Browsing Tag

UK Pop

Mara Liddle has unleashed her pretty in pink (tonal hues) pop earworm, All Over the Place

Posted on 29 September 2023

Mara Liddle has lived up to her legacy after laying down a solid foundation for her hyper pop queen supremacy in 2022 and being selected as one of BBC Introducing’s curation of Big in 2023 artists list.

With her latest single, All Over the Place, created in collaboration with JB Thomas, she unleashed an upbeat floor-filler of an exposition of coming-of-age anxiety in a digital age when everyone is watching, and no one is listening.

After Gen Z have routinely been dubbed as the ‘lost generation’, Mara Liddle and her pastel-hued pop productions are a guiding light towards a semblance of sanity and inner security. With a few 90s Euro pop embellishments to the earwormy hooks, the nostalgia will grip you as fervidly as the contemporary resonance in the lyrics.

All Over the Place will be available to stream from September 29; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jay Hofman unveiled an enrapturing self-deprecating indie electro-pop earworm with I Can’t Sing

Posted on 14 September 2023

Thankfully, the title of Jay Hofman’s latest single, I Can’t Sing, isn’t a disclaimer for the dire vocal performance that will defile your ears as soon as you hit play. Instead, the self-deprecatingly sweet funked-up indie electro-pop hit shares a dilemma that every non-muso diehard romantic will have been stung by, the compulsion to write and sing a love song despite a discernible lack of musical talent.

Maybe ironically, maybe entirely purposefully, the Polish singer-songwriter who is currently residing in the UK crafted the kind of love song that everyone who is lucky enough to be head over heels will want to put on a playlist for the objects of their desire. By switching between rap-style spoken word verses and auto-tuned harmonies in the chorus, even if there was weight to the claim that Hofman can’t sing, it would never have soured the soundscape that is as electrifying as a Daft Punk hit.

I Can’t Sing debuted on September 8th; fall in love with it via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jacki Jones – Just See Me: Plaintively Poignant Pop

Posted on 29 July 2023

The up-and-coming Liverpool-hailing singer-songwriter Jacki Jones has unveiled the plaintively poignant alternative version of one of her seminal indie alt-pop singles, Just See Me.

The minimalist instrumentation beneath her melancholically poetic verses makes the intimate introspective pleas for recognition all the more magnetically compelling as the single artfully unfolds to her raw candour.

With the gentle new wave indie guitar chords punctuating her vulnerable vocal lines, which work around the compelling reprise of “just see me”, your soul would need to be paralysed not to stir under the evocative force of Just See Me.

Stream the alternative version of Just See Me on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s queer pop queen Tana reached peak supremacy in her single, Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die

Posted on 25 July 2023

The queer pop queen, Tana, hasn’t fallen short of success and supremacy since we last heard her in 2022 with her pop-rap hit, Supermodel. For her latest single, Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die, the London-based genre-fluid originator stripped back the tempo to unveil an RnB pop single that is steamier than *that* scene in Titanic.

Instead of painting a portrait of perfect – and therefore unattainable – romance, Tana played it pure in Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die by nuancedly alluding to how promises of perpetual bliss only leave us lingering in naivety further down the line. Despite the visceral pain projected into the release, there’s a sense of romanticism that visualises the realities of love instead of paying homage to Hollywood tropes that never actualise in material reality.

In addition to orchestrating originated and awakeningly installations of candour, Tana has hit the main stage at UK Black Pride 2022, performed at NXNE Festival, London Pride and Tallinn Music Week, while being spun BBC Introducing, Soho Radio, Gaydio and Trace Urban. Even if you don’t watch this space, Tana is enough of a phenomenon that you’ll hear about her regardless if you put her on your radar.

Kiss Me Like We’re Gonna Die is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jimmy Theo’s latest single, On My Own, is three minutes of pure indietronic pop perfection

Posted on 2 July 2023

The Sydney-born, London-based singer-songwriter Jimmy Theo is fresh from the release of his collaborative debut album, Next Step, featuring the standout single, On My Own, which is 3 minutes of pure indie electro-pop perfection.

With Flowers for Hanna enriching the hit with her magnetic harmonic timbre, which is as just as beguiling as the indietronica attitude that laces Lorde, London Grammar, and Warpaint records with stylish soul, the classic pop songwriting styling is elevated to the nth degree.

As catchy as an ABBA hit yet alternatively scintillating through the synthesised theremin, On My Own is the ultimate pop anthem for anyone who wants to hear the affirmation that regardless of how romantic uncertainty wraps up, you will always be left with the only person you need; you.

On My Own is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Karan Karma has unveiled his scorcher of a sophomore disco-funk RnB pop hit, Dangerous

Posted on 18 June 2023

The Essex, UK singer-songwriter, Karan Karma, turned up the heat enough to trigger another heatwave with his disco & funk-infused RnB pop sophomore single, Dangerous.

His infectiously salacious soprano vocal lines will make him an instant hit with any fans of the King of Pop, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars and Charlie Puth; he comes into his innovative own through the disco grooves, which are as slick and stylish as the ones found in Red Rum Club’s chart-topping hits.

Reminiscences aside, Karan Karma established himself as one to watch through the precision in the balance between commercial appeal and creative autonomy. Using his own voice instead of assimilating another’s, he’s easily one of the most authentic artists in the UK pop circuit. For more slices of soul, slap him on your radar.

Dangerous is now available to stream on Spotify and YouTube via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luchi shows us the weight of empty promises in his pop track, He Said

Posted on 14 January 2023

The Me + Tears Ain’t Strangers EP from the Glasgow-based Italian up-and-coming pop artist, Luchi is a meditation in mindful melancholy. The opening single, He Said, is the perfect introduction to the artist’s introspective candour that inspires empathy and reactive vulnerability in equal measure.

There’s nothing rawer than relaying all the empty promises when a relationship reaches an ennui-laden end, especially after we walked into the dynamic with hesitancy over vulnerability. When those red flags start to wave away every shallow word, we’re the ones left with the shame when it was never ours to carry. He Said stands as the ultimate affirmation of the disparity within romantic accountability.

Bringing new contemporary flair to the pop ballad, Luchi utilises climactic piano crescendos and tensile vocal progressions to stick to the roots before implanting modernist twists through the RnB nuances and utilisation of atmospheric reverb around the gently muted guitar strings that flow in synergy with the soft synths.

The Me + Tears Ain’t Strangers EP is due for official release on January 13th. Hear it on SoundCloud. Follow Luchi on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Tontine elevated UK alt-electro-pop with his dynamically soul-rendered debut EP, ‘I’

Posted on 9 December 2022

Alt-electro-pop artist, Tontine grabbed a pack of matches and set hearts alight with his debut EP, I. For all the diehard romantics out there, come and feel the heat of this evocative triumph of a 3-track release which radiates stylised soul.

The opening single, If I Could, goes in heavy on the exotic euphoria in the uniquely layered single. As the bass oscillates around the reverb-heavy synth lines and soft angular guitar work, the romanticism within Michael Walden’s vocal lines elevates the release to transcendent heights.

In track two, NIFE, Tontine revolutionises and reforms the pop ballad with the ethereal textures, flurries of intricate piano keys and yearning vocals that meld into the blossoming synthetics to prove the beauty in vulnerability. Grief is a deeply personal experience, but the losses mourned in NIFE share a universal resonance.

The concluding single, Only the Once, is a glitchy avant-garde dream-pop lullaby that allows soul to simmer through the complex chord progressions and lyrics, which crave a repetition of an act never destined to become a reprise.

“This is the first of three EPs I’ll be putting out over the next 12 months consisting of music I’ve been working on for a few years now. I want to showcase what I can do as an artist who writes, records, produces, and mixes everything themselves. This first collection of songs is centred around the theme of loss in various forms, and is a taste of bigger things to come.”

Tontine’s debut EP was officially released on December 9th. Catch it on SoundCloud & Spotify.

Follow Tontine on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sample Myla Vie’s dark electro-pop delight, CAUTION

Posted on 7 October 2022

Through the influence of pop icons in the same contemporary vein as Dua Lipa and Lana Del Ray, Myla Vie became one in her own right with the release of her single, CAUTION, which is due for release on October 7th.

The moody alt-electro pop production complemented the up-and-coming artist’s artfully vulnerable vocal timbre as it works through the lyrics that allude to the lack of willingness to open yourself up to more torment following a heartbreak.

She has exactly what it takes to become the next UK alt-pop sensation, and we certainly aren’t the only ones under her spell; her previous releases have been in regular rotation on BBC Essex and Amazing Radio UK/USA.

You can sink into the pure soul of CAUTION by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Empowerment calls in BLOOM.’s latest RnB Pop single, RING RING

Posted on 7 October 2022

After making her debut during the first lockdown, the London-based RnB Pop artist, BLOOM. has made strides in her career and fought for young LGBTQ+ representation along the way. The up-and-coming artist has a new weapon in her arsenal with her latest single, RING RING.

Running with the same emboldening lyrical attitude as Lady Gaga’s Telephone, BLOOM. created a hit that you’ll want to play on repeat until the lyrics tattoo into your mind, along with the slick style of the instrumentals that modernise the RnB genre. The single is one small step in the artist’s career and a giant leap for womankind.

With the help of producer Rich Mello, BLOOM. created a seductively emboldening anthem for every woman that has ever wasted their time, energy and emotions on a lost cause instead of allowing their own feminine energy to direct them to self-worth. It’s as hot as any track in Usher’s discography, and it is easy to see how BLOOM., with her fervidly fresh RnB pop style, will take over the airwaves.

Here is what BLOOM. had to say about her latest release:

“I’ve heard so many love songs where the girl falls for a guy she would do anything for. It made me wonder where is the music that says, girl, you are too good for him. Ring Ring conveys that emotion and empowerment.”

The official music video, which was directed by Aiden Thomas, will premiere on October 7th. Watch it on YouTube or add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast