Whether you’re looking for something a little acoustic, a little electric, a little emotional, or a little dancey to fill your playlists, these 8 singles have something for you!
Jerry Bakkus – Tower in Reverse
‘Tower in Reverse’ has a perfectly washed-out indie production style that resounds through the vocals and instrumentation. It carves its way out as being emotional through its mid-tempo drive, the guitars are exciting, the filtering is well done, the lyrics are poetic, and the chorus is catchy. It comes from the dynamic album ‘Thornbird’ which meshes acoustic and electric sounds.
Electric Sol – Little Old Me
‘Little Old Me’ features a dancey synth beat with a vaporwave-like drone. Overall, it’s reminiscent of the 80s with a dash of modern indie. The lyrics seem to explore self-acceptance and the inability to change what makes the self the self. It’s a bit dancey and exciting, but the introspective undertones shine through well.
WKND THERAPY – Dandelion
‘Dandelion’ is beautiful acoustic goodness with pop-punk undertones. The acoustic guitar has a nice warm buzz and optimistic drive to it. Adding onto that, the vocals have that nice punky whine many have grown up to know and love. It explores ideas of love and repair through lyricism that poetically uses nature references.
Drew Schueler – Hurtable
‘Hurtable’ is a perfectly hard listen. Everything about the vocals and instrumentation bleeds emotion through it. The vocal riffing is well-captured, and the quicker vocal beats are hit well. This is one of those tracks in which the instrumentation truly lets the vocals shine through. It explores love and hurt in its lyrics, and the writing is done in a chilling way. On top of that, the chorus is SO catchy!
Sophie Chassée – What Fathers Do
‘What Fathers Do’ features gorgeous acoustic fingerpicking and spattered in beautiful piano lines in the intro, which then allows the percussion and the rest of the instrumentation to shine through as it picks up and tells an emotional story. The vocals are on-point in their riffy nature, and the way they are layered helps them stand out well. Lyrically, it paints a poignant picture of what it’s like growing up without a close father in one’s life.
Breezy BRG – 21
‘21’ is a standout track in this list with its hip-hop party vibes. It does well at taking lo-fi production and still making it exciting and dancey. The rap bars hit the right beats, and they dance around the trap drums and 808s perfectly. Lyrically, it captures the feeling of turning 21 and wanting to party and have more than a good time.
Andy Robbins – I’m Lost Too
‘I’m Lost Too’ is another track with a beautiful acoustic ballad like nature. The vocals have a nice folk rasp and bend around well. On top of that, the fingerpicking has a dynamic flow and the overarching guitar riff carries things along nicely. This track explores what it’s like to feel lost in a world where others also feel lost in its lyrics, and the chorus is a good earworm.
Kevin Skyes – are you surprised?
‘are you surprised?’ is exciting in its uniqueness. It features an original bedroom production style with bright synths that bounce in and out and an overall resounding feeling in its lo-fi production. The vocals use autotune in ways that make them fit the overall production well, and the dynamic flow in the rap bars keeps things exciting. It seems to lyrically explore the ability to not be affected by opposition.
Written by Sage Plapp
