A Night Walk in The Underground Forest: New Synth Pop, Alternative + Electronic Music We Loved
A series where I hand-select my favourite synth pop, alternative + electronic releases.
Featuring Momo Boyd, MUNA, Your Mate's Ex, Hue and Cry, Jacqui Hunt, Melaina Kol, Sabriel, Fereday, sian arli & Nudy Boy Nature.
This edition features: a song with a groove that has the slinky smoothness of G-funk; a song whose soundscape has an obsidian, opaque beauty, like an enchanted lake; a song that fully sounds like it is from 1981, the year when ‘Betty Davis Eyes’ dominated the radio waves; a song reminiscent of the 2006 hit ‘Perfect Exceeder; a song with vocals that sound like they are breaking through the fabric of a dream to reach your ears; a song with unflinching lyrics that will cut you to the bone; a song that sounds like it is from a short-lived, hand-drawn animated MTV series from the 1990s, one set in a city of darkness and silhouettes and more!
A Night Walk in The Underground Forest 🌙 Synth Pop • Electronic Pop • Alt Pop & Electronic
Momo Boyd - Oops | Live From Vevo Studios
This transported me right back to a time when glittering backless tops and sparkly lip gloss reigned supreme - this is the kind of song that would have dominated the radio waves in the 1990s/00s. Upon hearing this for the first time, I immediately got the rush of euphoria that accompanies discovering your new favourite song.
This is a live Vevo performance of the track from the artist's debut EP ‘Miss Michigan’ - the groove has the slinky smoothness of G-funk, blended with the most velvety R&B musical backdrop I have ever heard. If this isn’t in the Top 10 songs of this summer, I am filing a lawsuit against the entire music industry. (Of note, I saw on Billboard Chart’s Twitter that it debuted at No. 36 on Rhythmic Airplay, I can’t see the actual chart, as that is for paying subscribers only.)
Connect with Momo Boyd
Instagram | Facebook | X
Never Did Know - Fereday
This is taken from the artist's new album ‘Ever so slightly, just enough’ (who also releases music under the alias Ambient2K, whom I was lucky enough to get to interview earlier on in the year).
The bass in this reminds me of the most eerie and all-consuming basslines in D&B, the sampling lending the soundscape an obsidian, opaque beauty, like an enchanted lake (also, melodically it kind of reminded me of Fred again..’s song ‘Jungle’).
The beat is driven by the choppy samples, something I personally prefer to having a big huge drop, as this is not something that every song needs.
Connect with Fereday
Instagram
MUNA - Mary Jane | Live From Vevo Studios
This fully sounds like it is from 1981, the year when ‘Betty Davis Eyes’ dominated the airwaves. I first discovered MUNA via an Instagram video where someone had used the pre-chorus of ‘Silk Chiffon,’ and I had to hunt it down immediately. (A side note, the music video for Silk Chiffon is great, paying homage to the 1999 movie ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’, which has visuals that look like they were carved from pastel shades of marzipan).
The above is a fantastic live performance of the track from MUNA’s new album, ‘Dancing on the Wall’ - one thing I noticed immediately while watching this is that these three ooze charisma and possess Prince-like levels of stage presence. This is glorious.
Connect with MUNA
Instagram | Facebook | X
Your Mate's Ex - Get Wet
This is taken from the Manchester duo’s debut EP ‘YMEX,’ which you can purchase directly via Bandcamp here.
While I was listening to this EP, I was reminded of Confidence Man (who are, without a doubt, one of the best electronic acts on the planet at the moment). ‘Get Wet’ feels like something from the mid 00s electronic music scene; the trance-like synths reminding me of the 2006 hit ‘Perfect Exceeder.’ This is the kind of song that would make a festival crowd go absolutely feral, and I love it.
Connect with Your Mate's Ex
Instagram
Hue and Cry - I Remember
This is taken from the Scottish pop duo’s new album ‘Everybody’.
I was lucky enough to get to speak to Greg Kane (one half of Hue and Cry) on the creation of this album, which involved him learning analog synthesis from scratch.
‘I Remember’ sounds like synapses firing off over an electro-pop beat, the vocal melody reminding me of mid-00s electronic pop music I was obsessed with. This is one of my favourite songs from the album, with its vibrant, magical soundscape, the melodic transposition that takes place between the verse and the chorus is nothing short of exhilarating.
Connect with Hue and Cry
Website | Instagram | Facebook | X
Jacqui Hunt - Planet
This is taken from the Australian artist’s new album ‘Desiderium.’
The vocals in ‘Planet’ sound like they are breaking through the fabric of a dream to reach your ears; the soundscape is gentle, rising and falling behind the vocals, the bassline building anticipation. This will make you feel like you are walking through a realm within your imagination - I would recommend closing your eyes while listening to this and going wherever it takes you.
Connect with Jacqui Hunt
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Melaina Kol - Lifeheart
‘Lifeheart’ is taken from Nashville artists' upcoming album ‘Okay that's a great idea because if I do that then’ which will be out on August 14, 2026, via label Julia's War Recordings.
On the album, the artist says, "With this album, I was obsessed with not singing. I kept imagining vocal lines that didn't really fit my voice, so most of the other vocals on this album come from chopping up Olivia O's vocal feature on the title track, including this song, 'Lifeheart. "I spend a lot of time playing guitar and am obsessed with two dueling guitar parts that are completely different but serve to accomplish a uniform sound. The rest of the instrumental comes from some pedal stuff, and I was able to record harp in a studio my roommate works at."
This sounds like a glitchy dream sequence, like some of the best oddities from the landscape of the 2010s electronic music scene on Soundcloud and YouTube. It is very interesting to listen to - kind of like it was made from a group of odd objects found in a box of old toys.
Connect with Julia's War Recordings
Website | Instagram
Connect with Melaina Kol
Instagram
Sabriel - let's get married
Sabriel is one of the most interesting electronic artists out there at the moment.
The soundscape of ‘let's get married’ opens with a beat that kind of sounds like a metronome, over which warm pads melt and break through, like beams of sunlight. The vocals gradually ascend, coming to you from another realm (there is a touch of R&B to them every so often). It is understated, hypnotic; the visuals made by Mia Heavner work perfectly, making it all the more enchanting.
Connect with Sabriel
Instagram | Facebook
sian arli - mermaid court
I came across this while scrolling through Bandcamp, and, as a lover of all things mermaid adjacent, when I saw this, I clicked on it immediately.
For some reason initially imagined a mermaid sitting in a food court in a shopping center (mall for you Americans), however, this is fact not the subject matter. Opening with “I just wanna quieten the noise/Looking for the easiest way out the void” it invites you to be still, to listen and listen deeply, in the way that the best poetry and music does. The lyrics “Home weren't sweet as it ought to have been/And the nuclear dream ain't all that it seems” burn and leave a mark.
This is taken from the artist's upcoming EP ‘we'll get there’ which “Across 18 minutes, the project traces conversations long held back - shaped by absence, protection, and a childhood marked by domestic abuse - unfolding through an unflinching dialogue with her mother recorded during lockdown” - (via Bandcamp).
Connect with sian arli
Instagram
Nudy Boy Nature - Sketch
Cork is a place that has unimaginable amounts of interesting musical talent across a vast array of genres and styles - this being personified in NudyBoyNature’s ‘Sketch’, the opening track from the EP ‘Keepin' Sketch.’
This sounds like something from a short-lived, hand-drawn animated MTV series from the 1990s, one set in a city of darkness and silhouettes. The vocals are wonderfully strange, sounding like they are playing through a broken TV in a flat somewhere inside the void.
Connect with Nudy Boy Nature
Instagram
Spotify Playlist
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
In this blog section we host new music releases, artist features and handpicked playlists by the Musicngear staff.
Interested in a music feature, writing a story as a guest or joining the Musicngear team as a Contributing Author? Contact us at info+blog@musicngear.com
