Alta Falls – Sun In My Eyes
Makers of melodic hooks and soaring harmonies, Alta Falls are one modern band reviving the use of 80’s synth and guitars. Formed during the onset of COVID-19, this Brisbane-based band somehow manages to put the modern in Pet Shop Boys. In “Sun In My Eyes” their latest track – released today – there are magical pop vibes that make the best of the retro-catchy elements. There is also a superb and echoing set of drums that really build up the track to a place we did not know existed.
The track talks about the sad reality of losing someone at the same time as it divergently sounds light and empowerful. As a track recorded during the onset of this pandemic, the band also feels the song speaks also for the people that are separated from each other during these times. The sun in our eyes, as they call it, does not permit us to fully see the ones we love. Brilliant stuff.
Boko – Miss u so
Born in Silicon Valley, Guy Bokobza aka Boko moved to Tel Aviv in 2010 after several back-and-forth trips from the US to Israel. His latest single release, “Miss u so“, is taken from the upcoming ‘Dirty‘ EP. The track is a beautiful DIY-pop track that sounds as rough as warm. A ballad somewhere between indie-alternative-rock and bedroom-pop, “written in a time of longing for a previous relationship. Knowing it ended for a reason, but not being certain why. Either it’s the boredom or desperation, maybe bad timing and another bad breakup. But you can’t help trying to convince yourself that it could work again. Even for a short time”. For us, both the honest approach to songwriting, the way the song builds up and its natural power, make it a great track and a great release for an unusual Summer.
Bad Business Club – Tired of Being Over You
“Tired of Being Over You” is the second single from Bad Business Club’s upcoming “Naked Neighbor” LP to be released next week. It’s a track about reflecting on past lovers on the walk home from a night out on the dance floor. Written in Porto-Rico – the video encaptures that working as a sort of irony to the subject – the track speaks to the finality of a separation. Transmitting an incredibly retro-funky vibe and with both vocals easily sounding like the perfect contrast to the subject it portrays, this is a song that grows on the listener from start to end.
Golan – Rising To Fall
Coming from different musical backgrounds, the four active members of Golan have cultivated a recognizable sound of their own. By mixing a vast array of instruments, both live and in the recording studio, they definitely stand out. Part of their second studio album “1“, out in five days, “Rising to Fall” is a track that mixes electro-pop with pieces of house and indie pop. The vocals are both welcoming and warm with a bit of a mysterious vibe, and there are some unexpected soft falsetto and electronic-infused variations that keep the track fresh for its entire duration always evolving into a more electronic vibe.
Jafunk feat. Nic Hanson feat. Mike Nasa – Skate With Me
Rounding off Jafunk’s ‘Weekend Love‘ EP there is “Skate With Me“. Released today, this is a fun and funky track with abundant vibes of hip hop and filled with a relaxed attitude, and goes by like a brief but effusive dance. The track features Nic Hanson and Mike Nasa and continues the vibe of an EP that is all about having fun, not thinking too much, and letting things flow freely. Just like their view of skateboarding in the Summer.
KAYMA – Onsitelover
KAYMA is the pseudonym for Tel Aviv-based multi-instrumentalist and producer, Ori Toledano. For the past decade, Ori has been writing music for commercials for some of the largest brands in the world (Intel, Subaru, Fiverr, Pepsi, Soda Stream etc.) and now decided to move from backstage into the spotlight after a long creative depression. “Onsitelover” is the first track released by KAYMA, and the first advance from his debut EP entitled “Mid Side Notes” to be released this year. Infused with a natural pop-rock feel that easily turns our head from side to side and an appealing chorus, the track evolves with some pretty gorgeous vocals and a distinctive guitar. We were singing this in no time.
LEISURE – Take You Higher / Mesmerised
“Take You Higher / Mesmerised” is a collaboration of LEISURE with the New Zealand director Jason Bock. The tracks are in itself a short film in two parts, and a spin of the latest track of the band “Take Me Higher“. The track that fills the short film for as long as 11 minutes has two distinct parts. The first sounds funky and with evident pop and electronic influences that put us somewhere between dancing by ourselves or together. It sounds as if Meadowlark and Jungle were somehow put together. The second is much more electronic-based, more ambient too, and progresses firmly and somewhat mysteriously, but also in a way that we feel we are in a Western that somehow got modernized. In sum, probably the best piece of music released this week.
Square Meal Laboratories feat. Nicki Gonzalez – Ain’t Got Time
Like a modern valsa. That’s probably the best way to describe “Ain’t Got Time“. There are pop vibes in it – especially in the vocals by Nicki Gonzalez – and there are many other vibes too, including electronic beats, jazzy-like guitars, and samples that sound as chaotic as spot-on. This is the opening track from “You Deserve A Medal” the EP released today and a track that explores the twisted edge between pop, glitch, and indie music.
Sug Daniels – Kintsugi
Based in Brooklyn, NY, Sug Daniels is a singer, songwriter and producer who likes to use what’s around to make music and generate emotions. Contrary to what is usual to this era of music (and portrayed several times in the previous tracks in this article), Daniel’s work is based on a simplistic yet vulnerable approach. “Kintsugi“, her latest track, showcases that perfectly. Sounding like a folk track, there is a pop aura around it, maybe because of the ender and charismatic vocals she effortlessly puts into it. There is also minimal use of a looper (for clapping repetition) and a small acoustic guitar that sounds like her best friend the whole way through.
The title of the track refers to “the Japanese art of fixing broken poetry with liquid gold, Kintsugi addresses the botched relationship between America and a black woman coming into her own. A realistic but hopeful tone, Kintsugi looks towards the future in hopes that the obvious and apparent bigotry and one-sidedness can allow for change and reparations resulting in a nation that’s one for all and all for one“. Sounding light and gorgeous, probably the best way to listen to this is also the best way to end the week: unplugged by the river (or as Sug calls it “live and outside”).