Jay Roecker - Pour On Me (Remixed)

Pour On Me (Remixed) - Jay Roecker (Synth Pop) Jay Roecker’s Pour On Me gets the remix treatment on this new EP, which houses the original track along with Lenny Fontana, Valimoor and Klubjumpers remixes. The original track gives serious 80s vibes, but in the way Robyn infused her music with retro when she returned to the mainstream. The kick keeps us modern, with a delightfully crispy snare driving the song forward, while the synths provide a great counterpoint to the vocal production. Valimoor and Klubjumpers remove some of the 80s vibes for a more modern club-friendly endeavor in their remixes, of which we specifically enjoyed Klubjumpers’ introduction of a bouncy synth bass lead. Lenny Fontana, however, leans on the retro by subbing out some of the 80s synths for a 90s house aesthetic. But whatever your preferred flavor of Pour On Me, it’s certain to get you dancing.

Best Lyric: “We were perfection until the world crashed itself on me.”

Lyra Star - Scars

Scars - Lyra Star (Pop) Lyra Star’s new track, Scars, is a mystical affair, conjuring images of the night sky, fireflies and the aurora borealis. Lyra’s voice is like a flickering light in a dark cavern, intoxicating and seductive, drawing the listener deeper into the cave, which houses an all enveloping chorus that feels like the sonic equivalent of a light show. The vocal layering is delicious, shining through a somber, muted production to allow Lyra to be front and center in the track. We recommend this one as a “turn off all the lights and lay on the floor" kind of track, and we bet it’d be one hell of an aural experience in surround sound.

Best Lyric: “Let’s turn these wounds into stars.”

Chris Liverman - Destiny

Destiny - Chris Liverman (Pop) Destiny is a showcase of one hell of a voice. I mean, let’s be real, that’s what this track all comes down to—the strength, power and beauty of Chris Liverman’s lead vocals. In certain moments, we hear a bit of Sam Smith with respect to the tonality, and could definitely cast Chris in a broadway production off the strength of his pipes and his passionate delivery of his lyrics. The song itself is a sweeping ballad, comprising a timeless production of classic instrumentation, which by the end becomes quite anthemic when it finally takes us to church. This is a “sing like your neighbors can’t hear you” in the shower kind of track.

Best Lyric: “I leave behind all of me.”

Zenodro - Trainwreck

Trainwreck - Zenodro (Rap) Zenodro must be a fan of the Neptunes, cuz we are feeling the Pharrell of it all on their new track Trainwreck. The flow is tight, weaving through a deceptively simple instrumental production lead by a Nintendo-esque synth pluck. But we say deceptive because there are some really special percussion switchups that took us by surprise and, no lie, made us dance in our seats. The lyrics are thoughtful and clever, and the flow itself makes us think of some early Black Eyed Peas/Will I Am tracks—could Zenodro get Fergie on a remix? We’d LIVE for that. We certify this one as a multi-purpose bop—gym playlist, house party playlist, pregame playlist, commute playlist, everyday playlist—wherever you need to wind your hips and groove, that’s where you put this song.

Best Lyric: “Even if you don’t got the mind of an elephant, know that you goin to remember it.”

Spalk - Forgot On Monday

Forgot On Monday - Spalk (House/Dance) Spalk delivers a kick-forward club jam with Forgot On Monday, where the tight percussion production slices through a myriad of complex synth leads and fills. The track takes its time to get get to where it’s going, and rarely stays in the same place for long—making its varied synth lead counterpoint duets our favorite parts of the track. The complexity of those arrangements really play well with the simplicity of the vocal line. In addition, some FX vocal lines are used to great effect in the instrumentation as well, which helps paint the dizzy, nebulous late night dance club that the song conjures. We think you’ll be hearing this one just about the time you check your watch to realize you had originally wanted to be home in bed hours ago.

JASMINE IS - Love of Money

Love of Money - JASMINE IS (Pop) JASMINE IS visits a basic lesson about wealth in her new track Love of Money—money does not make you happy. The always timely reminder is delivered through a pop/dance vibe with that funk/disco influence that is currently bleeding through most of pop radio. Driven mostly by its dance piano chords, the track reminds us of a retro-Kylie Minogue track in the best way. We definitely hear JASMINE IS’s new track bumping at an outdoor tea dance or happy hour. Don’t forget about this one for your summer jam playlist.

Best Lyric: “You gotta know what’s worth dying for and what’s not.”

Proklaim - SOMEBODY

SOMEBODY - Proklaim (Rap) And for our second track this week from Proklaim, we’ve got SOMEBODY—where Proklaim continues his messaging of self encouragement to manifest his dreams that began in the other track we’ve had the pleasure of listening to, Valley (see our prior review). Taking a bit more of a retro vibe with the production this time—and boy do we love those warped bells—the message remains consistent, adding that to excel one must go above the norm, and make your haters your motivators, as they say. While bravado is certainly not a rarity in this genre, what we like about Proklaim is that his confidence is a quiet one of self assurance rooted in security and, as we can hear, certainly justified.

Best Lyric: “Monumental. Mind your mental.”

Proklaim - Valley

Valley - Proklaim (Rap) It’s a double feature this week as we get two tracks from hiphop artist Proklaim, and we start with the chill vibes of Proklaim. First off, we appreciate an artist who’s as good a rapper as they are a singer, as Valley features not only a pristine flow from the artist but also buttery layered vocals. Add onto that, he’s also his own hype man, encouraging himself with callouts throughout his rhymes, which is not only nice earcandy, but pairs perfectly with the message of the song. In Valley, Proklaim is indeed hyping himself up, telling himself to push harder, keep going and not fall into the pitfalls that other talented people might that get them off the path or stop them from seizing opportunity. At the same time, he criticizes others in the game for not having a cause or heart—two things Proklaim clearly does not lack.

Best Lyric: “You know the devil wanna take blessings.”

DJ Platinum Vibes - Me Myself and I

Me Myself and I - DJ Platinum Vibes (Pop) With Me Myself and I, DJ Platinum Vibes serves a modern dance anthem made for Top 40 radio. The track has everything you want from a song in this genre—a hard hitting kick, crisp snaps, those glorious house keys and plenty of ear candy. The record also has real movement that ebbs and flows to avoid becoming stagnant or predictable, never afraid to slow down and allow our lead vocalist to be front and center before ramping right back up again. Lead vocals are crisp and clear, and we love the partnership with the featured rapper, whose echoed call outs bouncing in the background throughout the vocal lines keeps the two artists intertwined. And when we say the song is very dance friendly, we mean it in two ways—it’s a hyper-modern EDM dance track for sure, but the melodic line feels almost samba/merengue inspired. This is one you spin your partner on the floor with.

Best Lyric: “I just want the love that will stick around.”

BABY X DADDY - Bubbles

BUBBLES - BABY X DADDY (EDM) We feel like this song is a post 2AM one, a staple of an after the club, dark sex dungeon. It’s raw, uninhibited and in your face, which we love. The vibes are very “I Wanna F"*ck You Like An Animal” with a lead bass synth that reminds us of “The Whisper Song.” With inherent devilishness throughout, the demon-esque octave drop double vocal matched with the touches of lead guitar really elevate the track into the pulsing, carnal gem that it is. Excuse our vulgarity, but this song goes on your “I met someone on an app and they are coming over to have anonymous sex” playlist. If you should be into such a thing.

Best Lyric: “I want to know if you want to f*ck my mind.”

Dice Martin - Old School Baby

Old School Baby - Dice Martin (R&B) This song is F L Y. Sonically, it seems to sit somewhere in 2000s R&B as a candlelit, hip grinding bedroom jam that used to fill the R&B charts of yesteryear. Dice’s vocals are smooth as hell, silky and sexy, backed by some beautiful, restrained, harmonies. The timbre and tone of his voice reminds us a lot of 112, which is perfect for a song like this, and his references to the 2000s are specifically appreciated by us old heads. It’s got a real knock to it with a hard hitting kick drum, while an intimate slinky guitar seductively snakes through the entire track. Needless to say, you’ll want to invite Dice into your bedroom. This goes on your sex playlist.

Best Lyric: “Got that good on an mp3.”

KAAI - Antaraxie

Antaraxie - KAAI (Pop/R&B) KAAI’s latest track starts off with a broody piano playing a haunting descending chord progression, immediately setting the vibe of this melancholy affair. When the vocal enters, it is strong yet vulnerable, pleading inside a cavernous reverb. It switches up quickly, however, as the percussion hits hard with some trap snares and hats, the vocal escalating into an impassioned plea. It’s an extremely tight production, with thoughtful uses of auto-tune to really punch certain words in a way that does not get overwrought. We particularly love the crescendo half way through the song where the vocal makes way for a sorrowful guitar. The track also makes a strong artistic choice to let the song play out solely with the instrumental, which allows the listener to really sit in the feelings and vibes emoted so beautifully by the singer. This one hits you in the chest.

Jon Henri - Gravity

Gravity - Jon Henri (Funk) Gravity, produced by Daniel Hickman, certainly makes you move. This 80s funk retro sound feels inspired by acts like The Time or Sly and the Family Stone—particularly that distorted guitar for the latter comparison. The whole affair kicks off with some Billie Jean-esque drums before Jon’s husky, emotive voice takes center stage, bringing some real grit to this funk affair. As much as we dig the record, we think we’d love it even more live—we bet this one is a real crowd pleaser. Catchy, sing-along-able and a smile-inducing throwback sound, we think Gravity goes on your every day, taking care of stuff around the house playlist.

Best Lyric: “Give me back my sanity, these walls are closing in on me.”

Aphire - Rise

Rise - Aphire (EDM) When Aphire’s new track, Rise, begins, we get an ambient soundscape with some delightfully retro synths. But that’s not for long, as the song quickly elevates into a driving club track that gives us similar feels to retro records like La Bouche’s “Be My Lover“. The song is kick-forward, which is what puts it in overdrive, contrasting with a more muted, swirling alto vocal from our female lead. The vocal production, as well as the rest of the track, is top notch, with some beautiful adlibs and harmonies that feel quite anthemic. But our favorite part of the track is certainly the chord production in the chorus—it really fills up the chest. Get your butt on the dance floor to this one.

Best Lyric: “See the walls are caving in, when I’m not ready to fly.”

Mina - Lucky

Lucky - Mina (Soul/Cover) A BRITNEY COVER!?!?! Oh boy are we in love with this extremely unique reinvention of the Britney Spears classic, Lucky. Mina takes what was a very teeny-bopper track and elevates it with an R&B/soul take that really shakes up the song by taking some creative melody and harmony liberties. We get some Joss Stone feels from the overall vibe. It’s a beautifully warm production, with twinking rhodes and super tight, crisp drums that makes the soundscape candy to the ears. But the star of the track is Mina’s extremely strong vocals—full and round, adding a maturity to the song’s lyrics. We might actually like this take better than the original! This is truly something special.

Sky Olson - Lock & Key

PHOTO: Molly McCoy

Lock & Key - Sky Olson (Indie Pop) There’s so much to love about Sky Olson’s latest track, Lock & Key. It’s a chill vibe with an interesting melodic progression that in a few spots takes an unexpected descent that will definitely keep you engaged. The instrumental production is also quite unique, with some a haunting string swimming among the tight delayed or tight verbed percussion, and of course the melancholy is in overdrive with that sorrowful guitar solo. The song itself itself is full of angst and woe, matched by the beautiful instrumentation, as Sky’s raspy husk cuts through the track to tell a story of being wrapped around another’s finger, always coming back despite being mistreated. At times, we hear just a touch (very minor) of Adam Levine in some of the vocals. It’s a restrained approach overall, with backgrounds hitting the sweet spot at just the right moment, adding a swell of ear candy. This has the feel of a travelling song, the beat rides along like it’s on horseback, and it’s heartfelt emotion sticks with you long after listening.

Best Lyric: “Cuz when you say my name, I just melt away. You’re a part of me that I can’t replace.”