Category: Pop

The Quiet North has something about its song, Carry The Quiet, which feels so reassuring that I did not anticipate at the time I hit the play button. Fredrik Kristiansen has made it look as though he took a hand, in the middle of the commotion–this is what we have all needed now and then. The overall atmosphere of the […]

I was absolutely surprised with Butterfly Heart by The Music Of Sound in the most good way possible. I wasn’t anticipating much when I first pressed play but within a few seconds I was already glued to those gorgeous shimmering synths that in an instant transported me back to the golden age of 80s pop-except that it does not feel […]

There is a certain captivating quality to an artist who comes out of the gate with a fully-formed debut album and Amara-Fe does just that with her album Reborn. This is not a tentative start of a novice, this is the surefooted step of someone who knows her voice and her mission. The musical pedigree in Amara-Fe family is evident […]

There is an infectious element to music that does not take itself too seriously but still manages to provide a sincere entertainment value and zukrassverliebt has nailed that with Way Too Hot. This father-son German duo has made a pop song that is easy to dance to that also uses metaphors of attraction and heatwaves to make something both funny […]

There is something heartbreakingly beautiful about music that accepts the impermanence of life and does not dwell upon it and Shelita has done that with her song Fade. This Seattle-based artist has created a reflection on momentary relationships that is both intimate and truly universal. The performance of the vocals by Shelita is enough to bring the emotional content of […]

There is something very touching about an artist reinterpreting their own work with decades of time under their belt, and Ferdinand Rennie has captured that in his version of Someone to Remember Me. It is not just a remaster or slight update but a reimagination of a song that obviously has a very special place in the heart of the […]

There are those times when you find a song that just takes you to another world in the first few notes of the song, and this is certainly the case with this song, the first notes of the vibrating analog synthesizer take you to another world. This London based project headed by electronic producer Chris Allinson has created something that […]

It is something very touching about coming across a song that is evidently the result of an inspired moment, and Larry Karpenko has just such a song with his God Help Us. It is not just another song, but a musical composition that has the burden of human connection and spiritual desire. As is the case with every song, the […]

It is so gratifying to find an artist who will not be afraid to merge neuroscience and raw emotion and Exzenya is such an artist. Her most recent single, Regulator of My Dopamine, is a lesson in how to transform scientific ideas into emotional human ones and that smart pop music need not be soulless. The main metaphor of the […]

There is this weird thing about music that makes us face the truths that we would prefer not to see, and in this case Exzenya in her song called Intermittent Love does precisely that with a style of precision that is as striking as it is correct. It is not your average pop song about a breakup; it is a […]

It is somehow very French to make environmental activism a party, and that is precisely what Baicikeul Benoit does in his song ” A VELO”. This inventor of Velectro music has created something that is politically aware and yet irresistibly fun-a rare quality which shows his maturity as an artist and his sincere interest in making a difference. The song […]

It is a very gratifying experience when you get to hear an artist who has really discovered her voice and MaKeyla is just that kind of an artist with her song “Woman”. Born in Stockholm but raised in the hip-hop clubs of Los Angeles, this powerhouse has taken an impressive journey-one that started with her teenage Swedish Idol performances, and […]

Ratbag Joy is a tempest of contradiction, the best kind of contradiction, bright, bouncy and irresistibly danceable on the surface but with an undercurrent of emotion just under the glitter. The New Citizen Kane (Kane Luke) provides something that is euphoric yet bruising, that particular emotion of celebrating pain, of smiling through the entropy. As soon as the beat comes, […]

The Buttercups by Ava Valianti is an artistically effective work on the disquieting reality of young love, rich in details of a tidal wave which engulfs the listener into its maw. The song reflects the emotional experiences which are very intense and produce a sensation of exaltation and helplessness. Valianti is only 15, but her emotional maturity is shocking and […]

Then there are songs that talk to you, and then there are songs that talk through you-that express the truths you have been carrying but could not quite put into words. Noah Zayden with his Ya no me doy falls into that more unusual genre, a confession and an independence manifesto rolled into a carefully constructed pop-rap song that does […]

It is somehow deeply touching when a song can take you back several thousand years with the first notes. This is precisely what Larry Karpenko does in his song, Believe the Promise, and he succeeds in connecting the ancient account of the desire of the Israelites to be free with the modern challenges that we all have to deal with. […]

It is so refreshing to have an artist who is not afraid to go out and have pure unadulterated fun and Mick J. Clark gives us all that and more with his song, Anuther Sunny Hulliday. It is not a song, it is a party in the song, a four-minute break of the complications of the modern world. The first […]