Browsing Tag

Theatrical Pop

Cameron Owen diaphanously covered Les Miserables’ Bring Him Home

Posted on 8 May 2023

After Cameron Owen’s cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water left us insurmountably arrested, we couldn’t wait to feel our emotions swell with the orchestral crescendos in his latest single, Bring Him Home.

The compellingly diaphanous ballad is as graceful, delicate, and powerful as an angel’s wing for the way the theatrical pop cover of the Les Miserables prayer comes to life through the minor piano keys and his unfaltering vocal lines fusing as the ultimate aural redemption story for humanity.

Just as Les Miserables conveyed the resilience of the human spirit and its ability to endure heartbreak while still keeping courage, love and passion at our core, Cameron Owen’s reworking of the number will serve a poignant reminder of our innate inner capacity for beauty.

Bring Him Home was officially released on April 21; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rachel Burns beat the odds in her theatrical retro-soul track, I Did It

Posted on 30 September 2022

https://soundcloud.com/user-833584567/i-did-it/s-6UmFsIbrglA?in=user-833584567/sets/rachel-burns-living-my-breast-life-ep/s-IriEnnKxT4F&si=2c05c690b2fc476f8e1252532534154c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Slip into the retro soul of Rachel Burns’ latest pop single, I Did It, which spins a tale of triumph over trauma and adversity. The journey from surviving to overcoming to thriving is scarcely pretty; the Washington, DC-based singer-songwriter brought a profound amount of grace to the subject matter regardless.

The Gospel-Esque backing vocals take Burns’ soul-awakening vocal timbre to mind-blowingly celestial heights. When she stretches for those stridently high vocal notes, you’ll get a first-hand account of her resilience and the resilience that most of us have to muster to piece ourselves back together.

Inspired by Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner, Rachel Burns has exactly what it takes to become a legend in her own right with the theatrical twists to her signature sound, which plays with nuances of blues, country and jazz.

I Did It will officially release on September 30th. Check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Audri delivers mystic poetry in her theatrical pop single, Fortune Teller.

Posted on 14 July 2021

If you’ve ever looked to the occult with desperation to find something promising, next time, you might want to check out Audri’s latest dark pop single, Fortune Seller, instead.

With soulful vocals that find themselves between the Cranberries, Bjork and Kate Bush, the dark, spacey electronic release is arresting from the first note until the last.

Audri may be fresh from inception, but she’s already racking up more than 100k streams with her decadently demure vocal timbre, which is perfectly complemented by artfully atmospheric guitars, ominous droning synths and fierce percussion that almost brings a tribal element tracks such as Fortune Teller. All things considered, Fortune Teller is an alchemic cocktail of finesse and style. We can’t wait to hear more.

Check out Audri on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Classically trained London singer-songwriter Libby Phippard has released her latest single, ‘Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay’.

Posted on 5 April 2021

London singer-songwriter Libby Phippard’s latest single, ‘Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay’ is the kind of revival needed to keep classical music relevant in 2021.

With her operatic training, background in classical music and tendency to draw influence from everyone from Hozier to Ariana Grande, her latest ballad is a theatrical release that doesn’t allow any of the pain of a relationship expiring to hide behind smoke and mirror. Instead, it bridges the gap between those grandiose lovesongs that have always been around and the common experience of romantic duality.

It is criminal for singles such as Please Don’t Ask Me to Stay to be relegated to soundtracks. If society can see the beauty in acts such as Daughter and Tom Odell, there’s no reason why the same affection can’t be found in Libby Phippard’s timeless sound.

Please Don’t Ask Me to Say is due for official release on March 12th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud. Head over to the artist’s official website for more info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BexX feat. Lady Nade remind us that optimism isn’t cancelled with ‘All That You Dream’

Posted on 28 December 2020

For their latest single, ‘All That You Dream’, Bristol, UK-hailing artist BexX teamed up with Lady Nade and went bolder than ever with their ‘Genrefluid’ sound. Non-conformity has never sounded more soulful.

Jazzy, sultry, eclectic, and infinitely sublime are all apt adjectives to allude to the dynamic mesmerism on offer in All That You Dream, but discernibly, the single offers much more than words alone ever could. The theatrically baroque soundscape conjures plenty of imagery as it invites the listener to cast away nihilism and pessimism when taking the next step. As plenty of people are now in the position of not having much of a choice in taking change in their stride, there’s no danger of over-exaggerating how essential All That You Dream is.

The humbly artful exhibition of mould-breaking talent provides 4:32-absolving minutes of escapism which simultaneously reassures you that optimism isn’t cancelled.

You can check out All That You Dream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast