Best in Pop - Hot New Releases
Best in Pop is back, this month’s edition features; an addictive song that you would have had on repeat on your pink flip phone in the mid-2000s; a luxurious pop song with some velveteen 1970s vibes; eerie folk-pop that plays to you over an uneasy moor; a dark, sultry pop song with mystery and Old Hollywood glamour soaked to its core; and more!
Featuring Bambina, SKATELAND, Stela Cole, Nicole Zignago, Charm of Finches, LEATHERS, Mel 4Ever, Ayesha Erotica &
If I Can't Have Love (God Then Please Just Give Me Money) - Bambina
There is something so glamorous, so 1970s about Bambina and her music ( I first came across her via the psychedelic, utterly divine Summer Love) This newest song is luxurious dream pop, saturated in velvet glamour, with the addictive quality of a pop classic.
This sweeps you up immediately, which is a testament to the expert songwriting, and heavenly vocals, with bursts of shimmering glittering musical textures; this is one to recline to in your heart-shaped bed. Gorgeous.
Connect with Bambina
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Clean Cut - Charm of Finches
The name and aesthetic of this band brought me straight into the world of a gothic Donna Tartt novel (immediately obsessed).
Clean Cut is an eerie and hypnotic blend of folk-pop; the heavenly vocals sweep over the moors of an unsettling landscape; a source of comfort to your ears in a time of melancholy. The subtle way the strings ease their way into the chorus; causing it to have so much more impact is a masterclass of great arrangement and songwriting. This captures your attention and holds it, and like with any good story or folk song, you will keep coming back.
On the song the duo says "Going away on tour served as the catalyst for a break-up and Clean Cut is some self-advice. We stayed with a lovely lady in Oslo, Norway who let us play her gorgeous grand piano, and the first part of Clean Cut was penned. We created a music video for this song with the help of lots of friends who were willing to dress up as dolls and clowns. This was a huge 22 hour shoot in a warehouse in Melbourne creating the world of a mysterious haunted doll museum."
Connect with Charm of Finches
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Tongues - Mel 4Ever, Ayesha Erotica
An earth-shattering, world-ending combination of forces; this has the addictive quality of some of the best mid-2000s pop, combined with the bass-fueled electronic club tracks of that era (this reminds me of the songs I had on my old Nokia phone as a teenager, songs that both transformed my entire personality and consumed my whole existence). Produced to absolute perfection, while being impossible to stop listening to - this is a work of genius.
Connect with Mel 4Ever
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Connect with Ayesha Erotica
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Autobahn! - SKATELAND
The new song from bedroom pop artist SKATELAND is a very fun listen; the percussion at the start paired with textures that sound like they are plucked from an old fantasy animation set in an idyllic English cottage, is just a taste of the wonderful creativity poured into this song.
The vocals are stream-of-consciousness style, with the chorus being a mantra of I Like You/ I Hate You/ I Love You. The music is injected with a beautiful ethereal quality, the ending of the song having an old Disney/old animated movie soundtrack quality to it, with its lush strings and birdsong samples; you need to dive head first into the world of this song.
On the song, the artist says it "is a dialogue about the hills and valleys of love and relationships. The narrator begins the song with what he presumes is a breakup speech, but somehow along the way concedes that for better or worse he will always love this person and that the tough parts of loving someone are what make it worth it in the end."
Connect with SKATELAND
Spotify / Instagram
Midnight Killer - Stela Cole
Cinematic, Old Hollywood glamour (what you see in the artwork is absolutely present in the fabric of the song). The opening is gentle, with a little Spanish guitar, before diving into the abyss; and it is bewitching.
This will make you want to go to smokey bars, put on your most lethal shade of lipstick, and plunge into a world of silhouettes and mystery.
On the song Stela confides, "It's about the revival of empowerment and re-discovery after losing myself. It’s about becoming stronger through the pain, and learning how to protect my heart and energy moving forward. It’s the Phoenix rising from the ashes. No more sacrificing my character. No more losing myself." This a song that will give you back your power.
Connect with Stela Cole
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Crash - LEATHERS
Industrial, eerie, utterly magnificent electro-pop. Paired with some seriously great lyrics (opening with “Crash the car/Survive the wreckage/Feel the fear/Under the steel/Bloodshot dawn/A new beginning/That’s the way some cuts heal”).
The uneasy aura creeps in towards the second half of the first verse, making the vocals all the more entrancing. This could be from a mysterious sci-fi movie from the 1980s; put your headphones on, and let Crash draw you into an ominous cityscape.
Connect with LEATHERS
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26 (ni tarde, ni temprano) - Nicole Zignago
The sheer level of control Latin Grammy-nominated artist Nicole Zignago has over her voice is incredible (specifically the interlude at section 1:22), this is a beautiful, gentle song, that melts over your ears, inviting you to go easy on yourself.
The artist says the song “"talks about how important it is to make peace with time and how life never ends up happening like you wrote it down in your diary when you were 16. Society is always trying to make us fit in an agenda that is not healthy to follow…that’s why I wrote this song. To remind myself I'm never early or late, I'm always on time."
Connect with Nicole Zignago
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter
Seats for Ghosts - Delilah Brao
Gorgeous DIY pop, that feels like you are listening to it in the attic of an old house; this is a reflection of nostalgic memories from a relationship; and the numb pain that becomes associated with these memories when the relationship ends. With silk-like vocals and a gorgeous arrangement, this is a delightful listen (even though the subject matter is heart-wrenching, the wonderful bedroom pop style of percussion mixed with the shimmering life of the instrumental is what makes this so wonderful).
Connect with Delilah Brao
Spotify / Instagram / Twitter
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.
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