They say good things come in threes and in this case it is true. Alt-pop trio, TWIN XL, is back with their latest single, “Problematic”. Cameron Walker-Wright, John Gomez and Stephen Gomez created a new pop anthem that fits in with today’s pop sounds. “Problematic” documents watching things turn wrong, but not being able to do much about it. The music video that accompanies the single cleverly conveys this idea, without saying it outright. In every scene the trio becomes more disheveled and injured, fitting perfectly to what they were trying to say with their lyrics.
The band follows the 2019 release of their debut EP, How To Talk To Strangers, with their third single of 2020 which will be a part of their upcoming debut album. A consistent beat behind Walker-Wright’s vocals makes for a match made in pop music heaven. After writing and producing for other artists like All Time Low and Lindsey Stirling, these three have the right skills to rise to the top themselves. The catchy chorus of the single will be stuck in your head all day.
For the first time in six years Mina Tindle, the project of Parisian singer-songwriter Pauline De Lassus, released the single, “Lions” off her upcoming new album SISTER. Mostly made in New York City alongside producer Thomas Bartlett with additional production by Sufjan Stevens and Bryce Dessner, the album has a depth that departs from her typical alt-pop albums. De Lassus says about her songwriting, “Instead of feeling nostalgic for the past or worried about the future, I’m living more fully in the present, and it makes all the colors feel deeper and more contrasted than they were before.”
“Lions” is a great introduction to the album with silky transitions and airy vocals. The lyrics are about encouraging yourself in the face of self-doubt. “If the roads are made for a parade / Go march with the lions,” gives you the boost to rethink how you act and to be brave. It’s about going on, even when you think you don’t have anything left. Make sure to check out Mina Tindle’s new track “Lions” and keep an eye out for SISTER in October.
Singer-songwriter Jazz Mino dropped her latest empowering single, “Like a Drunk Girl.” The track is the second in a series of witty and relatable singles from the alt-pop singer. No one is going to get in the way of Mino’s carefree spirit and getting lost in her own world when she is dancing like a drunk girl. Dealing with the struggles of being confident in a world where you’re always getting knocked down can be hard, but letting go is Mino enjoying living in the moment.
After being discovered busking on the streets of London by Austin Daboh, Apple’s Head of Editorial, Mino has started to create a name for herself. With over 10 million streams on Spotify, she continues to gain fans and followers including having her music featured on the popular reality show Love Island. The alt-pop singer continues to release music with unique pop beats and lyrics that you’ll find yourself questioning if she’s talking about you in the songs. Keep an eye out for Jazz Mino, she is creating a new path and being unapologetically herself.
Alt-pop singer-songwriter Sailing Stones drops new album Polymnia. The album has circles around romantic innocence and longing set in uncertainty.
“Fire Escape”, the last single released before the release of the album. The track is a love song watching one lose that comfort of innocence. Even with harsh words like “fire that rages for days”, the song itself is a gentle story of surrendering to love. The idea of letting go of that innocence and letting love take over is full of complex emotions but also simple ones. “Fire Escape” is a reminiscent take on a story of love that makes you feel “both broken and alive”
“Comfort”, is a song about coming to terms with your mistakes when it comes to love, but how you still seek the comfort a relationship brings. With opening words “I’m tired” we see from the start that Lindfor is introducing a subject tired of the love routine they are putting themselves through. However we see the struggle the subject faces by wanting to stop old habits but being pulled back in because it’s what they know.
What makes Polymnia special is Jenny Lindfors ability to combine mixed emotions that are sometimes contradictory, into her songs with ease.
Alt-pop singer-songwriter Anna Shoemaker has just released the music video for “Someone”, the next focus track on her recently dropped album Everything is Embarrassing.
The 25-year-old artist became a SoundCloud sensation with her viral mashup of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” and Chance the Rapper’s “Cocoa Butter Kisses,” which she recorded on her bedroom floor. The song now has over 869,000+ streams and caught the attention of key tastemakers. Shoemaker then signed to 5Towns Records in late 2017 when she was chosen as Steve Madden’s Emerging Artist of the Year. In September of 2018, Shoemaker released her debut EP, East Side, produced by GRAMMY- nominated producer JT Daly. While still catchy and pop, the new songs feel more vulnerable and personal than ever. She finds putting pen to paper is often the best way to process her emotions, thus creating raw and honest lyricism that will certainly define Shoemaker’s releases.
Shoemaker filmed the charming video for her new release herself on her iphone, which follows the young artist and her “Someone” through a night at their apartment. Full of wine, pizza, and face masks, it shows a budding romance through rose-colored glasses, tinted with hope and adoration for her love. The track itself is full of bright, head-bobbing synth beats and gently plucked guitar with Shoemaker’s unique voice painting it with her own style. The intimate video pairs perfectly with the equally intimate song, giving listeners and viewers a firm grasp on Shoemaker’s artistic vision, which is full of songs bursting with relatable emotional and life experiences.
The music video for “Someone” and Everything is Embarrassing is out now via BMG for your streaming consumption. Keep up with Anna Shoemaker here.
Alt group Charming Liars have followed up their recent success with the release of new track, ‘Blame”. Charming Liars’ journey began in the west-end London music scene, with guitarist Karnig Manoukian and bassist Mike Kruger writing and playing together in a series of bands in their teen years (these boys go way back) before moving to LA where they connected with vocalist Kiliyan Maguire to solidify the band’s lineup.
The group kept busy in 2019, releasing their debut album Thought, Flesh, and Bone, a follow up acoustic EP, Bare Bones, and (as if that wasn’t enough) a live collection called Live 2019. To top things off, Charming Liars also did a headline run on the West Coast, toured Europe with The Faim, did a U.S. run in support of Angels and Airwaves, and were on a UK and European tour with Palaye Royale before it got cut short due to COVID-19.
Of the song, the band says “Blame’ is an explosive anthem asking for one more shot at love from your last late night call. What happens when the lights fade and the drinks dry up? When your memory starts to dive deep into the wreckage of lovers past? Blame.”
Explosive indeed, the new track combines electrically-charged beats with Maguire’s effortlessly cool and stylish vocals, skyrocketing the tune into the alt-pop atmosphere. It’s an anthemic love song that begs for forgiveness and another shot, but the instrumentation and delivery softens the hard corners of the serious subject matter, keeping the track feeling light as a feather and full of hope.
“Blame” is out on all streaming platforms now and the cancelled European dates in support of Palaye Royale have now been rescheduled for August and September this year.
RESCHEDULED EUROPEAN TOUR W/ PALAYE ROYALE AUGUST
19th – Circolo Magnolia, Milan IT
24th –Technikum, Berlin DE
26th – Plaza, Zurich CH
27th – A38, Budapest HU
28th – Lucerna Music Bar, Prague CZ
31st – Razzmatazz, Barcelona ES
SEPTEMBER
1st – Sala Cool, Madrid ES
3rd – Akakao, St. Petersburg RU
4th – The 1930, Moscow RU
6th – Bel Etage Event Club, Kiev UA
Brighton, UK act CIEL released the lead single “The Shore” off their upcoming album Movement, set to be released this Spring. “The Shore” gives the first glimpse of their dreamy alt-pop world with interwoven guitars, pulsing bass-lines, and intriguing vocal harmonies.
Lead singer Michelle Hindriks describes the song as “feeling stuck in your life and waiting for it to ‘really’ begin; yet at the same time, your realize it’s just an illusion and your life has already begun and you’re living it right now”. Continuing “losing the connection with that essence can feel extremely frustrating”.
Overall, CIEL’s sound is one that feels nostalgic while also being innovative. Bringing both these things together only adds to their mystique.
Anybody else ready to see an improvement in climate change law and the way we take advantage of our precious baby Earth? Alt-pop collective Little Dume has taken their environmentally conscious thoughts and placed them in their first 5 track EP, Waking Up. Theatrical and intense, the entirety of the release could be found in the soundtrack to a romance novel-turned modern major motion picture. Perhaps it’s their location in Malibu that brings the message of the environment to us disguised within sticky sweet pop sounds, either way we’re falling in love with their musicianship while “Waking Up” to the beauty to be lost.
A true love song, “As Always” showcases a raspier, slightly grittier soundscape. It utilizes the metaphor of natural disaster alongside descriptions of other gorgeous scenery to play with the meaning of love and the collective, it seems. Don’t be disappointed that Beyonce doesn’t make an appearance on “Halo”, the song itself is more Coldplay than anything else sonically (fight me). It’s gorgeous, and plays with the meaning of “bad” and “good”.
For some reason, we get quick flashbacks to music from The Cab with the opening of “That Could Be Me”, another clear love ballad that is hopeful and emotional, vocals that rip to your very core. “Kings and Saints” wraps up the EP smartly. It can be classified as a leisurely then powerful self-reflective and, once again, hopeful song, reminiscent of the energy of recent Top 40 releases. (Cough cough nudge nudge.)
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Last week, dark alt-pop musician Boy Epic released the brand new music video for his track “DRAMA”. The song’s direction was definitely dictated by its name, and the music video insinuates the same. From the very beginning, striking contrast in color and shooting elements make you feel like you’re part of an insanely dramatic storyline.
Inspired by pop culture fixations Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner, and Love, Deah + Robots, the video is an alternate reality that is something we might be very, very into. Check it out below!
