A selection of new and/or relevant pop tracks that have recently left an impression on us. For the full playlist click here.
Ferdinand Rennie – “Why Do We Try?”
The warmth in Ferdinand Rennie’s voice is reminiscent of the 70’s legend Perry Como. When you listen to “Why Do We Try” you go straight to an audience seat in a darkened performance hall, with one spotlight on Ferdinand, who is gliding effortlessly through angelic vocal highs and lows.
The production mix creates an intimate atmosphere, from sweeping reverb, to swelling instrumental rises, to theatrical strings that feel like the emotional backdrop to the protagonist’s defining monologue. As the song fades to silence, you are left searching for your own answer to the question: Why do we try?
Ladymakavelli – “Stranger”
It’s always refreshing when pop artists have a strong tone of voice and manifesto. In “Stranger,” Ladymakavelli rebels fiercely against the empty evocation of words like privacy, agency and freewill, without being apologetic. She makes it clear that these ideas have been stretched thin that they become meaningless in today’s world.
The chorus lands like a reckoning, with an irrepressible boldness calling out this cultural redundancy. The London-based artist, points this out with surgical precision both with the lyrics and her vocal-first approach cutting the noise and pulling the listener into her orbit.
You can feel an Afro-pop undertow there, but she knows exactly how to keep it in check, refusing to let rhythm overwhelm revelation. What you get is a sharp and deeply thought-through piece of storytelling.
Tahani – “Don’t Come Knocking”
I know we all have breakup/kiss-off songs that remain in our secret playlists that we all collectively go back to, when life hits us hard. Tahani’s “Don’t Come Knocking” reinforces this sentiment incredibly well.
Tahani’s words are straight-forward with such a zeal that I wish I had when telling off my ex.
The production follows the pop formula very closely with a predictable yet tasteful structure, fluid instrumentation, and piano ballad-turning-into-a-symphony arrangement. Tahani’s songwriting uses repetitions tactfully that you won’t be able to stay quiet when the echo follows.
Believe me when I say “Don’t come knock knock knocking” will be your next skincare routine anthem.
Fanta Vibez x Gasoline Monk – “Keep You Close”
You’re walking in a well-lit alley with colourful buildings on both sides, and “Keep You Close” is playing out of a 4th-floor window as a mirror ball scatters blue light onto the glass pane, and you are instantly the main character after a full character arc, deep in thought, with hands in your pocket, walking away and disappearing at the next turn.
Fanta Vibez’s voice is so relaxed that it floats right above the mix without even meaning for it to be there. Gasoline Monk’s beats are mellow, almost lo-fi-like, with a solid bass that brings everything up to a high until the last 10 seconds, where everything fades into a thought bubble that lingers in the air before thinning into nothingness.
Jay Moussa Mann – “Mediocre Men”
Jay Moussa-Mann’s barbie-core single puts a bright, cheery spin on what is arguably the most exhausting Sisyphean loop in a woman’s life. You climb heights that demanded 10x the effort, only to arrive and find “Mediocre Men”. The cruelest part is that it is so normalised that most women don’t even flinch anymore.
Moussa-Mann’s feathery vocals carry just the right balance of sarcasm and cynicism, giving unexpected weight to what is otherwise a floaty, early Swift-esque production. It’s the kind of song that wraps a very serious grievance in a pink bow, and hits harder.
Find our previous Pop review here.
