Best in Pop - Hot New Releases
This month’s edition of best in pop features; a late 90s/early 2000s flavored alt pop song that feels like it is blaring at you from a cassette tape in a driving scene in a movie; a cover of Madonna’s 2000 hit Don’t Tell Me, but with the aquatic magic of All Saints’ Pure Shores ( in fact, this cover would not be out of place in the soundtrack to The Beach); a kaleidoscopic wonderland of experimental pop; an eerily beautiful dark synth pop song called Silent Films and more.
Featuring Krea, Lipsticism, DJ Immaterial, Roskamala, Rachel Bochner, The New Division, SuperKnova, sadie, Lauren Ann
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Krea - Don’t Tell Me
The newest release from Irish singer songwriter Krea (Karen Crowley) is a cover of Madonna’s 2000 release Don’t Tell Me. This is ethereal and dreamy ( having the serene, aquatic serenity of All Saints’s Pure Shores). It opens with strong drums, a light sprinkling of keys, before an oceanic wave of pads and gentle vocals wash over you, lulling you into a sense of true calm. This still has an early 2000s feel to it, which I love; the results being so lush and heavenly that this would not be out of place in the soundtrack to The Beach.
Connect with Krea
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook
Forever Forever - Lipsticism, DJ Immaterial
Forever Forever sends you into a kaleidoscopic wonderland of sound; coaxing you down the rabbit hole into another dimension. This newest release from experimental pop artist and producer Lipsticism is a collaboration with Erik Gunther, aka DJ Immaterial, and functions as a portal to another realm of consciousness. Put on your headphones, dive in, and explore the wonders that await.
On the song Lipsticism said, "the song explores wanting to transcend a singular self bound by finite time and wanting to irrevocably meld into one with the ones we love for eternity (which would be the ultimate comfort). Not possible, of course, but it's pretty fun and cathartic to yearn for.”
Connect with Lipsticism
Spotify / Instagram
Connect with DJ Immaterial
Spotify
Loving Mess - Roskamala, Lia Apa
We open with bubble gum flavored pop instrumentation; with gentle strings and gorgeous 808s sliding into the picture as the song progresses. The textures of the music are visible in the pastel and neon cherry saturated music video, which you can watch here. The lyrics are a stream of consciousness on love and relationships, delivered over a luxurious backdrop.
She confides, "Loving Mess" was written from acceptance and self-awareness. You are what you think and what if we can surprise ourselves with a new discovery and break the cycles by thinking differently. Seeing our flaws positively. What if we fail 1000 times and 1001st time we succeed? It's worth failing, isn't it? Instead of worrying about the future or our issues, the song turns it into a game of love."
Connect with Roskamala
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Sucker Punch - Rachel Bochner
The newest release from New York based singer Rachel Bochner is a deliciously wicked post break up fantasy; delivered over a bed of distorted guitars with touches of alt 90s pop. This results in something deeply raw, honest, and therapeutic; this having ‘cassette tape blaring in a 90s movie with the main lead singing it at the top of her lungs’ energy, and I love it.
Speaking about the single, Rachel shares, “Sucker Punch is the kind of song where there was a clear emotion I wanted to convey that I think so many people can relate to, especially right after getting your heartbroken. I love that the song sits in this revenge fantasy and lists out all these things I could do to get back at the person who hurt me, but at the end of the day, it’s just me lost in my head trying to make myself feel better.”
Connect with Rachel Bochner
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Silent Films - The New Division
This is taken from the Dark Synth pop album Modern Life; Silent Films being a beautifully eerie song; the electronics possessing the sense of melancholic emotion present Deadmau5’s most lush synthesis work. Experimental percussion and haunting vocals blend together perfectly, and build into a goosebump-inducing wall of electronic and dark synth pop textures, this honestly being one of the most beautiful arrangements I have heard in a long time.
On the album the artist says: "A lot of this album was written when we were all stuck at home, unable to hang out with friends, be with our families. While I don't think the pandemic changed me drastically, I notice something different about myself when I play these songs back-to-back. There's something I'm uncomfortable with the way the world is today, and I'm still exploring that through the music I write."
Connect with The New Division
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Hyperdome - SuperKnova
This is the newest release from producer/engineer/artist powerhouse SuperKnova. We open with dreamy guitars melting over a beautifully analog treated beat; featuring a stream of consciousness style vocal that is soothing and meditative; my favorite line being ‘ Everyone/ You’re all gonna die/ Might as well get/ High. This is for moments alone, in which you are comfortable and free; allowing your mind to drift.
Connect with SuperKnova
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Tides - sadie
A bed of melancholic pop with auto-tuned vocals flowing over the top; this draws you into its opulence and addictive groove, the throbbing bass lulling you into a state of hypnosis.
Connect with sadie
Spotify / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Other Stuff - Lauren Ann
This could very well be an alt-rock/pop song from the late 90s/early 2000s, the chorus is gorgeous in a way that only a song from that era could be; it is dreamy with a lush shoegaze quality, nostalgic in how it invokes the sensation of a memory, yet still managing to be something new. This is so damn good.
Connect with Lauren Ann
Spotify / Instagram / TikTok
Spotify Playlist
Want to be featured in next month’s volume of Best in Pop? Send your press release and links to <eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com>
About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
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