Browsing Tag

90s Pop

Abi Mia shares her infectious optimism in her latest single, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.

Posted on 22 December 2021

The London-based breakthrough alt-pop artist Abi Mia ended 2021 with the ultimate up-vibe bop, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. With the funk in the melodies and the fire in her vocals, the resilience in the 90s influenced triumph of a track is infectious from the first hit. And if we’re all being honest with ourselves, that’s exactly what we need right now.

In the verses and pre-choruses, she extends compassion and understanding to anyone feeling the apathy before proving how sweet it is to throw pessimism by the wayside and embrace a brighter perspective in the choruses. If you’re looking for a definitive definition of a perennial pop earworm, just hit play.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nemos has released his Italian 90s revival album, La leggenda del soldato gentile

Posted on 1 December 2021

Italian aural visionary, Nemos, has released his expressively eccentric third album, La leggenda del soldato gentile.
With the title single carrying a similar rhythm to Blur’s Song 2 along with choral-orchestral stylings and Hanson vibes, the punchy high energy track is a European twist on the sonic palettes that we came to love in the 90s.

Even if the instrumentals fell flat, La leggenda del soldato gentile would still be a bop-worthy hit thanks to the unfaltering passion in the vocals as they verse the Italian lyrics. La leggenda del soldato gentile doesn’t just permit you to share the energy of the soul-sating track; it practically demands it of you.

Nemos’ third album, La leggenda del soldato gentile, is now available to stream in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Future-pop fuses with Britpop in Footless Kicks’ debut single, E1 2AM

Posted on 10 November 2021
Footless Kicks

In the ultimate pop-rock crossover, London-based rock guitarist, producer and songwriter, Footless Kicks sent us back to the Britpop era with his debut single, E1 2AM. The devilishly clever single carries the same blissful tones as the Roses along with the driving momentum of JBD’s anthemically charged riffs in The Manic’s most soul-sating hits. Vocally, Footless Kicks truly came into his own. The solo artist’s gruffly soulful vocal timbre is complemented by the dynamic range of the guest female vocalist whose dreamy harmonies sit between Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine.

With more singles in the pipeline and the teasing of an album, any alt-90s fan will want Footless Kicks on their radar.

E1 2AM is due for official release on November 8th; you can catch it for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get swept up in the romantic tides of Kristin Venae’s soul-pop single, Still Here.

Posted on 31 July 2021

With the same gripping, soulful eminence as Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Maria Carey, up and coming Australian singer-songwriter Kristin Venae’s latest single, Still Here, is simultaneously a hit of nostalgia and a refreshing blend of soul, pop and indie rock.

You’d be hard-pressed to find more stunning guitars in a pop single; the jangly effervescent notes give Still Here a sweet psychedelic kick while Venae’s vocals pay ode to everlasting love. You can’t help getting swept up in the romantic tides of Still Here which precedes the release of Venae’s upcoming debut album.

Still Here is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chris Vega sends a siren call in his alt-pop single, ‘Dangerous’.

Posted on 19 July 2021
Chris Vega

Cincinnati-hailing self-taught singer-songwriter and music producer Chris Vega is set to release his stormy impassioned pop track, Dangerous. The single shines a light on the darker side of love, the side that tells you it is safer to play with the toaster in the bath than it is to fall in love, but we delve in regardless.

It’s no secret or exaggeration that relationships can allow our mental health to take a hit and vice-versa; Vega encapsulates this perfectly. It’s so much more than you’re archetypally prosaic ‘I can’t live without you’ love song; it’s an extension of compassion to everyone that has ever had to battle with affectionate feelings and mental health issues simultaneously.

Check out Chris Vega on Instagram and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Revisit 90s RnB with Kule T’s new single, ‘The Deal’

Posted on 13 June 2021
Kule T

‘The Deal’ is just one of the tracks that feature on UK-based singer-songwriter Kule T’s debut RnB dance-pop EP, ‘Emotional Rollercoaster’; it eclipses the 90s while welcoming in the future of soul-infused dance-pop.

After spending time in the Sony/Columbia-signed band, MN8 in the 90s, Kule T definitely knows his way around the RnB sound. The happy grooves in The Deal capture the euphoria of getting hooked on someone, while the hooks themselves will draw you into a colourful soundscape that vibes with uniqueness, seduction, and soul.

You will be able to listen to The Deal from July 9th; check out Kule T via their website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Finley Clark explores growing pains in her latest bitter-sweet alt-pop track, ‘Lessons from a Great Cult Leader’.

Posted on 5 June 2021

With her latest single, ‘Lessons from a Great Cult Leader’, Finley Clark paid ode to her greatest lyrical inspiration, Bob Dylan, in collaboration with guitarist Alex Bunghez and producer Stefan Paraschiv. The lyrics tell a coming-of-age story that explores rights of passages and paths to maturity; instrumentally, the bitter-sweet melodies capture the innocence and ecstasy of youth along with the growing pains that eventually kick in when we leave our naivety behind.

With the fiery rockabilly guitar solos, Lessons from a Great Cult Leader is blazoned with some serious rock stripes; with Finley’s effect-laden vocals and the dancey beats, you’ll be thrown right back to 90s Britpop. Any fans of Garbage, The Cardigans and the Cranberries will definitely want to experience this authentically infectious track for themselves.

Lessons from a Great Cult Leader released on May 24th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

PleasePrettyLea wants to take us and shake us up with ‘You’re Home Finally’

Posted on 11 April 2021

Opening with some very voodoo-y, lynch-type imagery, the superb video for PleasePrettyLea’s new single ‘You’re Home Finally’ firmly sets the scene for our heroine’s witchy, lustful intent. Flipping easily between disdain and flirtation, PleasePrettyLea works her magic to seduce her ex-lover back to the warmth of her bed – soft piano chords and a deliciously tempting smoky, sultry cajun voodoo-blues n’ jazz-inspired vocal draws us in as much as her tantalizing dance-moves and wicked, bewitching lyrics. There’s no doubt about her intent here, the NSFW lyrics setting out very clearly what PleasePrettyLea would like to do to us, over a backing of deliberately discomforting, disquieting bass, drums, and piano. It’s dirty, it’s sexy, it’s entrancing, and it’s very, very, good.

Check out the video for ‘You’re Home Finally’ on YouTube; follow PleasePrettyLea on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Faith Louise has released her empowering EDM pop anthem, ‘Boss’

Posted on 8 April 2021
Faith Louise

While finding fragments of inner strength is harder than usual, Essex-based singer-songwriter Faith Louise is making up for the shortfall with her upbeat KPop-inspired tracks that pay ode to 90s pop and bring the blazing beats of club anthems.

‘Boss’ is the latest single to be released by the 15-year old performer who could easily teach women twice her age a thing or two about empowerment. The high-vibe track provides hard-hitting bass-riding beats, as the vocals bring a touch of RnB hip hop into the verses, easily paralleling the instrumental energy.

You can check out Faith Louise’s music here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From B to B want to take us out for some ‘Hungry Love’

Posted on 28 February 2021

Social networks in the era of Covid-lockdown have taken on a whole new meaning, especially around relationships and those fledgeling romances which kicked off before the world closed down. The lyrical refrain of ‘I want to go out’ within From B to B’s new single ‘Hungry Love’ must have been uttered by most of us at some point over the last twelve months, and if you can’t empathise with that sentiment than, frankly, we’re beyond hunger here.

Good, bouncy, American-style pop, bubblegum and beatsy, with a touch of “Marshmallow” and a little of the “junk food” taste and a side-order of hip hop, ‘Hungry Love’ is perfect, summery driving dance-pop for lazy weekends, pizza-and-coke-floats on the couch, and Netflix-and-Chill of an evening. It’s instant, it’s catchy, it hooks you in with sugar and fills you up with sunshine. What better antidote to the January Blues?

Check out ‘Hungry Love’ on Spotify now.

Review by Alex Holmes