Great vibes and a consistent celebration of immersive production and catchy songwriting – the long-awaited EP from Anonymous17 hits the airwaves, with six original tracks that boldly celebrate the optimism and anthemic brightness of the style.
Pop
The serenity and freedom of the solo run, a mellow headspace encapsulated by a simple pop soundscape and intimate vocals – Amit Dsouza adopts a poetic look at the self and the process of discovery, with Joggers Park.
Edwin Pope recaptures the essence of Faith, with creativity and talent united under an original blanket of melody and movement. By Faith is a sublime project, from an artist with a fearless commitment to Faith and to the joyful togetherness of making music.
The song Do iT is profoundly motivational at its core, kind and inspiring, uplifting both musically and lyrically, and every musician involved helps let that central intention stand as tall as possible.
Smooth vibes, great vocals and dreamy production light up the catchy afro fusion single Go Your Way, from rising artist MAV1NN.
Despite its impossible to pigeon-hole style and diversity, Kingdom is one of the most well-crafted collections of original pop songs to hit the scene this year. It’s intriguing for its originality and style, but it connects for its realism, its clear talent, and its humble yet effective catchy hooks and riffs. Z.M.A have outdone themselves with this project.
Following the simple strum of largely just two chords rising and falling, as well as some humble backing vocals when the energy grows, Icarus builds up unexpectedly after these opening folk-pop moments. The resounding chorus is distinctly catchy, “oh I know, I know, I know” appearing with volume and fluidity; a nostalgic nineties-esque twist that quickly elevates the entire sound and memorable style of the track.
“The only mindset I had was to make myself feel happy by doing what I love to do, and that hasn’t changed. Songwriting truly does that for me. It quickly cures any feelings of being down or stressed.”
Piano and acoustic guitar meet for a classic four-chord ballad set-up, alongside Pete Byrd’s shaky and expressive leading voice – a distinct tone that naturally meets the interesting bar set by these deeply revealing lyrics. With artwork and a title as artistic and intriguing as this, the music and performance simply had to follow suit, and I’d say the rising emotion and energy of Sally It’s Raining Again absolutely does.
Colourful indie pop with a clean vocal and a quirky balancing between RnB and Pop songwriting, even with a twist of something rap-like on occasion – Kibs unites the relatable and unorthodox, with the catchy fluidity and relationship longing of Find A Way Back.
It’s a the all-too familiar story of keeping up appearances, carrying on and putting on a brave face in order to maintain the respect of those around us; rather than letting the weight fall away by sharing it with a friend or someone who actually cares.
The intimate piano format and cleanly-mixed vocals seem incredibly rare these days. Even the biggest pop ballads of recent years have had some kind of huge moment where drums crash and a choir joins the process. Rafael Montecruz keeps things refreshingly genuine though, and the song is so well written and performed, that really, nothing else is needed to communicate its intentions.