Browsing Tag

dark pop

VITA has dropped one of the most ensnaringly Avant-Garde debuts of the year with BADBADBAD.

Posted on 28 February 2022

With her debut single, BADBADBAD., the icon in the making VITA is pushing alternative attitude and avant-garde textures into the mainstream, which is all a part of her mission to break society’s boundaries, and encourage her listeners to do the same.

If you could imagine the fierce feminine ferocity of Peaches paired with the earworm appeal of Rihanna and the extreme multidimensional artistry of SKYND, you will be able to get an idea of what the Sydney-hailing artist delivered in her arrestingly promising debut.

If the sonic gravitas isn’t enough to leave you enraptured, her determination to carry the power of her ancestry in her rebellious modern sound will be more than efficacious. Vita was named after her great aunt who died in the Holocaust; once you register the sheer juggernaut power in BADBADBAD. with that in mind, it is enough to leave you with goosebumps.

BADBADBAD. is now available to stream on Spotify.

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

Lily Slate – The Devil Made Me Do It; prepare your hedonistic pop playlists

Posted on 25 February 2022

‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ is the sinfully sweet dark electro-pop anthem from the born audiophile and luminary artist Lily Slate. The ultimate hedonists’ anthem unravels to ensnaring synths, polyrhythmic guitars, filthy electric guitar licks and swathes of deep sub-bass. While Slate’s sultry vocal magnetism draws you into the track that reminds you how good it feels to surrender to inhibition.

The Californian artist draws inspiration from the obscure and iconic. Bowie, Eno, and Mercury all became a massive part of the artist’s sphere of influence. Yet, when it comes to his sound, the composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter notably followed his own lasciviously iniquitous edge.

The Devil Made Me Do It features on Slate’s debut album, ii, which is due for release on 22/02/2022.

The Devil Made Me Do It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peach Giraffe has released the angst-rife industrial earworm of the year with ‘NUMB!’

Posted on 24 February 2022

NUMB! is the latest scuzzy industrial pop track from the caustically indulgent alternative artist, Peach Giraffe; it is a no-wave league ahead of the current garage punk trend and easily one of the most authentic alt-rock hits to have hit the airwaves so far in 2022

If any track has what it takes to unite fans of Fidlar, $uicideboy$, and Skinny Puppy, it is the angst-rife earworm, NUMB! The tumultuous triumph of a single succeeds in lyrically and sonically depicting the frenetic and fraught emotions that broil to the surface when a relationship delipidates. The clever touches to the production and the vocal FX stand as a testament to Peach Giraffe’s ingenuity. They have exactly what it takes to go viral. Watch this space.

NUMB! is now available to stream via Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dark pop royalty, HVIRESS, cordially invite you to bite into their latest baroque single, Golden Apple

Posted on 19 February 2022

With the baroquely orchestral strings against the cinematically dark electro elements and HVIRESS bringing just as much alchemy to the mix vocally with their gothy occultist harmonies, Golden Apple is a bewitching triumph of a single from the dark pop duo.

If Emilie Autumn broke out of her Victorian anachronistic bubble and entered the realm of demure pop, the results would be equally as indulgent as the darkly imaginative single that also plays with tribal and apocalyptic themes.

You can watch the equally as artistic and obscure Lolita-style music video that premiered on February 11th for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Horror pop royalty, Minerva Daisy, returns with her latest single, Something Strange

Posted on 16 February 2022

Manchester-based alt-indie pop singer-songwriter Minerva Daisy delivered macabre poetry in her latest horror pop single, Something Strange.

After a baroque pop intro, the track starts to pick up momentum after the powerful and queer indie pop songstress delivers the striking lyric “there’s a lump in your throat, I hope it swallows you up” and sets the tone for the fiery release that will allow you to imagine what Kate Nash would have sounded like if she found the inclination to become a murder folk artist. Even though there’s plenty of dark imagery in the high-octane hit, that doesn’t strip the luminary light from this infectious hell hath no fury like a woman scorned release. Any fans of Amanda Palmer, Amigo the Devil, and the Creepshow will find that Something Strange is just as obsession-worthy.

If anyone has what it takes to shake the monotony out of the Manchester music scene, our money is on Minerva Daisy.

Something Strange will officially release on February 16th, 2022. Check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Horsham-based Dark-Pop sensation Parkerxx knows that her ex is still obsessed with her desirable beauty on ‘You Still Want Me’

Posted on 12 February 2022

After impressing us all with her outstanding release from late 2020 called ‘Lights Out’, Parkerxx is back and in an unforgettable mood with her ultra-catchy new single you can’t stop hearing in the deepest part of your seduced soul with ‘You Still Want Me‘.

Parkerxx aka Steph McGuire is a Horsham, UK-based alternative Dark-Pop solo singer-songwriter who uses her love for fashion, art and literature to create classy and delectable music that is totally original.

”My most notable achievement to date is having my single ‘Love Bites’ reach the semi-finals in the 2020 International Songwriting Competition. Out of over 26,000 entries ‘Love Bites’ was chosen as one of 200 tracks for the Pop Top 40 category.” ~ Parkerxx

Showing us why she is one of the most compelling Pop talents out of the UK that you should know about, Parkerxx constructs the type of mesmerizingly enchanting music that seems to vibrate in your innocent ears and has you somehow turning up the volume automatically to make sure that you don’t miss a second of this excellent musician.

‘You Still Want Me‘ from UK-based alternative Dark-Pop solo artist Parkerxx, is one of those hot tracks that might burn you if you aren’t too careful. We find a captivating talent who is improving incredibly after each release, as she finds her ideal sound and catches your attention like a lightning storm that has your heart beating in a way that is hard to explain. She seems to possess that extra desire that you are born with – and leads us into her world that has moved on – from someone who didn’t do what was necessary to keep her around and is now regretting this ill-advised move.

Listen to this new sizzling single on Spotify and see more of her exciting life via the IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Don’t You Cry: Dresden darkwave act Ghosts Over Dresden drop first single ‘My Dark Angel’

Posted on 22 January 2022

With striking energy that might shock many into having nightmares, Ghosts Over Dresden sends us a blood-soaked love story that could stain your teeth with the debut single called ‘My Dark Angel‘.

Ghosts Over Dresden is a darkwave/goth band from Dresden, Germany who let flow with a release that will have you looking deeply into this intriguing effort.

”Emerging in an era in which quite literally every music scene in every city in the world was dying at the hands of a deadly virus, Ghosts Over Dresden (G.O.D) rose from the still smoking ashes to bring a new brand of darkwave in a desperate time. Creating songs that brood and shimmer as well as tracks with hooks for days, G.O.D. is calling hungry audiences to the altar for the resurrection of dark pop.” ~ Ghosts Over Dresden

With a moody ambience that tells us the story about a passionate love that is highly intense and packed full of that romance that sends shivers down your spine, Ghosts Over Dresden takes us into a new world that will either excite you or scare you into pieces.

‘My Dark Angel‘ from the Dresden, Germany-based indie darkwave act Ghosts Over Dresden, is a thrilling effort that might belong in a horror movie. The painted face aura has your thoughts gusting back to Halloween, and this is a track that will take you into the darkest part of a liaison that is packed full of devotion that it might cause either one of you to break in half.

For all the fans of this mysteriously created genre – you have found yourself a new underground hero – who make that soul-shocking experience that will have you peeking around nervously when the lights are out.

Hear this haunting new single on Spotify and see what they get up to on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Embrace the chaos with Aimee Saturne’s alchemically ethereal dark pop single, Edge of the World

Posted on 15 January 2022

Dark pop alchemist, Aimee Saturne, proves that she’s still LA’s supreme in her latest single, Edge of the World, which incorporates her usual sultry air while encapsulating the same sense of trepidation that has been gripping us all a little too hard as of late.

Edge of the World finds an ethereal way to call out to anyone who is feeling trapped on our hell-scape of a planet where we can’t quite escape the unjustness or find an even footing within it.

The single starts with her smoother than smooth vocal timbre atop muted guitars; when the momentum begins to build in the electro-pop hit, there’s a tumultuous nature in spite of the arrestive pull of the moody melodies. Aimee Saturne deserves to be equally as revered as Billie Eilish, St Vincent, and every other pop visionary that is taking the future of pop into their deft hands. With her debut album currently in production, she is definitely one to watch.

Edge of the World is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ziyaad Luceō takes us through a ‘Moment in Time’ in his latest cinematic aural triumph

Posted on 1 January 2022

Remember when we anticipated all of the incredible art that would transpire through creative minds being locked away and forced to reflect? The breakthrough artist, Ziyaad Luceō, delivered exactly what we aspiringly yearned for with his latest single, Moment in Time.

The Toronto-based singer-songwriter and producer has become an international sensation since the release of his 2020 album, Through These Eyes. His most popular single, Summer ’21, has racked up over 1 million streams on Spotify alone, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

In Moment in Time, he lures you in with a simple piano melody before the electronic effects start to resound around his hypnotically smooth vocal timbre. His strident passion fuels the cinematically arranged single that artfully unfolds around the sound of waves crashing, minor-key melodies and lyrics that capture emotional cruxes that break through the monotony.

Moment in Time is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast