Browsing Tag

Classic Pop

Jaina Tang entwined empowerment with vulnerability in her latest single,  No More Tears to Cry

Posted on 9 January 2024

Jaina Tang, a prodigious talent from Singapore, radiated empowerment through vulnerability in her latest musical narrative, No More Tears to Cry.

At just 17, Tang’s journey from a YouTube piano cover artist to a multifaceted musician is nothing short of inspiring. Her ability to play by ear, coupled with her mastery of 17 instruments, songwriting, singing, rapping, and beatboxing, has culminated in a body of work that is both deeply personal and universally relatable.

No More Tears to Cry is a testament to Tang’s artistic evolution. The song is an intricate tapestry of piano pop, interlaced with a profound sense of melancholy, yet it radiates an undeniable strength. This duality is the heart of Tang’s artistry. The piano, played with both precision and passion, lays the foundation for a journey through heartache and resilience. Tang’s voice, delicate yet determined, guides the listener through the emotional landscape of the song.

The way her vocal lines intertwine with the music, evolving into a breath-taking neo-classic score, captivatingly exhibits her skill as a composer and arranger. The song is not just for the heartbroken; it’s a universal call to find strength in vulnerability.

No More Tears to Cry was officially released on December 30th; stream the single on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Enchanting Chanteuse Annabel Hailey Reached New Celestial Heights in Her Single, Perfect for this World

Posted on 20 October 2023
Annabel Hailey

After introducing us to The City That Never Sleeps, the enchanting Nordic pop chanteuse Annabel Hailey enticed us into a new session of jazzy easy listening mesmerism with her latest single, Perfect for this World.

“You have to be broken for the light to get through” may be one of the most affecting lyrical epiphanies I’ve ever had the pleasure of soaking in. The conceptual luminosity of the classic pop score and Annabel Hailey’s ethereally pure vocal timbre which echoes vulnerability and power in the same breath makes it all the more enlightening.

In her own words:

“The song talks about how we carry a burden that no one knows about. We put on a brave face and carry on like we’re okay. We often think that being brave is about not showing we are hurting, although being vulnerable is the most courageous thing to do. We are all broken in some ways; it’s a part of this journey. Perfection is not the goal and doesn’t exist; we are perfect for this world as we are, humans in progress. We define who we are with our thoughts and actions; let your light shine bright.

I end with a quote Anais Nin made famous ‘We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are’; making assumptions and judgments on others is misguided and unnecessary.”

The Finland-born singer-songwriter, who spends her time between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and NYC, hit the one million streams mark with her EP, Phases, which debuted in February 2020. We’re unequivocally sure she can do the same again in her next EP, which is due for release in 2024.

Perfect for this World will officially be released on the 20th of October; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Loulita Gill shared a message of resilience and hope in her classic pop score, Silenced

Posted on 8 October 2023

The singer-songwriter Loulita Gill oozed classic pop class with her recently released single, Silenced, which goes back to the darkest and most vulnerable chapter of her life to offer consolation and solidarity to survivors of abuse.

Few people will ever know the strength needed to keep your head high after you have been subjected to abuse by the people who brought you into the world to cherish and protect you. After the unveiling of this arcanely orchestral score, a deeper sense of empathy will be ingrained in anyone who has never had the crushing experience of vulnerability being exploited first-hand.

Her celestial vocal range, which effortlessly coalesces with the minor piano keys and swells of the classical strings, opens a doorway to compassion. We certainly weren’t coloured surprised when learning the Bristol-based singer’s career has been decorated by accolades. Her music regularly features on global Christian radio stations, GODTV and BBC Radio Bristol.

Watch the official music video for Silenced, which premiered on September 22nd on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Classic piano pop made a comeback via Dana Powell’s single, Have I Found You

Posted on 26 July 2023

Dana Powell is reflectively resounding in her debut 4-track EP, Mirrors, featuring the standout piano pop score, Have I Found You.

The Canadian, US-residing singer, songwriter, and pianist applied an elevated classic pop touch to her arrestive single, produced by the Grammy Award-winning engineer Philip Larsen, who has also worked alongside the pop legends Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Kylie Minogue. Clearly, Powell fits right into that iconic triad of pop icons; her songwriting pulls you through the progressions by your heartstrings as the minor piano keys hammer against her evocatively glassy vocal lines and a vignette of romantic malady and euphoria plays out with arresting panoramic colour.

The tentative romanticism which lingers through the lyricism is the ultimate testament to her maturity as a songwriter. Can we agree as a society to stop championing the 18-year-old artists churning out pop tropes about loving someone forever when they’re just experiencing lust and uphold artists in the same superlative pop vein as Dana Powell?

Have I Found You was officially released on July 10th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Partisan Way gave hope to the hopeless romantics in their indie synth-pop sugar rush, I Know What You’ll Say

Posted on 3 June 2023

It may have been almost two years since we heard Partisan Way, but there was no forgetting the artisanal sonic sugar that emanated from their blissfully affectionate indie-pop hit, Borrow Me.

In 2023, they’re back on the airwaves with their single I Know What You’ll Say, which starts in the middle ground of The Beatles and Elliott Smith before there is a smooth transition into a synth-kissed summer bop, which celebrates the agonising pain of pre-emptive anxiety before a romantic proclamation.

Ultimately, I Know What You’ll Say is a waltz-y indie psych-pop invitation to embrace the beauty of vulnerability. The entire single is a testament to that very beauty; hopeless romantics may even gain some hope by the time the big synth outro comes around, following the honeyed high vocal lines atop the pop instrumentals that meld classic and contemporary songwriting. Wayne Coyne himself couldn’t have hit those notes better.

Just when we thought we couldn’t have any more predilection towards the indie outfit fronted by Dan Tierney, I Know What You’ll Say, in all its polyphonic synthy glory, allowed our soft spot to become infinitely softer under the duress of the unassured soul in the vocals.

Stream I Know What You’ll Say on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anna Smith overcome cancer to share her joie de vivre classic pop single, Feel Like Myself

Posted on 11 April 2023

After undergoing six months of chemo and immunotherapy, songwriter Anna Smith immortalised the memory of getting the all-clear in her song, Feel Like Myself, sung by the vocalist Jolie. The rapture of the moment radiates through the single, which was written for her daughter, that everyone should drink in if only once, to get the reminder that for all the expectations we have in life, sometimes simply being alive is the greatest triumph.

We spend so much time wishing to be someone else, to have the attributes, the wealth, the status, the acclaim of someone else, but as proven by this enlivening feat of classic piano pop, there is nothing sweeter than feeling like yourself after you’ve learnt to love the skin you’re in and respect your body for all that it grants you.

Feel Like Myself officially released on March 19th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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

Posted on 11 July 2022

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

Laptop Singers appeal to the loveless in their smooth electro-pop hit, Are You Ready for Love? Featuring Roger Arvidson

Posted on 30 June 2022

The Swedish electro-pop duo, Laptop Singers, got even more lavish with the soul in their latest single, Are You Ready for Love?, Featuring Roger Arvidson.

It easily parallels Elton John’s song with the same title for the soul it spills, but it is so much more than your average “everyone be happy summer single”. The gentle protest against cheap thrills shows compassion for the endemic of the defiantly loveless.

The sultry, smoothed electro-pop ballad taps into the modern issue of rejecting lasting affection for meaningless gratification with a classic touch while the self-produced single indoctrinates the lush electronic textures brought about by this era.

The brother duo, consisting of Lars and Per Andersson, have had 30 years of Swedish pop practice. By the time they got round to penning Are You Ready for Love and bringing it to life as a courtesy of Roger Arvidson’s timelessly soulful pop vocals, they knew exactly how to hit the ground swooning.

Are You Ready for Love? is now available to stream on Spotify.

Check out Laptop Singers via their official website, Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Italian singer-songwriter, Flame set souls alight with her soulfully-composed, orchestrally-scored single, Anyway.

Posted on 5 December 2021

‘Anyway’ is the latest orchestrally scored single from the Italian singer-songwriter, Flame. With a vocal timbre that more than justifies Flame being put in the same league as Amy Winehouse and the stunning instrumentals that bring a cinematic edge to the release, you’re left with little option when it comes to surrendering to the artistic intensity. It is enough to make Adele sound pedestrian.

Anyway unravels as a candid open letter to the sorrow imparted through torrid passion; it runs through relatable and witty notions that are rarely voiced, but Flame’s boldness lends itself to her sonic style as much as her lyricism.

The official video for Anyway premiered on November 26th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alen Chicco takes us to ‘Our Lithuania’ with ‘Mūsų Lietuva’

Posted on 8 May 2021

Alen Chicco is already a household name (with a certain degree of notoriety) for being the first drag artist to walk onto the stage in his native Lithuania’s version of the X Factor TV show. Mūsų Lietuva – (‘Our Lithuania’) – is bold, theatrical, full of passion and dynamic, sounding at times more like a modern opera song or a piece from a film score as much as a pop single. Written and performed in his mother tongue (although the accompanying video does come with helpful English subtitles), Chicco’s voice is impressive, blending and mixing with the powerful musical composition tightly, his vocal performance well outstripping the usual ‘singer-songwriter’ and more akin to musical theatre or classical ballad.

The track builds slowly, gently adding strength and power, an ode to ‘home’ and to belonging, Chicco’s voice easily able to cope with the rise and fall of the track, potent and emotive. Sure, it’s easy to draw a ‘Eurovision entry’ comparison in terms of the feel and the language, but ‘Our Lithuania’ is more than that; there’s elements of performers like Callas or Caruso in the way Chicco’s vocal – which feels effortless at the same time as it’s full of strength and emotion – is delivered, maybe even Freddie Mercury’s surprise performance of ‘Tavaszi szél’ in Budapest, and – coupled with the narrative video translating the lyrics – ‘Mūsų Lietuva’ is an epic, honest, and authentic neo-operatic piece that makes a compelling and commanding change from meaningless bubblegum pop; for that, all power to it.

You can watch the (subtitled) lyric video on YouTube; check out Alen Chicco on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes