Along with Sigrid, Tove Styrke is arguably at the forefront of the next wave of pop that is beginning to break over the mainstream. The artist has had a string of pop anthems drop over the past year and has now teamed up with NOTD for Been There Done That, the latest pop powerhouse to dominate summer.

Carried by a bouncing key line and the vibrant melody inherent in Tove’s vocalwork, the track is your typical feelgood modern pop hit. Claptracks and loose drum rhythms underpin a bold synth lead that complements Tove’s empassioned vocal lines. It’s run of the mill playlist-baiting pop from an instrumental perspective, but Tove adds a stroke of personality and colour to the mix, making for a track that stands out just enough to highlight Tove’s pop prowess.

Latina. Bold. Colorful. Passionate. Driven. Vulnerable. These are just a few of the characteristics Zairah embodies and infuses directly into her music.

Her upcoming debut EP, Nectar, is looking set to be no exception. Laced with a groovy melody, intimacy inspired by past relationships, dark-rich vocal tones, and intense bass drops, Zairah’s ready to showcase her pop musical prowess.

In the run up to this, Zairah has played her cards perfectly right, dropping the ideal debut single in the form of Sex + Cigarettes. The track serves as a teaser of what’s to come. Lyrically a melancholy love song and girl-power roller coaster of intimacy, but melodically catchy and synonymous with dancey feel good music. It’s seductive, silky and you won’t want to miss a beat.

Marking himself as one of the most promising artists to emerge from Uzbekistan in recent years, producer and songwriter IZZAT has shared the music video for his latest single Another Life (ft BRBN). TWith the single having already garnered praise from fans around the world, the video looks set to raise Izzat’s international profile further.

Sitting comfortably in a relaxing area between EDM and pop, the single carves itself a unique identity in the ever-popular electronic music scene. The track brings in elements of world music to set apart the instrumentation and incorporates the powerful, melodic vocals of American singer BRBN to deliver an all-round solid experience perfect for summer evenings.

The music video was shot in Los Angeles, California and stars Paige McGarvin daydreaming of another life; one worlds apart from the LA storm drain where she is walking.

New Jersey hailing producer, singer and songwriter Matthew Schultz is riding a wave of success right now. Having initially broken into the music industry as a guitarist in Chris Daughtrey’s first band, Schultz has been making tracks of his own to great acclaim – perhaps most notably Crazy Heart and We Own The Night. 

His newest single Somewhere FAR is another stellar offering for the American artist, and polished production and velvety vocals of his own bring it to life. You can expect beautifully warm washes of chords and pads skimming beneath the surface of its infectious vocals that will transport you away to another place in no time at all. Still growing as an act with each new tune, Somewhere FAR is a fantastic addition to the catalogue of Matthew Schultz.

Check it out here.

Electronic pop singer-songwriter Sasha continues her roll of strong hits with Waterworks, presenting an interesting and unique blend of organic soundscapes characterised by choppy vocal samples, euphoric choruses and emotive lyrics.

Benefiting from influences such as Rae Morris and The Japanese House, the Londoner’s lyricism reflects the nature of growing up and living in the capital, with her newest offerings highlighting the trials and tribulations faced by a millennial twenty-something.

Discussing the latest single, Sasha stated: “We wrote the song about getting drunk and telling your friends all your problems – something I have done on multiple occasions. We wanted the track to be a tongue-and-cheek, self-deprecating ‘pull yourself together’ moment. It made me excited to explore a new version of myself as an artist, looking at the complexity of adulthood and not taking myself or my music too seriously”.

It feels like it’s been forever since we last checked in on Lucy Whittaker. In the three intervening years since she smashed onto our radar with Change Your Mind, Whittaker has perfected her craft and honed the pop-R&B mood of her music. Who’s Gonna Know is a testament to how far she’s come, in three sweet minutes of charged electronic pop with smooth vocals.

Whittaker’s vocal performance is on top form, sounding sleepily seductive and passionately sensual in equal measure. Alongside this, the instrumentation relentlessly pushes forward with chugging electronic beats punctuated by occasional synth swells. This is all before up and coming rapper Yizzy drops in to break the track down and spin a lyrical yarn that leads us to a powerful closing refrain. It’s a well-structured, well-executed single that proves Whittaker has the potential to make a real impact.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1ra9EYnknhCjApDkLdQ3uE

The Poppy project has been an ongoing interest of ours since we first caught wind of it around the time of Bubblebath last year. At the time, Poppy was still under her initial moniker of That Poppy and was set on producing songs that sounded like your standard radio-friendly pop with cynical undertones. Bubblebath was quite innocent and less cynical, likely due to its release on Island Records, and was clearly a calling card of phase one.

Poppy’s debut album, Poppy.Computer, dropped last year and, followed by her cover of Gary Numan’s Metal recently, it was all moving in a straightforward line that built on her growing online persona. She was too robotic and weird to be pop, but still with pop undertones, and messages that veered between cultish and robotic.

In A Minute, the newest release and first to come from the upcoming Am I A Girl? album, is a different beast entirely. Instrumentally, it seems to float between strangely psychedelic synths, bubblegum pop tones, pop-rap percussions and R&B vibes. Vocally, Poppy at once sounds like she’s taking inspiration from rappers with pop aspects like Nicki Minaj – not least because the middle section feels a bit like Beez In The Trap – and also like shes continuing her own style of reserved pop.

In a strange step forward for Poppy, one that sounds less cynical than previous attempts but also with the lyrical simplicity and vacuousness that some songs on her debut suffered with. It’ll be interesting how emblematic this is of the upcoming album, but it’s hard to see where this fits into the narrative the project has been building lately.

Minnesota hailing artist Anna Mae makes her return to music with latest release Single-Minded. The quirky musical style of this singer and songwriter sounds fresher than ever with this single, which comes after some high profile commercial success for her work, both on TV and in films.

Single-Minded boldly depicts living that independent life – and she carries off this self-affirming ditty with distinctive aplomb. Featuring a sweetly catchy pop melody, a driving synthesised beat and dreamy instrumentals, it’s a hard one not to put on repeat. Throw in those captivating lyrics and this one is guaranteed to put listeners in a feelgood mood.

Check it out for yourself below!

Irrespective of the controversy surrounding her and her collaborator, there’s little denying that Poppy, AKA That Poppy, is a fascinating multimedia art experiment. Equal parts alternate reality game (ARG) and art statement, Poppy as both a person and project has captivated audiences with its mystery and intricacies.

Playing into the ARGtist’s grand narrative now is Metal, a cover of the 1979 Gary Numan song. However, referring to it as a cover doesn’t really feel like it does it justice. The team behind the Poppy project has paid great attention to detail in recreating the instrumentation for a modern audience, leaving it with a 70s-throwback glam-rock-meets-pop feel to it.

Alongside this, Poppy’s vocals perfectly play into the robot manufacturing aesthetic of the track, making this indistinguishable from a Poppy original in many ways.

Regardless of the issues surrounding the artist at the moment or your thoughts on the project as a whole, Metal stands as a solid cover that does justice to the original. If you do one thing today, plug it in and turn it on.

It’s not very common practice for an artist to drop an EP and then, a few months later, revise it with two additional tracks. Then again, Sigrid has proven she likes to do things her own way by now.

Solving the mystery of why two song titles were scratched out of the previous version of the Raw EP‘s artwork, Sigrid has finally shared the missing tracks with the world in time for the weekend. In fitting with the release’s theme of introspection and flow of pop-ballad-pop, the two new tracks once again show the duality of Sigrid’s style.

The EP’s fourth track, a demo of a song entitled Focus, is a piano track that captures a sombre, introspective Sigrid lamenting an inability to move on after a past relationship. Unsurprisingly, Sigrid’s vocals make it a melodic gem that stands out as a unique entry in her catalogue. Musically, it’s not as striking as some of her other offerings, but it stands out as a new style for the typically energetic popstar.

Schedules, the EP’s new closing track, picks up the pace again and leaves the release on an end. In our initial review, we noted that opening number Raw was arguably Sigrid’s greatest pop moment to date, but Schedules now gives it a run for its money. Partnering Sigrid’s playful, climbing vocal melodies with an indie-esque instrument line, it’s a perfect way to bookend the latest release and showcase how Sigrid’s pop formula can still be freshly applied to new sounds.

Sigrid has accomplished a lot in a short period of time and continues to do things on her own terms. The Raw EP has become almost a living work of art, evolving over time and continuing to add layers of sentiment to its overarching statement: Sigrid will do what she wants, and she’ll be damn successful doing it.