Browsing Tag

Summer Pop

Rap went pop in Don Drago’s single, Paradise ft. Bezz Believe & Nawlage 2k5

Posted on 28 April 2023

Prime your summer playlists with the hotter than Satan’s house cat pop-rap hit, Paradise, from the Tampa-based rapper Don Drago.

To turn up the good vibe heat to the nth degree, Bezz Believe and Nawlage 2K5 collaborated on the track, which boasts nuances of dancehall around the razor-sharp pop hooks that will embed in your mind from the first hit of this flavoursome feel-good seminal track, which proves that there are few things in life sweeter than partaking in sun-soaked hedonism.

Paradise is always painted as an intangible phenomenon; Don Drago proved that when the sea meets the sand under warm rays, paradise can be on any shore if you’re in the right company.

Paradise will hit the airwaves on April 28; check it out on SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AŸA is anything but pedestrian in her jazzy RnB pop single, Sidewalk

Posted on 22 April 2023

Singer-songwriter, producer, and artist AŸA has beguiled the Berlin scene and beyond with her latest RnB pop rendezvous, Sidewalk, which is anything but pedestrian for the way it breaks the monocultural mould by pulling on her Moroccan and Yemeni Roots while keeping the production refreshingly contemporary.

If I’m being honest, I dread the run-up to summer for the swathes of superficial sun-soaked singles that land on my metaphorical desk, but AŸA couldn’t be trite if she tried. The revolutionary soul in the ethereally warm vocal lines melding with the dominant percussion is a lesson in Summer pop alchemy. If the sax lines and the lyrics that narrate a story of romantic stagnation don’t leave you wanting to dive into realms of fulfilment, you may as well hibernate through summer too.

“The lyrics of the song are a metaphor for an ongoing relationship that is actually not going anywhere. Instead of riding into the sunlight with the one you love, you find yourself taking dark paths and compromises for the one you love even though it feels so wrong.”

Sidewalk was written, composed, and produced by AŸA, with help from Kurtis Wells, Johnny Kulo, and Gavriel. Executive production and mixing were taken care of by the #1 Billboard music producer, Ido Poleg, and the single was mastered by the award-winning engineer, Manon Grandjean.

Stream the official music video for Sidewalk on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Check into Marco x Kelvo’s vibe-heavy ‘Villa’

Posted on 22 June 2022

With every chance of becoming the 2022 summer anthem, if Gen Z can tear themselves away from Running Up That Hill, Marco & Kelvo’s latest single, Villa, is a vibe-heavy slice of smooth, salacious dancehall pop.

The West Ireland hailing artists went all in to prove that even though this summer may feel a little different while we’re readjusting to the new normal, the potential for hedonistic good times is still there. With their distinctive hazy yet rhythmically robust track, the modernist beats bring the energy while the lush reverb and the dual vocals bring the lustful soul.

The Villa will start accepting visitors on June 22nd. You can check-in via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Delve into OnnaDi’s oceanically lush summer playlist staple, Keep a Smile

Posted on 16 June 2022

Perfect for those chilled summer vibes, OnnaDi’s seminal single, Keep a Smile, is the ultimate sun-kissed soundtrack to fledgling romances. While the lyrics allude to the infectious happiness that doesn’t relent in the presence of the person giving those honeymoon feels, the robust African rhythms bolster the grooves and the tropically lush reverb gives Keep a Smile an idyllically oceanic atmosphere.

If urban pop that breaks the monocultural mould gets the oxytocin flowing, your summer playlists won’t be the same without Keep a Smile.

Check out the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get your gratitude fix with Nhala’ bubble gum pop-rock hit, Blissfully Distracted

Posted on 3 June 2022

With Beach Boys-style backing harmonies to round off the country nuances in the perfect pop hit, Blissfully Distracted by the LA bubble gum enchantress, Nhala’s tracks will take you higher.

The optimistic track, which hazily orbits around the emotions tied to being in the honeymoon phase, is almost as sweet as indulging in those feelings on a physical level with the new object of your affection. After her angsty no good at love era we’re all too happy to join Nhala on cloud nine.

She’s got the look; she’s got the soul, and, my God, she’s got the voice. Her Taylor Swift meets No Doubt dreamy demeanour more than has what it takes to leave you on a blissful pop plateau.

In her own words, here is what she had to say on the release.

“This is the perfect mood booster that 2022 desperately needs, leaving you craving sunshine & adventure. I’ve learned that appreciating what you have will always bring you more to be grateful for. With this single, I am literally saying “thank you”. I hope this song makes you want to put down your phone, get lost in life and fall in love with whatever that may be for you – this summer and for years to come.”

Blissfully Distracted will officially release on June 3rd. Hear it here, or head over to her official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Scott the Pisces welcomes us to Summer ’22 in his latest pop stormer featuring BINX

Posted on 27 May 2022
https://soundcloud.com/scottthepisces/summer-22-feat-binxwip-private-link/s-mK1ApBZFXoC

Pop artists may have had their work cut out over the past two summers trying to feed sonic euphoria; now that summer anthems have ceased souring moods by reminding us of what we’re missing out on, Scott the Pisces is here with his viral worthy-track, Summer ’22, featuring BINX. It hits the contemporary curve while throwing right back to the originators of the ultimate summer hits (the Beach Boys, obviously).

Summer ’22 starts with the sun-bleached crunching electric guitar tones that will instantly hook in any indie rock aficionados. By the time the blissfully enlivening production has reached the driving momentum in the chorus, you’ll be wrapped up in the strident celebration of the season. Getting psyched by this blissfully hook-filled track by the up and coming UK artist is practically non-optional.

Summer ’22 is due for official release on May 27th; you can check it out via Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennifer Jess has changed the perfect pop formula in her latest convictively electrifying earworm, Imagine You

Posted on 28 April 2022

It’s getting impossible not to get caught up in the hype amassing around the Atlanta-raised pop singer-songwriter Jennifer Jess and her demurely modernist nu-disco sound. Equally as affable is her tendency to bring mental health advocacy into her electrifying 80s-inspired sound.

Her latest release, Imagine You, comes after garnering 700k streams on Spotify for viral hits such as her 2019 earworm, Blue. The Shiny Toy Guns fan in me couldn’t be more enamoured with the ensnaring percussion, jangly indie pop guitars and Jess’ emotionally vulnerable yet convectively powerful vocals.

Imagine You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kate Gala has released her sticky sweet summer EDM pop earworm, Summer in October

Posted on 19 April 2022

Since making her 2019 debut, the EDM pop artist, Kate Gala, hasn’t failed to pick up traction with her progressively momentous instrumentals, consolingly sugared vocals and innocently candid lyrics. After garnering over 97k streams with her seminal single, Hold on Tight, she’s here with her sun-bleached earworm, Summer in October.

If Taylor Swift poured her endlessly bright vocal timbre over Avicii’s beats, the end result wouldn’t be far from the Virginia Beach singer-songwriter’s epically blissful hit that deserves to dominate the electronica charts. It shares plenty of the hallmarks of your average summer love song, but with Gala’s soul-deep vocal performance, few hit as euphonically as this.

Summer in October is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yajaira Eve has delivered her convectively sweet alt indie-pop track, Lover Like Me

Posted on 4 April 2022

Arizona-based indie-singer-songwriter Yajaira Eve, laid the soul and style on thick in her latest RnB pop single, Lover Like Me, which manages to keep the vibe of the track sweet while wrestling with convictive lyrics that go straight for the jugular on the types that always think they can do better while being hilariously blind to their flaws.

The individuality in the slightly off-kilter indie dance-pop production and the playful polyphonic tones pull together around the stellar songwriting that proves just how the 21-year-old singer-songwriter managed to become a platinum record artist so close to the inception of her career. We can’t wait to hear what follows or see how far she gets with her incandescently authentic talent.

Lover Like Me is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pick up Burlington’s latest alt-indie-pop hit, Summer’s Calling

Posted on 12 March 2022

We convince ourselves that we are complex creatures, but really, we’re not that much more complicated than leaves for the way we thrive in the sun and when we’re sucked into sun-soaked hits, such as the latest single from Burlington, Summer’s Calling.

The alt-indie pop earworm exudes those hazy sweet summer feel-good vibes through the soulfully imploring vocals atop the jangly, angular indie-pop melodies that are just as sweet as the euphoric hooks Marr has crafted in his decorated career.

The sense of soul and the musicality is one thing. The massive production, which comes through Burlington’s experience as a house producer, is another thing entirely. Mumford & Sons, eat your heart out.

You can soak up the rays for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast