Category: Indie Synth Pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their earliest singles and their debut EP Anonymous, the Brisbane, Australia-based sibling duo Niterunner — comprised of Daniel and Andrea Suesskow — received quite a bit of attention nationally for the sort of soulful yet dreamy electro pop production and anthemic hooks that’s been compared favorably to the likes of M83, Phoenix, Moonbabies, Cut Copy, and others. Interestingly, the Suesskows’ latest single “Out of Your Hands” is reportedly a reworking of a single the duo released earlier that received some 16,000 streams upon its release and was recorded and reworked in their family’s home studio — and was produced by Daniel Suesskow.  And sonically speaking, the single will further cement their burgeoning reputation across Australia and elsewhere, for crafting summery and dreamy pop that’s both wistfully nostalgic and achingly earnest paired with a soaring hook and shimmering synths.

As the Suesskows explained in press notes the song’s lyrics reflect on moments of symmetry, a singular way of thought and reaction, a cycle of repetition and a struggle to cope but offering a moment of self-realization and reprieve, in which one learns how to counterbalance their internal process of self-doubt and self-flagellation with the realization that there’s only so much you can control. And as a result, all anyone can do is let go of the things that are completely out of their hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of songwriting and production duo of Amber Lane-Mcivor and Jake Blythe, the Manchester, UK-based indie electro pop act Ambiere have been compared to the likes of blogosphere darlings The xx — while crafting a sound that the duo have described as “fairytale grunge, with a jellybean peanut butter finish.” The Manchester, UK-based duo’s latest single “Tree of Life” is a dreamy and atmospheric song in which Lane-Mcivor’s soulful vocals is paired with a spacious production featuring layers of shimmering guitars, dramatic percussion to create a song that possesses a vulnerability and longing at its core.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their first four singles over the course of 2015 and 2016 — — the achingly vulnerable “What Do You Think They’ll Say About Me,” the part torch song, part wistful and tender farewell “I’m Already Gone” and the slow-burning Quiet Storm-era R&B inspired pop song “Find Me Out,” and the swooning “I Could Be Your Girl,” the Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based electro pop duo ACES, comprised of  Russ Flynn and Alexandra Stewart received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere for a subtly modern and atmospheric take on early-to-mid 80s synth pop.

The Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based duo start 2017 with their latest single “Just Cut It Out,” which will appear on a synth pop compilation titled DRUG BLVD that serves as the first release from Istanbul, Turkey-based dream pop label Drug Boulevard, founded by Kubily Yigit, best known as the founder of renowned Turkish progressive/trance label Blue Soho Records. “Just Cut It Out” will further cement the duo’s burgeoning internationally recognized profile for crafting slow-burning and atmospheric pop paired with Stewart’s breathy and achingly tender vocals. And while bearing a meticulous production, the single manages to swoons with the heartache of a relationship that the song’s narrator knows is doomed and yet doesn’t want to give up.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy Visuals for Up-and-Coming Australian Pop Act Darling James’ Latest Single “God’s Graffiti”

Arguably best known as the frontman of renowned Melbourne, Australia-based act Boat People, multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter James O’Brien’s solo recording project Darling James has developed a reputation for locally and nationally for crafting thoughtful and sophisticated pop — with the first three singles off his recently released Theory of Mind EP receiving airplay from Triple J and Double J. And as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “God’s Graffiti,” O’Brien pairs tight and infectious pop hooks with thoughtful, metaphysical-leaning lyrics and a slick and atmospheric production that features cascades of twinkling synths and propulsive drum programming — and while sonically being reminiscent of Reptile Youth’s Away EP, the song manages to possess an earnest yearning for meaning, for more.

Directed by Luke Constable, the recently released music video initially had a completely different concept — but ended with Constable placing a camera atop an unnamed car rolling down a slight incline. And as they were shooting, the pair spent a great deal of time leaping into the moving car to prevent it from rolling onto bike paths and train tracks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Tsutro’s Latest Dream Pop-Inspired Single “Say Something”

Now, if you had been frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about San Francisco, CA-based electronic music artist and producer, Jacob Monague and his latest solo recording project Tsutro. Tsutro is a bit of a sonic departure from Montague’s work as a member of BRANCHES and his previous solo work, which had placements on a number of popular TV shows including — America’s Got Talent, The X Factor, One Tree Hill and others, as well as the film trailers for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Afternoon Delight, and Love Is Strange as Montague’s latest project draws from a diverse array of influences such as pop, worldbeat, future garage and downtempo. And with a batch of his latest singles, the San Francisco-based producer and artist collaborates with a different vocalist, which gives each song a completely different feel and tone.

The third single of his initial batch of singles “Say Something” is a breezy and coquettish track featuring both Roxi Pianko and Montague’s vocals over a slick and dreamy production featuring twinkling keys and synths, strummed guitar and stuttering drum programming. Now while, the previous single I wrote about “Back to You” feat. Sunday Lane was reminiscent of the sensual yet bracingly chilly house of Octo Octa’s Between Two Selves, “Say Something” sounds inspired by Swedish dream pop — but with a swooning Romanticism.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months you may have come across a couple of posts on Behdad Netjabakshe, Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known in electronic music circles as Uppermost. Netjabakshe has received international material for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records. And adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Netjabakshe’s “Equivocal” landed at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts back in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts — and he has had his work playlisted by superstar artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello, as well as received attention for his remixes of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

You may remember that the Paris-based producer and electronic music artist’s forthcoming full-length album Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the Frenchman’s most popular tunes — including “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,”and the Pink Floyd-channeling, funky and cinematic “Reminder.” “Emotion,”Origins’ latest single much like “Thousand Colors” will likely remind some listeners of the aforementioned M83 as the song features layers of cascading and shimmering synth chords paired with a soaring and anthemic hook and a sinuous bass line — with a swooning and Romantic heart at its core.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring brothers Alix, Miles and Reece Melendrez and schoolmate Matt Mumician, Decorator  is an up-and-coming Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock/indie soul quartet, who publicly claim a rather wide and diverse array of influences that include the music the Melenderez Brothers heard quite a deal of while growing up — Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Bob Marley and contemporary acts like Lauryn Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, Gorillaz and others. And interestingly enough, the project which attribute their name from a famous Frank Zappa quote “without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production headlines or dates by which bills must be paid” can trace their origins to when the Melendrez Brothers taught themselves how to play covers of the songs they heard so much growing up. As high schoolers, the Melendrez Brothers began writing their own music — and their folks drove them to school night gigs in which they played in bars they weren’t even be allowed in without their gear.

 

Wanting to master their instruments and to do their own thing, the Melendrez Brothers enrolled themselves at Silverlake Conservatory of Music, founded by Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Flea, where they met and befriended fellow student Mumician and started writing music together. However, it took several years before the band took their music out of garage rehearsals and house parties and were able to concentrate on their music full-time, as the band’s youngest member, Reece Melendrez honored his promise to his folks to graduate from high school before making music a full-time effort.

With the release of their 2014 self-released debut EP Transit, the band quickly received a growing local profile and fanbase, including their first headlining set at the renowned Troubadour, thanks in part to a sound that draws equally from classic soul, indie rock, contemporary pop and neo soul — and in a way that manages to be uncompromisingly difficult to pigeonhole. The Los Angeles-based quartet’s latest single sonically speaking seems to owe an equal debt to Tame Impala‘s Currents, the Cascine Records roster, Neon Indian and 80s synth soul as the quartet pairs shimmering and undulating synths with a sinuous groove, an infectious hook and Miles Melendez’s sultry falsetto.  Lyrically, the song’s vulnerable narrator admits to be run around in circles by an unrequited and cruel love interest, with whom he feels desperately and inexplicably pulled towards — and as much as he wants to pull away, to move forward with his life, he feels trapped in a vicious and unfulfilling circle. Certainly, what’s remarkable to me about this band is the fact that their material manages to possess a maturity and self-assuredness that belies their youth.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you had been frequenting this site back in 2015, you may recall that I once wrote about the New York/London-based electro pop outfit Stereo Off. Initially formed in 2012 as the solo recording project of frontman Sebastian Marciano, the project eventually evolved into a quintet whose sound drew from indie rock, classical music and electronic music. And by the following year, the quintet had played in a number of renowned venues across NYC including the Knitting Factory and Glasslands and had their music featured in sevaerl short films that made the film festival circuit, which added to a growing profile locally and nationally. Building upon the growing buzz, the project released their first two efforts — 2014’s New York EP and 2015’s The Long Hot Winter, which landed them a CMJ Festival appearance that year.

After several lineup changes over the past year or so, the band has settled into a trio featuring Marciano (vocals) and Niall Madden, a guitarist, who in that same period has switched from guitar to bass on most of their latest material and Bridget Fitzgerald (synths). Along with that, the band has gone through a change in sonic direction and songwriting approach that has each member frequently filling in where necessary and not always playing their primary instrument. And as you’ll hear on their sensual New Order and Yaz-inspired single “Venir” off the band’s appropriately titled, forthcoming EP III, the newly constituted trio’s sound has become more dance floor friendly as the band pairs a sinuous bass line with shimmering synths, Marciano sultry and plaintive vocals, a tight motorik-like groove and their while retaining renowned penchant for crafting tight, anthemic hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the course of last year, the London-based indie pop duo Ten Fe won the attention of the blogosphere and this site with the release of anthemic singles  “Make Me Better,” and “In The Air,” followed by “Turn” and “Overflow” off the duo’s much-anticipated full-length debut effort Hit The Light, which is slated for a February 3, 2017 release through Some Kind of Love Records/[PIAS] Recordings. The duo of Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan ended a breakthrough 2016 with a Christmas gift to their fans, a moody, New Order-inspired take on Underworld‘s 1996 thunderous, club banger “Born Slippy.” And building upon the increasingly buzz for the band and their forthcoming (and highly-anticipated) full-length debut, the duo released Hit The Light‘s latest single “Twist Your Arm,” a single that sonically nods at Zonoscope-era Cut Copy and the soaring, earnest pop hooks of Snow Patrol as the duo pair shimmering and bluesy guitar with enormous, tweeter and woofer beats, plaintive vocals and an undulating groove. And much like their previously released singles, the duo’s latest single will further cement their burgeoning reputation for slickly produced yet incredibly sincere, anthemic pop that effortlessly meshes analog and electronic production.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Emanuele Chiarelli (vocals, guitar), Simone Constantino De Luca (programming, keys) and Fabio Consentino (bass), the Consenza, Italy-based  new wave/synth-gaze trio Electric Floor over their 8 year run together, have developed a reputation for being among their homeland’s more interesting and up-and-coming underground acts. And with their recent signing to Vipchoyo Sound Factory, the label home of internationally acclaimed acts Stella Diana and Vibrissae, the Consenza-based trio have clear plans and hopes to expand their profile internationally with the March 6, 2017 release of their third full-length effort, Fader, an album that finds the band taking their sound in a much more synth pop/industrial electronica-leaning direction as you’ll hear on the propulsive, club-friendly,  Depeche Mode and New Order inspired single “Bluedive.”

As the band’s Emanuele Chiarelli explains “‘Bluedive’ is like a surge. It was born during a bad period for us. Initially, it was only messy ideas, but we gradually gave it are form. The lyrics are suspended between romance and sadness, anger and exhortation. Just like the other songs, our lyrics in this one are very emotional and tidal.” And as a result the song possesses a swooning, visceral and passionate urgency based around both the internal dialogue among the members of the band and within one’s psyche, and the confused feelings and sensations romance and heartache inspire within us.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially releasing material as OSCA, the London-based indie pop quartet Colouring have received attention for crafting earnest and anthemic indie electro pop with the release of their Symmetry EP earlier this year, an effort that’s been compared to HONNE, Chet Faker and Aquilo — and the EP’s latest single, EP title track “Symmetry” will not only further cement the British quartet’s growing profile, as it possesses a soaring and anthemic hook paired with atmospheric synths, shimmering guitar chords and plaintive vocals; but it may also be their most lush, fully-fleshed out song to date.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Pavement” earlier this year, the Brooklyn-based songwriter, producer and electronic music artist Daniel Balk, best known as Stray Echo received attention for a breezy, Afropop and electro pop inspired production consisting of propulsive, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, a sinuous and funky guitar line and a flirtatious hook that seems inspired by Grace Jones’ “Pull Up to The Bumper” — while also talking about the role of the internet and social media in our increasingly politically charged world in an incredibly subtle fashion.

The up-and-coming producer recently enlisted the Grammy-nominated, JOVM mainstays Sofi Tukker to remix the song, a song that the duo have been enormous fans of, and their remix completely re-imagines the song as a classic house music track, complete with stuttering and propulsive percussion, shimmering synths and tweeter and woofer rattling beats, while retaining the song’s sultry flirtatiousness and its crowd-pleasing, club banging nature.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Up-and-Coming, French Producer Zimmer Performs “Lost Your Mind”

With the release of a string of high-profile remixes of MØ, Vallis Alps, Gallant, Fakear and others, and his first two original singles “Galapagos” and “Saturday Love,” the Paris-based producer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Zimmer quickly established himself as part of a new crop of Paris-based producers and electronic music artists including fellow labelmates Darius, FKJ and Kartell, who have been busily redefining French electronic music — sonically, thematically and lyrically.

Zimmer’s 2015 EP Coming of Age may have arguably been his breakthrough effort, as the material possessed a refined, minimalist sound with songs that oscillated between euphoria and nostalgia. However, the up-and-coming French producer’s recently released EP Ceremony reportedly finds him further expanding upon his sound as the material draws from downtempo electro pop, dream pop and dance floor-friendly house music — sometimes simultaneously as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “Lost Your Mind,” which features ethereal guest vocals from Fhin paired with shimmering cascades of undulating synths, twinkling keys, warm blasts of guitar and propulsive beats. Sonically speaking, the song is somewhat reminiscent of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy and of Moonbabies’ gorgeous Wizards on the Beach.

Recently, the French producer released live footage of him with Fhin performing the song surrounded by mood-setting lights.