Browsing Tag

Ambient Pop

Yazzy drops the stunning new piano-led ‘All I Can Do Is Cry’

Posted on 28 November 2020

After being discovered by Glastonbury supremo Michael Eavis and supporting Paloma Faith in front of a 10,000-strong sell-out crowd at the Glastonbury Extravaganza in 2018 to having your most recent single ‘I’m Choosing Me’ played by Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 (describing it as so good he wanted to play it twice), things have, it could be said, been going pretty well for ‘half lioness, half songbird’ Yazzy.

Now she’s back with the bewitching ‘All I Can Do Is Cry’, a fragile, piano-and-strings-led power-ballad which showcases her smoky-yet-soaring voice and lead-crystal falsetto alongside her engaging lyrical storytelling and emotional, mature arrangement. A drop here, a key change there, all the time offsetting the raw, heartfelt narrative of a lost love and a broken heart. And we can feel that with her, Yazzy’s vocal delivery poignant enough that the pain and desolation of emptiness and longing carry through, the vulnerability and sensitivity plain to hear in a delivery which feels at once confessional and beseeching, an entreaty and a question over a delicate minor key verse, all held together by Yazzy’s alluring, refined vibrato.

Follow Yazzy on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

SAGEALINA bares her soul in “Private Show”.

Posted on 15 November 2020
https://soundcloud.com/sagealina/private-show

LA-based Singer-songwriter SAGEALINA accordantly bared her soul in her latest evocatively bold, stylistically melodic Ambient Pop single “Private Show”. Right from the first verse, you’re gripped in the introspection and you’ll be sharing in the artist’s scornful soul.

The light electronic beats leave plenty of room for SAGEALINA’s sultry vocal timbre to perfectly harmonise in synergy with the deftly crafted beats which keep it smooth and steady all the way through this seductively wistful release.

SAGEALINA exhibited an insane amount of potential with Private Show. As she’ll be dropping tracks consistently throughout 2020 and beyond, you’ll definitely want her on your radar.

Private Show is available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hager – All at Once: Consolingly Stunning Neo-Classic Ambient Pop

Posted on 1 November 2020

Starting off with ambient neo-classic keys, Hager’s single All at Once from her 2020 album Miscellaneous Melodies takes pensive Indie Pop to a new level of quiescent ingenuity.

The melodies in All at Once may be tender, but evocatively, it hits hard enough to leave you aurally bruised. All at Once has the same effect as someone asking in full sincerity if you’re okay, when you’re really not okay. It brings torrid emotions to the surface as you listen to the melancholy in Hager’s striking vocals, but we all need outlets and I couldn’t point you in the direction of a more consolingly stunning single.

I have zero shame in the admission that the floodgates opened with All at Once, my tear ducts never stood a chance with this celestially compelling feat of Pop.

You can check out All at Once and the rest of the artist’s Miscellaneous Melodies album by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast  

BEA BOX is set to release her rhythmically explorative, seductively Avant-Garde Pop single “Kiss Me”

Posted on 6 October 2020

We were lucky enough to get a taste of Canadian artist BEA BOX’s upcoming single “Kiss Me”, just one of the tracks which feature on her highly anticipated EP “Origami” which strives for originally and strikingly succeeds.

Her culturally dynamic style helped to orchestrate an authentically enigmatic single which is all too easy to sink into. As you fall, you’ll get pick out myriads of different artful textures, even the snobbiest of musos would struggle to best-place and pigeon-hole BEA BOX’s boundlessly expressive sound which plays around with tribally rhythmic electronica, seductive Pop and the Avant-Garde.

Kiss Me is due for release on October 30th, you’ll be able to hear it on BEA BOX’s official website and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

HONA drop stunning debut single ‘Drop In The Ocean’.

Posted on 5 October 2020

Sparse and stratospheric, ‘Drop In The Ocean’ is a moody slice of Electronic Dance Music, the debut single from Swedish pairing Valentina Ahlmark and Mathilda Ulfes; the tension is evident from the opening chords, the pain of separation and longing palpable and unmistakable and tangible throughout the three minutes ten seconds of the song.

The space in the track adds to its power, perfectly offsetting the strength of the vocal, the ambience and reverb carrying the beats and the swell of the programmed chords to perfection; ‘Drop In The Ocean’ is a stunning debut from a duo that are clearly ones to watch.

‘Drop In The Ocean’ is on Spotify; check out HONA on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

ZORYA – Dreams: Ambiently Avant-Garde Dream Pop

Posted on 3 October 2020
https://open.spotify.com/track/66u3wwJhT0MXXQu4l6jEpK

“Dreams” is the recently released ambiently Avant-Garde single from London-based Alt Pop artist ZORYA. Hit play, and slip into the artfully bold, tonally cathartic layers of the devilishly progressive track which unravels with perception-shifting spiritual wisdom.

The ethereally enticing dreamscape pulls you in with baroque and gothic elements, but it is ZORYA’s vocals which will leave the tightest shackles around your synapses as they verse poetic lyrics which lead you through arcane metaphors for life.

You can check out ZORYA’s track on Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Natasha Jane Julian – West Coast Girl: Sun-Baked Summer Sadness

Posted on 18 September 2020

Smoky, sultry, and initially piano-led, Natasha Jane Julian’s ‘West Coast Girl’ resolves into a beautifully, chilled alt-pop ballad telling the story of a California girl, dreaming and searching amidst sun-baked summer sadness.

Julian’s thoughtful, evocative lyrics and soulful, atmospheric vocal carry the song over keys and bass, a sophisticated and distinctive vocal performance that’s both commercial and individual. Julian is currently working on new material with UK composer/producer Ian Barter, but ‘West Coast Girl’ is the perfect late-summer antidote to darkening evenings and lockdown malaise.

Hear ‘West Coast Girl’ on Natasha’s website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Amanda – Electric: The Sultriest Perennial Pop Earworm You’ll Hear This Year.

Posted on 6 July 2020

There’s little room to wonder why US Pop artist Amanda hasn’t struggled to amass plenty of hype with her indulgently smooth sound. Especially with sultry Pop earworms such as “Electric” in her arsenal of hits.

Electric was the third single to be released by the breaking artist. It’s safe to say Soul, Pop and Funk have never converged quite as sublimely as they did in the standout release.

The arrestive grooves are just one half of the aural alchemy. Amanda’s vocals set her sound leagues apart from other up and coming voices. Each vocal note is effortlessly inviting. Despite the raw stylish command of the soundscape, Amanda has a way of adding a magnetic warmth to her sound which is endlessly resolving.

You can check out Amanda’s standout single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dream Pop Meets Neo-Soul in DaveJavu’s Blissfully Transcendent Debut Single “Summer Sun”

Posted on 19 June 2020
https://soundcloud.com/davejavumusic/summer-sun/s-lbAgZ

Dream Pop meets Neo-Soul in up and coming artist DaveJavu’s debut single Summer Sun. The sun-kissed oceanic single oozes authenticity and good vibes in equal measure. Not only do you get a taste of the Copenhagen-based artist’s creative ingenuity, but you also get to immerse yourself in hypnotically transcendent waves of gentle euphoria.

The track was inspired by the feelings of happiness when something goes right in the world. Even if you haven’t felt that way in a while, Summer Sun invites you to feel those very same warm fuzzy feelings.

Expect a Mike Patton level of aural invention from Summer Sun. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d get to say that about the debut single from an up and coming artist. Naturally, we’re all too stoked to hear that Summer Sun is just the first track to drop from DaveJavu’s upcoming album Beach Groove Odyssey.

You can check out Summer Sun for yourselves from June 19th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pop meets Chill Hop in IIsaiah Bennett’s Blissfully Sweet 3rd single “Ride with Me”

Posted on 17 June 2020

While some artists have felt hindered by the lockdown, up and coming Pop artist IIsaiah Bennett has perceptibly been inspired and put his talent to good use.

After making their debut with “Corona” and following it up with the incredible sophomore release “Right Here”, they’ve dropped yet another blissfully sweet single “Ride with Me”. The resonance within the track allows it to unfold like an aural cuddle. That’s as close to a cuddle as some people are going to get these days.

With rhythmically magnetic nuances of Hip Hop in the Pop mix, Ride with Me will add plenty of high vibe groove to your playlists. The melodic beats may be soft, but there’s little chance you’ll forget the deftly orchestrated hit which you’ll be all too happy to give repeat attention.

You can get IIsaiah Bennett’s single in your own ears by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast