the aurally miraculous, that is exactly what you will find in the latest high-vibe hit from producer Gabe Angelo featuring vocals from US singer-songwriter Neguine Niktash.

Neguine Niktash’s soulfully sonorous vocals have seen her influenced by artists such as Ashe, SHAED and Maggie Rogers and it is all too easy to see why such a wide-ranging array of artists shine through in this track. There’s more than just power and pitch-perfect harmony behind her connectable vocal timbre, there’s soul, sincerity and an overwhelming amount of compassion.

As it feels like a miracle is exactly what is needed to pull us out of our contemporary sufferance thanks to a crumbling socio-political climate and Covid-19, it’s hard to see A Miracle as anything less than a playlist essential for Future Pop fans.

You can check it out for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Don’t Blame It On The Boogie; Blame It On Rebelsuns. Dancefloor Anthem ‘Over Again’

Posted on 21 December 2020

Hot on the heels of their previous single ‘Hues’ comes this absolute banger of a dancefloor-ready hit from Indonesia’s Rebelsuns., all mixed-up disco-funk synth-pop in the vein of the Scissor Sisters, Jean Tonique, or Flamingo Pier.

Whereas previous single ‘Hues’ was a more solemn, ballady affair, ‘Over Again’ takes no prisoners in its aim to get booties shaking and feet moving, a total-fun, no-holds-barred party track with Nile Rodgers-Esque funk guitar riffs atop thumping bass, splashed piano chords, and a drum pattern which just invites all those late-seventies open-collar and white suit dance moves.

Taking its cues from K-Pop, J-Pop, and funk/fusion, ‘Over Again’ is all soft, playful vocals, multi-layered chorus harmonies, and inescapable dance grooves. It’s nostalgic yet contemporary, uplifting and wicked, wicked fun, as much Twice’s ‘Fancy’ as Childish Gambino as Swing Out Sister, Johnny Hates Jazz, the Bee Gees, or Chic. It’s that perfect mix of funk, dance, disco, and modern alt-synth-pop, colourful, upbeat, tongue-in-cheek, and with a completely unavoidable boogie; it’s truly impossible to listen to ‘Over Again’ and not want to get up and dance. That’s the mark of a proper future classic right there.

Listen to ‘Over Again’ on Spotify. Follow Rebelsuns on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Christian Vels has made their Electro-Pop debut with ‘Summer Love’ (Feat. Alix)

Posted on 16 November 2020

Christian Vels’ debut track ‘Summer Love’ is aptly titled – a perfect summery electro-pop Balearic dance number, all speeding beats and guest vocalist Alix’s beautiful airy, high-register vocal line. Think David Guetta, Martin Solveig, or Avicii-style 126-BPM Ibiza pop, all gated snare and sequenced hook-line, held together by Alix’s ‘I’m only gonna break your heart’ chorus.

‘Summer Love’ is Vancouver-based musician/producer Vels’ first single release, after spending some time honing and tightening his engineering and production skills. On the basis of ‘Summer Love’, that time was very, very well-spent.Summer

Hear ‘Summer Love’ on Spotify; check out Christian Vels on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

evan. – ‘Do It All Again’ (Feat. Xodrew)

Posted on 13 November 2020
https://theevanliu.bandcamp.com/releases

What do you do when you’re 19, going through a breakup, and quarantined at your grandparent’s house with no microphone? Well, you call up your friend and get him to ‘Voice Memo’ you vocals to your new track, of course. Never let circumstances get in the way of creativity.

And with that, evan. wrote and produced ‘Do It All Again’, his debut single, with vocals added by Xodrew – a plaintive, trappy hip hop epic, all deep beats and synth tags, Xodrew’s rapped delivery pushed high, front and centre. Sitting at a slightly-hotter-than-dubstep 150 BPM, ‘Do It All Again’ falls just in the perfect groove between dubstep and drum & bass, but with a melancholic piano hook and a deep, reverby feel that perfectly matches the lyrical subject matter. ‘Do It All Again’ is a mature, intelligent debut from a songwriter who’s clearly got significant potential.

Hear ‘Do It All Again’ on Bandcamp, and follow Evan on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Natasha Jane Julian – West Coast Girl: Sun-Baked Summer Sadness

Posted on 18 September 2020

Smoky, sultry, and initially piano-led, Natasha Jane Julian’s ‘West Coast Girl’ resolves into a beautifully, chilled alt-pop ballad telling the story of a California girl, dreaming and searching amidst sun-baked summer sadness.

Julian’s thoughtful, evocative lyrics and soulful, atmospheric vocal carry the song over keys and bass, a sophisticated and distinctive vocal performance that’s both commercial and individual. Julian is currently working on new material with UK composer/producer Ian Barter, but ‘West Coast Girl’ is the perfect late-summer antidote to darkening evenings and lockdown malaise.

Hear ‘West Coast Girl’ on Natasha’s website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Tune into RnB Artist TOVA’s latest single “Frequency”

Posted on 1 September 2020
https://soundcloud.com/tova-973325406/frequency/s-0IjmxDWZzWd

Frequency is the latest single to drop from RnB Pop artist TOVA. With their modern and stylistic approach to the genre, they pulled RnB in a brand-new direction.

The production may not have been the cleanest and there was slight discord left in the mix, but there’s no doubting after hearing Frequency that TOVA’s sound possesses plenty of commercial potential. With the hook right before the chorus, the form of the trancey beats will stick with you for long after the track has faded to a close. And notably, they held nothing back lyrically. It perfectly captures how it feels to fall in love in 2020.

You can check out TOVA’s amorously chill single Frequency for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast