Welcome to Weekly Round-Up No. 9! This week we feature debut songs by Kai Needie, Next To Neon, Magique and Waves Of Dread. And we review the new singles by CANTER, Raindrop, FEVER DAYS, and Pam Steebler. Enjoy the music!
Kai Needie – Like For Like
Out of nowhere, a (Dutch?) mystery girl called Kai Needie started to upload songs on Soundcloud. Her goal apparently: to write, record and upload 14 demo songs. And they are all very impressive to be honest! Today no.11 “Searching In The Dark” was uploaded, our favourite next to “Like For Like” (link below). Although they are clearly demo songs, both her songwriting and production skills shine through immediately. These are beautifully crafted synthpop songs for night time listening, guided by her heavenly vocals. (We wonder; did we stumble on some old Chromatics demos?!) We only hope she doesn’t stop after the 14th song is released…
CANTER – The Tangible
We at Indie Pop-Ups have been fans of CANTER since their 2015 debut album! We love their adventurous darkwave sound: it is imaginative and suspenseful. So it is no surprise for us that they now have recorded the soundtrack to a movie, being the psychological thriller “Through the Wide Gate” (trailer). “The Tangible” is the first single of that soundtrack album, which will be released on March 16th. The retro-style music video contains footage of both the movie and CANTER performing, creating a short movie of it’s own. Brilliant!
Magique – Eventually
What an incredibly dreamy, joyful and melancholic song! Debut song “Eventually” breaths joy lust for life, and trust in positive outcomes. This song will be your friend in no time! The video shows Magique celebrating summer with friends, and is as deliciously joyous and positive as the song itself. On repeat!
Raindrop – Another World
Miles Devine’s strange introspective world (“Another World” as the title suggests) is channeled musically through his Raindrop project: weird and wonderful psychedelic rock, but with loads of surprising sounds and instruments (we love the organ!). And yet it is still clearly a pop song, as to say: I do connect to the outer (pop music) world. Besides a pleasant, also an intriguing listen.
Next To Neon – Looking At You
When we see neon artwork and read ‘neon’ in the artists’ name, we immediately think of 1980s retropop (we were not wrong), which we love and have high expectations of (we were not disappointed). Debut single “Looking At You” is a pop ballad straight from the lost archives of the ’80s. Close your eyes and go time travelling!
FEVER DAYS – Hey
Fever Days amazed us with his energetic lo-fi punkrock of his debut single “Bored”. And now there is the follow-up! “Hey” has the same youthful spark. We love the melody throughout the song, very playful and catchy! The guitar solo around the 2:30 mark also gets our major support, what an amazing of energy!
Pam Steebler – Noise
Brazilian/Canadian singer-songwriter Pam Steebler returns after a few years working on her new album, of which “Noise” is the first single. The song is incredibly well produced and thought-through: it features her soulful vocals on a bubbly electronic beat that makes the song almost sounds tropical. Relaxing and refreshing. And “just when we started to cool down, [she] sparks us back up”!
Waves Of Dread – In Your Mind
“In Your Mind” is the debut single by Newcastle, UK band Waves Of Dread. Shoegaze is the tag that first comes to mind, but it’s far more relaxing and enticing than the teen angst shoegaze from the mid ’90s. In the meantime they released a second song called “Flying“, with heavy reverb, and even dreamier.