Browsing Tag

Bedroom Pop

MASSIVESAD became the cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui with his latest art pop release, Balance

Posted on 7 July 2023

The cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui, MASSIVESAD, will mainline himself into your melancholic veins with his alt bedroom pop deep-cut, Balance. If you know all too well how it feels for your world to be knocked out of kilter as the scales perpetually turn against you, the catharsis you will find and the compassion you will feel will be visceral.

Emanating disorientating dissonance from his e-piano before the flourishing crescendo of a finish was the perfect way to ensure the instrumentals matched the bitter-sweet vocal lines and lyricality, which paints MASSIVESAD as an existentially amorous diehard romantic at heart. From LANY energy in the main body and the arcane touches of Bjork towards the outro, Balance will undoubtedly remain one of the most artful singles that have slipped into my ear canal in recent years.

Stream Balance from July 7th on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Niky Pasolini has unleashed her illuminating indie dream-pop single, Light On

Posted on 20 January 2023

Alt-Indie singer-songwriter, Niky Pasolini, will release her debut album, Update, on January 20th. We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the standout dream-pop single, Light On; from the first ring of the alt-90s guitars and bleeding Shoegazey vocals, we were hooked into the vulnerably delicate self-produced hit. With engrossing reminiscence to Sixpence None the Richer in the guitars and the sense of sentimentality Light On is as illuminating as the title alludes.

The London-based artist wrote, created and recorded the entirety of the album in a makeshift studio in her basement to provide a refreshing antithesis to the extensively produced plastic pop that does little more than scratch at the superficial surface lyrically.

Light On will be available to stream with the rest of Niky Pasolini’s debut album, which documents her coming-of-age story, on January 20th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Honeyyycrush has unvelied her confessional piece of Southern Gothic Slowcore, Belly Empty

Posted on 4 November 2022
https://soundcloud.com/honeyyycrush/belly-empty/s-MuIWNMqXx86?in=honeyyycrush/sets/honeyyycrush-demos/s-5mJz94CLze8&si=c7945eabfed94be686e3c440ea981fc4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Brooklyn-based Singer-songwriter, Honeyyycrush (Alexandra Antonopoulos) established herself as one of the most underrated artists of her generation with the launch of her hauntingly soul-stirring single, Belly Empty.

The dark Southern Gothic meets alt-pop single entwines shoegazey guitars with ritualistic percussion and, of course, the evocatively efficacious nature of her ephemeral vocal timbre that meanders with the grungy slowcore melodies.

By building Belly Empty into one of the most arresting crescendos I’ve heard in a long time after grippingly raw lyrical confessionalism which features a vulnerable reprise of “you don’t know me like I do”, this progressively beguiling single is one born of understood isolation and sheer innovation. We can’t wait to hear her forthcoming EP, Milk Teeth.

Belly Empty will officially release on November 4th. Check it out on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Denim Blue tore off the facade in his indie rock bedroom pop EP, Vacation Blues

Posted on 27 August 2022

In his new EP, Vacation Blues, the Norway-residing bedroom pop artist Denim Blue tore off the facade and abstracted any sense of pretence to deliver a 6-track release which encompasses the dissonance that the journey of loss and recovery imparts.

Inner turmoil is always a field of landmines, but never has it been filled with so many efficacious hooks. Vacation Blues stands as a testament to Denim Blue’s ability to capture the confusion within the human condition while sending you deep into a state of sonic beguile.

Track 1, Brand New, is undoubtedly the earworm of the EP. Unlike your average earworm, the melodic indie pop rock hit sticks to your synapses like superglue through the cohesion between the apathetically hooky vocals and the colourful melodies. Track 2, Tear Me Down, heightens the emotion by stripping back the production to an art pop serenade of lost love.

Track 3, Field of Dreams, shares sonic textures with shoegaze while Denim Blue runs with his signature rough, raw and relatable vocal timbre before Down completely shifts the synthetics of the EP into a hazy synth-pop lament. Decidedly one of the sweet spots on the EP, Waste My Time exhibits the best of Denim Blue’s lyrical gravitas before the concluding single, Bloom, blossoms under warm saturated delay.

Putting context and intensifying the listening experience, this is what Denim Blue had to say on Vacation Blues:

“Vacation Blues is a short but open story. There are a few ways to interpret it as it grows darker with different stages of losing hope, love, will and identity. At the end of the EP, there is a realisation, but it is a cyclical story; the first and last tracks have the same vocal hook with different meanings.

It is about struggling to move on, whether from heartbreak, addiction, mental health, or any other personal matter; it is up to you to decide, as the listener. I wanted it to feel familiar, almost like the inner voice that tries to speak up.”

Stream Vacation Blues on Spotify & SoundCloud.

To stay up to date with new releases, follow Denim Blue on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go Go Gadget Pink Packet shakes it up in his intimate alt-indie hit, Sno Globe

Posted on 14 August 2022

Taken from his sophomore album, Unfinished Art, Go Go Gadget Pink Packet’s standout single, Sno Globe, is an emotion-driven hit of alt-indie, which throws back to the 00s while simultaneously embracing autonomously expressive melodic innovation.

Starting with an almost outtake-y prelude, the zealous lo-fi indie single breathes bedroom pop intimacy, with an extra flavour of sticky-sweet power-pop in the overdriven guitars, which carry as much emotion as the raw yet sugared vocal harmonies.

In his own words, the Sherrill, NY-based solo artist, writes common man blues records, perfectly encapsulating the immediate resonance you find in the dejection.

Sno Globe is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Denim Blue ventures into the unknown with his optimistic indie-pop lament, Brand New

Posted on 13 August 2022

Norway-hailing singer-songwriter Denim Blue mastered every genre he poured into his latest single, Brand New. His ability to pull you into the dissonance of heartbreak and make it a pleasurable trip is something no one will be quick to forget.

While the guitars exude the angular mesmerism of Interpol’s earlier work, the hooky melodies veer into a poppier territory, and vocally, the genre-fluid visionary transcends archetypes and tropes to deliver pure vulnerable expression. It gives you all the intimacy of bedroom pop, and none of the lo-fi muddiness that has become synonymous with it.

For anyone that resents the plastic feel-good summer tracks released by artists desperate for a brag-worthy chart position, Brand New has all the makings of a realism-soaked playlist staple. The juxtaposition between optimism and soul-tearing sadness is undoubtedly one of the sweetest things I’ve heard this year. That is until the release of his EP, Vacation Blues, on August 26th.

In his own words, here is what Denim Blue said about his release

“Brand New is a bittersweet song; happy and pleasant, yet sad and reminiscent of the past. I wanted it to be perplexing; like the emotions that come to fruition when reminded of the past. I created a soundscape of summer, bright and melodic, with a sadder yet playful undertone in the lyrics, which are about struggling to let go – even if it is for the better. I recorded it about two years ago and kept returning to it with a good feeling. I hope others will get a good feeling from it too.”

Brand New is now available to stream on Spotify.

Connect with Denim Blue on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Glitchy art rock meets alt urban pop in Jacobi.e’s latest single, Rcv

Posted on 17 July 2022

Since his 2020 debut, experimentalism has been at the forefront of Jacobi.e’s alt bedroom pop sound. With his aptly dark, melodically off-kilter and tumultuously glitchy first single of 2022, Rcv, the Jamaican American artist and producer, currently residing in LA, fused his rock background with contemporary flavours of the originators, Dominic Fike, Kanye and Yeek.

While some artists manage to make exploring alternative sounds a contrived act of pretension, Jacobi.e instantly affirms that the alchemy came organically through his affinity for a plethora of genres. Pulling all of the contrasting textures together, his vocals are a sticky-sweet vocal point in the wavy track that stands as a testament to his flair as a producer that continues to amass gravitas.

RCV is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mark Earnest – Just a Dog: his beats aren’t as bad as his bite

Posted on 1 July 2022

For his latest single, Just a Dog, the Ireland-born, Tokyo-based artist Mark Earnest served a stellar slice of lush RnB pop. You can’t help but drift away with the mellow funky grooves, the soulfully resonant vocals that are pinched by melancholy instead of overarched with it, and the mellow guitar-centric rhythms.

With the bedroom artist’s greatest motivation centred on bringing catharsis and compassion, he gave his soul free reign over Just a Dog, which lyrically sees him changing species to allude to his need for simplicity. If you aren’t on board with that sentiment, have you even been alive for the past few years?!

Just a Dog will officially release on July 1st. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Demure dream-pop royalty, speakeazie has released her debut album, Prohibition Hippie

Posted on 25 February 2022

The Minneapolis-based alt dream-pop artist that is never short of mesmeric material, speakeazie, has released her highly anticipated debut album, Prohibition Hippie, featuring the standout single, Disintegrate, which spins an engrossing narrative tale of a young girl losing control. Anyone that has ever felt their mask of sanity slip will undoubtedly want to delve into this compassionately orchestrated single.

Disintegrate shares a tonal palette with Echo and the Bunnymen’s earlier material. But with the instrumentals distorted via the wobbly tape delay effect, the bedroom pop single takes an authentically demure form.

speakeazie’s vocals parallel the evocative power of Florence Welch while keeping in line with the contemporary moody indie-pop vocal trend. By that we mean they are alchemic leagues ahead. Also written into Disintegrate’s mix is speakeazie’s influence of dreamy retro aesthetics and the 1920s. It is inarguably one of the most distinctive releases that we have heard so far this year.

speakeazie’s debut album is now available to stream on Spotify. Or you can check out the video on YouTube. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlotte Ooi delves into the unknown with her intimately sultry RnB single, Never Know

Posted on 10 December 2021

Charlotte Ooi proved how sultry bedroom pop always could be with her debut single, Never Know, which was released on December 3rd. If any artist warrants coining the genre ‘boudoir pop’ for, it is this London-based intimately evocative RnB pop artist.

Breathy vocals can be hit or miss, but Charlotte Ooi’s light vocal timbre is right on the money in her emotionally vulnerable release that delves into the unknown. In her own eloquent words, this is what Never Know lyrically encompasses:

“My new single shines on topics about vulnerability, hope and the essential need to embrace all types of emotions. I’ve personally struggled with a lot of anxiety moving a lot throughout my life and it has also become quite common in our society, so this song seeks an emotional intimacy with the audience.”

Check out Never Know for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast