Pontypridd to Lausanne via Chicago, Anaheim and Tampere: three indie pop songs this week from three songwriters with very specific things on their minds and the craft to make them land. Curtis Hicks – Catching Feelings Curtis Hicks’ “Catching Feelings” is a brilliant piece of bedroom pop: bright…
A Dutch music therapist turned Mexico City-based songwriter with a mellotron and a decade of debt to Bowie, and a Scottish bedroom pop artist stepping into the light with a debut album nine years in the making: dream pop this week is about the distance between where you…
R&b bops of the week, with a late-night soul record about the kind of pull between two people that nobody has a clean word for. R. Nelson – Gravity R. Nelson serves up a gorgeous piece of contemporary soul: atmospheric, emotionally precise, and the kind of track that…
Warm synths, layered vocals, and the specific emotional weight of a connection that hasn’t quite ended yet: deep house this week from Ascot. RobbaDucky – The Echo Before Silence RobbaDucky’s “The Echo Before Silence” is an excellent piece of cinematic deep house: atmospheric, emotionally precise, and proof that…
A surgeon who spent forty years writing songs in his head, a Miami debut distributed by Sony, an Albuquerque studio built outside the Nashville machine, a Corby bluesman on his second album, and a Tampere multi-instrumentalist who knew when to ask for help: indie folk this week is…
An Oslo tribute to ancient Athens, a London dance-pop star stepping into a more personal register, and a Tønsberg vocalist with ten years of stage experience and a song about pure romantic bliss: pop this week comes in three very distinct flavours. Grey & Purple Songbook – Athens,…
Boston piano-rooted synthwave, a London producer chasing a new dance craze, and a Prague electronic artist building cinematic emotional pop since 2017: synth pop this week spans three cities and three very different ideas of what a dance track can do. MOMARZ – Party Moves MOMARZ’s “Party Moves”…
A Boston bedroom studio, a Los Angeles debut EP follow-up, and a London solo artist who started making jewellery during lockdown: indie pop this week travels light and arrives somewhere interesting. Fanta Vibez x Gasoline Monk – Keep You Close Fanta Vibez x Gasoline Monk’s “Keep You Close”…
Florida Americana grit, a Dutch-Danish trio processing gun violence through swampy grunge, and a Brussels metalcore collective who recorded the old-school way: rock this week means four very different rooms. Fringe Frontier – Criminal Hour Fringe Frontier’s “Criminal Hour” is a brilliant insomniac rock single: crunchy, melodic, and…