Now Listening: This Week's Tracks
By Saachi Gupta, Astrid Ortega & Isabella Vega
Andria Rose - “Tomorrow ft. Quell Rox”
Andria Rose’s newest single, “Tomorrow”, allows a temporarily escape, into a cloud of shared emotions. Rose describes the track, which features collaborator Quell Rox, as a way for her to process the ongoing madness of the world during a pandemic, stating “Quell and I wrote this song about how we’ve been feeling throughout the chaos - how life has been for us. It’s a sad, dark time, but we’re hoping for a better tomorrow.” The track feature’s Roses’ signature hazy production and melodic vocals, which are expertly teamed up with Rox’s added harmonies and falsettos.
Eades - “Forget What You Want”
The New Wave 5-piece, Eades, released their new single, “Forget What You Want.” Starting with a powerful rhythm, “Forget What You Want” is your indie-pop summer must have. Eades likes to combine that dark, fuzzy themes of old art rock, and some sparks of indie summer classics which allows them to have a notably unique sound. Vocalist Harry Jordan mentions the chorus on the song, “...dark moments are often more formative than happy times: you simply experience and enjoy happy moments, whereas dark moments can linger, stew and twist you irrevocably.” With powerful and meaningful lyrics, tender effort put into every aspect of their music, Eades creates with heart and feeling. “Forget What You Want” is a song to tell you how you feel is okay, the good and the bad, it’s all okay.
Alex Siegal - “Beauty Fades”
Alex Siegel released his new double A-side single, Beauty Fades / Answer, completely full of everything we want to daydream to. “Beauty Fades” has smooth vocals, a soothing and dreamy rhythm, all to create what we love in lo-fi indie pop. Alex Siegel, the Californian artist, is continuously influenced by many genres as bossa nova, jazz, folk, pop, and hip hop. This unique taste in music and his own sound create the most delicately wistful songs that have brought him to grow in listens. Siegel makes you feel, makes you daydream, makes you want to understand yourself and others. The feeling you’ll get when you listen to “Beauty Fades” is that of a warm hug at an unexpected but much needed time.
Boy Pablo - “Hey Girl”
In times of chaos, something that provides comfort is nostalgia. Remembering those breathless moments of blurry adolescence in which you feel like you truly alive, times like your first kiss, your first wild night that stole a few hours from your curfew, and the first time you were ready to ask someone out, in my case, writing the person a note and leaving it on their desk. “Hey Girl” sounds like an uncrumpled note, a pure and unadulterated expression of slightly misguided youthful admiration. Boy Pablo, the artist behind the track, is mostly known for his work that resembles coming-of-age moments, which blend his overtly expressive vocals with a pop rock sound. “Hey Girl” is tender and swaying, the main guitar riff becoming stuck in your head as you close your eyes and feel the nervous butterflies erupting in your stomach all over again.
Alae - “Summer Thing”
The second release from indie-pop band Alae's upcoming EP, “Summer Thing” is a cheery and upbeat, a slice of pop perfection. The production has a euphoric, happy feel to it, and matches perfectly with the deep, joyful vocals– making the track a flawless summer song.
“This song is about finding someone so perfect that they feel like summer,” says Alex Farrell-Davey, frontman for Alae. “It’s about someone who just feels good to be around – it’s as though it’s summer forever when you’re with them.”
Alae’s impending EP will be releasing later this year via Anti Gravity records, and is produced by Justin Gray (John Legend, Amy Winehouse).
Melis - “Empty Space”
A singer, songwriter and producer based in Berlin, Melis's new track “Empty Space” is a soft, heartfelt track that speaks of the inner void which our generation struggles to fill.
The lyrics of the song are painfully honest and vulnerable, and it is with Melis's silvery, melodious vocals that they make “Empty Space” flawless. Melis's unique sound comes from multiple pop influences, rotted in R&B, Alternative and Indie Pop.
With “Empty Space”, Melis reaches a new high as an artist by softly conveying the topic of loneliness in the context of social media. The single is taken from her upcoming five track EP, “Apex.” Melis co-produced this EP with newcomer artist YASHA.
