Browsing Tag

Twee Pop

Maverick lived up to their moniker with their folksy easy listening debut single, I love coffee culture

The debut single, I love coffee culture, from Maverick is a tongue-in-cheek, bean-in-cup twee triumph. The twinkling piano keys atop the simple yet as delicious as a caramel macchiato easy guitar chords orchestrate the same kind of laidback atmosphere you would want to sink into in your favourite den of caffeine as the vocals prove it is the small things in life, especially if those small things are made by the hands of a barista who can take the mundanity of the corporate world away.

It is somewhat ironic that Maverick is a virtual band composing songs for tangible experiences, but given the sticky-sweet feel-good factor of the folksy easy listening release, we can easily forgive the band spearheaded by the song crafter and vocalist, John Crystal and feel stoked for the singles we have been promised will follow. We already need our next fix.

I love coffee culture was officially released on October 4; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Boston bedroom pop trailblazer Eliora reached the epitome of bitter-sweet twee with ‘butterflies turn into stomach bugs’

The alt-indie-pop singer-songwriter Eliora ripped up trite romantic tropes and scattered them like melodic confetti in her latest lo-fi single, butterflies turn into stomach bugs.

Standing in her own league in a world of Phoebe Bridgers assimilators, the bedroom pop artist who never inhibits her hits always creates quirk-filled soundscapes that capture the messy and idiosyncratic nature of real life instead of normalising the lies that perpetuate through Hollywood and the Billboard charts. Her latest playfully twee single is no exception to her cardinal song crafting rule which was established when she made her debut from her Boston bedroom in March 2020.

butterflies turn into stomach bugs was officially released on August 8th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Violette – Eos: Ukulele-led Retro Americana Pop

The very talented Violette Remington – daughter of a musical family from Orange County, California – is a 19-year-old singer-songwriter with a penchant for vintage dresses, rockabilly stylings, ukulele, and guitar. With ‘Eos’, her third single, she delivers a cute little slice of retro Americana set to ukulele, but the star of the show here truly is Violette’s voice; lilting, soaring, and sing-song, with maturity and timbre far belying her tender years, Violette’s delivery is clearly honed by her years performing in musical theatre and performing for friends and family.

Listing influences as diverse as Linda Ronstadt, Debbie Harry, and Aretha Franklin, and taking inspiration from the 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll scene and the 1960’s musical revolution, ‘Eos’ is an absolute delight, a touch of the unique and genuine in a world of carbon-copy dance-pop and manufactured X-Factor bands.

Check out ‘Eos’ on Spotify, and follow Violette on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes