Browsing Tag

TikTok Pop

Julia Kahn visualised the divinity of dark feminine energy with her dark pop installation of etherealism, Badlands

Julia Kahn

With her latest single, Badlands, Nashville’s dark-pop siren Julia Kahn defiantly stepped beyond the conventional boundaries of genre and geography. Born in a city more famed for its twangs of Americana than oscillations of dark cinematic mesmerism, Kahn stridently stepped into her own through the untamed echoes of empowerment and vulnerability in her latest release.

The summons to embrace authenticity, regardless of how messy that reality can be, draws you into a trip-hopped and spiritually awakened vortex of sound where ethereal vocal lines fuse with intricately frenetic drum patterns and strobing synth lines, crafting a soundscape swarming with evocative power and the divinity of dark feminine energy.

Each note demands emotional investment under the duress of Kahn, who has recently stepped off a major international festival tour and amassed a series of accolades that include airplay on BBC Radio and nods from critical platforms like Earmilk and Music Week.

With millions of views on TikTok and skyrocketing streaming numbers, Kahn is at the vanguard of a new movement, one which tempts her cult following into living unapologetically.

Badlands will be available to stream on all major platforms from October 25th; check out her Spotify and official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mara Liddle has unleashed her pretty in pink (tonal hues) pop earworm, All Over the Place

Mara Liddle has lived up to her legacy after laying down a solid foundation for her hyper pop queen supremacy in 2022 and being selected as one of BBC Introducing’s curation of Big in 2023 artists list.

With her latest single, All Over the Place, created in collaboration with JB Thomas, she unleashed an upbeat floor-filler of an exposition of coming-of-age anxiety in a digital age when everyone is watching, and no one is listening.

After Gen Z have routinely been dubbed as the ‘lost generation’, Mara Liddle and her pastel-hued pop productions are a guiding light towards a semblance of sanity and inner security. With a few 90s Euro pop embellishments to the earwormy hooks, the nostalgia will grip you as fervidly as the contemporary resonance in the lyrics.

All Over the Place will be available to stream from September 29; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast