Tag: Ryal

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: RYAL Shares a Dance Floor Friendly Bop

JOVM mainstays RYAL is a New York-based synth pop duo that features:

  • Jacque Ryal, a producer, singer/songwriter, keyboardist and pop artist, who first emerged into the local scene as a member of pop outfit Strip Darling. When she first stepped out as a solo artist, she started out crafting Portishead-inspired trip-hop. 

  • Aaron Nevezie, an in-demand producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter, who has worked across a wide range of genres and styles, primarily out of Brooklyn-based Bunker Studio. Nevezie works with acts sculpting sounds and honing arrangements rooted in a passion for creative sonics informing musical performances. He has extensive work in composing and arranging electronic music with a focus on analog modular synths.

The JOVM mainstays have received attention from the likes of The Best Line of Best Fit, Time Out New York, LadyGunn, Popdust and elsewhere.

The duo’s latest single “On The Inside” is a hook-driven, early 80s-inspired disco synth pop tune that recalls Evelyn “Champagne” King‘s “I’m In Love,” Prince‘s “U Got the Look” and a few others. It’s the sort of song that should get you up to the dance floor or the rolling skating rink — unless you’re somehow soulless and dead.

The duo explain that the song is about how good vibes come from within, and that it’s ultimately up to you to have a good time. Let that be a reminder y’all.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jacque Ryal is a New York-based singer/songwriter, keyboardist and pop artist, who first emerged onto the local scene as a member of pop outfit Strip Darling. She then stepped out into the limelight as a solo artist, who crafted Portishead-inspired trip-hop. 

RYAL, the New York-based artist’s latest project with producer and songwriter Aaron Nevezie has recieved attention from The Best Line of Best Fit, Time Out New York, LadyGunn, Popdust, this site and elsewhere  for releasing material that’s been compared to Little Dragon and the aforementioned Portishead.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Best Friend,” a slickly produced bop built around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats, shimmering bursts of guitar and Ryal’s plaintive delivery paired with random puppy noises and the duo’s unerring knack for razor sharp hooks. Initially written as a lullaby dedicated to Ryal’s beloved dog and best friend, who died, “Best Friend” gradually morphed into a dreamy yet anthemic bop. But just underneath the big choruses and catchy hooks, the song captures the unique and profound relationship one has with their animal companions.

RYAL’s latest single “What I Mean To You” is inspired by the full band set up of their previous releases, and sees the duo collaborating yet again with Marcy Playground’s and Norah Jones’ Dan Rieser (drums) and Grammy Award-winner John Davis (bass). Centered around a punchy and propulsive rhythm section, twinkling keys and Ryal’s plaintive and yearning delivery, “What I Mean To You” is a swooning and hook-driven bop that seemingly comes from lived-in, personal experience.

“What I Mean To You” thematically finds its narrator grappling with a relationship on the brink. Throughout the song, the narrator tries to save their relationship through affirmations of safety, love and fidelity — and the determination to make the effort and do the work to maintain it. It’s a much needed burst of light, yet earnest sweetness in an all too often harsh world.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jacque Ryal is a New York-based singer/songwriter, keyboardist and pop artist, who first emerged onto the local scene as a member of pop outfit Strip Darling before stepping out into the limelight as a solo artist. As a solo artist, Ryal crafted Portishead-inspired trip-hop.

RYAL, the New York-based artist’s latest project with producer and songwriter Aaron Nevezie has recieved attention from The Best Line of Best Fit, Time Out New York, LadyGunn, Popdust and elsewhere for releasing material that’s been compared to Little Dragon and the aforementioned Portishead.

The duo’s latest single “Best Friend” is a slickly produced bop centered around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats and shimmering bursts of guitar paired with Ryal’s achingly plaintive delivery, random puppy noises and the duo’s unerring ability to craft a razor sharp hook. Initially written as a lullaby dedicated to her beloved dog, who died, “Best Friend” eventually turned into a dreamy and anthemic bop that the duo recorded to tape. Despite its anthemic nature, “Best Friend” captures the unique and profound relationship one has with a faithful, animal friend.

With the single being released on National Pet Day — April 11, 2022 — the dup partnered with pet partners like Broadway Bitches and PupperCup, as well as animal rescues for charities.

The single’s artwork is collaborative fan art, where fans were asked to submit pictures of their pets. 20 of the submissions were selected and illustrated by Nashville-based artist Psychic Lemonade in a Brady Bunch-styled color block collage.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially known as a vocalist and keyboardist in NYC-based pop act Strip Darling, Jacque Ryal is a singer/songwriter and pop artist, whose career began crafting Portishead-inspired trip-hop; however, along with producer and collaborator Aaron Nevezie, Ryal, who writes, record and performs under the moniker RYAL, the duo have received attention for a soulful synth pop sound that while seemingly inspired by Prince and 80s synth pop, is also reportedly inspired by Solange, The xx, Bjork, Kendrick Lamar and others while paired with deeply personal lyrics rooted from her own experiences.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you may recall that I caught RYAL perform during the eclectically curated Festival 8 at C’mon Everybody last summer and although I haven’t personally written about her in a little bit, the New York-based singer/songwriter and pop artist has been rather busy, recording a sultry and soulful yet minimalist and subtly atmospheric-leaning rendition of one of my favorite George Michael songs “Father Figure.” And while being fairly straightforward, RYAL’s version manages to have a swaggering vibe, thanks to big, tweeter and woofer rocking beats.