Browsing Tag

New York Music

Dancefloor-worthy devotion drenched the latest melodic house hit, Until You Wake, by Horizon Beats

Posted on 5 September 2026

Horizon Beats has been emotionally heightening melodic house since 2020, and with their latest single, Until You Wake, they reached peak-sticky sweet transcendence.

Evolving from an ambiently melancholic prelude and first verse, where nothing reverberates more than the emotion from the deep, sombre indie-pop-adjacent vocals, Until You Wake builds into a burst of kinetically bright energy and keeps flexing its progressive muscles to leave your emotions in a head spin.

Until You Wake follows someone standing beside a loved one who cannot wake, saving little memories, collecting stories and promising to wait for as long as love demands. Yet the single refuses to drown in tragedy. Its hopeful melodic-house drop becomes the emotional release, translating patience, resilience and devotion into a bright, body-lifting surge.

Founded in New York by Steven Sinanan and Recardo Ramkishun, Horizon Beats began as a beat-making and instrumental production channel before turning fully towards EDM and melodic house in 2025; it’s always perceptible when producers understand the fundamentals of space instead of only knowing how to make an ‘impact’ through dizzying drops.

Fans of Lane 8, Ben Böhmer, Tinlicker and Elderbrook should get plenty from the track’s progressive lift, tender vocal framing and cinematic electronic reach.

Until You Wake is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lucid Lip’s Debut LP, Face Paint, is Big Enough for Broadway

Posted on 5 September 2026

After a two-year break in releases, Lucid Lip left listeners ravenous for more smoky alt-rock that refuses to pledge allegiance to any sub-genre or era. Their debut album, Face Paint, exhibits the artist at the zenith of their affecting, emotion-driven songwriting.

The opening title single charges through the carnivalesque absurdity of our twisted modernity, making lamenting proclamations, thick with painfully relatable frustration instead of self-pity, allowing them to harmonise over euphorically tempered synth-rock melodies that are fraught with tension, and when you think you’ll get the aural adrenaline hit from the juiciest crescendo, Lucid Lip cuts the music, whispering before the fuzzy polyphonic synth rapture hits like an intravenous shot of electricity.

Honestly, the debut album deserves its own Broadway musical; THAT’S how sensational the thematically theatrical album is. Lucid Lip doesn’t go for the obvious observations; they dig deeper under the skin, excavating the emotions that turn souls into static monochrome while closing our window of tolerance ever tighter.

Having spent over a decade in New York City, the group have carried their high-energy live force through Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, Arlene’s Grocery, Our Wicked Lady and SXSW in Austin, Texas. They’re practically barking with pedigree and playlist appeal to fans of St. Vincent, Radiohead, Alabama Shakes and Black Pumas.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Arianna Neikrug is a paragon of panoramic pop-soul romanticism in her piano ballad, ‘Till I Find My Guy’

Posted on 31 August 2026

The lead single, Till I Find My Guy, from Arianna Neikrug’s forthcoming sophomore studio album, Deep Blue, is a panoramic expanse of the weightless feeling that hits when you catch yourself yearning for a figure to fulfil your future. The New York City-based performing artist, long rooted in the city’s jazz community, stepped beyond standards through this seminal release and let her voice move through pop-soul with gorgeously open sincerity.

Filling the wide-open space in the production with intricate piano motifs and one of the most resoundingly sincere voices we have had on our radar this year, Till I Find My Guy carries an almost fantastical element. The arrangement begins with piano-led intimacy before growing into a chorus warm enough to make romantic optimism feel like a physical place.

This one is for the lovers as much as it is for the dreamers. Given the celestial quality of Arianna Neikrug’s grace-led performance, it is almost impossible to believe that there is a soul within this material reality worthy of stepping into the fantasy.

Fans of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro, Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Lianne La Havas should feel instantly at home in the emotional architecture of Deep Blue. Till I Find My Guy delivers the ultimate escapism through romanticism, while placing Neikrug firmly inside her own new songwriting chapter.

Till I Find My Guy is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Betrayal Beckons Redemption in Randy Beth’s Graceful Pop Rush, ‘classy’

Posted on 9 June 2026

Randy Beth belongs to the rare breed of pop artist whose celestial glow of an aura becomes addictive from the first melodic breath of her music. Her latest single, classy, which has racked up almost 50k streams on Spotify alone since its recent launch, exhibits how redemptive it is to move on from heartache and betrayal with class, grace, and the refusal to do anything except put yourself first.

The spirited sense of soul in the production sweeps you up in an arcane arrangement as hazy hues spill around you, while Randy Beth’s cinematically warm vocals keep everything tethered. She reaches the epitome of consolation without sacrificing the infectious melodic propulsion of the release, letting classy feel emotionally generous while still carrying that polished pop voltage needed to make it stick.

Based in New York, Randy Beth began sharing her songs with her 2021 debut single, make a home, and has continued building a catalogue rooted in emotional storytelling and visual world-building. Now on her eighth single, she sharpens her sound around betrayal, ego, and the return of self-worth with the kind of clean-lined pop conviction that feels ready for a much larger audience.

It is about time Taylor Swift ate her heart out to another pop trailblazer’s sound, and with classy, Randy Beth handed her the fork.

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

Follow Randy Beth on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

abeni_ delivered a sonic slow-burn of intimacy and intent in her soul-rooted single ‘New Love’

Posted on 14 October 2025

New Love, the latest single from abeni_, is a slow-burning confession wrapped in sonic fire. With her soul-rooted vocals and a soundscape that transcends nostalgic imitation, abeni_ brings far more than a nod to Y2K RnB. There’s a simmering pulse of Latin guitars, hypnotic harmony layers, and a beat that builds and blossoms through a full emotional spectrum. This isn’t a track that coasts on aesthetics or tropes; it’s a visceral rendering of what it feels like to open your heart wide to someone new, knowing full well the risks, and doing it anyway.

The production keeps the energy tactile, never letting a single emotional pulse fall flat. It caresses rather than commands, yet the power in the restraint is palpable. You feel the vulnerability in the creases of the vocal lines, and the confidence blooming beneath them. There’s heat and hesitancy in equal measure, creating a rich emotional complexity that mirrors the first flickers of intimacy. It doesn’t simply profess affection; it carries you through the fire, the doubt, and the dizzying hope of fresh connection.

Raised in a household of writers rather than musicians, abeni_ came to music as an act of personal discovery. From school plays to chorus classes, her passion grew until it demanded a spotlight. Though she took a detour into education, earning a Masters and teaching in New York schools, the call to perform never quietened. Encouraged by her students, she stepped back to find where her voice belongs. New Love is her reclamation of that space, proving that when she sings, she lands right where she’s always meant to be.

New Love is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Randy Beth Made an Artform of Heartbreak in Her Ethereal Pop Ballad, ‘overstay’

Posted on 27 July 2025

New York’s indie pop artist Randy Beth packed enough emotional punch in her latest single, overstay, to aurally bruise listeners with the weight of retrospection alone. Hollywood producers usually need 90 minutes to relay a crushing blockbuster heartbreaker; Randy Beth achieves it in just four minutes by skilfully morphing motifs into deeply evocative revelations. Her voice blows away the smoke and shatters the mirrors that pop artists frequently hide behind, allowing her to become an iconic confidant whose lyrical intimacy has all the potency of a heartbreak remedy.

Fragmented electronica oscillations ripple through the track, mirroring how the mind splinters when contending with slow-burn heartache, while lush, ethereal textures gently refract through a melody cradled by perennially mellifluous guitar tones. When the production finally lets go, ascending with almost alchemical force, the entire experience lifts into something powerful enough to cling to your memory.

marking Randy Beth’s seventh release, overstay sees the rising pop artist boldly stepping into balladry. With lyrical vulnerability that captures the difficult realisation of lingering too long in a relationship gone cold, she provides catharsis through questions we’ve all silently asked. Continuing to build a discography of raw honesty and emotional nuance, Randy Beth is a rare artist who is authentically committed to making music that helps listeners feel genuinely seen and understood.

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

Folllow Randy Beth on TikTok and Instagram. 


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Folk Meets Fury – Max Bartos Unleashes Country Punk in ‘Crossroads’

Posted on 5 July 2025

Max Bartos tore through the mediocrity of conventional folk with his latest single, Crossroads; though he hails from NYC, the twang that ripples through his riotous sonic signature screams pure country. Anyone with a penchant for firebrand folk that rallies against the confines of genre will find themselves hooked on Bartos’ knack for fusing 70s folk-pop pianos with a whirling dervish of frenetic alt-rock energy. There’s nothing docile about the way he marshals his instrumentals; the feverish pace commands your pulse to keep up or get lost in the slipstream.

Within Crossroads, Bartos offers the rush of classic folk with punk’s pulsing mettle, channelling exhilaration that is only amplified by his youthful hunger for reinvention. His sound is the kind that leaves you breathless, battered, and glad for it, as the folk-punk melodies threaten to punch through the walls of the traditional and shake the dust from even the most jaded listeners. It’s not for the light-hearted; seriously, if you’re sporting a pacemaker, you might want to sit this one out.

Max Bartos’ catalogue is a testament to his ceaseless evolution; since his 2020 debut, he’s moved from Broadway’s Sing Street to carving a space all his own with records like Such Is Life and Memento Mori, working alongside industry greats like Alan Douches. With his upcoming EP, “Waiting At The Crossroads”, the folk landscape will need to brace itself.

Crossroads is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get ready to rock (opera) with the standout single from Solemn Pledge’s latest concept EP, Hollywood Dreams

Posted on 30 October 2023

A starlet sleeps in ‘Hollywood Dreams’ in the standout rock opera number from Solemn Pledge’s latest concept EP, Anna May Wong: A Screen Icon Story.

There are few things as visceral as the passion that drives us to reach the heights we are born to ascend to; the anthemic orchestration which emanates determination by the cinematic smorgasbord is one of the few exceptions as the NY outfit pays a fittingly strident ode to Hollywood’s first Chinese-American star.

Right from the opening instrumental sequence, you will be catapulted in the captivating hit which puts the guitars in overdrive to give them a fighting chance to dominate the soundscape with Maria Genevieve Elia’s commanding vocal lines which will blindside you with their three-and-a-half octave range.

After the previous EP, which touched on the history of Joan of Arc, we can’t wait to hear the ground Solemn Pledge choose to storm across with their next.

Stream Hollywood Dreams with the rest of the concept EP which dropped on October 20 by heading to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘Our Numbered Days’ album review: The incomparable multi-talented Queens musician Lauren Kidd drops her incredible debut full album release that finds her dealing with the final stages of grief

Posted on 28 December 2020

‘Our Numbered Days‘ from the Queens singer-songwriter Lauren Kidd is her debut full album release and this was certainly worth the wait. We find a musician who knows herself now deep inside and is flourishing with each passing moment.

Lauren Kidd is a New York City-based writer, singer-songwriter, dreamer and ever-evolving creative who has her eyes set for the stars above and nothing less. When you set big goals, sometimes you fall down and scratch yourself, but its how you pick yourself up, that truly counts long-term.

After reviewing her excellent lead single ‘I Want It To Be You‘ recently which is now track eight, we are treated to the full experience which more than lives up to expectations.

You feel a weight lifted off your tired shoulders when you turn on this concept record and you know you are in safe hands.

With ‘Make You Smile’, there is a happy energy that is pushed through and the overwhelming feeling is that she is looking for that love again and just wants a chance to show that is ready again. The Pop pureness is such a blessing on the ear and the melodic rhythm is a welcome addition to a wild year.

Other highlights are, and there are so many, are definitely ‘Our Numbered Days‘ as this should be the theme of 2020. The days are so short and who knows what tomorrow will bring so we need that special feeling now, to get that love rush back into our veins.

‘Still‘ is such a gorgeous delivery and the hard hitting beat just makes it so much better. This is the chronicle of how you want them so badly when they aren’t around and the haunting vocals fills your soul. I imagine this to be a future music video for Lauren.

‘Ours‘ is a song my mind wandered far away on. I got lost in the track and reminisced about previous relationships and those happy memories and what went right. The sadness of losing someone to a breakup hurts hard and it can consume you but you have to keep those good times locked away and never forget them.

They say that class is permanent and this is absolutely true on this occasion. Lauren is such a talented musician who puts in the extra hard work to make her stand out and doesn’t expect any freebies. Its this type of attitude that will see her go far in the music world as that is what it takes to be the best at what you do. A lot of friends won’t understand and there will be some lonely nights but if you want it bad enough, you gotta go and get it. Its your life after all and you walk the road that choose, not anyone else.

Lauren Kidd’s ‘Our Numbered Days‘ is one of the best releases of 2020 due to the meaningful lyrics, her excellent vocal projection and with her determined mindset, she is an example for others on how to do things with your music career. There are no fillers on this album, nothing you can skip, and this is so rare these days in a ‘quick and forget’ society where it’s easy to be forgotten.

If she can stay focused and keep on having a small but loyal team around her that always has her back, Lauren can go wherever she wants to go with her music. Form is temporary but class remains forever and with a secret track inside, this is an album that will inspire so many and warm their hearts.

Stream the new album on Spotify and see her adventures on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

NYC band Lower Power are fully-charged on ‘All About Me’

Posted on 23 September 2020

Lower Power charge in with the politically aware new Rock banger called ‘All About Me‘.

New York City band Lower Power rages with fire and self-confessed wild and honest abandon. They speak on the important topics that usually get brushed under the carpet. Issues like gun violence, mental health, war, status of women, the rise to power of evil people that take over with their greedy style are all mentioned here. This is a video that cuts into the real problems that modern day society face, both in the USA and the world.

The story goes that the band came together when Pat met Jon and Ben playing at an 80’s Karaoke gig. Singing at the top of the lungs I’m sure as they are all passionate music fans, first and foremost. Pat asked them if they’d like to play in a punk rock band. they said yes. Pat met Konrad at a bar where he was playing a country gig and asked him if he wanted to play in a punk band. He said yes and the rest as they say, is history. They had two 2 hour rehearsals a month apart. The band went into Konrad’s and recorded the basic tracks in just 4 hours. This shows how energetic the band is and they wanted their music out there as soon as possible to spread their message, far and wide.

Lower Power rock out with the best intentions on their new single ‘All About Me‘. Their video and song strikes a topic that we all need to be aware about.

Click here for the YouTube.

Head through to the Bandcamp to support.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen