Browsing Tag

Synth Pop

Get your synth-pop serotonin fix with Skinny G Radio’s Sophomore LP, Skinny Mini Opus

Posted on 5 October 2024

Skinny G Radio’s sound always kicks straight into the soul. His latest project, his Skinny Mini Opus LP, delivers everything we have come to love about the Connecticut-born and raised singer, songwriter and performer while exhibiting the extent of his artistic evolution since his debut single in 2016.

The cheeky, cerebral and cleverly cultivated standout single, Unravel Me, is a rapturous riot of unfeigned euphoria. With all the grandeur of a synth-rock opera, all the grit of an 80s rock anthem and more pop hooks than your average earworm can carry, the single subverts pop tropes to unravel as an explosion of high-vibe energy.

Between the horn stabs, sticky-sweet synth lines and vocals, which buzz with eccentrically infectious charisma, there are plenty of ways to get your sonically intravenous serotonin fix with this hit which pays tribute to classic pop-rock songwriting while playing all of the melodic wild cards.

Skinny Mini Opus was officially released on September 20; stream the album in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Atrionix painted a neon-lit skyline in his synthwave score, Nights

Posted on 5 October 2024

Sinking into Atrionix’s, standout single, Nights, is so much more than hitting play on an instrumental score; it is diving headfirst into a neon-drenched skyline after dusk.

Short, yet undeniably affecting, the retro-futurist single sets a high bar for anticipation of what’s next from the promising artist. With just over a minute of runtime, Atrionix, the stage name of 19-year-old Londoner Rahul Dasgupta, proves that brevity can indeed be the soul of wit—and of intrigue.

Nights sweeps you up in a rush of synth waves, echoing the energy of a city that never sleeps, each note painting streaks of light across the dark canvas of the listener’s imagination.

After earning his stripes as a pianist, violinist and guitarist at a young age, Rahul had naturally progressed into electronic production by 12; his creative ambitions and passion for sound palettes have never faltered. With his sights now set on becoming a hitmaker and his production style as honed as Empathy Test’s, his career path is going to be paved in gold.

Don’t mistake Nights as a short and sweet instrumental, recognise it as a bold statement of what’s to come from one of the most promising up-and-coming artists on the scene today.

Stream Nights on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Al Coffey became sad boy synth-pop royalty with his latest single, I Get Sad

Posted on 4 October 2024

The UK’s most evocative icon of queer sad boy synth-pop, Al Coffey, overloaded the airwaves with mesmeric melancholy with his latest single, I Get Sad. Each vocal note reverberantly hums as it drips honey over the nostalgia-soaked synth hooks that take you back to the 80s via a route never taken.

Imagine the chord progressions of Nick Cave fused with a Chris Isaak-esque atmosphere lit up by the neon lights of The Midnight and The Weeknd, and you’ll be close to getting an idea of how much of a sanctuary I Get Sad delivers as it runs through the reprise, ‘I get sad and you’re the reason why”.

Just as sharp as Josh Savage’s hits, I Get Sad is the ultimate attestation to Al Coffey’s ability to paint striking vignettes with his synth strokes. With his mission to make 2024 his breakthrough year, now is the time to transplant the affecting ingenuity of Al Coffey on your radar. Following the release of I Get Sad, there are teasings of live performances and more hits in the pipeline.

Stream I Get Sad on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie pop’s most endearingly ruthless renegade, Stella., struck again with his latest earworm, Friendly Reminder

Posted on 1 October 2024

Stella. reached his subversive zenith with his latest alt-indie pop earworm, Friendly Reminder, which is anything but what it says on the tin. The neon-lit synth lines may deliver nothing but pure euphoria, but the lyrics, as they pour from the singer-songwriter’s euphonic vocal register, reach the epitome of ruthlessness to remedy anyone who still carries contempt for their toxic exes.

The sticky-sweet synth-pop hooks and Stella.’s organically seraphic harmonies honey the cathartically cut-throat lyrics, making you almost second guess the reprises given the juxtaposition between the butter-wouldn’t-melt textures and the vindicating attestations to how healing doesn’t always need to lead to wishing the best for someone who deserves to discover that karma is an even bigger bitch than they are.

If you constantly find yourself tied to trauma bonds, follow Stella. like your life depends on it; he’s a rare artist that can cut through the static of superficial pop, hit close to the bone and deliver anthems that are as infectious as they are empowering.

As an ingenious way of supporting his new release, the NYC singer-songwriter developed his own dating app; swipe your way into your next clusterfuck situationship here.

Friendly Reminder was officially released on September 27; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Follow Stella. on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jake Marshall allowed the anxiously attached to unite in his retro synth-pop hit, TOO MUCH!

Posted on 14 September 2024

We may be in an era of throwaway pop hits but if any track is worth holding onto it is Jake Marshall’s sad-boy synth pop sophomore release, TOO MUCH! Marshall and his 5-octave range set the bar high with his titularly ironic debut single, Bad Singer, and transcended it with the 80s aesthetics and indie hyper-pop nuances in TOO MUCH.

The candidly riotous track finds an earwormy way to articulate the trials and tribulations of contending with an insecure attachment style and battling with the inner monologue which constantly gnaws with crushing self-reflections of overbearingness. Even if you don’t have bags of childhood trauma attached to your attachment style, we can all relate to some degree to how it feels to feel too much as we try and seek assurance and affection.

Safe to say, Jake Marshall is the queer icon we never knew we needed; his discography is shaping up to be far more than just outpours of pained introspection, it’s a safe space where outliers, the heartbroken and the LGBT+ community can find swathes of consoling resonance.

With his upcoming EP, love(s) of my life, in the pipeline, the future looks iridescently bright for Jake Marshall.

TOO MUCH! Dropped on September 6th; stream the track on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Celine Georgi serenaded her sycophants in her pop hit, Fan of Mine

Posted on 10 September 2024

RnB Pop revolutionist, Celine Georgi, hit the ground running with her seminal EP, Serendipity I. A standout single on the EP, Fan of Mine, is a rhythmically cultivated earworm which exhibits the euphonically evocative power in her ethereal vocal lines and is sure to leave swathes more sycophants kneeling at her altar.

The track kicks off with a wavy, delay-saturated prelude that gently sweeps you into its sonic sphere, followed by Georgi’s cinematic harmonies which seamlessly meld with a solid, rhythmically gripping beat. As you follow the melodies through the narratively rich synth pop tour de force, the beat punctuates pulsative gravity into the track which mirrors the quality of Hollywood Blockbuster. The balance of snare hits and bass drum punches drives the track forward, carrying all the momentum you could hope for in a dance pop hit.

As the music washes over you, there’s a palpable sense of euphoria paired with an urge to hit replay. For anyone chasing the sound of summer, look no further; Fan of Mine will resonate far beyond the season.

Fan of Mine is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Laptop Singers captured the quintessence of Swedish Pop with ‘Scandinavian Home’

Posted on 4 September 2024

Laptop Singers synthesised the rhythmically hooked quintessence of Swedish Pop into their latest album, The Battle for the Future of Pop. If the soul-scintillating track, Scandinavian Home, is anything to go by, the battle has already been won and Laptop Singers are sitting pretty at the helm of the genre.

By fusing the perpetually stylistic sonic signature of Kraftwerk and the chilly chromatics of Covenant into a perennial dance-pop earworm with post-punk-esque guitars, a pulse-pounding beat and vocals that make you want to melt through the flawlessly pitched seraphic harmonies, Laptop Singers carved out one of the most affecting pop anthems of 2024 with Scandinavian Home.

There’s absolutely nothing guilty about this funk and groove-slicked in all the right places from the Swedish brother duo, Per and Lars Andersson; it’s edgy enough to be a hit in the indie and alt-scene while giving mainstream pop fans all the dance-worthy euphony they could possibly ask for.

Scandinavian Home is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Every Glazer has unveiled a piercing post-rock depiction of the tragedy of losing autonomy with ‘Running Downhill’

Posted on 1 September 2024

As a drastic departure from his previous releases, The Every Glazer has unveiled a brand-new sonic guise with his latest single. Running Downhill, fuses synth-pop and Slowdive-reminiscent guitars into a downtempo electronic score, underpinned by post-rock aesthetics and a sense of lament which tenderly encapsulates the tragedy of falling away from autonomy.

In a similar vein to Blue October, The Every Glazer pulls you into the emotional nucleus of the single with the emotionally weighted magnetism in his vocal delivery. When the track shifts pace and picks up momentum resulting in a frenetic depiction of the frustration and fear felt when you’re painfully aware of the path of descent you’re taking, the true ingenuity of this release starts to manifest.

Every new release from The Every Glazer is a fresh attestation of his talent in visualising phenomena through melody, yet Running Downhill may be one of the most striking testaments to his songwriting chops to date. It’s a release that consumes you within its compassionate handling of the raw and relatable thematics.

Running Downhill will be available to stream on all major platforms from September 1st; watch the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bari Mcknight synthed away the pain of ephemeral affection in ‘SUMMER THINGS’

Posted on 28 August 2024

Two things are guaranteed every summer: swathes of stellar summer pop hits and the inevitable ashes of quick-to-burn romances. In his latest single, SUMMER THINGS, the independent artist, Bari Mcknight, brought one of the former and consoled casualties of the latter by fusing echoes of Afrobeat with catchy pop hooks, the soul of stylistically synth-driven RnB and a trappy beat, resulting in an irresistible earworm which is weighted in evocative realism, contrasting the dreamy etherealism of the track.

If the lingering sting of ephemeral affection is making the onslaught of autumn feel that much colder, SUMMER THINGS is the ultimate source of salvation. The echoes of The Weeknd’s aesthetic coursing through the neon-lit, synaesthesia-inducing production leaves enough room for Mcknight’s sonic signature which is scribing his legacy – one hit at a time.

It’s rare to find a pop track with the potential to dominate the charts while resonating with the sincerity of a diary entry, but that’s exactly what the New Jersey-residing independent artist achieved in SUMMER THINGS, which features on his latest album, Summer of Love; a curated anthology of laidback melodies and relatable narratives.

SUMMER THINGS dropped on August 2nd; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Barry Slorridge – Why? Avant-Garde Whovian Electronica

Posted on 21 August 2024

Any artist who uses the vocalisations of an existential Dalek in their tracks is an icon in our book, and that’s just the tip of the ingenuity iceberg in Barry Slorridge’s slice of Whovian avant-garde electronica.

With Why? the UK-based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist didn’t use his Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Composition by any conventional means; instead, he chose to score his cultivated composition chops into an installation of delicious discordance which reminisces with nuances of The Beatles and Kraftwerk.

The synth lines carry echoes of The Phobophobes, introducing a dark, reflective undertone, interwoven with kaleidoscopic effects, allowing distorted waves of psychedelia to cascade through the music. Meanwhile, sweet psych-pop harmonies offer a stark contrast to the monotonal menace of the Dalek samples.

The track epitomises revolutionary art, achieving a rare feat—it unsettles those comfortably ensconced in their auditory preferences while providing solace to those who find beauty in the bizarre. Once Slorridge finds his niche, he will be an unreckonable force in the alt-electronica scene; his ability to orchestrate sensory experiences which bend the mind and electrify the pulses is unparalleled.

Why? was officially released on August 5th; stream the single on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast