Browsing Tag

Folk Pop Ballad

Olivia Gubel takes us to ‘The Prom’ with her latest acoustic folk-pop ballad.

Posted on 19 October 2021

One of LA’s most promising stars, singer-songwriter Olivia Gubel, has bestowed upon the airwaves an acoustic folk-pop ballad that is uplifting enough to register as celestial.

‘The Prom’ captures the innocence of youth; if you’re currently living it, you will feel the resonance; if those days are long behind you, you’ll get a potently sweet shot of nostalgia while listening to this reflectively sweet single unfold.

At 18-years-old, Olivia already has the musicianship within her to create true connections with fans old and new. Her powerfully poetic lexicon, endlessly magnetic vocals and instantly accessible soundscapes make her a folk-pop triple threat.

The Prom is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mew Suppasit Jongcheveevat has gone viral with his bittersweet folk-pop track, Summer Fireworks

Posted on 28 July 2021

Since premiering on June 18th, the official music video for Thailand-based singer-songwriter Mew Suppasit Jongcheveevat’s latest single, Summer Fireworks, has racked up in excess of 9 million streams on YouTube alone. The addictive quality of the bittersweet folk-pop melody is irresistible from the first hit.

The cinematically progressive single starts with accordant acoustic guitar notes before the soundscape shifts into a semi-orchestral lovelorn ballad that captures the aching feeling of longing. The release seriously wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood Blockbuster with the panoramic production and the gentle yet dramatic nature of the ballad.

You can check out the official music video for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Izzy Frances’s ‘Stay With Me’ – Beautiful, Stripped-Bare, and Emotive.

Posted on 22 April 2021

It’s not often as a reviewer that one starts to run out of superlatives, but when it comes to UK-based singer-songwriter Izzy Frances that’s highly possible. Frances has already had some serious success with new single ‘Stay With Me’, reaching the top ten on iTunes on its day of release, and staying there ever since; already a semi-finalist in last year’s UK national song-writing contest, Izzy’s gained support from BBC Introducing for all her releases so far, and on this basis of this track it’s very easy to see why.

‘Stay With Me’ is a beautiful, gentle, vaguely folk-oriented piano-led ballad which is carried superbly by Frances’ delicate voice; a mix of heartfelt emotion, soft and gentle yet raw and powerful all at once. The sparse piano arrangement adds perfectly to the feel of the delivery; there’s touches of Beverly Craven, Phoebe Bridgers, and even Norah Jones to the vibe, the lyrics mature and exposed whilst the minor-chord accompaniment sits stunningly well underneath. ‘Stay With Me’ is subtle and tender, stripped bare, fragile and emotive, and exquisitely well done.

You can hear ‘Stay With Me’ on SoundCloud now. Follow Izzy Frances here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Kristen Beckwith tells a piano-led story of love, longing and betrayal with ‘Already Chosen Her’

Posted on 18 September 2020
Kristen Beckwith

Utah-based pop/folk singer-songwriter Kristen Beckwith’s heartfelt piano-led story of love, longing, and betrayal, is an intense, mournful tale of heartbreak, the refrain ‘if you loved me, why’d you tell me, when you knew/you were never coming back here, you’d already chosen her’ plaintive and haunting over the delicate minor chord arrangement.

It’s beautiful, Beckwith’s voice is more than able to carry the space in the style of Beverly Craven or Norah Jones, soothing, hurt, and sorrowful all at once, the anguish in the realisation of lost love – ‘…and I thought you were the one…’-  clear and heartfelt. The sparse instrumentation detracts nothing, instead, adding a pensive melancholy to the track that perfectly matches Beckwith’s vocal.

‘Already Chosen Her’ comes from Kristen Beckwith’s debut album ‘A True Story’, released on October 2nd. You can hear more from Kristen here.

Review by Alex Holmes