Tag: indie pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Montréal-based experimental pop outfit Raveen — founding members vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eric Seguin, producer and musician Stokley Diamantis, along with drummer Peter Colantonio — can trace their origins back to 2013: The band’s founding members started the project after attending a Mount Kimbie show together at Montréal’s Société des Arts Technologiques (S.A.T.). In 2014, Peter Colantonio joined the project and finalized its lineup.

The trio spent the next handful of years playing shows in Montréal, Toronto, New York and several other cities while crafting and honing the material that would eventually comprise their full-length debut, 2017’s Always.

After sets at Montréal’s Festival International de Jazz, POP Montréal, the PHI Centre and the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, Diamantis was forced to return to the States, derailing the recording of their sophomore album. The remaining members adapted, collaborating with Gayance on her Polaris Music Prize shortlisted album Mascarade and hip-hop duo THe LYONZ. Seguin also played solo versions of Raveen’s live set while opening for Ghostly Kisses.

Understandably, the pandemic kept the project’s members separated by the US-Canada border for years — until recently. The trio went into the studio with BRAIDS‘ Austin Tufts to complete work on material that will be released over the course of the rest of this year and 2024. Along with collaborations with Nick Henriques, Lost Prince and others, the trio are relentlessly seeking ew and original ways to blend electronic music influences with vocal-performance-driven songs with feeling.

The trio’s latest single, and first in some time, the sublime “In The Middle” is a lush and atmospheric song built around glistening Rhodes, gently padded jazz soul-like drumming paired with Seguin’s plaintive and ethereal falsetto. Sonically resembling a synthesis of Cloud Castle Lake, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and others, the song is an expression of the longing, yearning, confusion and regret that comes from love — and naturally, relationships –being confusing and uneasy.

“This song tries to provide a snapshot of the emotions we feel in those moments when love and growth fight for dominance in our lives,” the members of Raveen explain.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Georgia Reed Shares Atmospheric and Anthemic “Haunted”

Georgia Reed is an Aussie-born, London-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, who relocated to the UK back in 2019. After relocating to the UK, Reed spent the next fiver years, making a home for herself and carving a niche as a songwriter with a penchant for dark, moody material paired with cryptic storytelling. Speaking on her decision to relocate, Reed says “’I’d always been influenced by UK bands and artists. It played a really big part for me.”

Reed’s latest single “Haunted” is her first bit of new material since her relocation to the UK, and is the first of four singles slated for release over the next handful of months to build up buzz for her long-awaited debut EP scheduled for release next March. “Haunted” pairs a relentlessly driving rhythm section punctuated with dramatic drumming with phased-out synths and Reed’s smoky and dramatic vocal. The result is a hook driven anthem that sounds as though it could be inspired by Stevie Nicks‘ early 80s output with nods to much more contemporary fare, like Lana Del Rey and others while being rooted in lived-in, deeply personal experience: in this song’s case, that feeling of suddenly having the rug pulled out from under you.

“I wrote ‘Haunted’ many years ago, at a time when my whole life had changed suddenly,” Reed says. “I would play it acoustically at shows, but It wasn’t until we started recording it that I realised it was probably my favourite song I’ve ever written.” 

women who kick ass by William Ruben Helms

VIdeo Interview: Le Couleur’s Steeven Chouinard

Montréal-based pop outfit and JOVM mainstays Le Couleur — currently founding members Laurence Giroux-Do (vocals), Patrick Gosselin (bass) and Steeven Chouinard (drums) along with newest members Phillipe Beaudin (percussion, synths), Jean-Cimon Tellier (guitar) and Louis-Joseph Cliche (synths, vocals) — debuted over a decade ago with 2013’s Voyage Love EP. And since then, the Canadian outfit has released 2015’s Dolce Désir EP, their critically applauded full-length debut, 2016’s P.O.P. and 2020’s Concorde, which have seen them plumb the depths of human desire, while firmly establishing a glittery and vintage-inspired electro pop sound that draws from a variety of influences including 70s erotica, psychedelia, disco, yéyé and French chanson.

Their long-awaited third album Comme dans un penthouse was released earlier this year through Lisbon Lux Records. The album is a concept album that sees Le Couleur revisiting a past album character: Barbara, the assistant, who stole her former employer’s fortune on 2016’s P.O.P. Giroux-Do was drawn back to Barbara when upon returning from the Montréal-based outfit’s most recent UK tour, she began feeling that her life was “flat, beige and pointless” and developed a “fear of falling into a routine,” while Barbara’s “search for novelty, new feelings, an addiction” was roughly the opposite. 

Over the past year or so I’ve managed to write about the following album singles:

  • “Sentiments nouveaux,” a sleek, slickly produced bop that to my ears sounded like a synthesis of Tame Impala, VEGA Intl. Night School-era Neon Indian and Nu Shooz.

  • “Autobahn,” a song fittingly built around a relentless Krautwerk-like motorik pulse, glistening synth arpeggios and the Montréal-based outfit’s penchant for crafting razor sharp, catchy hooks paired with Laurence Giroux-Do’s ethereal and sultry delivery.

  • “À la rencontre de Barbara,” another glittery, disco and electro pop-inspired track that features glistening Giorgio Moroder-like synth oscillations, squiggling Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, tight four-on-the-floor, and a relentless motorik-like pulse. But underneath the disco vibes is a tension that’s sultry, unnerving and irresistible while simultaneously nodding at classic spy thriller soundtracks and French chanson — thanks in part to a guest spot from Choses Sauvages‘ Standard Emmanuel. 

  • “Addiction,” which continued a remarkable run of fun, glittery disco-tinged material that saw the Montrealers pairing a sinuous bass line with glistening bursts of keys, squiggling funk guitar and Laurence Giroux-Do’s ethereal and yearning vocals with catchy hooks. To my ears, “Addiction wouldn’t sound out of place on Roxy Music’s Avalon, Duran Duran’s self-titled debut or Rio. 

So with JOVM, I’m always up for experimentation and using different tech and apps. On Monday, I had a Zoom call with Le Couleur’s Steeven Chouinard. The conversation was illuminating, fun and wide-ranging. And in this nearly 40 minute interview, we chatted extensively about one of my favorite cities in the entire world, from where you should go to get a sense of the town and its locals, if it was your first time in the French Canadian city, to our favorite poutine shops, the city’s incredible Francophone and Anglophone music scenes and acts that Chouinard thinks should get more love. We also talked about their new album, Comme dans un penthouse, one of my favorite albums released this year and how it fits into their growing catalog and more.

The Montréal-based JOVM mainstays will be playing a free, album release show at The Sultan Room on November 29, 2023. Fellow Montreal pop artist and JOVM mainstay Ormiston will be opening. It’ll be a fun night of dance floor friendly hooks and grooves.

women who kick ass by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Enitu and Yul Tackle a Beloved and Iconic 70’s French Hit

Enitu and Yul is an emerging French electro pop duo that features two accomplished artists:

Enitu is a vocalist, who grew up in a musical home. Her father was a musician. With his encouragement, she began singing before she could speak. When she turned 11, she began studying at the conservatory and joined her first choir. By the time she turned 13, she joined her high school choir. She went on to study at Sorbonne Université, where she performed with he choir and orchestra, with which performed classical music in France and in Abu Dhabi.

Around the same time, she began to regular attend open mics across Paris and played with several bands, including one with her father. Last year, she began collaborating with French musician, sound designer and DJ Yul — and she’s working on her Yul-produced full-length, solo debut.

Yul is a musician, sound designer and DJ, who has created music for movies, theater and art installations. Back in 2004, he founded Résiste, which produces radio dramas, sound post-production, creates websites and manages artists. But in 2016, the company began releasing original material –including under his own name and with Toxiq, an act that saw him collaborating with Claire Deligny and Manuel Roland.

The pair’s latest single, sees them tackling France Gall‘s beloved and iconic, 1977 hit song “Si Maman Si.” The original is built around a Burt Bacharach-meets-70s Elton John-like arrangement of twinkling piano and soaring strings paired with Gall’s plaintive delivery. The Enitu and Yul cover subtly modernizes the song while retaining the original’s feel and spirit: Piano and strings are replaced with twinkling synths and thumping beats, while Enitu’s melody manages to bear an uncanny resemblance to Gall’s. It’s French chanson — but for those heartbroken souls crying in the corner of the club, desperate to go home.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Fabien Gravillon Shares Breezy Pop Confection “Je t’attends”

Fabien Gravillon is a Paris-born singer/songwriter, pop artist and actor, who may be best known in France for starring in the smash-hit soap opera Plus belle la vie. As a singer/songwriter and pop artist, Gravillon has specialized in a sound that draws from Zouk, Kizomba and Afro pop.

After the release of his debut album through Because Music, Gravillon went to Los Angeles and appeared in several videos by internationally acclaimed artists including Macklemore and  Patrick Stump‘s “Summer Days,” Collapsing Scenery and others. He also participated in several projects filmed at Fox Studios in Hollywood and for The Jim Henson Company.

Gravillon’s latest single “Je t’atends” is a slickly produced bit of hook-driven pop that meshes elements of reggaeton and chanson in a way that’s crowd-pleasing and accessible. Much like his previously released material, “Je t’attends” is an earnest plea of devotion to a lover that feels and sounds sweetly old-fashioned.

Directed by Roger Artola and Griffit Vision, the accompanying video for “Je t’attends” was shot on a gloriously summer day in Los Angeles and tells a classic tale of deception, cheating and devotion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: San Francisco’s LYV Shares Atmospheric “Haunted”

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 year, LYV has been steady releasing new material, including her latest single, the slow-burning and sultry “Haunted,” which pairs her sultry pop starlet vocal with an atmospheric, Quiet Storm-inspired production featuring skittering trap-like beats, ethereal synths. But at its core is an earnest expression of yearning and desire.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: TANSU Shares Bittersweet Ballad “Easy Love”

Deriving her artist name from a Turkish term for the sun’s radiant touch on ocean waters just before sunrise, the emerging pop artist TANSU has a diverse and global cultural background with roots in Turkey and Ireland. She spent her formative years in London and Connecticut, had a stint in Boston for college, and has called NYC home for the past 13 years. 

During that period, TANSU has carefully balanced her life between music and fashion, which she personally defines as performing arts. While working in fashion PR, she lent her vocals to numerous projects as a session and featured vocalist, most recently releasing The Wash Up EP co-produced with Lars Viola. She also performs extensively around both lower and Manhattan, including a monthly residency at Lafolia Restaurant, every first Thursday.

Back in 2015, the emerging pop artist reconnected with American Authors‘ Dave Rublin, a college acquaintance. Since then, they’ve been writing and recording music together, which has included sleek and slickly produced “DOWNTOWN,” and simmering soul-pop ballad “Got 2 Me.”

The New York-based artist’s latest single “Easy Love” continues a run of sleek, slickly produced 90s and 2000s-inspired R&B built around a minimalist yet percussive production featuring glistening synths paired with her effortlessly soulful vocal expressing a bittersweet and heartbroken farewell to a relationship.

“’Easy Love’ is a soft goodbye,” TANSU explains. “It is a song about letting go of a friend while respecting the life and beauty the relationship once shared. A loving tribute to someone you can no longer be there for, the song helps us all tell our former friends to take it easy, love.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Binoy Shares Slickly Produced Ode to Queer Hookup Culture

Binoy is a Kenyan-born, Indian-Sri Lankan singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who uses his songwriting to authentically pinpoint and express his experiences and feelings as a queer person of color. Inspired by Taylor Swift, Troye Sivan and MIKA, Binoy proudly incorporates his Indian and Sri-Lankan roots and East African upbringing into his sound and approach.

The Kenyan-born artist’s latest single “BoysBoysBoys” is a slickly produced, club banger built around skittering reggaeton beats, African and Indian subcontinent-inspired polyrhythm, glistening and wobbling synth arpeggios paired with Binoy’s sultry, come-hither delivery and some remarkably catchy hooks. The song captures and evokes the excitement, thrill, chaos and occasional danger of queer hookup culture with a lived-in familiarity and specificity.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Cuban Artists Reivaj and Eli Luna Team Up for Flirty and Summery Bop “Ahí Nama”

Reivaj is an emerging Cuban artist, whose music career started in earnest when he was six years old, singing and performing in Voces del Barrio, a group based out of El Cobre, Cuba, under the tutelage of his father and uncles. Gradually, the emerging Cuban artist learned how to plays several instruments, along with further developing as a singer/songwriter and artist.

When he turned 16, Reivaj decided to explore other genres, and co-founded the Afro music choir Voces del Milagro, a commercially and critically successful act that won a Cubadisco prize back in 2011. And from that point forward, his fans started to call him la voz de oro.

Changing things up, the Cuban artist decided to go into Urban music and co-founded the pop duo Yerba Buena, which performed live sessions on Talla Joven and Cuerda Viva.

Reivaj’s ability to write, sing and perform in a variety of musical genres and styles led to him being cast in Rosi la Cubanita, a musical where he met fellow emerging artist Eli Luna.

Released earlier this year, Reivaj stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with his debut single “Ahí Nama,” a collaboration that features his Rosi la Cubanita castmate Eli Luna. The song is a summery bop that meshes elements of reggaeton, contemporary pop and R&B, hip-hop, classic Latin folk, and Afrobeats built around a sleek, dance floor friendly production pairing shuffling polyrhythmic percussion, deep grooves and a remarkably catchy hook. Rooted in the undeniable chemistry between the two emerging artists, “Ahí Nama” is not just a much-needed blast of breezy, flirty joie de vivre in a dire, fucked up world, it’s also a showcase for two artists, who seem — from my humble opinion — to be destined for superstardom.

Fittingly, the accompanying video is swaggering and fun joy bomb that follows the two emerging Cuban artists and a collection of gorgeous dancers and locals throughout a variety of Cuban locales that feels a bit like a musical — and a music video.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Lisa LeBlanc Performs “Dans l’jus” at Francos de Montréal 2023

Lisa LeBlanc is an acclaimed Rosaireville, New Brunswick-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (banjo and guitar), who proudly claims Acadian heritage — and comes from a family of passionate music lovers. (In case you’re curious — as I was — Cajuns are often described as descendants of Acadian exiles, who went to Louisiana during Britain’s Great Expulsion of Acadians from what is now known as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, parts of Eastern Québec and Northern Maine. To simplify it a quite a bit, Acadians and Cajuns are historically very deeply connected, although it’s kind of confusing.)

LeBlanc can trace the origins of her professional career to when she turned 14 and stared to write her own original songs. She played her first shows at O’Donaghues in Miramichi with her mother accompanying her because she was underage — and couldn’t be legally in the bar by herself. But despite her relative youth, she quickly received recognition for her guitar playing and for being a promising singer/songwriter when she won 2010’s Festival International de chanson de Granby – singing material in French.

The juried award brought her to the attention of the country’s Francophone media. And as a result, she wound up playing Coup de cœur francophone, FrancoFoiles de Montréal and at Festival d’été de Québec by the following year.

Building upon a growing profile across Francophone Canada, LeBlanc’s full-length, self-titled debut was released in 2012 by Montréal-based label Bonsound. Primarily written while she was still living in her native Rosaireville, studying at L’École nationale de la chanson with portions written in Montréal, where she eventually relocated, the album was recorded by Karkwa’s Louis-Jean Cormier at Studio Piccolo. The album is best known for the single “Aujuord’hui ma vie c’est d’la marde” (“Today My Life is Shit”) – and because of the success of that single, the album eventually was certified platinum by Music Canada. 

2014’s Highways, Heartaches and Time Well Wasted, her critically applauded and commercially successful English-language EP debuted at #7 on the Canadian Album Charts. 

LeBlanc’s sophomore album, 2016’s bilingual Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen? featured songs both in English and French, as well as a thrash-folk cover of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades,” which helped to establish what she has dubbed as thrash-folk. The album was on that year’s shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize. 

Back in 2020, LeBlanc, under the pseudonym Belinda released It’s Not a Game, It’s a Lifestyle, a five-song EP of disco songs specifically about bingo – yes, bingo.

The Canadian artist’s third album, last year’s Chiac Disco is a glittery, dance floor friendly tribute to disco, funk and Lee Hazlewood with colorful lyrics sung boldly, loudly and proudly that was released to critical acclaim from CBC Music, La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal, Montréal Gazette, KCRW, Exclaim!, and countless others.

Today, the acclaimed Rosaireville-born, Montréal-based artist announced a Stateside tour in December that will include a December 6, 2023 stop at Café Wha? (Tour dates are below. But you can get more information, including tickets here.)”I recently dug up some photos from our last East Coast tour in the US from 2018,” LeBlanc recalls. “I remember during our New York show, there was a record snow storm and the city was a total ghost town with subways canceled and everything. Despite this, about 300 people came and I couldn’t believe my eyes and kept pinching myself that we were playing NYC for a room full of beautiful people. Needless to say, I’m really excited to come see you all again on my upcoming US tour in December!“
 
Along with the announcement, LeBlanc shared live footage of her and her backing band performing “Dans l’jus” in front of 45,000 people at this year’s Francos de Montréal, an annual, eight-day Francophone music festival with 250 shows in venues across Downtown Montréal, including a massive, outdoor festival stage in the city’s Quartier des Spectacles section.

“Dans l’jus” is a bombastic dance floor banger that’s roughly one-part Talking Heads, one-part Blondie, one-part glam rock and three-quarters glittery disco funk grooves built around a hypnotic, hook-driven arrangement paired with lyrics that openly discuss the seemingly omnipresence of burnout, frustration and dissatisfaction in our society.

The footage is a small portion of an entire show that was originally broadcast on ICI Radio-Canada Télé, but it reveals a super tight band that can quickly get into an irresistibly funky groove, fronted by a high-energy, dynamic frontperson. LeBlanc and her backing band headlined an M for Montréal showcase at Darling Bowling last year, and it was one of the most memorable and downright fun sets of that year’s festival. So trust me on this, if she’s playing at a city near you, don’t fuck up and miss her.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Montréal’s Ormiston Shares Breezy and Hook-Driven “Bittersweet Summertime”

Nicola Ormiston is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and the creative mastermind behind the solo recording project Ormiston. Since the release of his full-length debut Hammer Down, album single “Distortion of Reality” premiered on David Dean Burkhart’s YouTube Channel and amassed over 920,000 views and “Time Fades” appeared in Meet Cute, which starred Pete Davidson.

Ormiston’s sophomore album Highway Restaurant reportedly sees him continuing the psychedelic and dream pop influenced sound that has won him attention but with electronic and disco nods. And much like its predecessor, the new album will likely draw comparisons to Toro Y Moi, Men I Trust, MUNYA, MGMT, and others.

Inspired by an eye-opening, several week trip to Los Angeles, Highway Restaurant‘s material reportedly evokes late-night drives through the fanciest and the most neglected parts of urban centers. Witnessing Los Angeles’ “high amount of glamour and money” alongside poverty and homelessness reminded him that, when you look at some of the most beautiful things, morbid and ugly streaks often lie just under the surface. As a result, the material constantly makes contrasts between the beautiful and the ugly, the joyful and the bleak.

Highway Restaurant‘s latest single, the mid tempo strut “Bittersweet Summertime” continues a remarkable run of breezy, funky and hook-driven pop built around glistening synths, Nile Rodgers-inspired funk guitar and a sinuous bass line paired with the Montréal-based artist’s dreamy delivery. And while seemingly channeling the breezy and funky bops of JOVM mainstays MUNYA and Kainalu, “Bittersweet Summertime” is a bubble-bursting tell-off to someone who seems vain, delusional — and perhaps a bit narcissistic.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Riya Gadher Shares Cinematic and Introspective “Own Way Home”

Riya Gadher is an emerging Leicester, UK-born, London-based singer/songwriter, who spent five years quietly developing her sound and approach, including graduating with a degree in songwriting and performance, before stepping out into the spotlight as a solo artist earlier this year.

Sonically, the emerging British artist has often felt like she was an old soul, from a different era — but she has readily embrace a sound that meshes elements of alternate pop with conventionally classic undertones. Her latest single “Own Way Home” is a slow-burning, cinematic track that pairs sleek, contemporary electronic production featuring skittering beats, glistening synth arpeggios and twinkling and percussive piano with Gadher’s plaintive and expressive delivery. At its core, is a songwriter, who displays a remarkable sense of insight and wisdom beyond her relative youth with introspective lyrics informed by her own life.

Sonically, the self-produced track reminds me quite a bit of Gravity Pairs and Along the Lethe-era Beacon. Thematically the song as the British artist explains “is about embarking on a journey of self-discovery to find mental peace in a world that’s face paced, while not being afraid to cut your own path and do what’s right for you. It’s about faith, hope, female empowerment and courage.”

“I really believe when your mind is still and at peace you can better deal with the challenges that life throws at you,” Gadher adds. “I feel it’s not always possible to change your physical space but your mind has the ability to take you anywhere.”

Directed by Daniel Alexander, the accompanying video for “Own Way Home” follows the pensive and emerging British artist wandering London and the English countryside, seeking a sense of peace — and her own sense of power.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Naomi Shares Sultry Revenge Fantasy “Hot Ex”

Over the past 18 months or so, give or take, I’ve managed to spill a bit of virtual ink covering rising Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and pop artist Naomi. After studying theater, Naomi first made a name for herself, when she began to land roles on both the small and big screen by the time she turned 14. She went on to study dance at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. 

As a dancer, Naomi has appeared in and/or choreographed music videos for Rihanna, Marie-Mai, Cœur de Pirate and others, as well as for local dance performances. While she was establishing herself as an actor and dancer, the Montréal-based artist quietly developed a passion for singing — without giving herself permission to explore it fully. However, Cœur de Pirate, a.k.a. Beátrice Martin saw potential and took Naomi under her wing. 

Encouraged by Martin’s mentorship, the rising Canadian artist began to realize that she was never far off from making her own music. All she needed was a bit of a push. 

She signed with Martin’s Bravo Musique, the label home of JOVM mainstay Thaïs, Cœur de Pirate, Chocolat and lengthy list of local Francophone acts, and began writing her own original material. Since then, the rising Montréal-based artist has taken a bold leap into a career as a singer/songwriter and pop artist. Her first two singles “Tout à nous” and “Zéro stress” received airplay on WKND, Rouge FM, Arsenal, POP, CVKM and several other regional radio stations across Quebec.

Naomi went on to release four more singles over the next handful of months, which I managed to write about on this site: 

  • The club friendly, Rowan Mercille and Naomi co-written “Semblant,” which featured glistening synth arpeggios, skittering trap-meets-Carribbean beats paired with her sultry delivery and an infectious hook in a remarkably self-assured summertime banger, that simultaneously serves as the coming out party of a bonafide superstar in the making.

  • “Pas le temps de jouer,” a slickly produced and self-assured banger centered around shuffling reggaeton-meets-trap beats, glistening synth bursts paired with the rising Canadian artist’s sultry delivery and her seemingly unerring knack for crafting a big, razor sharp hook. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Pas le temps de jouer” is an accessible, summertime bop that will help launch a bonafide superstar into the stratosphere. 

  • “Okay Alright,” a sultry bop that continued a remarkable run of slickly produced, genre-defying, accessible pop bangers. But with an English language hook, the song seems to show an artist reading for an audience outside of the Francophone world – but while retaining the elements of her sound and approach that have won her fans at home and abroad. 

  • A new version of “Okay Alright” that featured a guest spot from Mike Clay, the frontman of Clay and Friends. Retaining the slick production and fun air of the original, the new version adds a bit more swagger and fun to the proceedings, and a reminder that Naomi is a star in the making.

The Montréal-based JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Hot Ex” pairs Naomi’s sultry delivery with a soulful house music-inspired production featuring twinkling keys, bursts of sexy Quiet Storm-like horn, skittering beats paired with a remarkably catchy hook. But despite the sultry exterior, the song is part break-up song, part tell-off, part revenge fantasy — full of the bitterness, disappointment over the relationship ending, the sadness over what could have been, the desire for revenge, the stupidly desperate and dim hope for reconciliation and more that can only come about from randomly running into an ex-lover.

“I started writing “Hot Ex” while chatting with Willy (Willy Wonder, who wrote the music) about an anecdote that had happened to me recently. I talked about it laughing, for once running into one of my exes wasn’t an atrocious story (!),” Naomi says about the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Philly’s Mesa Jane Tackles Radiohead’s “All I Need”

Mesa Jane (short for Melissa Jane) is a Philadelphia area indie pop artist, who specializes in a sound that has been described as “alternative vibe pop.” Throughout her life and music career, she embraces bringing creative energy into physical form through a multitude of avenues including songwriting, production, composition, collaboration, music videos, album art, entrepreneurship and cooking.

Over the past decade, the Philadelphia-based artist has recorded two full-length albums, two EPs (one, which was self-produced and recorded during the pandemic) and a batch of singles, all of which she has supported with touring across the country, as well as sets at music festivals like SXSW and Toronto’s Indie Week among others. Mesa Jane has appeared on several compilations — and she has received nominations from the Independent Music Awards and the Hometown Heroes Awards. And adding to a growing profile, she recently had one of her songs placed on Hulu’s How I Caught My Killer.

The Philadelphia area-based artist is currently quite busy with several different projects: She’s working on several collaborations, co-writing for other projects and is also working on her third full-length album. And she’s doing this while being a mom of two boys. Talk about being a boss, right?

Mesa Jane’s latest single is a gorgeous and fairly straightforward cover of Radiohead‘s “All I Want,” which retains the original’s buzzing synths and pairs that with skittering beats and the Philadelphia area artist’s plaintive gently vocodered vocal. While a female vocalist does change some of the song’s context, it’s still rooted in a deep and uneasy yearning.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Alessia Iorio is a rising Toronto-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, best known as Alle The Dreamer. Iorio quickly established herself in the local scene, writing and recording with a series of collaborators in Toronto, Los Angeles and London, including Samuel Gerongoco, who has worked with Alessia Cara; Bram Inscore, who has worked with BTS and Andy Grammer; Jeff Shum, who has worked with John Legend and Camila Cabello; Dayyon Alexander, who has worked with Demi Lovato and Dua Lipa; and Negin Djafari, who has worked with Drake. She has also accumulated a bunch of credits in a relatively short period of time including as a featured artist of DVBBS‘ “Wicked Ways” and Morgan Page‘s “Beautiful Disaster,” and as a co-writer on Little Mix‘s “F.U.,” Baby Ariel‘s 2019 “I Heart You” and two singles for K-Pop star Suho.

Writing and performing as Alle The Dreamer, Iorio has quickly become known for dynamic songwriting and a unique dream pop sound that draws from a fluid bend of vintage and cutting-edge influences. The rising Canadian artist’s debut EP Starting Over was released last week.

“Starting Over came to be in a very organic way. The more songs I wrote, the more clarity I had on what the underlying themes were from all the music I was writing,” Iorio explains. “Writing this EP was a time of self-reflection, and self-isolation. It taught me the beauty in letting go and having faith. I struggled with these ideas my whole life as I’m a chronic overthinker. I let overthinking & overanalyzing mindset steal joy from special moments instead of being present.”

The EP’s latest single “Run Home to You” is an slow-burning, anthemic pop ballad built around glistening synths, the Canadian artist’s achingly tender and ethereal delivery before the introduction of skittering tweeter and woofer rattling beats and buzzing bass synths paired with enormous sing-along worthy choruses. Sonically recalling 80s pop ballads and JOVM mainstay ACES, “Run Home To You” evokes the whirlwind of confusing and contradictory emotions relationship can bring from beginning to end.

“I am just reflecting on how confusing relationships can be, the dynamics, dating in your 20’s, the highs and lows, and all the feelings you go through and experience for the first time,” the Canadian artist says.