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Dream-Pop

Jake Speikers captured a daydream of longing with his 80s-swathed new wave single, Nostalgic.

Posted on 17 November 2023

With music fans clinging to nostalgia like there’s no tomorrow, the Minnesota singer-songwriter Jake Speikers has shown them the future of 80s-integrated pop with his choral dream of a new wave single, Nostalgic.

With Phil Collin-esque drum fills punctuating the dreamy atmosphere of the release which finds the middle ground between The Midnight and Cigarettes After Sex, the nostalgic pop wheel wasn’t reinvented, but it was creatively reimagined in this impassioned earworm that captures a daydream of longing in panoramic picture that you’ll want to expose yourself to time after time.

If you can’t get enough of the DIY pop artist’s achingly sweet sonic signature, you won’t have long to wait for the release of his debut, which traverses his experiences of coming out, heartache and coming of age. We’re already invested.

Nostalgic will hit the airwaves on November 17; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trip out with the unearthly beguile in Deadbeat Superheroes’ latest release, By the Side of the Road (redux), ft HORNETS!

Posted on 31 October 2023

After becoming unequivocally obsessed with the seminal single, By the Side of the Road, by Deadbeat Superheroes, we were stoked to be given another opportunity to trip out with the redux remix of the single, featuring HORNETS!

Julie Sun Lee’s PJ Harvey-esque deliciously distorted vocals are the piece de resistance within the Lynchian soundscape which shimmers with trepidation, scintillation, and a potent dose of unearthly beguile. It’s trip-hop striking enough to make your heart skip a beat as your rhythmic pulses move in line with the glitchy syncopated beats that stab through the texturally sublime oscillation.

If you’re looking for more ethereal escapism from the Canadian five-piece outfit, you won’t have long to wait; their Edmonton (Redux) EP is lingering in the pipelines awaiting its release on November 1. We’ve been promised that each track stands on its own; given the success of the original EP, we’re thoroughly inclined to believe the icons of Avant Garde electronica.

By the Side of the Road (redux), ft HORNETS! dropped on October 23rd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luce Cargo encompassed the alienation in existentialism in their shoegaze single, I Don’t Belong Here

Posted on 12 October 2023

Since the release of their 2021 EP, Paradise, the Australian shoegaze duo Luce Cargo have been honing their talents and attuning the authenticity in their sonic signature; I Don’t Belong Here is the first exhibition of their freshly manicured dream pop sound, and it is a sign that if any outfit is strong enough to stand at the vanguard of the 21st-century Shoegaze resurgence, it is them.

With soft angular guitars which echo Slowdive influences leading into My Bloody Valentine-esque walls of distortion, the progressive instrumentation sets the tonal shifts for the vocals which transition from bleeding into the reverb-laden synths with blissful accordance to bursts of primal candour.

The title gives plenty of clues to what the lyrics relay, but the resonance for anyone who feels alienated in their existentialism shouldn’t be underestimated. The compassionately relatable narration of loneliness holds a mirror to the fractures that splinter across society, leaving us all disconnected in an increasingly connected world.

I Don’t Belong Here was officially released on September 29; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pomaa – Wide Eyed: Painfully Sober, Sonically Celestial Indie Dream Pop

Posted on 11 October 2023

With a transfixingly astral vocal register layering harmonies over the retro reverb-swathed synths, Pomaa’s latest single, Wide Eyed, bridges the gap between Siouxsie and the Banshees and cutting-edge outfits in the vein of Wolf Alice and Desperate Journalist while allowing you to linger in a kaleidoscope of dreamy psych-pop tones.

From the first immersion, the artist’s unique talents in blending the spirit of her own hypnotically authentic expression with the mixer of era-spanning signatures from shoegaze, post-punk, psych, pop and indie to pour the perfect sonic mocktail becomes immediately apparent.

Through Wide Eyed, Pomaa narrates the isolation of being the only sober person at a party; starved of connection and wracked with unshakable sensations which embed the loneliness of growing at a different pace to everyone around you.

Wide Eyed will be available to stream on all major platforms from October 11; stream it on Spotify & SoundCloud. If you like what you hear, stay tuned for the release of her debut EP, Bridge to Somewhere, which will drop on November 15.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Revel in the petrichor of Shaun Cruda’s electro-soul synthesis, Ashville Rain

Posted on 1 October 2023

Shaun Cruda’s 20k monthly Spotify listeners got a brand-new stylistic soundscape to savour when the LA producer delivered his latest sensuously cathartic single, Ashville Rain, on September 22.

As the dark days creep in, the sanctuary of ethereal luxe atmosphere in Ashville Rain will only become more inviting. By borrowing a few trip-hop elements from the pioneers and modernising them in his synthesis of electro-soul, there are few better singles to revel in the petrichor with.

The instrumentals resound beyond their minimalist quiescence to deliver the ultimate playlist staple for nocturnal introspection while the vocals breed a beguiling sense of intimacy as they harmonise the lyricism that narrates a spectral love letter. Familiar, yet far beyond the bars set by his contemporaries, the single is a testament to the multi-faceted talents of the artist who can pen a track as well as he can polish it and move a dancefloor from behind a DJ booth.

Stream Ashville Rain on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Roo Elizabeth – Ready to Die: A Dream Pop Redemption Story

Posted on 25 September 2023

Etherealism drifts through the latest avant-garde dream-pop installation, Ready to Die, from the Irish artist, songwriter, and fledging producer, Roo Elizabeth who has been taking the live circuit by storm after opening for Wyvern Lingo and Mary Coughlan and appearing on the bill at Electric Picnic and Forest Fest.

With a soundscape that bridges the gap between the melancholic intimacy of Bill Ryder-Jones, the hazy production techniques of Cigarettes After Sex, and the artful expression of Kate Bush in her The Kick Inside era, Roo Elizabeth gave her sophomore single a timelessly beguiling nocturnal quality, perfect for slipping into when you want to relish in introverted introspection.

The track title may appear macabre but the sonic experience itself couldn’t be more tender in its advocation for sanctity, acceptance, and authenticity. By illustrating the beauty of tragedy, in the same vein as Cultdreams, Roo Elizabeth rendered one of the most affirmingly inspirational singles of 2023.

In her own words:

‘READY TO DIE’ is about radical love. It’s about fighting for your own joy. Like a lot of others, I have grown up surrounded by addiction. It buries the spark in the people we love. This song is about cutting the ties of self-sabotage and rising to meet yourself in your own authenticity.

Ready to Die is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The existential indie dance pop icon Saynt Ego augmented grief in ‘Big Mad World’

Posted on 19 September 2023

The indietronica icon in the making, Saynt Ego, strengthened the foundations that his legacy will undoubtedly rest upon with his double A-side single, Looking 4 U – Big Mad World.

While the vocals sing a bitter-sweet goodbye, the augmented-with-funk melodic lines pull you to transcendence and acceptance in Big Mad World. The chaos of the universe is efficaciously encapsulated in the hypersonic soundscape, and all the assurance you will need that you can overcome any obstacle on your healing journey lingers in the lyricism, which rings with melancholy standing alone. Within the anthemics of the indie dance-pop hit, the candour-fuelled verses are awakening poetry, which alludes to the tragedy of obsession with earthly escapism.

Penned after losing his best friend to suicide, Big Mad World tracks cosmic themes while being underpinned by the grief of knowing that the human experience can’t always be traversed with resilience alone.

Occupying a middle ground between Cigarettes After Sex and ABBA, Saynt Ego found plenty of room to assert his authenticity in the self-produced release, which was written by Will Retherford and the airwaves on September 8th.

Stream Big Mad World on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

All isn’t fair in love and war in millar’s indie alt-electro-pop single, hunting ground

Posted on 12 September 2023

By drawing parallels between blood sports and romanticism in her indie alt-electro-pop single, hunting ground, the up-and-coming London-based singer-songwriter, millar, delivered a striking exposition of how nothing is fair in love and war when unsuspecting diehard romantics are forced to play by the rules of mind games.

As the atmospheric space progressively shifts from light to dark in the same vein as The Neighbourhood, Cigarettes After Sex and Perfume Genius around the strikingly angular indie guitar work which bears reminiscences to Slowdive and the driving backbeat that gives the single a punchily vindicating energy, hunting ground, is one of the most stunning UK indie tracks to spill up from the underground in 2023.

We can’t wait to hear where millar’s candour and inexplicable talents in euphonically visualising melancholy take her next.

hunting ground was officially released on September 1st; stream it now on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Laney Ryan visualised an indie-folk dream for her latest single, This Path

Posted on 5 September 2023

‘This Path’ is the latest dreamy indie-folk single from the Boston-based singer-songwriter Laney Ryan, whose superlative ethereal atmospheres are always haunted by soulful possession.

With This Path, she delivered the reminder that what is lost will always be found; regardless of how lost and directionless you feel on your path, if you are moving forward, you will always find a way to find your way. The lush with choral reverb shoegaze guitars and the desert folk rhythm section create a captivating soundscape to contemplate the trajectory of your own journey while Ryan’s vocals deliver all of the assuring sanctity you could expect to soak up from a single.

Even though she sounds right at home in her indie folk sound, as a teen, Ryan had heavier music tastes; she eventually joined the LA alt-rock band The Brink, which became well-known in the Hollywood touring circuit. After five years of crafting high-octane hits, Ryan moved back to her hometown and started experimenting with a more acoustic sound that rings through in her contemporary material.

This Path will hit the airwaves on September 5; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rya welcomed in a dreamy new era of electro-soul with his latest single, SHOW OFF.

Posted on 25 August 2023

With his latest single, SHOW OFF., the trailblazing emissary of soul, Rya, wrapped the roots of RnB around modernist electronic dream pop tones and created a solid backbeat by infusing the track with rhythmically tight hip-hop nuances.

Rather than attempting to be everybody’s cup of tea, the London-based electro-soul singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer chose to take the visionary path to explore his experimental sound and create escapist worlds that you won’t need inviting to twice.

The emotion implanted into his singles may be raw, but by staying true to his distinctive production style, which melds jazz, R&B, and neo-soul tendencies, he always delivers ear candy sweet enough to give you a sugar rush.

SHOW OFF. Will hit the airwaves on the 25th of August. Hear it on SoundCloud first.

Review by Amelia Vandergast