Week in Pop
Off the LA artist’s upcoming EP, Eddington Again dropped the discretely & neatly created single “Sweet” that instantly added another layer of serenity to our summer. The artist’s understated style allows the entire production to take its time while Eddington slowly pours on a host of rich vocal stylings that sound like fresh Valentines being delivered in late July. Watch out for Eddington’s EP dropping soon & taking over the world.
Courtesy of Come Together Records & director Donovan Ortega; we present a look at Antony Payne’s new single “Horns” that features the artist at home in a creative & minimalist mode. From creating electro-organic compositions with keyboards, holistic/improvised percussion & mic stand equipped with a light bulb—Antony entertains all sorts of inspired impulses that makes for a delightfully manic episode. Payne projects all the possibilities & constructive, artistic avenues one can enjoy when confined to one’s own space with just an instrument (or two); or really anything that can make noise will do.
Available now via Culvert Music, you are invited to witness Ben Stevenson’s understated beauty of “Yellow Bird” that softly soars with the most vague frequencies of stratosphere coasting atmospheres. Descending from Ben’s subtle guitar string strums, “Yellow Bird” takes flight like thoughts wrapped around former flames & nearly forgotten entrancing exchanges that are reawakened with a sublime sense of purpose. The sense of swimming along in the arms of the wind gusts propels the song forth toward those shared remembrances that only exist between two previously estranged parties (that continues to hold tight to perhaps a greater shared purpose that may or may not exist between the two). Stevenson referred to his own musical inspirations with the following thoughts:
My parents weren’t musicians. Music wasn’t forced on me, I was just drawn to it. I started singing one day and I immediately felt that I could do it. And it felt good.
HUMANS brought all the endearing sentiments & electro-imbued styles with the “The Feels” that fosters all the feelings hot on the heels of their “Boys & Girls” video. Combining perspectives amid a host of big beat pop boasts, HUMANS introduced their new single with the following reflections:
“The Feels” came about as an extension to the live version of Follow from the Noontide LP. It eventually became it’s own thing. We kept adding parts to it as we went to the studio. It’s actually a song that Robbie and I produced and recorded at a studio in Vancouver then went back to the studio in Edmonton with Nik Kozub and added an additional ending that is in the track and not the video.
Take in the Moses Monterroza & Sean Acklin Grant video for UNBLOOM’s “No Other” ft. Davey from the upcoming EP This Could Be Everything / This Could Be Nothing that brings about youthful inspirations forward into the exuberance of embracing the exclusivity of individuality. From a host of electric vibes & feels; UNBLOOM keeps the party pushing & bumping in manners that invite the exhilaration of an exquisite weekend in the making.
Kaley Honeycutt is Baby! who is readying the upcoming album Sunny, F.L. available August 25 from Yellow K presenting a listen to the righteous, fist-clenched rocker “If I’m Sorry” that entertains the idea of possibly apologizing & meaning it all the same time. Following up the debut Pick Me EP, Honeycutt creates some of the most incredible DIY pop that will instantly make you a fan of Baby! & further proves that Yellow K is truly one of the world’s most important labels that champions undergrounds of prestige.
LA’s own Vector Xing dropped the single “Bubble King” that starts a classic brass & fancy attire party with a whole lotta fan fare that will sure to bring all corners of folks & generations to the collective dance floor/proverbial dinner table. “Bubble King” is that surprise single that catches your attention with flashy big band harmonies that echo the most suave clubs from yesteryears (complete with plenty of LA representation exhibited as a place where Vector and affiliates dwell). Like a portal to a speakeasy from the past that rockets to new eras & arenas.
Watch Courtney Marie Andrews take you on a fun errand run through The Family Grocer performing old classic film scenes & plane having fun to her tune “Irene” in the visual piece from Josh Perrault. Celebrating the re-release of her album Honest Life returning September 15 from the exquisites tastes of imprints Fat Possum and Mama Bird Recording Co., Andrews recently played Portland with Offa Rex and offered the following perspective into the character of “Irene” depicted in the video & song:
“Irene” is the little voice inside most of us, that says we aren’t good enough, or strong enough. It’s about shutting that voice off, while also accepting life’s inevitable struggles. It’s about coming to terms with you are, and believing in that person. “Irene” was written for a friend who was going through a confusing time, but like some songs do, over time it turned into a song about not only myself, but all of the women that I love. Irene is amazing, she just doesn’t know it yet.
Those looking for that instant hit of absolutely unabashed saccharin maximalism; look no further than Draper’s big massive & ultra-bright single “Worst Of Us”. Nu-house definition upgrades move in waves that bombard with sentiment-infused synths that have potential overwhelm or spike blood sugar levels.
Busting out that festival fare that is certain to ring about trees as depicted in the Drew Tyndell, Rhiannon Leifheit Tyndell video for Noah Kahan’s “Young Blood” visual. It’s a coming age of tale about the aching growing pains where empathy & ego attack one another in a quest for understanding that is created in the writ-band/bandshell wall of summer sounds.
Ahead of their upcoming live album Alive available September 29; siblings Rising Appalachia offered up some road hymns to hum along with via “Lean In”. This is one for every lonely fan or fellow wandering, earth worn, long-in-the-tooth troubadour seeking a connective sense of community & camaraderie.
Calgary’s RALEIGH announced their forthcoming album Powerhouse Bloom available September 29 & shared the glimmering shine of “Costume Party” that expresses the most of lavish of parties imaginable. From a plethora of wild electro components, RALEIGH blends all elements together in a blend that begs the question of fashionable posturing with, “so when did rock & roll become a costume party?”
TRASH offered a listen to the vintage fancy-free flying single “81” featured of the upcoming EP that cascades with a host of new romantic feelings that make every moment flash in splashes of colors & exhilaration. Like everyone who has adored the offerings from that decade of the track’s namesake, TRASH digs through the landfills to find those previously discarded diamond essences that continuously inform today’s new dream designers.
London duo All Flags Are Grey presented the bondage performance act visual for “Bare Bones” from Patrick Ford & Neil Cain. Intimate expressions coupled with sinewy synths are accompanied by equally atmospheric & alluring viddo about slipping skin & more.
LE SON (oka Emily Ady & Liam Fergus) follow up their recent single “Ava” with the atmospheric hisses & glitches heard on “1008” that follows the duo as if they were exploring an ancient abandoned factory warehouse. Observations & intimacies of objects that emerge from the darkness are entertained throughout the song’s survey of emotions, lives & shared feelings that emulate the surrounding percussive effects that vaguely resemble industrious mechanisms & the like.
Blackburn quartet Violet Youth dabbled into the he said, “She Said” found off their upcoming EP available September 8 from Modern Sky UK. Waves of breezes & atmospheric rushes pass through like winds in the willows that tell of conversations past that leave spaces for all the things that are yet to be said.
Featured off Amber Ryann’s upcoming release Voice Memos available August 4, check out the Darius Turbak video for “For Real” ft. Airospace. Ryann is seen swimming & singing & doing her own cool dance underwater rhyming on the topic realness, inquiring about feelings that are further reinforced via Airospace’s guest verse on everything from existentialism to relationship dynamics.
Decco & Leo Stannard offered up a listen to the lively & sun streaked pop rhythms of “Sun Comes Out” available now from Black Butter Records. The sentiments of an afternoon/evening spent with a special someone are exhibited through an array of electronic ambience that distills & instills that summery sense of feeling.
Gloucester by way of London’s ARIA brought a glimmer of goodness with the single “Hope” that shines light on the possible potential that awaits in the days & worlds beyond the present and past of what we already know. On the heels of “Shot in the Dark”, ARIA counters the qualms that anxiety & indicative intuitions exhibit with wishes for something better that she described in the following introductory thoughts:
“Hope” is based on the constant fear we face of losing love. I feel that sometimes after falling in love, the fear of losing that love is often what can kill the relationship.
Drinker’s new single got the Elliot Moss beat treatment as “Fake It” gets a new faux style of grace & feigned affinities. Find this & more off of Drinker’s forthcoming Happy Accident EP available August 11.
The Domestics presented a look at the road-tripping Martin Melnick video for “Tunnels and Trains” featured off their upcoming album Little Darkness produced by Tucker Martine available September 1 from Tender Loving Empire. The downs & out incidents & breakdowns of life on the road are exalted here in a gathering of misfits, mayhems & a whole lotta mismatched plots that intersect out on on the open roads.
Flood Coats new album Vaquita is available today from Hey Amigo! Recording Co. & the LA duo offered up the Mariana Blanco video for “Don’t Hold the Door” that features cameos from a plethora of pooches. Darla Hawn & Joel P. West’s pop visions are combined with images of dog walkers that sets the duo’s song into motion, step & paw. Keep a close on Flood Coats….this is a duo that can possibly do anything they want.
Palm Honey dropped the Patrick Taylor & Jamie Denny video for “Hot Simian Weather” that pairs the band’s eccentric style of sound with a whole lotta strange visual oddities that will leave you somehow charmed, as well as grossed-out & scratching your head.
Thyla just released the single “Pristine Dream” via REX Records that broadcasts an abundance of dream-designed textures ripped from your wildest afternoon visions. New romantic notions careen with styles & senses of grace that bridge the ethereal accents of yesterday’s heroes with today’s style & taste merchants.
