Browsing Tag

New Wave Pop

Jarju Binks Stripped Back the Swagger of Singlehood in the Subversively Psychedelic Masterstroke of Genre Fusion, Nobody’s Girl

Posted on 29 July 2026

Following a swanky old-school jazz prelude, Nobody’s Girl finds a different semblance of swagger as a new-wave indie-pop earworm with a charged rhythm section, crunchy guitars and sustained vocal notes that resonate with the kind of psychedelia often heard ringing through The Stone Roses’ brand of 90s pop. Jarju Binks, the independent singer-songwriter from Hayes, West London, uses that stylistic looseness with proper purpose.

With a title like Nobody’s Girl, it is easy to brace for a potent dose of pensiveness, but Jarju Binks’ talent in subversion clearly is not contained within genre fusion. He brings empowerment to independence before the track shifts gear into jazzy acid-house electricity, bringing it all full circle through the velvety reverberations of a spoken-word sermon about the self-reclamation of singlehood.

Yet Nobody’s Girl refuses to stop at easy liberation. After a psychedelic-rock interlude, Binks paints the other side of independence, bringing another unexpected curveball and revealing the vulnerability behind self-sufficiency, the loneliness behind the façade. In his verses, two realities can exist at once without contradiction, and each new line has a cerebral way of recontextualising the last.

As he works towards his forthcoming album, Love Ain’t Easy, written from the perspective of a cynical romantic and produced by StudioBlak, Jarju Binks is the epitome of a firebrand of lyrical intellect who deserves to be upheld.

Nobody’s Girl is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rayrick’s ‘Orbit’ Sends Tenderness Through Cosmically Spaced Electronica and Neon New Wave Desire

Posted on 5 June 2026

On June 5th, Rayrick launched his most intimately interstellar release yet with Orbit. With his unique talent in bringing tenderness into expansive sound design, the Taiwan-born, NYC-based electronica artist has been making all the right waves since his debut; he approaches retro-futurist soundscapes with reverence for past and present, keeping the soul of 80s synth pop alive while exhibiting how attuned he is to the fervour that falls over contemporary dancefloors.

Passion finds its propulsion through the strobing synths, snares, cosmically spacious motifs and vocals, delivered by a guest vocalist whose emotive depth rivals the Grand Canyon, pulling you into a black hole of sticky-sweet progressive pop romanticism glossed with the neon strobe lights of new wave synth pop. Orbit carries melodic dubstep, bass, and progressive house through a clean-lined, emotionally heightened production style that’s built for headphones and rooms where bodies move under ultraviolet light.

As a producer, DJ, and audio engineer, Rayrick brought his technical chops to the single without sterilising its sentiment. His attention to structure, pacing, and atmosphere gives Orbit its sense of lift, letting the track feel expansive, intimate, and ready for late-night surrender.

Orbit is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luka Sol’s Killin’ It Floods the Soul with Neon Strobes and Synth-Heavy Self-Belief

Posted on 27 May 2026

Luka Sol’s second single, Killin’ It, from his sophomore LP, Mirrors, paints him as an unreckonable alt-pop force who will never be caught bringing a knife to a gunfight. As a master of bridging the gaps between new wave synth pop, RnB, and dream pop with pure, iridescent emotion, he has gone beyond attempting to stay ahead of the curve; his synth-heavy sonic signature sits in a whole other stratosphere from the nostalgia-clingers.

Like a synthesis of all the most affecting aspects of The Midnight, The Human League, Kraftwerk, and The Weeknd, Killin’ It is an earworm that endears its way into your soul and floods your rhythmic circuitry with neon-lit strobes of interstellar kinetic energy. Co-produced with Courtney Ballard and Jared Poythress, the single carries the raw force of drowning out external noise and internal doubt, turning defiance into an atmospheric anthem for late-night reckoning.

Behind Luka Sol is Shawn Day, an artist, DJ, and producer shaped between Los Angeles and Sheridan, Wyoming. After Stargaze charted on Spotify and reached 120,000 streams within its first two weeks, Killin’ It affirms his ability to build cinematic alt-pop around isolation, ambition, and hard-won self-belief.

Killin’ It is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Giselle – YOUNG: A Reckoning of Indie Synth Pop Inner-Child Healing

Posted on 15 May 2026

Brooklyn-born, LA-based independent artist Giselle reaches straight into the tender electricity of youth with YOUNG, a new wave indie pop single that melodically cascades as a retro-futuristic sonic fountain of youth. Wrapped in incandescent soul and 80s nostalgia, the track feels lit from within as she turns towards her inner child, retrospectively looking back on the lessons learned while fusing passion with tender compassion.

The production gleams with synth lines, polished percussion, and a dreamy pop radiance that gives the single its bittersweet cinematic lift. Giselle’s vocal presence carries the weight of memory and the thrill of self-recognition, letting each hook feel emotionally open without surrendering its sleek pop architecture. There are touches of pop icons in the vein of Laura Branigan embedded within the production, while the softer, glossy dream-pop atmosphere recalls the emotional ease popularised by Sabrina Carpenter.

YOUNG lands as a lush, emotionally dualistic triumph from an artist who has been cutting her teeth as a songwriter from an early age. It carries the feeling of a feel-good blockbuster reaching its most heart-swollen scene, where the past finally speaks with affection rather than regret. Giselle’s inbox should be flooded with sync opportunities after this.

YOUNG is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Link Strummer Transfused Satin-Slick Electropop Desire into a Radio-Ready Earworm with ‘Victoria’s Secret’

Posted on 30 April 2026

The pop sensation, Link Strummer, has struck again, and this time he’s strumming the sound of seduction with his latest single, Victoria’s Secret.

Nile Rodgers-style staccato funk-racked guitar chops cut against the jazzy horn stabs as the new wave synth lines strobe in the vein of The Midnight, while the vocals remain locked and loaded with libido that seems to have a lifeforce of its own, resulting in an infectious hot-under-the-collar anthem that deserves to slam through speaker systems worldwide this summer. It’s in the orbit of the contemporary pop cultural zeitgeist, while refusing the limitations of the electropop mould; it smoulders in its own lane, amplifying the lingerie-draped heat of the radio-ready earworm.

There are flashes of Prince in the satin-slick sensuality, The Weeknd in the neon-night pulse of the atmosphere, and George Michael in the teasing confidence of the delivery of the lyrics, which carry a psychological sharpness that cuts like razor wire.

After stepping away from music for five years, the Toronto artist returned in 2025 with a clearer sense of identity and a debut album shaped around obsession, desire, guilt, accountability, and emotional fallout. Victoria’s Secret lands as another glimpse into that world, where retro-pop textures and self-aware storytelling move in close formation.

Victoria’s Secret is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Myra Keyes Threw Indie Pop into the Fire and Let Foam Rise with Retro-Futuristic Fever

Posted on 10 October 2025
https://open.spotify.com/artist/42CEdwQ3nYwVfLRjyMWqwS

Archetypal indie-pop cuts clearly aren’t sharp enough for Myra Keyes, judging by her seminal single, Foam, which takes the arbitrary parameters of pop and casts them into the inferno of her red-hot, authentically rendered aural blueprint.

The time signatures trip the rhythmic pulse into a state of dizzy reverie as they brush you up against the anatomy of the sticky-sweet, synth-driven earworm. Her vocals, glazed with just enough reverb to keep the hypnosis spellbinding, glide through the mix while the production fuses the aesthetics of Billie Eilish with the retrofuturist shimmer of funk-slicked new wave synth pop. It’s an electrified indietronica detour where the hooks keep swinging and the energy refuses to let up.

Chicago-based Keyes may have only just turned twenty, but her CV already reads like someone who has lived a full artistic lifetime. From her early years as a five-year National Piano Guild member, studying under jazz pianist Grant Richards, recording with Decemberist Jenny Conlee, and performing with Shook Twins and Patti King of the Shins, she’s no stranger to high-calibre collaborators.

Now writing, arranging, and producing her own material after teaching herself bass and guitar, she’s gearing up to release her sophomore LP, Signature Move, on October 24. With Joe Mengis, Scott Weddle, and Scott McPherson lending their talents, the record promises a full spectrum of genre-skewering vignettes.

Foam is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trukadi Bottled the Sweet Bruise of Longing in the Emo-Tinged Pop Euphonic Euphoria of ‘Arizona’

Posted on 1 June 2025

Trukadi pulled sincerity out of the abstract and dressed it in melody for his first 2025 release, Arizona. By kicking trends to the curb and bringing hooks that ensnare with an unflinching grip, he built a euphoric mirage of Midwest emo guitars and pop sensibilities so sticky-sweet it practically melts into your chest. His unique aural blueprint feels less like a stylistic choice and more like an atmosphere; one that seeps through the cracks and soaks you in nostalgic ache and starry-eyed optimism.

The San Francisco Bay Area artist has already proven his prowess behind the console with his instrumental EP Threshold and emotionally raw glitch-hop outings like Pick and Choose. But Arizona marks a definitive evolution. The vocal tone is fuller, the songwriting sharper, and the emotion even more unfiltered. There’s no hesitation in how the track leans into vulnerability. There’s bruising in every shimmering chord and beat, but it’s the kind of ache you welcome. The kind that reminds you what it means to feel everything at once.

Between his finesse over fretwork and his ability to turn yearning into something you can wrap yourself in, Trukadi offered a self-examination soundtracked by subtle euphoria. Arizona hits on every level. You might have to explain the marks.

Arizona is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TALK IN CODE injected modernism into the euphonic aura of the 80s with their indie synthpop hit, Something of Nothing

Posted on 2 March 2024

TALK IN CODE’s latest single, Something of Nothing, is effortless to translate. The Swindon-based fourpiece injected modernism into the euphonic aura of the 80s to deliver a perennial pop earworm that will hook you into its core as it laments on people who can’t fight the compulsion to clamour over drama.

As the nostalgically retro synths cascade around the angular indie jangle-pop guitars, the vocals that flow with the new wave of pop pull you deeper into the anthemics of the rhythmically bolstered track that moves beyond stylistic influence.

If you’re sick of wading through the landfill of contemporary indie pop that now monolithically towers over what we had to contend with in the 90s, the cultivation of Something of Nothing will allow you to remember how it feels to get truly excited by a new outfit – you won’t be alone. TALK IN CODE has garnered swathes of critical acclaim from BBC Introducing, Q Music and Amazing Radio to supplement the fervour from their loyal fanbase.

After gracing over 500 playlists and racking up 300k streams across streaming platforms, indie ensembles don’t come much more promising than TALK IN CODE. If you got caught up in The 1975 hype, find a new obsession by hitting play on Something of Nothing.

Something of Nothing will be available to stream on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, from March 1st.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dylan Galvin painted a disparaging sign of the sonic times while firing shots at plastic pop acts in ‘How to Write a Pop Song’

Posted on 20 January 2024

Is there any better feeling than hitting play on a track and being greeted by lyrical depictions of the frustrations that keep you scathed? If you’re inclined to say no, you’re going to want to tune into Dylan Galvin’s latest hit, How to Write a Pop Song, where there are countless lyrical shots fired at the artists and producers cheapening the pop industry with every new ‘perennial pop earworm’.

The efficacious new wave synthpop hooks are buried under a myriad of lyrical layers which subversively make the single a revelationary exposition of how pop music has been plasticised and commercialised beyond recognition. With echoes of 80s greats in the same vein as George Michael reminding you of what pop used to be in its golden era fused with a modern synth aesthetic reminiscent of John Mayer, How to Write a Pop Song is a disparaging sign of the sonic times that will exhilarate you through the vindication you extrapolate.

With acerbic wit in no short supply, the track is a satirical triumph, especially with the inclusion of “choruses have got to big, thoughts have to be small”, and “just sing about your ex and how things used to be”. It was a bold move to be so damning of a genre he is contributing to, but Dylan Galvin more than pulled it off. While taunting the artists whose songs will be quickly be lost to history, he became unequivocally unforgettable.

How to Write a Pop Song will hit the airwaves on January 19; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Berto served an exotic elixir for the soul with his debut single, papi guapi

Posted on 9 December 2023

Berto’s debut single papi guapi is a striking entry into the synth-pop landscape, marking him as a promising new talent to watch in 2024. Hailing from the vibrant locales of Los Angeles and Orange County, Berto brings a refreshing and eclectic sound to the table, one that defies the constraints of a single genre.

The track stands out for its seamless blend of bilingual Spanish and English vocals, which Berto croons with a captivating finesse. His voice, an evocative elixir, gracefully flows over the new wave instrumentals which break free from the monocultural mould. The production is richly layered, featuring reverb-drenched motifs that infuse the track with an exotic 80s-tinged flair.

The track possesses an almost magnetic quality, seducing listeners into a dreamy haze reminiscent of the era’s best synth-pop offerings. Yet, it remains distinctly modern, thanks to Berto’s innovative approach to music production and his skill in blending traditional and contemporary elements. As the final track of Berto’s debut album Relampago Romantico, papi guapi holds a special place in the album’s narrative arc.

Papi guapi is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast