“There he sits in a dream, planning his earthly schemes”. In a beautiful electric guitar sonnet with tremendous vocals, Olivia Vika shatters time and space. “You’re all that I need, come shake it down on me”. Vika approaches a personal story in an unbearably heart-breaking indie rock track reminiscent of the 1975’s most stripped raw and unforgettable songs like “102”.
“Please don’t ever leave, come shake it down on me”.The guitar echoes and strums like a pulsating heart, and Vika’s voice stops you right where you are.
Dancing disco trances and secret bittersweet romances – the Fazes deliver the soundtrack for the youth through their haunting lyrics and unbeatable kicks in “REMOTE CONTROL”. The track begins smooth like cherry pop, speeding up a third of the way through into an instrumental that spins your head into shimmering oblivion.
With a taste of springtime, Luna Li crafts the fall pop song for the heartbroken and the longing. “You said you’d build my trust, but you didn’t even bother and you planted all these roots just to sit and watch them wither.” The song is about someone who wants better and knows they deserve better – it is a goodbye to someone who didn’t care for the beautiful things love can bring to a person’s life. Serena Isioma adds a special dimension to the song – “what’s the point of meeting up when there’s no spark or wasting time playing games, I miss making love, making art.” The Sun resides in each of us through every fall, and this is a song we can hold close as the days get longer and the rain comes down – a reminder of who we are and what we deserve.
Imagine you’re dreaming, your eyes slowly fluttering open – your mind a landscape of pulsing soft red, white, blue lights. You hear a voice singing “she spends half her time in Hell, the other half on Earth. Can’t tell which one is real, can’t tell which one is worse”. Carucci reaches into your heart and pulls it to your feet in this perfectly enchanting and equally spooky club anthem. Get lost in the low hums of angelic vocals and sparkling glass in “Dystopia Paranoia”.
“Bullseye” begins with a drowsy electric guitar and comes alive with Charli Adams’ gritty and breathy vocals. A grey tinged sadness crawls from her voice like a spider. “I want to see you try, but I’m not surprised. Eye on the prize. You can call me bullseye.” The song tastes of Fiona Apple melancholy and a dark 90’s Evanescence kiss. It is the song you blast in your bulky headphones as you’re walking in the dreary dark and jumping over puddles to reach a new sidewalk. “Bullseye” is the perfect fall breakup song.
In a pillow of soft, dreamy ukulele lullabies, Matilda Mann crafts the perfect fall vibe in “Bloom”. “Don’t be surprised when you open your eyes and you find there’s no one to hold.” The chorus is upbeat, and Matilda’s harmonies are warm and full of love. You linger on her notes that encapsulate a beautiful Halloween energy that comes with the falling of leaves and the hope that comes and goes as the seasons do. “I met you too soon, for anything to bloom.”
Girl Online and Ryl0 have teamed up to bring us the end-of-summer anthem for the “girls and gays”. Sorry but the party never ends.
Girl Online tears up the scene following the success of their project “Obsessed” along with known hitmaker Ryl0 who just released her EP I’m the Best!!. These are artists making their way into every conversation.
“What’s Ur Name?” is a detailed story of a missed connection with a memorable girl on a night out – “met a girl last weekend who said she was cheating on her boyfriend but she said he wasn’t freaking.” In the chorus, Girl Online sings “love at first sight she had me blushing wasn’t scared to hold her in public stayed up all night kissing and touching I thought it could really be something.”
The breakdown of the instrumental brings a blurry-distorted feeling of being entranced by a stranger to the listener because we’ve all had those moments where we fell into fleeting love and remember it like “I was such a mess that night.”
As it goes on, the song becomes a recollection of fuzzy cool memories and a plea to this mysterious person about what could have been and what was “I can’t be tamed like Miley. I’m not a rapper but I’ll let you drive the boat like Megan.” In the end, the artists summarize what we miss most about summer nights in a song that will have you dancing without sense of time and singing out the lyrics “I know she felt the same, I was just too scared to ask her ‘what’s your name’?
The pop duo has come together to bring to us the sapphic banger we needed. Listen to “What’s Ur Name?” here:
“Raspberry got your tongue, huh. Hope it doesn’t last too long, I’ll make this one out to you.” A sweet, melodious tension is created between the guitar loops, “blowing raspberry” noises, and water droplets in Fig’s “Raspberry Tongue”. It’s the perfect song for skateboarding or sitting on the edge of the ocean with your headphones. A summer tune to enjoy life to.
Serena Isioma’s “HUH?” starts with lazer sounds that visualize the colors of sunset and disco lights they sing “bring the beat in”.
This vibey track sounds like an outer space disco hit- fitting for the artist who calls themself “dreamer”. As the track jumps and the beat moves smoothly like blood in the veins of party animals – Isioma sings “you can’t play me like a fool cus I’m too cool with it. I’m too real for you fake motherfuck*rs.”
Their vocals are otherworldly – the sounds of a live audience muse back and forth into the divinely layered track. An atmosphere of fame allure is created in the sound. The listener imagines how the technicolor flashing disco lights complement the sweat, happiness, and vibrancy this track invites as it commands you to dance.
Serena Isioma’s talent is unperceivable – expanding past this realm.
Like laying down in a lush green field, with your hands behind your head and ankles crossed over eachother – feeling serene in your encounter with reality, “Cloudy Shoes” by Skullcrusher creates an ambiance of peace.
With lyrics like “funny how we all can change if we just try to” and “one day we will be taller than the sky” Skullcrusher’s song transforms beyond being a wistful tune for the body – it eases the thoughts of the mind. The beauty of a song like this is that it can mean and feel a million different ways to its listeners. Ultimately, “Cloudy Shoes” is a lullaby for the soul.
Velvet Noise 