ICEBERG - Swim (EP)

Swim - ICEBERG (EP) (Indie Rock) It’s been quite a pleasure to wade our way into ICEBERG’s Swim project—a brilliantly produced effort chock full of pop gems meant to appear on Top 40 radio. Creative and personal lyrics matched with a consistently lush production, Swim is one of those “play through” albums that doesn’t lose your attention once. Catchy, relatable and highly sing-along-able, Swim is a success.

Which makes it even more impressive that Swim was produced by the artist herself. A Pennsylvania-born artist/producer with ambient indie rock in her soul, this classically trained pianist has also engineered and written for X-Factor winner Matt Terry. And so it gives us great pleasure to not only celebrate ICEBERG as a performer, but also as a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist able to bring her vision to life in nearly every respect.

We start with the general and move into the specific. If we had to give ICEBERG’s project a chart-topping pop radio comparison, we’d say if you liked Alessia Cara’s “Know-It-All” album or are a fan of Sara Bareilles, you’ll feel right at home swimming through all seven tracks of Swim. There’s a melancholy air to the project, with a consistent midtempo flow, centered on live instrumentation and classic song construction that we are happy to say pulls off the hat trick of making the songs both firmly rooted in today and yet timeless. The way the tracks are constructed, they are destined for longevity and to continue reaching audiences long after release.

ICEBERG’s vocals are both strong and intimate. They sit very “front” in most of the mixes with powerful, yet restrained, deliveries which beckon the listener to pull up a chair and lose themselves in the stories told throughout the album. Background vocals are also incorporated subtly, sitting far back in the mixes often in swirling reverbs that add emotional weight to the tracks, making them feel anthemic. It’s a great balance that the songs are so intimate and yet still BIG. Listening to Swim, we have no doubt that ICEBERG is a great live performer—vocal tricks are spare on this album, the vocal production is very light touch—and we can visualize the tracks on Swim filling any venue.

Now, to our standout tracks. Our favorites sit on the backhalf of the project—10ft, Nothing At All and Don’t Give A Fuck. 10ft is a powerful ballad, and tugs on the heartstrings the most out of all the tracks. The verbed wailing guitar and strings swell with emotion and ICEBERG’s vocal range is on full display, from the powerful belt down to the intimate coos. The chord progressions are really driving, they fill your body when listening to them, and the descent at the end of the chorus where she repeats the title is intoxicating, giving us a touch of Fiona Apple.

Nothing At All feels the most radio friendly, mostly due to its distinct lyrics and expertly crafted slow build. This one really sweeps you along and the chorus is very memorable and sing-along-able. But if you want to talk about build and drive, then it’s the finale that you want—Don’t Give A Fuck. The tension is palpable throughout and that kick drum thuds so good—hits you right in the chest. While the entire effort is well produced, Don’t Give A Fuck is a standout and a great track for ICEBERG to take her bow.

Final word: dive into Swim, we guarantee many replays.

Breon S.Y.N.D.E.L - Buy Me Some Time (LP)

By Me Some Time - Breon S.Y.N.D.E.L (LP) (Hiphop) By Me Some Time is loud and in your face, just as a hiphop record should be. It’s a feel good album of midtempos that feel custom made for speeding down the highway, which makes total sense considering Breon’s inspiration for his work, which we discuss more below. The album succeeds in creating a holistic sound that carries through the entire album, and is chock full of nostalgia (particularly in the synth choices) while keeping the drumkits and basslines freshly modern.

Breon describes his project as “what happens when a fever dream meets Wreck-It-Ralph/Sonic the hedgehog” and is heavily inspired by “your favorite video racing games.” We feel this especially comes through in those synth choices—retro and fuzzy, they sound very similar to the Prince 1999 synths. We also have some really great early Nintendo synth effects, specifically highlighted in Sunrise, which give a great throwback feel to the modern hiphop 808s and drumkits.

The album has a consistent sound throughout, and tends to stick to roughly the same tempo, making for a cohesive project. It’s a smart way to capture an audience—if you like one song, there’s no reason you won’t like anything else on the album as each delivers in a specific style. The songs flow directly into each other and make sense in sequencing, making the LP a pleasant listen through.

Aside from the common synths and hiphop bass/drum production, the vocal production is also consistent throughout, and reminds us of Kanye’s vocal production his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy project. Heavily tuned for that distinctive robotic effect and and airy distortion throughout, it assists in giving the album it’s specific soundscape. That production is matched with deeply personal lyrics that at times hit pretty hard in the chest—Drake-level explorations of heartache and a few references to suicidal ideation really catch you and let you know that Breon is letting you in on some pretty personal stuff. He has an easy flow, and rides all of his beats without a single hiccup, never losing the listener on the journey.

For us, the standout tracks are Double or Nothin, Sunrise and Lemon Squeezy. Double or Nothin is the most personal track on the album, exemplifying what we described earlier as a Drake-level exploration of heartache. It feels the most radio friendly and the back and forth between the lead vocal and an octave drop, dueting in the second verse, is that part of the song that you can’t wait to get to because it just sounds so cool. Sunrise explores those Nintendo and arcade-esque synth sounds that elevates the song into pure earcandy thanks to that healthy dose of nostalgia. Finally, Lemon Squeezy is a perfect closer—the synth progression feels like a finale—and it has a distinct percussion to the rest of the album that really stands out.

Excellently mixed and mastered and chock full of certified two-steps, add Breon S.Y.N.D.E.L’s Buy Me Some Time album to your commute playlist.

Damage Media Group - Come to DMG

Come to DMG - Damage Media Group (LP) (Hiphop) What a pleasure it’s been to listen to the showcase of Memphis, Tennessee talent that is Damage Media Group’s 10-track album Come to DMG. High quality mixing and mastering with a fresh hiphop sound, the album is a soaring success without a single weak track in the bunch. Below, we break into some of our standout tracks and the elements that make the project so successful.

We start with the sound. Come to DMG starts off on a somber note with the broody Remedy, introducing us to the soundscape that will permeate the entire collection. With every song, we’re looking at those crisp trap drumkits and booming 808s. In addition, the tracks stick with a consistent tempo, committing to head bopping and two-stepping mid tempos. In lesser hands, this choice could quickly turn monotonous or make every track sort of blend together and lose its distinctiveness. Not so with Come to DMG, we’re happy to report, which strikes a perfect balance between establishing a unified sound while using slight variations—typically in the complimenting synth bass leads—to give each track its own unique identity.

And of course what helps with that are the collection of stars in the making that feature on each track. When Damage Media Group defines itself as a collection of Memphis talent, we think the label is far too limiting—this is a group of universal talent, who just HAPPEN to all be from Memphis. This isn’t just the best Memphis has to offer, this is the best independent hiphop has to offer.

The lyrics are incredibly clever, the flows varying and all riding their respective beats expertly, and the vocalists all shine and soar. Normally, we’d pick standout songs on these points but we wouldn’t want to make any of these artists feel left out, who all succeed in their own right. So instead, let’s just talk about some of our personal favorites.

First off, title track Remedy is a very strong number and a great way to start the selection. It trots out of the gade with ease, not giving it all away quite yet. The sound took us back to JD in the 00s—think Emancipation of Mimi days—and this one specifically was reminding us of Mary J’s “Be Without You.” As with most of the tracks, the instrumental is impressively mixed and mastered, but restrained, thereby accomplishing what Damage Media Group has set out to do—highlight the performers. 808, drumkit, a few keys, and otherwise just sit back and let the rappers and vocalists lead the way.

Get Some Money is a certified bop and reminds us a lot of Missy’s “Throw it Back” and boy do we wish we had a car with a suped up stereo to listen to this on. Same goes with Own and Sky is Falling. Our personal favorite, though, is Call You Right Back which for us is one that knocks hardest, flows superbly and had the best replay potential. This is the one to invest in, we think, and get placements. There’s a real retro feel to it—for some reason we were reminded of Juvenile—and the sung elements really elevate the song. And finally, we have to shout out Complicated, which closes the EP with what we think is a sound that differs the most from the rest of the album, using a fanfare of brass to give the track a real finale feel. We could hear this beat on a Jasmine Sullivan project.

Hats off to Damage Media Group—you’re repping Memphis very well.

Juliet Callahan - Depth of Soul

Depth of Soul - Juliet Callahan (Alt Rock) There’s something haunting about Juliet Callahan’s new track, Depth of Soul, and we attribute it to the incredibly cool vocal production. Juliet sings with intimacy, soft spoken and subtle, but with a deadliness—a danger. Heavily compressed and tuned for effect, with a tight double/delay, Juliet becomes otherwordly—a silky smooth layering which serves as a great contrast to the grunge of the guitars in the chorus. The song is anthemic, really thrashing in those choruses, housing an impressive mix with a strikingly clean instrument separation. We’re getting Stigmata soundtrack vibes from this one. So we say paint your nails black and turn the volume all the way up with Depth of Soul.

Best Lyric: “I see again, finally found a way to be me again.“

davvn - depressed in heaven

depressed in heaven - davvn (Pop) With an impressive production pulling out all the stops, we can confidently say that davvn’s depressed in heaven belongs on the Top 40 charts. Like, no joke. The track not only centers the vocal, but puts it right up front—intimate and close—and boy does it deliver. Strong and emotive it’s a perfect pop vocal, delivering lyrics that feel right out of the Taylor Swift playbook. We can’t quite place it, but the melody line has a bit of a retro feel—something from the mid-90s. Not “Love Fool” but something from that era, which we are here for. Also, these lyrics are incredibly clever, and while it’s a total cop out, we have to say that our favorite line is the chorus. All in all, davvn’s latest track is a certified earworm, has great sing-along-ability and feels like an obvious choice at any karaoke night.

Best Lyric: “I could win the lottery, angel’s right in front of me, still don’t know if I believe. Got a confession I’d still be depressed in heaven.“

Bel Epoq - Mind & Matter

Mind & Matter - Bel Epoq (SynthPop) Bel Epoq’s new track Mind & Matter takes no time slapping you in the face with some delicious 80s synthwave pop. And those synths truly soar here, feeling as if they were in duet with the vocals, as the track makes sure to clear way to handoff the melody to those buzzy chords and leads, allowing them to take center stage. But that’s not to say that the vocals aren’t also incredibly strong, reminding us of the Bangles, the Go-Gos or Bananarama—sort of how HAIM retros their vocals. I mean, the lead singer is definitely in the Belinda Carlisle vein. The vocal layering is perfect, creating an anthemic feel, hitting its sweet spot in the bridge where the tight harmonies are pure heaven. You could slip this track right into your “hits of the 80s” playlist and none would be the wiser.

Best Lyric: “Tonight the street is my home, and our feet will tell us where to go.“

Alta Falls - Tried To Forget About

Tried To Forget About - Alta Falls (Pop) In Alta Falls’ latest record, Tried To Forget About, we get some serious 80s vibes with everything from a bouncy bass to retro synths to a wailing guitar in the climax of the song. There’s no doubt this would’ve been a major Top 40 contender in that era, as the song boasts both sing-along-ability and what appears to be a very specific, personal tale of ruminating on the potential of reigniting a former love. The vocal production is heavenly—a very Queen aesthetic to the choral elements in particular—and the EQ dampened synth intro is a great appetizer to wet the listener’s appetite for the rest of the track.. All in all, this record is a smashing success, and one you wouldn’t dare attempt to forget about.

Best Lyric: “Most days I sing them silently.“

Sydney Gordon - I Should've Known

I Should’ve Known - Sydney Gordon (Pop) Sydney Gordon delivers a waltzy pop ballad that feels like something out of JoJo’s or Christina Aguilera’s playbooks. It’s a hard hitting production, with crisp drums and wailing guitar, crescendoing into an epic chorus matched by the strength of Sydney’s glorious vocals. While the distorted echos and synth screeches add some haunting ear candy that really keeps the listener engaged, the song’s greatest strength are Sydney’s strong and passionate vocals. We particularly liked the slow down of the second half of the bridge, which allowed Sydney to shine, stripping away the fullness of the production to let her powerhouse vocals triumphantly soar through the reverb. We would love to hear this one live—it’s a lighter’s up kinda track.

Best Lyric: “I acted so foolish, believing the words that you’d say.“

Lukx - What If

What if - Lukx (R&B/Pop) Lukx is back and we couldn’t be happier. The prolific artist returns with his monthly bop and this time we’ve got a nice little 2-step reminding us of a 00s R&B/pop crossover. What sticks out to us the most is the extremely Outkast-like chorus—you can almost hear Andre 3000 all over this. As expected, Lukx uses the track to display his bilingual skills, seamlessly bouncing back and forth between English and French not in distinct sections, but in a constant switchup which we think is a genius way to expand an audience. The production is flawless, as always, with a crisp drum percussion accompanied by a catchy guitar loop. We’d tell you to put this on a commute playlist, but at this point we think you need to have your own Lukx playlist.

Best Lyric: “Don’t let anybody make you lose your mind.“

Ikonic Tae - Maxine

Maxine - Iconic Tae (Rap) Iconic Tae’s track Maxine is a capital G groove. The song reminds us of 00s era crossover rap, with a real Outkast feel. As far as subject matter, Iconic Tae describes the track as an 80s tale of an undercover police officer, Maxing, falling in love with a gangster, star-crossed lovers due to their differing lifestyles. In weaving his story, Iconic’s flow is smooth, riding the beat with ease, sitting perfectly in the center of the swirling production. The drums create a great drive—this record is the definition of a two-step—but we are most in love with the synth keys, which when blended with Iconic’s buzzy baritone/bass vocals makes a perfect duet. This song is summer haze personified.

Best Lyric: “Tectonic plates making moves up under her skirt.“

Key of Evergreen - Love Actually

Love Actually - Key of Evergreen (Retro Pop) There’s a real meld of two different nostalgias working in Love Actually. Key of Evergreen’s new track starts off giving straight 80s with those analog synths creating a bubble gum pop-esque soundscape, but as soon as the guitars start we start to feel the punk-pop influence. There’s a Jesse’s Girl vibe to this, both the sound and the subject matter, as the vocalist pines for someone else’s girl. But there’s almost a 90s alternative/punk vibe in the vocals that makes us think of Weezer or even Greenday. It’s a head bopper for sure, and very sing-along-able. Put this one on your commute playlist, we think this goes well in the car.

Best Lyric: “And I know that I missed the boat, no surprises see yourself on the shore. Wave goodbye, what are good friends for.“

Sasha Hromyk - Rebound

Rebound - Sasha Hromyk (R&B/Pop) This song is throwback heaven. In Rebound, Sasha Hromyk brings back the pop/R&B crossover that reminds us of early JoJo, Nsync and a hell of a lot of Brandy. The latter really pops out when some deliciously layered background vocals create a choral wall of sound that couldn’t help but make us smile. The production is incredibly fresh, with all the little earcandy you’d expect from a track like this—record scratches, a traveling bass guitar, etc. As a whole, this song had us really thinking of one hit wonder Tatiana Ali’s “Daydream” which we assume only a fraction of you will remember. Boy do we wish music like this was on the Top 40 again.

Naked Face - Eyes In Love

Eyes In Love - Naked Face (EDM) Naked Face’s latest track, Eyes In Love, takes no time to get started. Within the first second we’ve got a hyper-modern lead vocal—buzzy and resonant, compressed and layered—which builds throughout the song to a very cool house-style bridge section. There’s a late-90s dance sensibility to moments of this, and the production blends elements from lots of different time periods to make something very fresh. The kick and bass synth keep the track humming along, very Robyn-esque, and a varied instrumentation keeps the listener interested throughout. Switchups in the drum kits, the bouncing synth plucks and the house keys keep you drawn into the song. In sum, it’s an expertly crafted production with a very catchy earworm of a melody that you’ll definitely be singing along to long after the song is over.

Best Lyric: “Rumors of you in my mind.“

HeartMouth - Hear Me Out

Hear Me Out - HeartMouth (Pop) How refreshing it is to get a Top 40 style ballad—an artform that seems to be a dying one these days. HeartMouth’s newest track accomplishes quite the hat trick. The lyrics and vocals are longing in nature, a bittersweet plea to a love walking out the door, none of which is lost in the hyper-modern vocal production of heavy compression, tuning and layering. The result is a track that is pure earcandy without squeezing out all of the inflections that convey intimacy and emotion. The mix is incredible, and we specifically loved when the strings swooped in. The instrumental is quite understated, letting HeartMouth’s vocals take center stage. We think this one is karaoke certified.

Best Lyric: “I’m going to cause a scene again because I don’t know how to fake it.”

Mimi Pretend - Guys in LA

Guys in LA - Mimi Pretend (Dream Pop) Mimi is bringing some real late 80s/early 90s retro alt rock vibes on this earworm of a track. If we were putting Guys in LA on a modern playlist, however, we think it’s right up the alley of Lana Del Ray’s Videogames. Mimi’s voice is wrapped in haunting delay and reverb throughout, with a husk to the delivery that gives the melancholy number real weight. The instrumental conjures the image of hazy dusk in the summertime, especially the warbling guitar that reminds us of Wicked Games. Broody and seductive, Guys in LA is sure to resonate, and the song itself is just begging for dance remixes.

Best Lyric: “Falling in love’s like kissing a gun.”

Meghan Pulles - father, oh father

father, oh father - Meghan Pulles (Dream Pop) father, oh father is BIG—it’s a big song. Meghan Pulles delivers a haunting, operatic dream pop midtempo using a cathedral-like reverb to create something with an epic, cinematic feel. The vocal production is almost choral in nature, with opera-level shimming backgrounds swirling around a vocal delivery almost more broadway than pop—we think of Florence and the Machine in that regard, with spoken word moments that give us Gaga. Cutting through the miasma of synths and layered vocals is a thudding percussion production and a soaring, crunchy guitar that brings us to the pop anthems of the 80s.

Best Lyric: “There’s so many people in pain and in strife, I heard that you can work miracles.”