This is the contagiousness of the energy of David DeSantis in the opening of his song The Light You Know that grabs your attention at the very beginning. You can feel that guitar riff right at the beginning–catchy and self-assured–it echoes the vocals in the verse in this witty yet natural manner, which is both intentional and natural at the […]
Pop/Review Micki XO – Power Outage
Micki XO has hit something that we can all relate to with Power Outage- that particular brand of being exhausted as you are, overloaded with media and loving everything that is going on in the world and somehow still expected to show up and work. The genius of this song is that it does not merely narrate that feeling but […]
Pop/Review Katie Belle – Bad Dreams
It is somehow paradoxical and beautiful that Katie Belle created a song about bad dreams, when she makes the tiresome fact of insomnia turn into an irresistible escape into the realms of electro-pop. Here, the Atlanta-based artist has created something special; a song that recognizes the restless, twisting-and-turning nights that we all had and at the same time provides three […]
Pop/Review Kelsie Kimberlin – Dream of Peace
It is something really touching how the artist does not sing of peace, but every risk in order to make the peace during the active war. Dream of Peace by Kelsie Kimberlin is not a cozy hymn that was recited in a safe place. It is shot in Kyiv when the war was at its peak and the air raid […]
Pop/Review Amara Fe – SHIFT
Twenty-four songs is a declaration. It is not just an album, but a universe, a mood board, thesis on what pop can be when an artist does not want to cut themselves down to the industry standard. SHIFT Amara Fe does not merely build on her first album Reborn, but rockets beyond it, with a collection that is both confidence, […]
Electronic/Review Luke Tangerine – Retrodelic
Some artists chase trends. Others build time machines. The Retrodelic EP by Luke Tangerine does so, with five straight tracks of nothing short of mirrorball euphoria and less nostalgia and more of rediscovery. It is the response of the golden age of disco and funk filtered through the modern production sensibilities without losing a drop of analog warmth, in Frankfurt. […]
Pop/Review DALE – Vertigo
It is very personal when an artist relies on music as a therapy and that is what Dale or Milan-based banker-turned-musician does with his first album Vertigo. The result of the highly stressful and self-aware time, this set of 80s inspired synth-pop songs is a record of one man attempting to learn about himself- and the kind of man he […]
Dream Pop/Review Ophelia Moon – Taste Your Rose
Taste Your Rose by Ophelia Moon is not a song, it is more of an experience, and an immersion into the realm of the sensually dark and poetically charged. This new issuance of the Philadelphia based project takes possession of that illusive fleeting space between sound, emotion and story-telling to create something deeply personal and surreal at the same time. […]
Pop/Review Eylsia Nicolas – Forever Can Wait
There is a strong and very personal comeback of Eylsia Nicolas to the limelight with Forever Can Wait, a song that is as personal as it is a triumph. Having earned her fame as a professional tennis player and a record executive, Eylsia transfers the same level of discipline and determination to her music in these parts of her life […]
Pop/Review Eylsia Nicolas – A Beautiful Mess
The vibrant pop that Eylsia Nicolas has released in her song A Beautiful Mess is precisely the type of club pop that you want to dance to. It is not a mere electro-pop song that tries to squeeze itself into a mould – it possesses authentic personality and catchy energy that helped it to stand out in an already over-saturated […]
COUNTRY/Review Michellar – Never Say Sorry
The newest single of Michellar, Never Say Sorry is more of a turning point in the career of a songwriter rather than another release. She is based in San Francisco and has a talent of transforming raw vulnerability into the music that actually resonates and the track is evidence of how far she has come. Michelle Bond · Never say […]
Pop/Review The Quiet North – Borrowed Light
The most recent addition of The Quiet North by Fredrik Kristiansen is the masterpiece of Nordic self-reflection and worldly musical sensationalism, Borrowed Light. The production of the track is also worth mentioning as the Norwegian base of Kristiansen is mixed with input of session musicians in Ukraine, Spain and South Africa. This cross-border alliance produces an exceptionally broad sound that […]
Pop/Review The Quiet North – Carry The Quiet
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 […]
Folk/Review Michellar – September
A certain magic is present when an artist manages to capture the fleeting sense of movement, and that is precisely what Michellar does with September. Here, the San Francisco-based artist has created something truly beautiful–a folk meditation that is timeless and incredibly intimate at the same time. The DNA of this song is filled with the impact of such classic […]
Dream Pop/Review The Music Of Sound – Butterfly Heart
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 […]
Pop/Review The New Citizen Kane – CAUSING A COMMOTION
CAUSING A COMMOTION by The New Citizen Kane is one of those releases that creep upon you. What at first seems to be yet another electronic collection soon turns out to be something much more than that- an emotional rollercoaster that is somehow introspective and at the same time impossible to resist at the same time. Something truly fascinating about […]
Pop/Review Amara Fe – Reborn
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 […]
Pop/Review zukrassverliebt – Way Too Hot
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 […]
Pop/Review Shelita – Fade
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 […]
Pop/Review Ferdinand Rennie – Someone to remember me (2025 Version)
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 […]
DREAM POP/Review Volcanic Shores – My friend lives on the coast
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 […]