Browsing Tag

Cinematic Pop

Romantic Rhapsody on Airwaves: Allen Miller’s ‘People Pretending to Be You’ Melds Indie Pop with Cinematic Love

Allen Miller

Allen Miller took the romantic comedy from the silver screen to the airwaves with his latest narratively panoramic indie-pop love song, People Pretending to Be You. The heart-in-throat hit jangle pops in the same vein as The 1975, carries all the sticky-sweet earworm potential of a Taylor Swift chart-topper, and flows with a flood of emotion, emanating the pop panache as Harry Styles.

To round off the influential smorgasbord, you’ll also succumb to the stylistic sonic gravity, which pulls you in with the same visceral pull of the snappy moody beats featured in the boygenius discography. Yet, the melodies and vocal magnetism fall by the wayside when you lock into the cunningly tender poetry within the lyricism, which proves that Allen Miller is a writer first and an artist second.

Exploring the sensation of everything falling into place as your soul cohesively connects to another, Allen Miller reached the paragon of romanticism by putting his heart on his guitar strings and paying such an affecting ode to the ethereal feeling that most screenwriters fail to sincerely capture.

People Pretending to Be You will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify, from February 9th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kaiza used sophistication as a vulnerable mode of volition in her cinematic pop hit, Dead or Alive

Kaiza’s latest single, Dead or Alive, is a striking testament to her evolving artistry in the realm of cinematic pop. Following the success of Girl in Red, which garnered over 160k streams on Spotify, this new release is a narrative woven with the threads of raw emotion and musical sophistication; prepare to be ensnared by the vulnerable mode of volition.

Kaiza, a classically trained pianist and vocalist, who once graced the prestigious stage of Carnegie Hall, brings a depth to her music that is both rare and enchanting. Dead or Alive is a showcase of her songwriting prowess, where each note and lyric is meticulously crafted to resonate with maximum impact. The harmonies in this track do not just play; they linger in the melodic air, creating an atmosphere that is elevated, but not to such a degree that inhibits accessibility. Expect to be hanging off every word as the track finds a unique middle ground between the artfulness of Tori Amos and the indomitable spirit of Lady Gaga.

As you crank up the volume, Dead or Alive envelops you in its world and prickles the skin with the presence of goosebumps; a physical manifestation of the song’s emotional depth. Kaiza’s belief in living a life full of stories worth telling is palpable in her lyrics, each line a brushstroke in a larger, more vivid picture.

Stream Dead or Alive on all major streaming platforms including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kayla Friend quelled the melancholy in her breakup track, Over, with enchanting ethearealism

Before putting down roots in Texas, the California-born, NY-raised singer-songwriter Kayla Friend forged a successful career in theatre before branching out as an independent artist following the pandemic; her experience as a music theatre composer lent itself effortlessly well to her sound. Her enchanting melodies and vivacious vocal harmonies create an otherworldly cinematic atmosphere you can easily lose yourself in before you find yourself in the all too resonant lyricism.

Her latest single, Over, follows the plaintively painful experience of separation; with the blossoming orchestral swells in the indie-pop score, the single is underpinned by a sense of rebirth to quell the melancholy in the perfectly emotionally rounded single. With the guitars that seem to pirouette around her celestial soprano vocal lines, Kayla Friend created one of the most stunning singles we’ve heard in 2023. It’s only a matter of time before she’s snapped up by a major label.

Over will be released on September 22nd; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

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

Imelda Gabs sophisticated the pop genre to the nth degree with her mournfully minimalistic neo-classic pop single, RECKLESS

‘RECKLESS’ is the latest intensely compelling single from the pop innovator Imelda Gabs. From a mournfully minimalistic neo-classic prelude of minor piano keys, the contemporary ballad that comes to terms with a disposition of recklessness seamlessly builds; utilising the dynamic vocal range of Imelda Gabs to orchestrate one of the most strident crescendos to ever grace the pop genre.

The pain exhibited borders on primal as the independent singer and producer gave an intimate view of her own shortcomings to universalise the phenomenon of letting our inner saboteur lead us to a position of self-doubt, regret, and inner hostility.

The 24-year-old Belgian and Congolese artist grew up in Switzerland, where she studied piano, violin and signing before evolving as a composer and songwriter. Since 14, she has been gracing prestigious stages amongst world-renowned artists before she started to focus on her recorded music, and my God, the airwaves were crying out for her elevated balletic grace.

Watch the cinematic official music video for RECKLESS on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Ancestral pain emanates in Million Pebble Beach’s latest beguilingly awakening Witches

In modern culture, witches are often painted with crooked noses and broomsticks beside them; Million Pebble Beach’s latest single, Witches, paints them as what they always were, women powerful enough to evoke enough fear to drive men to burn them at the stake.

That archaic form of misogyny has shifted with the ages but remains just as pertinent in our regression-tainted cultural tapestry. The deep ancestral pain emanates through this sombre yet juxtaposing uplifting single that shimmers with tonal and lyrical beguile as their strength and power is celebrated.

The Hertfordshire-based solo artist has made quite the name for herself with her cinematic and poetic piano oeuvre since 2018, which any fans of Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers will find playlist-worthy,

Witches is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Maella brings the house down in her sultry alt-pop earworm, Tudu Tudu Tu

Prague-born, London-based Alt-Pop artist and producer, Maella brought a smorgasbord of Eastern European flavour to her latest single, Tudu Tudu Tu, which merges juxtaposing nostalgic sonic textures to allow a new wave of retro to crash across the 90s dance percussion and seductive bass.

It is as cinematic as any Tarantino cult hit, and a poignant exposition on a chapter of her life that closed the book on difficult breakups, unfulfilling romances, and the claustrophobia of lockdowns. If Shiny Toy Guns wrote Seven Nation Army, the earworm wouldn’t be a million miles away from the electrically serpentine rhythms that will leave you dying to come back for more. Empowerment never sounded sweeter.

Tudu Tudu Tu, which is part of the Slow Burn EP, is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Angie Hakeem clutches the sands of time in her cinematic pop ballad, Too Soon to Die

Too Soon to Die is the latest classically cut pop single from Ohio’s sincerest singer-songwriter Angie Hakeem, who stretched her glassily dynamic vocals back through the decades to remind us of how sweet our perspectives on love and life used to be.

The real beauty within Too Soon to Die is the lyrical ambiguity that allows you to implant your own experiences with loss, grief, and fear of losing into the cinematic ballad. It certainly wouldn’t be out of place in the Disney music genre with its orchestral arrangement, swoon-worthy crescendos and vocal highs that tempt the floodgates to open.

Too Soon to Die will officially release on July 8th. You can stream it for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK indie pop duo ISYLA has unveiled their consciousness-driven cinematic single, Pretty Lies

The UK’s most promising pop duo, ISYLA (Lizzie Freeborn & Woodburn) has further staked their claim with the release of their latest dynamically cinematic single, Pretty Lies.

There is a touch of Nadine Shah’s Kitchen Sink to the jazz-tinged prelude, but ISYLA soon breezed into their ethereal own through the breathy vocals, flamenco guitars and arresting lyricism. “I live and let live but what if a choice takes a life” may just be the most perfect lyric I’ll hear this year. Yet, that’s just a splinter of the refreshing consciousness carried by the duo that formed in 2020 as a musical response to the climate crisis.

Since making their debut, they have featured on BBC Introducing, Music Declares Emergency, and the Consciousness Festival. Their selfless sense of holistic interconnectedness makes every soundscape they touch resound with a rare sense soul that is enough to make everything else on the airwaves feel superficial.

Pretty Lies is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Astroblue Express invite you to let love in through their cinematic dream pop single, Welcome.

We are stoked to see the return of the New York-residing duo Astroblue Express after their trippy ethereal tones in Cotton Candy Dreams gave us a potent dopamine fix earlier this year.

Their latest single, Welcome, is an artfully composed feat of cinematic dream pop that weaves a conceptual narrative of optimism through the pulsating downtempo electronica beats. Welcome is for anyone who has scolded themselves for being naïve in the past and find themselves unable to trust in the present through fear of future pain. In its essence, Welcome is an invitation to let love in again. After being exposed to the gently layered vocals, soft transcendent crescendos and lyrics that pull you into a brighter perspective, how could you possibly refuse?

Welcome is due for release on November 5th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast