Browsing Tag

Contemporary Pop

Ooberfuse show us just how sweet liberation can sound with ‘Set Me Free’

Posted on 14 February 2021

While the UK collectively clawed at the walls in confined frustration, London-based electro-pop duo, Ooberfuse, were gearing up to drop their latest single ‘Set Me Free’. If you’re in the mood for some aurally-inspired liberation, feel your shackles lose their grip to the danceable drop.

With a touch of Tori Amos to Cherrie Anderson’s vocals, beats which will allow you to imagine what it would sound like if you fed a Portishead record ecstasy and a production which drips with electro-pop modernity, if Set Me Free was any more on-trend it would be writing the future. The track perfectly captures the emotions which come to fruition when you finally remove yourself from someone else’s control and it feels like nothing is out of reach. Liberation has never sounded sweeter.

The official music video was released on January 4th, you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Evade reality with Siena Bella’s resonantly moody electro pop single ‘Walking on the Moon’

Posted on 21 January 2021

With ‘Walking on the Moon’, Siena Bella vented the frustration which we’ve all been feeling since the start of the pandemic. We’ve heard plenty of lockdown-inspired singles, but few artists dare to go deep with their exposing introspection as Siena Bella did. Walking on the Moon may carry some heavy emotion, but the main thing you’ll take away from this unforgettably moody electro pop hit is the resonance which it implants.

With lyrics such as ‘No desire to look at my phone and see the hundreds of wars going on, everyone putting a show making me feel so small’ and the relatable ennui projected through the vocals, Walking on the Moon became one of the most essential singles released in 2020. For your sanity’s sake, get her on your radar in 2021.

Walking on the Moon is available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cami Bex seeks synergy with her latest single ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking’

Posted on 26 December 2020
Cami Bex

Breaking Pop artist, Cami Bex, is set to release her sophomore single, ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking’, following on from the resounding success of her debut single ‘Type’.

With her relatable brand of served-from-the soul Pop, The Aussie singer songwriter is already exhibiting her ability to orchestrate evocatively enticing feats of contemporary hits with chart-topping potential. The synth-led soundscape gives ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking’ a bubble gum Pop feel, but there’s no ignoring the sonorous maturity which oozes from this stylistic release.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can check out Cami Bex’s latest single. In the meantime, head over to her official website and delve into her debut.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Override Anxiety with Breaking Pop artist LIIYO’s Latest Single ‘Overwhelmed’

Posted on 9 December 2020

Usually, Pop ballads tend to narrate love stories which only seem to reflect Hollywood-style romance, with their latest single, ‘Overwhelmed’, London-based Pop artist LIIYO cut the pretence and projected plaintive resonant emotion which we have all felt at some point during lockdown.

Ultimately, Overwhelmed is reassurance that no matter how powerless you feel, no matter how much you feel like your sanity is slipping, those feelings will fade.

Overwhelmed is a sonorously cathartic aural extension of the artist’s compassion and tenacity when it comes to offering his fans exactly what they need to hear. It may have been their first time orchestrating a ballad, but LIIYO was able to bring a striking amount of maturity to Overwhelmed which followed on from their two precious releases ‘Bad Reaction’ and ‘Dizzy’.

With their affinity for KPOP, 90s RnB, Soul and 80s Electro all feeding their way into the mix, which was produced by Will Henderson, the instrumentals are as tender as the lyrics and vocals which offer pitch-perfect Pop harmony.

LIIYO may have only made his debut in Summer 2020, but previously, they were lending their talent to KPOP-inspired UK Pop groups who were responsible for bringing plenty of KPOP fever to this side of the pond. As a solo artist, LIIYO started to strive to find their own sound, instead of celebrating a pre-existing one. The result? Darker, deeper, more meaningful music that will undoubtedly become plenty of people’s playlist staples.

You can check out LIIYO’s latest single Overwhelmed for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Keep up to date with new releases from LIIYO via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alise Ashby – I Will Carry You (Feat. Gabriela Martina)

Posted on 29 November 2020
Alise Ashby

Love and loss go hand in hand, two sides of the same coin, and there is no more final hurt than the death of a loved one; written as far back as 2006 for a dear friend who had lost his wife (and released for the first time now in response to the unprecedented losses of the Covid 19 pandemic), Alise Ashby’s ‘I Will Carry You’ is a stunning, delicate, piano-and-strings ballad of grief, healing, and the pain of heartbreak and passing.

Commissioned to write her first independent film score at the tender age of just 16 (and presented at the Cannes Film Festival), Alise Ashby is a stunningly gifted composer and musician, and ‘I Will Carry You’ is an exquisite piece of work, soaring and hopeful yet dazzlingly compassionate and sorrowful all at once.

Uplifting piano chords sit amongst an orchestral arrangement heavy on strings and woodwind, the cinematic, swooping arrangement perfectly suiting the lyrics, panoramic and uplifting without ever feeling schmalzy or overdone; Gabriela Martina’s alluring, graceful vocal performance carries the song, bewitching and classy, hand-in-glove with the tenderness and elegance of the narrative.

‘I Will Carry You’ is an absolute treasure, inviting the listener to feel comfort and connection, hope and composure, and perhaps – just perhaps – a little less of the desolation and detachment otherwise wrought across the past twelve months.

‘I Will Carry You’ is released on the 11th December. Follow Alise Ashby on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

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

Loni Lincoln uses her platform to wake up and console the nation with “Where Have the Heroes Gone”

Posted on 14 November 2020

Loni Lincoln’s Malaysian and British heritage both resonate within her standout single “Where Have the Heroes Gone” which breaks the monocultural mould while asking a tragically grounding question.

Atop of the rhythmic exoticism, you’ll find Loni Lincoln’s compassionately heartfelt vocals as they call out for humanity to better themselves and be the change they want to see in the world. Yes, it’s a sobering and emotionally bruising track, but the path to progress isn’t always going to be a bed of roses.

With vocals which carry reminiscence to the smoky vocal timbre of Miley Cyrus, the emotional sting behind the soundscape and the signature styling of the melancholic Pop hit, you’re going to want to give it repeat attention. More pertinently, you’re going to want to applaud the artist’s commitment to delving deep and tackling real issues in her music. I couldn’t be more in awe of her if I tried.

You can check out Where Have the Heroes Gone via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Celebrate Romantic Freedom with Theofania’s sensationally raw Pop single “Heart Break Free”  

Posted on 23 October 2020

From the first vocal note in Pop artist Theofania’s latest single Heart Break Free, the sincerity becomes palpable, as does the sense that you’re about to embark on an emotional rollercoaster. When the chorus hits, you definitely won’t be disappointed.

Starting off with a melancholic offering of introspection, Heart Break Free offers immediate depth and compassionately shares resonance with heartbroken. Yet, for the choruses, Theofania opted for high-vibe bass-driven energy which affirms that even if you feel like you’re drowning in apathy, the clouds will break, just like the chorus.

It’s tracks like Heart Break Free which really put into context the emotions, which if left unchecked, can ruin our self-esteem. With that in mind, Theofania’s Pop hit is worth its weight in aural gold.

You can check out Theofania’s single via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Garnetts have taken Guitar Pop to a brand-new level with their romantically groove-soaked single “This Dance”

Posted on 3 October 2020
https://soundcloud.com/thegarnettsmusic/this-dance/s-GaaBZFzHwr3

“This Dance” is the lead single from Indie Pop artist The Garnetts’ forthcoming EP of the same title. It’s also one of the most compellingly magnetic feats of Guitar Pop that we’ve heard this year.

With a sound which is somewhere between The Midnight and the 1975, The Garnetts’ sound moves in perfect parallel with the contemporary curve. It also unravels as the perfect Pop track to hit play on as Autumn starts to draw in with the shorter days and colder nights. Whether you’re amorously savouring the warmth of a season are a lover, This Dance is sure to hit you right in the feels.

You’ll be able to check out This Dance for yourselves from October 2nd, 2020 by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nv.sincere plays with Neo-Classic elements in their new Alt Pop track “Nv Miss Love”

Posted on 2 October 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz5LQtuSi5w&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=STREET-ROXX

If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing Neo-Classic Trap Pop, delve into the evocative tones contained in Nv.sincere’s latest single “Nv Miss Love” which dropped on September 6th.

With the tender piano melodies up against dexterously light EDM elements, the past and the future stylistically combine in Nv Miss Love. It’s right on the contemporary curve with a moody yet soulful vibe, yet the delicacy of the neo-classical nuances took Nv Miss Love to emotional new heights.

There really is no wonder why so much hype has amassed around this wistfully lovelorn instant classic.

You can check out the cinematically immersive official music video to Nv.sincere’s single by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast