Browsing Tag

Cosmic Pop

Angel Quintas – Feel at Home: Cosmically Cosy Indie Pop Worth Staying In For

Posted on 25 September 2023

If the Beatles entered their kitchen sink era while picking up a few Ziggy Stardust proclivities, their kaleidoscopically soul-affirming singles would be as cosmically cosy as the latest single, Feel at Home, by the Floridian adult contemporary singer-songwriter, Angel Quintas.

Rather than assimilating 60s and 70s icons, the self-taught musician and producer abstracted influence from their tonal palettes and weaved them into a tapestry stitched with more contemporary alt-indie production techniques to deliver a nostalgic sanctuary with modernist décor.

While it is all too easy to bemoan the lazy days that put few demands on your time, especially with the age of the influencer making you feel guilty for not living the lifestyle of the rich and famous every day despite being neither, Feel at Home, colourfully illustrates that few things can match home comforts while delivering musical theatre akin to the sonic performances of Father John Misty who always goes the extra euphonic mile to leave you fully consumed.

Feel At Home hit the airwaves just in time for Autumn on September 15th stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dream Optimist sugared sonic soul before pouring it into their spacey synthpop single,  Think Gently of Yourself

Posted on 9 September 2023

Silence the maleficence of your inner critic with the latest interstellar indie space pop escapade, Think Gently of Yourself, from Dream Optimist. If Do You Realize by The Flaming Lips never fails to pull at your heartstrings and stir your soul with unabashed positivity, the same viscerally sweet reaction awaits when you hit play on the seminal single from Dream Optimist’s 15-track LP, Seven Day Love Challenge.

Atop the twinkling Grandaddy-esque keys and around the chamber strings, the questioning and pervasive with doubt lyricism leads you on an affirming odyssey of a journey through the cosmos, with the consolingly compassionate vocals acting as a star-roving guide.

The Oakland, CA-residing songwriter and composer, frequently voyages between synthpop, bedroom pop, chamber pop and a myriad of other genres when penning his hits for his ‘low head count collective’. Before breaking into song crafting for the airwaves, the collective’s head honcho, David Marc Siegel, honed his talents in art-punk outfits and as a composer for ad music, theatre music, musical theatre, and short films, which goes a fair way in explaining how he settled on his cinematically spirited sound that will take you as high as the transcendent register on the vocal harmonies.

Stream Think Gently of Yourself by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robert Jameson delivered cosmic pop catharsis in his latest single, Stay Awhile

Posted on 28 September 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTtuBbBRp0E

Taken from his first full-length album, Robert Jameson’s seminal dream pop single, Stay Awhile, is sure to appease any fans of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. But this colourful burst of sonic bliss, which comes with psychedelic hints of The Zombies, takes a slightly jazzier trip back to the alt-90s.

The signature bleeding vocals are there, but the cosmic pop factor is heightened in the complex time signatures of the warm synths and jazzy piano keys. His composition skills that allow the layers to envelop you in all of their kaleidoscopic magnetism certainly make it easy to Stay Awhile. Rarely do I hear a lead single and feel inclined to indulge in the album from a previously unknown artist, but Robert Jameson’s affable innovation makes it all too tempting.

Stay Awhile was officially released on September 21st. Check out the visualiser on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: I, Harappan. unveiled his celestially unshackling dance pop meets folk single, THE FREE ONES

Posted on 24 September 2022

Splicing ancient spirituality with dance-pop, the London-based experimental artist, I, Harappan. describes his upcoming debut album, The Harappan & The Devil, as a genre-bending epic, combining cosmic horror storytelling with funk, disco pop and RnB.

The celestial single, THE FREE ONES, is an unforgettable introduction to his strident mystique, which uses traditional progressive house structures around a folkish sense of beguile, which resonates through the soulfully beckoning lyrics and the profound command of his vocal timbre which scarcely seems of this century. While the beats appeal to your rhythmic pulses, the lyricism unshackles you from the illusory chains that keep us all grounded in antipathy. It is a sonic awakening like no other.

Here’s what I, Harappan had to say on his debut release:

“A long ago, in the forgotten city of Harappa, in the land of river and stone, there was a child forged of bronze. The tribe of the Unicorn lived amidst the broken and beautiful Himalayas, birthing fortress worlds of twisted screens and dead white light; though lost to time, their stories live on.

Free Ones is the first release from my debut album, “The Harappan & The Devil”, an uplifting cosmic pop experience about never giving up, inspired by ancient mysticism, Tolkien & Diana Ross.”

THE FREE ONES is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brighton’s most cosmic collective, Tidal Rave, took us on an ‘Astral Escape’ with their neon pop-rock opera

Posted on 6 June 2022

Forget the phallic space race between Musk and Bezos, no one has gone deeper into the cosmos than the Brighton-based collective Tidal Rave in their latest single, Astral Escape (Adventure of a Lifetime), which stirs the soul in a quaintly imaginative style that we could more than get used to. I mean, existence has become synonymous with absurdity; you may as well live it through the oxytocin offered by an act that starts cuddle puddles at shows.

They call it whimsical insanity; we call it sticky-sweet ingenuity decorated in their enthusiasm to better the world through their space rock opera theatrics paired with kaleidoscopically colourful indie-pop hooks.

Astral Escape is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jack Wakeman & The Dreamstriders share the ‘Cosmic Fear’ in their latest single

Posted on 16 March 2022

It is easy to lament existing in this particular fragment of the space-time continuum. But at no other point in our history would we get to celebrate endearing alt-indie artists, such as Jack Wakeman & The Dreamstriders, and their tracks on apocalyptic optimism.

Cosmic Fear was written after a mental breakdown that left Wakeman overwhelmed by the magnitude of the sky. After the fear subsided, Wakeman was left adrift with existential confusion before he understood that it is ok to leave some things as a mystery. As meaning-makers, it’s hard to know where to draw the line and when to leave our curiosity behind; Cosmic Fear stunningly navigates the epiphany in true 80s synth-pop meets classic rock fashion.

If you like your existentialism sunny side up, the spacey indie pop rock earworm should be considered a playlist staple.

The official video to Cosmic Fear is available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Matt DeAngelis takes us a ‘Mile Down the Road’ in his crooned spacey piano pop ballad

Posted on 2 March 2022

Southern New Jersey singer-songwriter, Matt DeAngelis, is fresh from the release of his eagerly anticipated EP, World I’m Comin’ for You’. Judging by the standout single, Mile Down the Road, he has already arrived.

By taking influence from David Bowie, Elton John and Billy Joel, the piano-led ballad carries the same style of absorbingly escapist narrative that wraps you up in the theatrically tinged emotion that effortlessly flows from DeAngelis’ timeless crooned pop timbre.

The jazzy instrumental interludes, orchestral strings and intricately clever piano motifs defiantly stand in the way of Mile Down the Road as resonating as just another cheesy show tune. This track is definitely for the audiophiles – as is the whole EP, how could we just stop at one track? The concluding single, Maybe I, makes it almost impossible believe that it was created by a 23-year-old singer-songwriter and released in 2022.

Check out Matt DeAngelis on his official website, Spotify, Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Conor Latcham gets into the insidious underbelly of manipulationships with his self-deprecating disco track, Running

Posted on 1 March 2022

The Cardiff-based luminary, Conor Latcham has crooned his way back onto the airwaves with his latest spacey, synthy indie-disco pop track, RUNNING. The single was remotely recorded during lockdown with Marc Hughes (Lewis Capaldi, Tom Odell) on drums and Barry Grint (Beatles, Madonna, Prince) behind the mastering desk.

With the surfy angular guitar motifs around the mash of cosmic pop 80s nostalgia paired with Conor Latcham’s cooler than Alex Cameron vibe and the Arcade Fire-style catchy hooks, Running is infectious from the first hit. Despite the euphoria that effortlessly bleeds from Running, the essence of the single is far darker as it delves into the insidious underbelly of one-sided relationships. It is a masterclass in how to use your wit for closure. Grab a notepad and hit play.

You can feel the self-deprecating disco love for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Country hooks up with 70s cosmic pop in Marcus Liuzzi’s latest single, 2 Night Stand

Posted on 4 February 2022

Country meets 70s cosmic pop in the Massachusetts-hailing singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Liuzzi’s latest single, 2 Night Stand.

The deeply candid and narrative track spins the whiskey-soaked tale of a hook-up that left the hook firmly embedded itself far beyond the hungover sunrise. If there is any definitive proof that the loss of the object of our lust is as crushing as the loss of love, it is this humbly honest track. It wears its heart on the shimmering guitar progressions, Americana-influenced basslines, psychedelically warm keys, and the occasional orchestral sing motif.

There are hints of R.E.M. in the vocals that rest atop the country twang and influence from ELO, Bowie and the Beatles. Only an insanely talented artist could pull that off in such an endearing fashion. It is safe to say that we are pretty hooked.

You can get down with a 2 Night Stand for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Space pop goes baroque in J.T. Rogers’s latest single, The Cycle of Orbit, featuring Carter Costello.

Posted on 9 November 2021

After the successful release of his 2021 debut album, All Through Time and Space, J.T. Rogers teamed up with Carter Costello for his latest alt-pop hit, The Cycle of Orbit. After hearing the synthy-sweet hooky chorus, I’m fairly sure I surrendered a significant proportion of my soul to the mesmerising collaborative duo.

I don’t make Peeing Tom reminiscences lightly. Yet, the Seattle-born, LA-based artist warranted it with his uniquely evocative mix of vocal vibrato and reverb atop of the baroquely twisted instrumentals.

J.T Rogers took space pop to a fairly dark place, but those who find their minds in the shadows regardless will find plenty of salvation in this gorgeous amalgamation of bedroom pop, lo-fi and emo which is just as psychedelic as the most Avant work from the Legendary Pink Dots.

Costello adds a gorgeous dynamic single with his commanding debonair-vibe vocals. It comes as little surprise that J.T. is starting to amass so much traction in his career. We can’t wait to hear what he pours onto the airwaves next.

The Cycle of Orbit is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast