Tag: Pop

Dr. Mindflip – [2014] Every Waking Moment

Quirky indie pop. Netlabel blocSonic keeps to its mission to deliver solid indie music, this time in form of swingy pop tunes. Acoustic instrumentation (drum, piano, bass, acoustic guitar) + vocals create a solid soundstage and 4 slightly eclectic songs.

Wed, 20th Aug 2014
Garmisch – [2013] Fishes

Swedish indie pop. Better late than never for me to join in to praise Garmisch for their excellent third album. Excellent as in professionally recorded and produced, craftily written and solidly executed. 9 7 9 exceptional tracks await you…

Wed, 4th Jun 2014
The Sleeping Tree – [2008] Leaves And Roots

Dreamy acoustic guitar folk pop. While writing this review, I realised that I already have reviewed praised a track by The Sleeping Tree back in my review on the 50th release compilation by 12rec. and compared him to Bright Eyes. Like then, melancholic voice and acoustic guitar are enough to create mellow impressions. My two…

Wed, 30th Apr 2014
Frau – [2010] Starlit Carousel

Soft Vocal acoustic pop, slightly eccentric. Piano and voice are the weapons of choice of Indonesian artist Frau. From scarce notes and harmonies, a strange magic unfolds that reminds of old and traditional songs, though being contemporary compositions. The lyrics speak today’s language and tell beautiful stories. My two picks – as usual – after…

Wed, 2nd Apr 2014
The Dada Weatherman – [2008] The Green Waltz

Tender vocals, acoustic guitar. Dada is a talented musician from Paris, gifted with a great voice and sense for the right chords. Equipped with piano, acoustic guitar and occasional percussion, he sings his way through 15 tracks. It seems that he calls himself now Dada & the Weathermen, has released three more acoustic albums on…

Wed, 14th Aug 2013
Ancient Lasers – [2013] You In The Future

This joint release from the netlabels Clinical Archives and No Source features Daniel Finfer’s (almost) solo project Ancient Lasers. “Sonically the music sits comfortably somewhere between Nine Inch Nails and the Postal Service” tells us the release notes. Where does this leave us? With shoegazing, stomping, screaming post rock worth a place in my personal…

Wed, 24th Jul 2013
Intoxicated Piano – [2013] Vice Versa

Juicy indie-pop with scratchy vocals. This album contains five melodic songs, beautifully arranged around piano and the singer Oxy. It is brought to us by the Russian netlabel Mixgalaxy. It features solid production, classy song arrangements and a wonderful singer. Read on for two preview songs and the download link.

Wed, 10th Jul 2013
Cambriana – [2012] House of Tolerance

This week’s release found its way to my HDD thanks to the (French) review by @diffuser on this album. As he remarks, Cambriana don’t fail to draw attention to their skills, both technical and songwriterish. A tender melancholy lies on their Indie-Folk/Pop compositions. Like usual, I present two of the ten tracks below.

Wed, 22nd May 2013
Various Artists – [2012] netBloc Vol. 40: AAIR Attack

It’s great when an awesome compilation of first-class free music makes to its 40th release. Few similar projects have managed to see their 10th release. The happier I am to be able to write this review. For now over 5 years, the netlabel blocSonic has been pumping out the netBloc compilation series, in addition to…

Thu, 9th May 2013
Fall Walk Run – [2011] Throwing It All Away

Exceptional acoustic pop from UK. This is Fall Walk Run in a nutshell. Voice, acoustic guitar and some percussion are all this talented artist needs to capture my attention.

Wed, 27th Mar 2013
Botany Bay – [2007] Grounded

Botany Bay make simple emotional pop music with influences from many genres. The common theme among their various releases are rich instrumentation, female vocals and good arrangements. This album from 2007 was released at Jamendo. The band caught my attention by their contribution to the compilation Freeloaded (play on freemusi.cc), issued by Musikpiration once a…

Wed, 20th Mar 2013
Jonathan Dimmel – [2009] Closer at the start

Adorable piano pop rock, featuring a great lead singer. I can’t claim much credit for finding this artist: Jamendo already featured him on their homepage, where I also stumbled upon him. This seven track release is a great soundtrack for everyday. During the morning commute, writing a music review, or simply chilling.

Wed, 31st Oct 2012
Leslie Hunt – [2009] Your Hair is on Fire

Pop rock with intense female vocals. Upbeat songs, piano ballads. Rock band and orchestral background fillings. All that and great lyrics. Simply wow. Thank you, Leslis Hunt. If you like this album that she released on Jamendo in 2009, you can buy her latest release directly on her homepage (or in iTunes).

Wed, 12th Sep 2012
MoOt (Matthew Moore) – [2010] Life Is Talkin’ Misery

It’s review Wednesday again? This week’s release made me hum several times on my way back home. Catchy radio pop rock songs, thirteen of them, Matthew Moore has created for this delighting snack of an album. From beginning to end no track disappoints. Nevertheless, I only present my two favourite ones before giving you the…

Wed, 29th Aug 2012
Arcade Island – [2012] Spring EP

Arcade Island is an electronic alternative rock artist. This release reminds me a bit of pandoras.box (review of their album Barriers). Floating guitar chords, soft radio pop beats, sometimes harder, great vocals all make this album a breeze to listen to. It is brought to us by the well-known Clinical Archives. Read on for a…

Wed, 4th Jul 2012
Morgan Sadler – [2011] Go On

This week’s review is about great pop music. Take a great voice, add piano and guitar, some percussion, mix it and you get this single release from Happy Puppy Records. This release has only two tracks, but both are worth the preview below.

Wed, 7th Mar 2012
Various Artists – [2010] The Best Creative Commons Music Moments 2010

Huge multi-genre compilation. Electro, dance, acoustic vocal pop, all represented in exquisite detail. A good year to choose from.

Wed, 19th Jan 2011
The Kyoto Connection – [2010] No Headphones Required

I found this synth-pop album through the Free Music Charts, a monthly show presenting great free music, mainly from Jamendo. The Kyoto Connection reminds me of La Roux due to the lead singer’s voice and the yummy electronic pop harmonies. This album consists of 11 varied songs, all well mixed and produced.

Wed, 22nd Sep 2010