It’s all about moving on and letting go of the past for Kamber in her acoustic single, “West”. Recorded at Gnome Studios in Nashville, the indie artist finds closure over a heartbreak. Instead of dwelling on the past, there is a hopeful outlook for the future in the lyrics. Kamber is classically trained in piano and voice and is a band called Raviner, while pursuing solo work and teaching students in the studio. Her sound is influenced by an array of artists including Tori Amos, Chris Cornell and more.
The level of vulnerability is at an extreme high, taking listeners through her process of coping with a loss in her life. The struggle gets easier as time goes on and as the song progresses, as most heartbreaks do. The biggest example of focusing on herself is with the lyrics:
All this time I held the key / open door in front of me / I never thought that you and I would bleed / well it’s the first time I know that I can breathe
The Nashville-based indie singer is not afraid to lay it all on the line here and tell her truth. From being worn out and broken to wishing this person all the best, this person is moving West while Kamber is moving on.
“Let There Be Love” is the latest release for international, multi-platinum pop artist Ananya Birla. With over 300 million global streams since joining the scene in 2016, Ananya is a major force in the industry. She has opened for big names such as Coldplay and Wiz Khalifa and continues to scale the charts with her releases. Ananya is listed as a Forbes Woman to Watch, as she continues to build a great foundation for her career.
The track “Let There Be Love” was recorded in Los Angeles during lockdown with Grammy-winning producer Aaron Pearce. It is an upbeat electro-pop anthem promoting the fact that beautiful things can come from dark times. The lyrics “Strong for your father / cry for your mother / love one another / pray for your brother / feel for your sister / why can’t we come together / let there be love” is her promoting this consistent message of unity. Ananya promotes joy and love through connections through her lyrics which coincides with her personal philanthropic work. She is an advocate for female empowerment and mental health and has worked with many organizations in the related fields. “Let There Be Love” is featured on Sirius XM Hits 1, making her the first Indian artist to feature on one of the largest pop radio shows in the United States.
Avant-pop temptress Alex Lilly’s single “Terrible Person” is a pulsating, mysterious gem that plays with subtlety both in the music and lyrics. The track is as elusive as Lilly herself, having been a part of several groups throughout her career, including the Buddhist punk band Zero Dezire, the harmonic quartet the Living Sisters, and touring with names like Lorde, Beck, and the bird and the bee. She characterizes her music as “sexy psychological thrillers,” drawing the description from her honeyed, suspicious tunes. “Terrible Person” starts out as one might expect, with Lilly singing “that would make you a really really terrible person. and make me the dumb one for having loved you,” implying a sense of clarity and empowerment. But the intricacies of the situation are revealed in a later verse when she sings “or wait am i just a really really terrible person just like you so i deserve you, come back,” showing that it’s never as simple as the earlier line may suggest. Behind her words is a muted beat that seems like it’s accelerating, and a perpetually rising melody which works together to create an understated feeling of urgency. Her voice rings out like a siren, compelling her listeners with off-kilter melody lines and interesting vocal inflections. Her last words are overtaken with distortion and the music embodies a bit of harshness to drive the message home.
Explains Lilly of the track:
If you’re like me, then you dwell on your breakup and wonder who was actually the guilty party in the relationship which is what ‘Terrible Person’ is about. You break up and then you look back and toss the blame around until you get exhausted. I came home one night drunk and angry, thinking about how my ex had screwed me over. But then I realized that I sucked too and I couldn’t decide who sucked more so I wrote these lyrics to help me decide. This was the last song we recorded. In fact I had to do it from my home studio and Barbara (Gruska) produced it from hers. The quarantine had just started. Barb was in constant contact with a family member who could not afford to get sick. I sent her my vocals and that arpeggiated track. And she did her magic.
The Angry Lisas shine a light on life’s heartbreaking realities and how crucial it is to learn to let them go in their impassioned and deeply genuine new video for their single “Wingwalkers.” Sean Taylor, the principal songwriter for the Portland-based indie-rock outfit, found that writing songs for the band’s upcoming album Slate Violet was the only way he could process and heal from the regret, nostalgia, gratitude, and sorrow that he collected over the last decade, or “cheap man’s therapy,” as he calls it. The album not only reflects on pain but the elation that comes from the release of pain, a release that manifests itself in catchy rock anthems that are zealous and sincere. It humbly reflects on some of the most challenging moments in Taylor’s twenties. As a part of this, “Wingwalkers” comes on the heels of Taylor’s big move away from home. Where he expected catharsis and a fresh beginning, he instead found a reflective familiarity. The idea that you can’t escape your problems, and that the only way to move on is to let go provides the foundation for the narrative of “Wingwalkers.”
The visuals and narrative of the video amplify the humility of the music by adding a layer of authenticity that can only come from watching someone else’s story. It follows two people, sometimes flashing back to their life and relationship as children, sometimes confronting the harsh reality of their life in the present. While the shots are ambiguous at first, details are slowly revealed about the situation, until the narrative reaches a burning climax. You feel your heart both warmed and broken as you watch, until the end practices what Taylor preaches about letting go. Enveloping this story are varied, down to earth guitar riffs that feel like a wordless echo of the preceding lyrics. The vocals are classic; soft, yet earnest. But “Wingwalkers” is only a taste of the emotional atlas that is Slate Violet, and the rolling drums at the end of the track remind us that this isn’t over, there are more challenges and revelations ahead.
Eryn Martin has paired with Brazilian funk aficionado R2 to produce her new boundary breaking track “Namesez.” Martin’s personal brand of asymmetrical alt pop is known for using dusky instrumentals to create music that is poignant, contemplative, and softly menacing. A self-taught singer and songwriter, Martin shows off her capricious vocal style that moves through haunting melodies and smooth textures atop glitchy beats that are infused with elements of hip hop and electronic music. The impulsivity of her music keeps her listeners on their feet, and she certainly brings that energy to her new single as well.
Straight away the listener is struck by the unique music box/xylophone sounds that gently crash into one another at the beginning of the track. These sounds and the other beats that transpire have that kaleidoscopic nature that Martin’s music is known for, but they also have a great bounce and drive to them. The character that Martin’s voice assumes in this track sounds suave and relaxed, effortlessly gliding on top of the erratic music. The touches of harmony and textures that surround Martin’s voice and the beat do an excellent job of catching and holding the listener’s attention. Going forward, Martin is preparing to release new visuals and refining her live show, captivating her audience and inspiring them to stay true to themselves.
You can listen to “Namesez” here, and make sure to keep your eye on this groundbreaking rising artist in the future.
R&B/Soul singer Gaidaa releases her debut eight-song EP, Overture. Gaidaa’s cover of a Kehlani song caught the attention of Dutch producer and artist Full Crate, which helped to rocket her career. The EP is a breath of fresh air that we all needed, a new sound that demands to be heard. For the release of Overture, Gaidaa says:
To me ‘Overture’ is not only my introduction to the world, but essentially my reintroduction to myself, my rediscovery and re-creation of Gaidaa. It’s about realizing that we are far more complex and hold more depth than we think. ‘Overture’ is the foundation to something more substantial; the beginning of everything that is yet to come and yet to be learned. Gaidaa meeting Gaidaa.
If you had to describe the album in three words it would be vulnerable, soulful and groovy. The first track,“I Like Trouble” is about breaking from the rules and finding your own path. Her voice makes the songs so easy to listen to, not needing to go to extremes to show her talents. “Ride My Way” has a chill vibe and is Gaidaa being completely open, ready to start something new. The instrumental just carries her style further, especially with “Falling Higher”. The song is destined to be a hit, with a falsetto-driven hook accompanied by a steady drum beat. The Netherlands-based Sudanese artist, takes you through a journey that you’ll find yourself relating to.
Gaidaa had no trouble getting artists on for her debut, including tracks with artists such as Jarreau Vandal, Saba and Joshua J. “Say Yes (Turquoise)” (feat. Joshua J), is one of the best off the EP. Not only do their voices compliment each other, but her voice stands out here. The third verse showcases her talents and is a different take then you typically hear her sing in. “Morning Blue”, her debut solo single, references the campaign #BlueForSudan, which encouraged social media users to make their profile pictures blue in honor of a protesting victim. The song is simple, but has powerful and relevant lyrics, including, “It’s all in, we rise / It’s been a hard, hard time / For the ones who fight / In the land of the Nile”.
The 20-year-old’s debut is no rookie move, it is an example of this craft at its finest. https://orcd.co/overture
A certain crowd grew up with the sultry, badass sounds of The Veronicas as the backdrop to their adolescent years. I happen to be a certain member of that certain crowd, and my love for the duo was amplified both by the fact that they are twins (Ahem! Twins need more fun representation in popular culture!), and they are the nieces of The Proclaimers. (Yo, if you’re a child of the nineties or before, you know they are also a badass set of musician twins.)
As someone who has been following them for a while, I was overjoyed at the release of their new, cinematic music video. The best news about it? It just so happens to be their directorial debut, and it is, without question, a masterpiece.
A soft, pastel overlay. Both twins starring in a grimy, beautiful, honest piece about love and violence in a small town. Surrounded by chaos, they find their people. But will love get them through jealous peaks and intense moments?
The song itself is perfect to dance to, infectious in both its upbeat soundscape and the way it makes you move your hips immediately. Add the twins’ sticky sweet vocals and dark, intense attitudes, and you just cannot go wrong.
Aja Volkman and Dan Epand of Nico Vega have come together to form the duo TWO, and just released their brilliantly painful EP Pull The Knife Out last Friday. The EP reflects a traumatic time in Volkman’s life, but while it certainly projects the feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, and despair that plagued her at that time, a ferocious sense of empowerment surges from within the tracks and overshadows those negative emotions in favour of acceptance and self-worth. Written entirely by the duo and produced by Epand, Pull The Knife Out displays a varied set of seven songs that showcases the duo’s incredible talent in every facet of the record; the vocals, lyrics production, instruments, and even the structure of the songs and the EP as a whole are executed incredibly well.
“Live Forever More” is a hybrid song-poem with spoken word poetry verses and sung choruses. Not only are the lyrics expressive, narrative, and insightful, the rhythm of the words and the melody of the chorus invite you to sing along. The more you sing (or just listen) along, the more you believe in the words and their message. “Whoa Man” is also a spoken word performance, but the atmosphere is hauntingly empty, with Volkman’s voice and deep, throaty “mmm’s” intensified in the vastness. Her words reverberate into the silence when she pauses, amplifying their effect. Again, the words are profound. “If I am to be the woe, and you are to be the man, then let me blow your mind with just how great I am.” Even in this single line, you can recognize the trauma (“the woe”) and the empowerment (“how great I am”) that Volkman has gone through.
“Cage Fighter” also exudes confidence through its music and features more spoken word poetry in the bridge. It’s straight-up rock– heavy guitars, a pounding beat, and Volkman’s incredible gravelly vocals. From the music to the words, this track is powerful. In the bridge, sounding like she’s some higher being, hovering above. She says “when you’re small… it’s an opportunity to have humility and fall,” and “be a ball of fierce compact energy, waiting to explode,” and then the music does just that, launching into the chorus again with sustained energy. The only other song that rivals the energy of this track is “Phoenix”, a song that bleeds determination and resolution. It has a slow but firm beat that emphasizes her words– “you can’t take this song away from me.” Despite the slower tempo compared to “Cage Fighter”, even the quieter parts of this track are filled with energy that feels as though it can barely contain itself. Volkman’s astonishing vocals come to light once again as her voice sails at the climax of the line “for out of the fire I’ll rise again.”
The standout track “In This Rough” is also overflowing, not with energy, but with emotion. Volkman says that she “went through some dark times trying to find the kind of surrender expressed in this song.” As she sings her voice catches, brimming with emotion. The bridge has only drums and her voice in that classic anthemic manner, where, in a live performance, the audience would be screaming out the lyrics alongside her, tears streaming down their faces because at that moment– they’re understood. The guitar, spirited drums, and synths sound relatively carefree, but her words and voice are tortured. In a similarly contrasting way, the music of “Faces” sounds calm and nostalgic, with the initial guitar voices singing an easygoing duet and fun melodic “oohs” in the chorus. The lyrics, however, place the nostalgic sound in a more regretful context. Volkman’s vocals are especially intriguing in this track as well. Her inflections play with the placement of her voice, and it’s impossible to guess where she’s going to go next.
The closing track, “Crazy Love”, is full of conviction and honesty, something that’s easy to perceive in her voice. It begins with a unique drum part that sounds like deep water droplets. The rest of the track is an accessible song about exactly what the title says– a crazy love. In the transition to the bridge, the music feels as though you’re being submerged into water, and in the bridge itself, the classical background vocals contrast with Volkman’s sharp voice, creating quite a unique effect.
Pull The Knife Out is well done from the inside out. Volkman and Epand’s immense abilities as musicians create fantastic music, and their close relationship doesn’t hurt either. Volkman says “Dan and I have always remained close and supportive of each other. He has been my cheerleader for over a decade,” and Epand returns the sentiment in saying “We have been through a lot together, a friendship and a creative collaboration that continues to evolve.” It’s that close bond that truly makes their music shine, and combined with Volkman’s remarkable voice, it’s no wonder that the duo has been generating buzz and accumulating some influential fans including P!nk. The EP is out now, as is a music video for “In This Rough” that was shot in quarantine and written and directed by Epand.
Philadelphia-based duo Dom & Jesse share their latest single “Can’t Help Myself”. It is a mix of pop melodies with soulful rhythms, destined to be a song used in the next TikTok trend. In a time like we are in right now, you want to break all the rules to be with the one you love and that’s what the duo is trying to convey here. Sometimes there is just a magnetic connection that is so hard to resist, it will pull you in.
Produced by Grammy-nominated producer Dilemma, they were able to create an upbeat track that is perfect for their sound and will pull in new fans. Blending current styles and classic storytelling, Dom & Jesse have a similar style to artists like Liam Payne, Charlie Puth, and the Jonas Brothers. It is easy on the ears and would be a great addition to a pop workout playlist. Their vocals float through the track with a beat that will keep your head bopping. You won’t be able to help yourself from playing this song on repeat, so dive into the sounds of Dom & Jesse now.