Category: NEW MUSIC

“The truth will set us free. The truth will guide us to the treetops.” Repeated throughout moody pop artist Estephanyart’s newest June single, “The Truth,” the lines hold the uncomplicated and straightforward message of the song: the singer’s realization that a person in their life is doing more to hold them back than lift them up. Since Estephanyart’s arrival to the musical scene in 2019, she’s drawn inspiration from rap, indie, punk-rock, reggaeton, and more, always orbiting around an edgy pop sound that continues to come through in this laid-back and mellow release.

While her last single, “Numb,” feels airy, like you’re perched among clouds, “The Truth” evolves into a more grounded work, with an artful simplicity that digs its heels into its crisp bass and matter-of-fact layered production. Estephanyart’s ability to draw on so many different inspirations and vibes is warranted by the choice to release all her art as singles, granting her creative freedom that transforms her music from head-bumping rap, to crooning indie anthems, to everything in between. In this swirling mix of genres, “The Truth” feels easygoing and feminine, instilling in its listeners a visual montage of aimless driving, expanses of cloudy sky flying past, and sticky lip gloss being applied in a topless car’s rear view mirror.

The production of the song lends itself to the mellow, dreamy vibe, beginning with a simple strumming melody in the beginning that holds throughout the 3:48 run time. What sandwiches this consistent tune into a trinity of sound is a contrast between high and feathery vocals, and a deep, succinct bass. With only these main layers to the song, “The Truth” is simplistic, yet satisfying with the emphasis of not only the low, middle, and high layers, but the intentional space that exists between.

Despite the pleasing continuity of this song’s mood making it the perfect soundtrack to a drive with the windows down, it’s the kind of music that accompanies you on a journey, instead of taking you on one. In the future, it’ll be exciting to keep an eye out for Estephanyart’s new projects, and whether or not they’ll expand into more complex melodic rides. For now however, “The Truth” gets our heads nodding and fingers tapping, simultaneously whetting and fulfilling our craving for dreamy, easy, trendy listening. 

Review by Connie Deng

Angelus’ sound is magnetic. Its thematic futurism is characteristic of the popular music genre called “hyperpop”. Angelus’ utilization of distinctive rap elements in their interpretation of hyperpop further individualizes their sound amongst Soundcloud’s artistic sphere. With release “symposium”, self described as a “dancehall” track, angelus cements their sound and proves their craft is able to evolve and continuously improve. “Symposium’s” release is perfect for the year 3000 – something you would hear walking into a club where people have on rectangular chrome shades and outfits are made of geometric shapes. Its release encapsulates a rare musical reality, an exciting glimpse into the makers of tomorrow’s sound. In a short minute and forty-five seconds angelus delivers an exceptional song and an inimitable sensory experience.

The instrumental is produced by @rioleyva, @thecxdy & @prodnash. It notably features a low cyber bass, fast drums, and a background chime melody. Angelus begins to sing with a vocal effect that lends itself perfect to the robotic tune. The lyrics “I’m so drunk at the function I cant walk straight, too much money in my pocket like I robbed the bank” repeat in your brain due to their placement in the song’s sonic atmosphere.

The song’s appraisal is evident in the Soundcloud comments filled with phrases like “no like next level”, “singlehandedly saved summer 2020”, and “1 0 0, 1 0 0, 1 0 0”. I encourage you to be one of the first passengers aboard the spaceship: take a trip into the cyberspace created by Soundcloud’s rising artists.

With “dump him”, pr1ncess revives the glamour of the 2000’s. The impact of the 2000s era in American culture was due to its fashion and its icons. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera could walk down a red carpet, appear in a movie, or as stars in a music video with “dump him” blasting. They’d sport a small tank top, a bubblegum pink velvet sweatsuit, and a small canine companion in a purse as they swung their hair around at the flash of a dozen cameras.

“Dump him” sparkles as it begins with a voice that says, “I want you out of here by Thursday.” Pr1ncess then begins singing the song’s most addictive phrase “ D. U. M. P. H. I. M.” The song is about breaking up with a guy who is not good enough for you anymore. The lyrics say “ego so big that your head be hurting, now look at the tables how they be turning. You thought I was hurt b*tch now my skin is beaming, look how I’m thriving without you babe”. Focused on self-improvement and female empowerment – this minute long “electronica” song is a fun anthem to sing with your bestfriends driving down the freeway. As the music fades out pr1ncess maintains that same fun energy in the song, repeating for the final time “DUMP HIM!”.

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A singing voice comes over the speaker and fades in to become louder. 2morrownight sings “falling in love got you kind of afraid, getting kinda late, let me know what you’re thinking. But tell me that your feelings are the same right now.” The song embodies the texture of an RnB love song to perfection. Its ambient feel combined with 2morrownight’s fluid vocals create a genuinely focused musical experience.

 “Tell me that your feelings are the same right now…” is the lyric beginning the chorus. The chorus is synthesized with a background falsetto. The song appears to be about a couple who argue and are unsure of each other’s feelings towards each other, hoping that ultimately, the feeling is mutual. HIDDENHILLS further elevates the song with his feature, “put your feelings to the side don’t you blame me”. He sings “ I know they say the feelings started fading…I know your friends said we’d never make it. I don’t know if its true but I know about you.” HIDDENHILLS summarizes the emotional plea to someone they love but are in conflict with. The two artists complement each other seamlessly.

2morrownight’s vocal abilities add to the ambient feel of the song, increasing its overall complexity and depth. The musical arrangement is complex with the instrumental being enriched by harmonies and repetitions. The drums at the finish of the song are reminiscent of a pounding heart , contrasting 2morrownight’s soft vocals, finishing the song in an almost angelic way. “Feelings Mutual” explains perfectly the type of situation many experience in relationships and its production creates a twisted smooth love spell atmosphere.

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“STREET PEOPLE”  begins with a soft laughing sound that appears periodically throughout the song. Hook comes in singing,“ I can’t tell who to trust no more, I love you but I think you need more. I know who I am, today I am not sure, everything around me feels so forced.” The song is quiet and soft like cotton candy. It feels like jumping rope with your friends. Its setting inside this particular ambiance paints it several colors with carefree emotion, but the lyrics illustrate a separate message.

The song invokes a distinguishable sadness that comes with self discovery and understanding where you fit amongst others. The chorus says, “the people down the street, think they need some help, the people down the street they don’t look too well”. Hook reflects on the people she sees around her, the lyrics alluding to how she speaks about the “street people” is similar to how she feels about herself. She sings, “I woke up today and it feel like yesterday” and “I can’t even explain how I feel, dont want no pressure, dont ask me whats the deal.” She navigates her outlook in a soft melody as if this reflection is playful, masking the serious undertones of her message.

2 mins 30 seconds into the song comes a breakdown into a faster and louder portion of the song. Someone comes over a cell phone and she says “ I’m in the studio freestyling” and proceeds to rap a fun carefree verse with her friend on the phone. She is full of laughter and light. Hook’s ability to discuss self-reflective conclusions seamlessly with a light instrumental is refreshing. Her unique style is something to pay attention to as it envelops the listener and transports them.

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Xanubis’ first release in months comes in the form of a sweet love song with “DOWN !”. The beginning guitar melody compliments the song’s atmosphere, created through Xanubis’ singing of “I don’t wanna keep you down, I don’t wanna be your cage, girl you know I’m not afraid, if we go our separate ways.” In the lyrics, Xanubis examines his struggle with internal demons. More towards the middle of the song, the flow switches up, and Xanubis’ voice is more intense as he considers how his conflicts have affected his relationship: “tell you I love you but then I get violent, there’s no excuse for behavior like violence.” Despite his turmoil with himself and the person in the story, he appreciates the person he writes the song about saying “I know you’re precious you’re more than a diamond”. In this song, we get the idea that Xanubis sees this person improving herself and moving on from him. “DOWN!” concludes with the realization that they have to go separate ways. Xanubis highlights this in the final repetition of “I don’t wanna keep you down, I don’t wanna be your cage”.

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“She belongs 2 the STREETS” is a song off Bay Area artist Katana’s most recent project SUMMERBLAK19. This song is definitely essential to any summer playlist. Her style is reminiscent of early Kehlani projects. Katana’s delivery of this track is masterful; her lyrical abilities and vocal skills unblemished. Spinning off the themes of female empowerment in recent music by popular artists like Meg the Stallion, Katana takes the meme of women “belonging to the streets” and sings about not caring what people think about how she lives her life. She sings,  “I can’t tell if we are something. I know better than be jumping out my bag and in conclusions.” She details that the person she writes the song about believes things said about her, but still wants her despite her reputation “you still care when you know I ain’t shit”. Katana ends the song repeating her catchy hook saying “I know that playing you is unfair, but you can do better than me”. 

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Kaiyko, an indie/alt artist began her music career on soundcloud in 2015. Influenced by bands like Now, Now, Never Shout Never, Brand New, and Japanese Breakfast, among many others, her latest track, “ONE CHANCE I WON’T TAKE” is able to show these influences by letting them bleed through, but is able to clear a path for her modern sound. This single was released on July 17th, 2020. Produced by 1800.SEAN, the mixing of the track is seamless and perfectly works with the indie pop and alternative vibe that kaiyko is able to create.

Listening to this song sounds like walking down a street full of pink and purple neon lights. This song has a kind of glow to it in how it handles the rhythms and melodies. It has a lot of texture to it that works together well. None of the layers of the song clash, and all of the layers enhance the others.

The lyrics are very true to the vibe, and add to the overall sound. The lyrics are also able to lend themselves to the buildup created by the melody and rhythm. When there is a change of pace, whether it’s driven by the music overall, or the rhythm, the lyrics are right there, and nothing gets lost.

Her vocals are very crisp, and her high notes don’t sound forced. The only real issue with this track is that it seems like the overall feeling is inhibited by its structure; the part of the song that sounds like what the bridge would be comes way too early and it could add a lot more power to the portion before the pre-chorus and the outro. Switching these around would be a small change, but overall would create a better flow and could build up the song more, creating a more satisfying ending. In spite of that, the song has nice mixing, and a fun sound to it.

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Review by Adelynn Puett

Serving as a portrayal of an inner battle with one’s own flaws, Antivst’s new song “Hard to love” examines the cost of loving another when one does not understand themselves. Antivst’s song begins with a simple guitar melody. Her voice enters its space, rich and dark like silk. “I don’t really like that”, she sounds sad and discouraged by this relationship she holds with another person. She battles with the contrast of her feelings about this person and the way this person makes her feel. The lyrics powerfully describe this turmoil with “ why don’t you run from me, lead me to the train tracks?”, reflecting on loving someone but having fears that you are too broken for the love to be requited. As she says “why don’t you want me, nobody wants me” and “I guess I am cold now. At least that’s what I’m told now ” .. she muses over experiences in which people told her in some way that she was unlovable. Towards the end she says “just know that I wont hurt you, if I do it’s not true” and “I want you, I’m just scared to love you”. Her voice is melodic and gripping, pulling you into the first person perspective of what it feels like to feel what she does. “Hard to love” is a self-reflective song that depicts a shifting focus on what causes a person to hesitate to remain in a relationship.

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ANTIVST · Hard to love (prod.poppa)