Category: Indie Pop

Video by William Ruben Helms

New VIdeo: bat zoo Shares Haunting “Frozen Milk”

bat zoo is a rising American-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and producer, who has developed a reputation for boundless creativity — and for genre-agnostic work.

As a child, the rising artist and producer was immersed in a melting pot of musical influences, as a result of his father’s eclectic record collection. He grew up listening to soul, R&B, hip-hop and much more — and it opened his young years to kaleidoscope of sounds and styles, which helped informed his genre-blurring sound and approach.

He also brings his artistic vision to life by seamlessly blending his work with dynamic visuals. Embracing authentic and innovation, the American-born, Berlin-based artist continues to push boundaries as a jack-of-all-trades creative director of his solo recording project, a culmination of many years of trial and error. He’s extremely busy: while developing his own sound as a solo artist, he’s also a part of the acclaimed Berlin-based vocal ensemble A Song For You and one-half of R&B duo GOLDA.

bat zoo’s forthcoming EP, The Upward Bird is slated for a July 22, 2025 release through Lekker Collective. The EP’s latest single, the hauntingly minimalist, Nick Hakim-like “Frozen Milk” features the Berlin-based artist accompanying himself on strummed acoustic guitar paired with swirling electronics serving as a atmospheric bed for his achingly tender falsetto singing lyrics that touch upon themes of chaos, brief and the desperate search for balance amidst self-destruction and connection.

The bat zoo-directed and edited video for “Frozen Milk” is a stark contrast with the haunting minimalist of the song, with the visual being a whirlwind of raw emotion and vivid imagery, rooted in flashes of personal, archival footage featuring the artist and his friends not just partying, but escaping their grief, numbing themselves with fleeting, often self-destructive thrills that quickly spiral out of control. What begins as fun, turns into a desperate escape from harsh, brutal reality. But there’s also moments of love, affection and connection between lovers and friends. And those moments are often the most deeply moving, profound moments of our lives.

The song and the video reminds the viewer that while life can be brutal, harsh and unforgivingly cruel, life is most often about small but mighty measures of love, small joys and pleasures, the sweet and funny moments with our dearest ones. Without those things life would be too difficult to keep on.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Bucharest’s Alessiah Shares Sultry “Made You Cry”

Alessiah is a young, emerging and remarkably prolific Bucharest-based artist, who quickly established a sound that blends elements of pop, dance pop and electronica while showcasing a songwriter, who has a singular focus on writing songs that are rooted in the raw emotions and unvarnished honesty of a young woman at the beginning of her life’s journey.

Using art to overcome her own shyness, she is determine to create music full of positivity and to become a role model that girls — and young women — can be inspired by.

The Romanian-born and-based artist’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, Obscentra is slated for an August 28, 2025 release. The album’s first single “Made You Cry” pairs Alessiah’s sultry vocal delivery with an uneasy and haunting production.

The song’s lyrics blur the line between devotion, humiliation and control, revealing a songwriter, who’s not only remarkably self-assured and mature beyond her relative youth, but who also is a astute observer of human nature. The song’s narrator points out that love is often a confusing and beguiling push and pull mix of longing, lust and humiliation with a seemingly lived-in fashion. “This song captures the emotions we don’t always want to admit to. It’s about love, but not in the way we usually define it,” the emerging Romanian artist explains.

The accompanying video for “Made You Cry” continues a run of visuals filmed in diverse, exotic and often far-flung locations, including Japan, Zanzibar, Nigeria, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hong Kong and even Dubai. And from the new video, we’re catching a budding, global pop star in the making.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Medha Krishna Shares Flirty “Ishaare”

Medha Krishna is an emerging Indian-British singers/songwriter, who according to her Instagram “writes love songs.” Her latest single “Ishaare” is a fun, flirtatious and summery disco-meets- Bollywood tune that subtly brights Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky” and Chic‘s 70s hits to mind — but with an 80s styled guitar solo.

As Krishna explains the song tells a story about a meet cute in which a woman meets a guy and immediately feels a spark, but there’s some mind games and mixed signals. Throughout the song, the narrator playfully chides the man on how his mixed signals — with the narrator essentially saying “Come on man, I dig you. What’s up with you, boy?”

Directed by Lutch Media, the accompanying video follows Krishna and her girlfriends on night out on the town — or more specifically to the club, where she leads a Bollywood-like dance routine, while having a flirtatious meet cute. Oh, if every time I went out, it would be like that, right?

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Lovelines Shares Slow-Burning “Slow High”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink on The Lovelines. The duo, which is currently split between Berlin and  Orlando, released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single. 

The duo’s latest single “Slow High” is a slow-burning ballad that to my ears is one-part Still Corners, one-part lullaby, one part-Amy Winehouse soul, and a subtle Sgt. Pepper nod that serves as a lush bed for Tessa D’s soulful croon.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Alaska Blue Share A Shimmering Ode to Loneliness”

Earlier this year, Italian indie duo Alaska Blue — singer/songwriter Elisabeta Giordano and musician Davide Cast — released “Cigarette,” a subtly Bossa nova-like take on neo-soul that evokes late night/early morning solitary walks in an industrial city that has seen much better days, reminiscing over what once was and may never come back; and of dreaming of escaping your dreary surroundings for something different — or for something seemingly better.

The duo explain that the song explores themes of destiny, the weight of nostalgia and the struggle of working-class folks and life on the city’s edge. “The lyrics paint a personal vision of concrete-paneled buildings in the outskirts of a port city,” they say. The “song will resonate with anyone, who’s ever felt the weight of unspoken words and the quiet beauty of a lonely night.”

The duo’s latest single of 2025, “Starless” is a slow-burning and soulful bit of dream pop that brings a synthesis of Still Corners, Geowulf and Amy Winehouse to mind while continuing to showcase their unerring knack for paring catchy hooks with earnest and deeply introspective lyricism.

The duo explain that “‘Starless’ highlights that while we are in the rush to chase deadlines, grab a meal before the store closes, or catch the last train, so many lives are left unseen. This track captures the aching loneliness of those at the edges. . . .”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Julia Powell Shares Brooding and Cinematic “Lazarus”

With the release of her debut EP, 2022’s Ephyra, the Tampa-based artist Julia Powell gained a following for crafting cathartic pop that pairs sultry vocals with punchy, dark pop arrangements — and for a trippy live show that frequently featured mannequin heads and light displays.

After the release of Ephyra EP, Powell took a break from music, and it seems that during that period her life changed. She marked her return to music with the release of “2019” earlier this year. “2019” showcased her daring and honest approach to her music.

Her latest single “Lazarus” is a brooding, song featuring dramatically twinkling keys, subtly malevolent bass synths, skittering boom bap and swirling, atmospheric synths serving as an eerie yet lush bed for Powell’s sultry, soulful delivery. Sonically, “Lazarus” brings to mind a synthesis of Black to Black-era Amy Winhouse and Portishead, full of brooding yet cinematic sense of unease.

“‘Lazarus’ is about coming back to music. After my last EP, Ephyra, I burned out a little and had to focus on life for a minute,” Powell explains. “That was two years ago, and my life is so different now. So I decided it was time to finally come back. I wrote Lazarus as an apology to my fans who hadn’t heard from me for a while, and an announcement that I am back – for good.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Zay’Marie Shares Lush “Open”

Zay’Marie is a Virginia Beach-born, Washington, DC-based artist, who has quickly established a sound that seamlessly fuses soul, R&B and pop rooted in raw emotion and undeniable energy.

The Virginia Beach-born, DC-based artist’s debut EP Natural was released earlier this month. Thematically, the EP’s material is a raw, authentic journey through love, embracing the highs, navigating the uncertainties while standing firm in self-worth and resilience.

EP single “Open” is a slickly produced track that strikes me as being a sleek mix of elements of Afrobeats, contemporary pop and R&B featuring skittering polyrhythm, atmospheric synths and a supple, sinuous bass line serving as an ethereal yet lush bed for Zay’Marie’s soulful, self-assured yet longing delivery. The result is a song that showcases a burgeoning talent, who can craft a hook-driven yet soulful tune.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Baltimore’s Devin Nash Shares Swaggering and Strutting “Sounds Like Pain”

Devin Nash is a Baltimore-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician, who quickly established a sound that blends contemporary R&B and 80s synth pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2016’s Her. 

Her achieved commercial success with the album’s songs appearing on VH1’s Black Ink Crew Chicago and MTV’s Teen Mom — and he performed at the BET Awards. 

The Charm City-based artist released his latest EP Sounds Like Pain last month. “It is a soundtrack centered around love, relationships and heartbreak,” Nash explains.

EP single, title track and opening track “Sounds Like Pain” is a slickly produced, strutting bop anchored around a sinuous bass line, skittering cowbell-driven beats, atmospheric synths that serve as a lush bed for Nash’s yearning delivery singing lyrics about a love interest, who quickly proves to be cold-hearted and cruel — for no particular reason. But underneath the heartache are moments of self-reflection and pride, in which the song’s narrator realizes “Wait, what the fuck am I doing?”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Maz Shares Breezy “Too Bad”

22 year-old, Marley “Maz” Guevara is a rising Logan, UT-born, Salt Lake City-based singer/songwriter. She first adopted the Maz moniker as a child, insisting ti was meant to be her middle name. As she dug into indie rock as a teenager, it took an added meaning for its connection to Mazzy Star, with the rising Utah-based artist’s earliest explorations aiming for their ethereal dreaminess. Now, the name has come to signify the development of her sound and world, something that’s indebted to and nostalgically honors the past, but while building something new.

Her debut EP, NPC is slated for an April 4, 2025 release through Winspear. “I grew up on early 2000s alternative music, and NPC reaches for that raw, cool, nostalgic sound,” she says. “These songs turn my day-to-day into something badass—a mix of vulnerability and strength.” 

Temporal back and forth is echoed in the material’s creation. Guevara started writing the EP’s songs at her Salt Lake City apartment while attending community college and working full-time. But she had to return to Logan after the death of her grandfather. “I found myself back in Logan, writing songs in my grandmother’s basement when my grandpa died,” she says “during that time I found a lot of solace in music—it gave me freedom to reflect and unpack everything I was feeling. And it made me appreciate the people around me and the opportunities and art I have in store for me in the future. It felt like a refresh button.”

Guevara’s return to Salt Lake City months later was bittersweet, but bolstered by her deepened connection to her family roots, she tapped into a vibrant, roiling, modern energy in her approach to music, and NPC began to take form.

The six-song NPC reportedly find the Utahn playfully picking apart growing up, relationships and self-empowerment. Drawing from Blondie, Santigold and Daft Punk among others, the EP’s material builds upon the buzz she has quickly amassed over the course of a brief, attention-grabbing run of singles.

Bobbing and Cole Williams, members of Still Woozy‘s production crew, build crisp sonic environments for Guevara for flex, explore and play across. The EP’s latest single “Too Bad” comes on the heels of her successful live debut opening for Wallice on a run of West Coast dates.

“Too Bad” is a breezy, hook-driven bop featuring reverb-soaked, squiggling post-punk like guitar stabs, relentless four-on-the-four and a twangy, Western-styled guitar solo serving as a lush bed for Guevara’s hushed Debby Harry-inspired cooing. “Too Bad” reveals a young singer/songwriter with an uncanny knack for crafting a catchy hook — and a self-assuredness that belies her relative youth.

“While writing this song, I was inspired by Blondie and Grimes,” Guevara explains “Vocally, I wanted to give off an ethereal vibe mixed with early, surfy Blondie. The meaning is just about faith and also shedding ego-driven desires.”

Directed by Enzo Peltz, the accompanying playful video for “Too Bad” follows the rising young artist through churches and the beach on a glorious sunny day.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Alaska Blue Shares Brooding “Cigarette”

Italian indie duo Alaska Blue — singer/songwriter Elisabeta Giordano and musician Davide Cast — released their full-length debut, 2022’s eight-song Under the weather, an effort that saw the duo quickly establishing a neo-soul-like take on pop, anchored around Giordano’s soulful vocal.

The Italian duo’s latest single “Cigarette” is a subtly bossa nova-like take on neo-soul that evokes late night/early morning solitary walks in an industrial city that has seen much better days, reminiscing over what one was and may never come back — or dreaming of escaping for something different or something seemingly better.

The duo explain that the song explores themes of destiny, the weight of nostalgia and the struggle of working-class folks and life on the city’s edge. “The lyrics paint a personal vision of concrete-paneled buildings in the outskirts of a port city,” they say. “This new song will resonate with anyone, who’s ever felt the weight of unspoken words and the quiet beauty of a lonely night.”