Category: Indie Pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LYV and Semi Team Up with Mistah FAB on a Summery and Club Friendly Bop

LYV is an emerging San Francisco-based, Mexican-American singer/songwriterand marketing manager at EMPIRE. The emerging San Francisco-based artist comes from an R&B and gospel background — but she has writing and co-writing credits for artists across a variety of genres. 

Over the past 18 months or so, the emerging San Francisco-based artist has been steadily releasing material, including last year’s “Haunted,” a track that paired her sultry pop starlet vocal with an atmospheric, Quiet Storm-inspired production featuring skittering trap-like beats and ethereal synths. But at its core is an earnest expression of yearning and desire. 

Her latest single “Fantasy” is hook-driven and summery, club friendly bop that’s a slick synthesis of elements of old-school house, contemporary R&B and Jungle Brothers era hip-hop that’s lush and roomy enough for LYV and Semi to croon with yearning — and for Oakland-based legend Mistah FAB to spit a few bars discussing a young, passionate, fervent love. It’s the sort of song you’d want playing in the background while you’re trying to seduce that long-held crush/love interest/sitautionship.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Remy Bond Shares Lush, Mesmerizing “Summer Song”

Remy Bond is a 19 year-old, New York-based singer/songwriter, who spent much of her childhood living out her own version of Just Kids: She grew up at the renowned Chelsea Hotel, surrounded by music. Her obsession with the silver screen, and the washed up beauty of places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas add a nostalgic undertone to her lyrics.

Bond’s work sees her combing modern elements with her deep rooted love of the past — specifically Golden Age Hollywood — where she often retreats to write, which creates an anachronistic nostalgia, while exploring what it’s like to be a young woman — right now.

The rising young singer/songwriter’s latest single, the Jules Apollinaire co-produced, Air co-written “Summer Song” is a lush and narcoleptic bit of nostalgia-inducing bit of dream pop anchored by Bond’s silky delivery, glistening keys, twinkling synths. Written in Paris, recorded in London and finished in Los Angeles, the song specifically evokes the long bygone era of 60s glamor — but with decidedly modern sensibility that reminds me of Pavo Pavo.

“It’s very much an American song lyrically, reminiscing on the essence of the late 60s and early 70s,” Bond explains. “I have endless love for Sharon Tate & the American sweethearts of the time, but I didn’t want it to be so super apple pie, so I reached out to AIR, which bought in rich new elements and sounds, as well as my British producers, who really brought a seasoned perspective to the project.”

Directed by 16 year-old Jagger Blue, produced by Olivia Violet, and a cast of high schoolers recruited by Bond, the video is spot-on ode to the imagery and vibe of Valley of the Dolls, The Virgin Suicides and Hairspray that opens with Bond leaving her fiancé at the altar for another man.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Miami’s Yari M Releases a Shimmering Bop

With the release of her debut EP, 2021’s six-song Yo Soy, emerging and rising Miami-based Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Yari M quickly established a sound that meshed Urban Latin R&B and pop rhythms. Yo Soy EP track “Freshy” garnered some traction with a remix that featured Randy and Brray, which amassed over 1 million YouTube and Spotify streams.

Building upon growing momentum, the emerging and rising Puerto Rican artist appeared on Randy’s 2021 album Romances de Una Nota, showcasing Yari M as the only female artist on the album, among a collection of notable Latin artists.

2023 saw the release of “Esta Lloviendo,” a bachata tune that debuted at #19 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay Chart, amassing over 500,000 streams. “Esta Lloviendo” was released through her label Black Diamond Music, where she’s the Vice President and the owner of the first Dolby Atmos studio in Miami. which allows her the creative space to create and bring her artistic vision to life.

Yari M’s career has been frequently marked by her commitment to growth and her desire to bring a fresh sound to her audience. She’s currently working on her first album while working with various Latin artists to expand both her repertoire and her sound.

Her latest single “La Noche” is a slickly produced bop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering reggaeton-meet-trap like beats serving as a lush and woozy bed for Yari M’s coquettish and yearning delivery. The result is a summery track that’s lounge and club friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Aquafox Shares Chill Yet Danceable “Triggers”

Orange County, CA-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Rachel Mae Perry’s career started in earnest when she was signed to WME Agency, alongside the likes of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber at just 15 years-old. And as a teen, she shared stages with The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Jan and Dean, John Stamos, Dick Dale, Jim Belushi, The Bangles, Berlin, and a long list of others.

Perry is also the creative mastermind behind the emerging indie, solo recording project Aquafox. Perry’s Aquafox debut single “Party Girl,” was written during a hospital stay and delves into her tumultuous years of drug and alcohol abuse with an unvarnished, raw honesty and captivating harmonies while offering a glimpse into her journey of self-discovery, sobriety and healing. 

Earlier this month, I wrote about the Jon O’Brien and Perry co-produced, 90s Riot Grrrl-like “Hurt You,” a lush yet cathartic and relatable revenge anthem about the desire for revenge after a bitter betrayal or a bitter breakup — or both. If you’ve been scorned, fucked over or done wrong by someone you’ve cared about — or loved — the sentiment at the song’s core, is both lived-in and deeply familiar.

Her latest Aquafox single, the Jon O’Brien and Perry co-produced “Triggers” is a mid-tempo and carefully crafted bit of pop with an arrangement that seemingly nods at Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back,” and St. Lucia that’s chill but hook-driven enough to be danceable. And much like its predecessors, “Triggers” is rooted in personal and deeply lived-in experience — with the song being about Perry’s struggles with alcohol, depression and feeling hopeless while trying to get better and healthier.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Lovelines Share Woozy “Make Believe (Life Is Such A Dream)”

Currently split between Berlin and  Orlando, the JOVM mainstays The Lovelines — the sibling duo of Tessa D (vocals) and Todd Goings (multi-instrumentalist, songwriting and prodution) — have released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single. 

Over the past handful of months, I’ve written about five of the album’s singles:

  • “May Be Love,” a slow-burning torch song-like take on trip hop and neo-soul built around shimmering pedal steel and congo-led percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful vocal expressing an aching longing for love — and to be loved. 

  • “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love?” a breezy pop song built around a looped, shimmering, finger plucked acoustic guitar melody and percussive percussion paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. On one level, the song views love with a healthy cynicism — but as the band’s Todd Goings explains, “What Kind of Fool Would Want to Fall in Love is a portrait of the fool in love. Do only fools fall in love or does love make us fools?“

  • “Low Fidelity” is a decidedly jazz pop/pop jazz take on their firmly established trip hop-inspired sound that’s rooted in their penchant for incredibly catchy hooks, dusty, old-school inspired production paired with Tessa D’s soulful crooning. 

  • “Darlin’,” a slow-burning torch song that’s one-part neo-soul, one-part old school pop-meets trip hop anchored around a dusty, lo-fi production featuring twinkling Rhodes, boom-bap like drumming and a supple bass line serving as a lush bed for Tessa D’s soulful and yearning crooning. 

  • “Killing Floor,” a vibey bit of psych-tinged neo-soul, anchored around a glistening vaguely Eastern-like guitar line, congo-driven percussion samples of casino games blaring and bleeping. The song’s arrangement and production serves as a lush yet strangely atmospheric bed for Tessa D’s soulful croon.

The duo’s latest single “Make Believe (Life Is Such A Dream)” is a woozy trip-hop-like take on indie pop anchored around twinkling and arpeggiated keys, reverb-soaked pedal steel and skittering beats paired with the duo’s unerring knack for crafting catchy hooks. The song’s arrangement and production serves as a dusty bed for Tessa D’s heartbroken delivery.

“It is a song about lying to oneself,” the duo explain. “The inspiration for the song was ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,’ in that the sound of the song and the lyrics of the song are tonal opposites. It sounds light, but when you read the lyrics it’s dark. So, is it a light song, or is it a dark song? It’s both, and is dependant on the listener’s perception of it. In Make Believe, the protagonist is in a loveless relationship, and rather than accepting this truth, chooses to lie to themselves. The sound of the song is the lie, and the lyrics are the truth.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: AKA Kellz Teams Up with Ria Boss on a Celebration of Black Liberation, Beauty and Self-Acceptance

AKA Kelzz is a Berlin-based, queer, non-binary Black artist, who’s committed to intersectionality and uplifting BIPOC communities. The Berlin-based artist’s career and musical journey has been a testament to perseverance. Overcoming various setbacks and limited representation, AKA Kelzz found much-needed solace in Berlin while reigniting their passion for music.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for the Berlin-based artist to develop their songwriting and to hone their production skills. Collaborating with producer Rafa Mura helped to launch their career, and since then they’ve become a rising figure in Berlin’s soul music scene.

Over the past year, the Berlin-based artist has played opening slots for Pip Millet and Madison McFerrin. They’ve also played sets at Melt Festival and X-Jazz Berlin Festival. And along with that, they’ve collaborated with JOVM mainstays Nick Hakim and Annahstasia as part of Noah Slee’s vocal ensemble A Song For You. Building upon a growing profile, AKA Kelzz’s recent releases “Free Falling,” “Hidden” and TikTok viral hit “Fly,” are part of the creation of a platform that specifically uplifts the voices of dark-skinned and/or queer black folks, who are often overlooked. (Fuck yes to all of that.)

Ria Boss is an acclaimed Ghanian musician, songwriter and performer with an incredible voice. Affectionately nicknamed “Cat Mama,” Boss has created Cat Mama World, where her multiple artist personalities and endeavors come to life.

Her latest album, 2022’s Remember was ranked the #1 R&B album of that year by Native Magazine. And Boss’ live show Cat Mama World as gained popularity for its showcase of her theatrical ability and storytelling.

AKA Kelzz’s latest single “Mango” sees the Berlin-based artist collaborating with the acclaimed Ghanian artist. Anchored around a sleek Afrobeats-meets-contemporary R&B-like production featuring bursts of strummed acoustic guitar, swirling and painterly layers of glistening synths paired with skittering beats, the song’s production serves as a dreamily lush bed for AKA Kelzz’s and Boss’ to trade soulful vocals — and for their ethereal harmonies. The song captures the profound joy of finding understanding and acceptance in a world that can be all too cruel to anyone not white, cis het or heteronormative.

And while sonically reminding me of THEESatisifaction, “Mango,” as the two collaborators explain is “a celebration of liberation, beauty and self-acceptance” that was inspired by the rising Berlin-based artist’s experience visiting Ghana last summer.

During that trip, AKA Kelzz experienced a profound sense of liberation. “I saw my reflection daily,” the Berlin-based artist says. “This unlocked a new level of Black liberation for me, and I want to bring this sunshine and liberation back to folks all over the world.” 

“This song is about embracing our own beauty and power. It’s about not being afraid to be who we are and to shine our light,” Ria Boss adds. “It feels like the softness of the sun on my skin and reminds me of how sweet life can be when we accept ourselves.”

Directed by Yalla She Said, the accompanying video for “Mango” features a collection of beautiful and incredibly stylish Black folk at a picnic in a verdant park. There’s different expressions of gender and of Black people — but they’re experiencing a collective joy while championing and holding each other up.

“The ‘Mango’ music video serves as a call to liberation, crafted to ignite inspiration and empowerment among BIPOC wom*n, urging them to champion each other on a profound life journey: to lead and shape a fresh reality where all feel truly seen and heard. Equal and embraced, amidst our myriad differences,” Yalla She Said explains.

“‘Mango’ becomes a vibrant celebration of colors and diversity, embracing the tender link between goddesses and the essence of nature, rooted in Mother Earth’s embrace. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Anselyn Shares a Breezy Pop Gem

Anselyn is an emerging Cape Cod-born singer/songwriter, who traces the origins of her music career to her childhood: Although she was a painfully shy girl, who was too afraid to sing or perform in front of large groups, she did enjoy singing to her dogs and cats.

When she grew up, the Cap Cod-born artist, spent most of her adult life working jobs in industries that weren’t particularly creative. Whatever songs she did write, she didn’t finish. But she finally decided it was time to finish some of those songs she had written and record what would be her full-length with debut with producer Elliott Lanam at Santa Barbara, CA-based Hidden City Studios.

The Massachusetts-born artist’s single “Triggered” is an Easy Listening/Quiet Storm-like pop song with elements of smooth jazz that will remind some listeners of Sade but with a subtly modern edginess — and anchored by Anselyn’s coy yet coquettish delivery.

“‘Triggered,” as Anselyn explains “is a song about tortured love, where you wanted to be with someone badly (and ached for them to love you back), yet they drove you crazy with their hot-then-cold indecisiveness . . . Their emotional swings would drive one mad.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Half Waif Shares a Breathtakingly Gorgeous Meditation on Grief and Loss

Back in May 2022, Nandi Rose, the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded Half Waif, was standing on the ridgeline in northeastern Wyoming, looking at the landscape, a layer cake of strata, the colors representing compressed geologic time. She was at an artist residency, where she found herself grappling with loss and looking for answers in the sagebrush.
The previous winter in Upstate New York, Rose’s life had been riddled with blows as she faced losing a family member to illness and moved through a medical recovery of her own.

As she was gazing out at the wide plains, she felt the beneficence of the passing of time. “I’m not a failure,” she thought to herself. “I’m an ephemeral being.”

Rose’s latest EP, the five-song Ephemeral Being EP is slated for a May 31, 2024 release through ANTI- Records. Recorded between the winter 2021 and into the following spring, the EP looks at the transience of life while celebrating the continuation of nature’s infinite cycles. The EP’s material, the first part of a larger body of work scheduled later this year, Rose finds comfort and hope in the natural world.

Sonically, the EP’s arrangement boldly blend elements of contemporary classical with indie rock and synth pop. And while being at turns fierce and delicate, the songs reportedly set e as a reminder of scale: that we are ephemeral and tiny in midst of geologic and cosmic time. It’s also a reminder that when you feel paralyzed by life’s disruptions, and when we are often at most desperate, that nature offers us perspective.

Ephemeral Being EP‘s first single “Big Dipper” is anchored around a breathtakingly lush arrangement of twinkling keys, skittering gated reverb-soaked beats, atmospheric synths, bursts of guitar. The Kate Bush-like arrangement serves as a satiny bed for Rose’s vulnerable and yearning delivery. And while the song conveys an overwhelming sense of loss and grief, the song’s viewpoint is not of devastating heartache, but of hope and resolve.

“This is a song about looking for answers, and finding none, and looking again,” Rose explains. ““It was written at a time when I was feeling very stuck in my body and overwhelmed by compounding griefs. I was inspired by the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who had just passed away, and his idea of continuation–how we are not bound by our forms. We continue on. ‘This body is not me,’ he said. ‘So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye, say good-bye to meet again soon.’”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jinte Deprez is an acclaimed singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian indie outfit Balthazar. 

Over the course of the past two decades, the members of Balthazar have played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. Throughout his career, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date. 

As the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project, J. Bernardt, Deprez wrote, recorded and produced his full-length debut, 2016’s Running Days, an album with a sound molded from electronics. That album has amassed over 40 million streams globally since its release. 

Deprez’s sophomore J. Bernardt album, the Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo is slated for a May 17, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Deriving its name from the Spanish phrase “with you,” the album sees Deprez crafting an old-school band-based sound featuring a collection of the Belgian artist’s super-talented friends that he guided through intense rehearsals and performances, “searching for that spark.” The string and orchestral arrangements were written by Deprez, who’s a classically trained violinist. 

Contigo sonically is reportedly a dramatic, compelling and colorful body work and brought to life by sumptuous melodies, vocals and production flourishes from an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Thematically, the album explores all the phases of a break-up: shock, sadness, denial, anger and acceptance while being viciously romantic. “I know a break-up record is a cliché,” says Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.”

So far, I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles:

  • “Taxi,” a taut pop gem featuring a slinky bass line-driven groove, a soulful female choir, propulsive percussion, twangy bursts of guitar and cinematic strings serving as a lush bed for Deprez’s plaintive and heartbroken delivery. The song’s narrator is in a taxi, desperately desiring an escape to contemplate a recent, very bitter breakup: throughout the ride, the narrator endlessly replays and questions everything that led up to the split. And for devastated and heartbroken narrator, he’s left without any real answers to anything, other than raw hurt, confusion and shock. He’s a man who has had the rug violently yanked out from under. 
  • “Mayday Call,” a swaggering yet woozy tune that starts off with a wailing horn but is lead by a thick and brooding orchestral section, a propulsive rhythm section serving as a lush and uneasy bed for Deprez’s squealed delivery, which describes a panic attack with an uncanny verisimilitude before ending with a wearily exhausted coda. 

Contigo‘s third and latest single “Last Waltz” is a slow-burning, lush bit of orchestral pop. Featuring an ethereal yet cinematic string arrangement, expressive bursts of guitar, a soulful backing choir and Deprez’s heartbroken baritone croon, “The Last Waltz,” is a drunken and heartbroken surrender to the new reality of post-breakup life, while choosing to fondly remembering what once was. The song’s narrator seems to say “Lord knows, we had some fun, huh? But it’s time to move forward somehow. Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart/Auf wiedersehen/Auf wiedersehen . . . as Vera Lynn once sang.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Hess Is More Shares Mind-Bending and Euphoric “You Don’t Dance”

Mikkel Hess is a Copenhagen-based composer, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind Hess Is More. Initially started as a solo recording project, Hess Is More has gradually developed into a circular Transatlantic ensemble featuring musicians from Copenhagen, New York, and Berlin. And over the course of nine albums and long list of EPs and singles, the Danish artist has crafted music that sits in the borderlands between jazz, kraut, electronica, pop, folk and more.

Additionally, Hess Is More has a long-held tradition of interdisciplinary collaborations including music for ballet, films, art installations and more. The ongoing interest in integrating music with other art forms has lately been expressed in the “Apollonian Circles” concert series.

Hess’ ninth and latest Hess Is More album, CÆKE was recently released through Music For Dreams. With CÆKE, Hess returns to the spare style of some of his earlier works, grappling with change with familiar sounds and a light-hearted, yet earnest disposition. Arrangements are built around piano, drum machines and vintage synths which serve as a lush yet minimalist space for Hess’ voice, which is pensive and unhurried to wander with strange, eccentric poetry. The maturity of the sound and arrangements are frequently offset by the Danish artist’s long-held tendency for the childish and curious; a subversive, playful lightness that may be reminiscent of his early sound.

The material’s ironies and pleasantries flow into a large mood of a mellow existentialism, informed by the seriousness of Hess’ life’s a father. While, the album is a return the basic, much has happened since Hess stated the project, and the basics have changed — because life has changed and the world has changed.

“CÆKE is in some ways a return to process and atmosphere from the early Hess Is More albums such as Tip Top Dynamo, Captain Europe and Creation Keep The Devil Away,” Hess explains. “We are primarily in the immediate area – the world waits outside for the 32 minutes the album lasts. There is a clear focus on the melodies rather than the longer sonic journeys that have characterized the later albums such as 80 Years and Iboja’s Sange. It has been cut to the bone so that the individual idea is presented as simply and precisely as possible. No concepts, no long inversions. Actually just 8 songs of 3-4 minutes each. Less Is More?”

To celebrate the release of the new album, Hess shared live footage of album track “You Don’t Dance.” Sonically, “You Don’t Dance” is a playfully escapist, mind-bending and super slick synthesis of disco, electro pop, world music, and jazz fusion that’s anchored around remarkably catchy, euphoric, Giorgio Moroder-like groove. The world is hard, harsh and fucked up. But dance. Not because you were happy. But because dancing makes you better; it makes your life better. It’s scientific.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Virginie B is a rising, Montréal-based self-taught singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and self-described “extravagant mess” influenced by a wide range of music, including experimental electronic music, classical, old-timey jazz, 90s R&B, art pop, art rock and more. The French Canadian artist and her collaborator and co-produced Louis Jeay-Beaulieu have received attention across the province and elsewhere for crafting a unique take on hyper pop that incorporates elements of nu-jazz, funk and R&B with a refined conceptual approach informed by art pop.

Thematically, her work is informed by her studies in psychology and sees her exploring her psyche, femininity and her relationship with technology and nature. For the rising French Canadian artist, her work is an outlet which she expresses her desires and excesses with an unvarnished honesty that reflects her vulnerability and confidence, while not taking herself too seriously.

The rising Montréal-based producer and artist collaborates with a number of local acts including  Super Plage, Maggie Lennon, Georgette, Félix Dyotte and Marie-Gold among others.

Her full-length debut, 2022’s INSULA garnered praise from ICI Première, Le Devoir, La Presse, Montreal Rocks!, and PAN M 360, which led to a nomination for Pop Album of the Year nomination at 2022’s GAMIQ. Adding to a growing profile, Virginie B played sets across the provincial festival circuit, including Francofoiles de Montréal, Coup de Cœur Francophone, Le Phoque OFF, Santa Teresa Festival, Taverne Tour, 2022’s M for Montréal — and last year’s SXSW.

The Montréal artist’s latest single “hana” is a slinky and slow-burning bit of 80s synth funk-like pop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, wobbling bass synth, acoustic guitar and skittering yet relaxed beats. The production is a lush synthesis of organic and futuristic textures serving as a silky bed for Virginie B’s equally sultry vocal.

Deriving its title from hana, which translates to flower in Persian and Japanese, the rising Montréal-based artist refers to that etymology in the song, using it as a metaphor to symbolize femininity. Throughout the song, she expresses her unconditional love of women — especially those who are irreverent, who party, who stay out late, and who go against what is expected of them. The result is a playful yet defiantly feminist anthem.