poppedmusic

Popped Round-Up

September 2019

Words: Daniel Burton 

!Editor’s Pick!

Your Light – The Big Moon

This is only their second release in the 2 years since their debut LP “Love In The Fourth Dimension”. The Big Moon’s original sound from said album was very punk-pop, but the sound from these recent 2 singles are more indie-pop experimental. There does seem to be a much more concentrated effort and thought out process to creating these new sounds and layering them. You can flick in and out of focusing on each instrument and each could lead the track on their own, but they are all perfectly balanced, letting the listener decide what they want to lead in their own head.

There is a fairly high tempo and prominent bass line throughout, with the same constant drum pattern playing in both the verses and chorus’. A synth part starts to play in after the bridge and remains till the end and it adds a decisive element that makes it sound like an entirely new song.

Reflecting on the track as a whole, it bears a great resemblance to a kind of slower sounding Blossoms would create and is one that I think The Big Moon can grow into further and flourish with.

Syncr’s Applications Pick

I Need To Know – The Greedy Souls

The Greedy Sould use a simple drum pattern to kick off I Need To Know. With a solid riff that has a 70’s british rock vibe to it throughout the intro and verse, and seems to remain subtly into the chorus too. It has a slightly grungy indie-rock style, especially in the chorus as, although it is relatively slow, it gives huge mosh pit vibes, and even more so after the short bridge where the guitar riff gets even deeper.

This is their 4th single of this year and ever as a band, and even within the short journey from the first release ‘We Will Rule’ to this most recent, there is a clear change in the understanding of their sound as it becomes less generic rock’n’roll and much more streamlined and personalised. Hopefully if they continue with a similar style they can carry on improving and releasing more top-quality tracks.

Forget Life. Repeat. – Safe To Swim

After hearing their first releases a few years ago, I really thought that I had witnessed the start of a great new band, but their progress seemed to be a little slow, so to hear Safe To Swim were returning I really couldn’t wait, and god it was worth the wait. 

Forget Life. Repeat. is taken from their album of which this is the title track, and is a collection of old, so far unreleased tracks and demos, including ones for Safe To Swim classics ‘Struggling’ and ‘Pretty In The Morning’.

This title track appears to be a relatively simple garage indie-rock track, with a catchy hook and a standard sonic makeup, but after listening a little deeper I somehow feel a connection with it and absolutely love this track, a feeling I rarely find with songs, but one that I cherish when I do find it. It is clearly an earlier sound from the band, but sometimes these glimpses at raw unfiltered music is absolutely the best.

Whilst I eagerly awaited the return of Safe To Swim, it is now slightly bittersweet as unfortunately on the day of its release they announced that this was to be the parting gifting from the band as they commence their ‘disbandment’. It is such a shame that this is the case as I have thought they had that something special, but we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

5 To 5 –APRE

Seeing APRE supporting BLOXX at the start of the year I instantly knew I found a new long-term band I would love. APRE are band that fill every second of their performance with passion, and make a room full of strangers feel together and best of mates for 30 minutes.

The chorus of 5 To 5 is produced in such a way that It feels like there is an entire symphony playing the sound surrounding you and makes you feel immersed and part of the sound. 

Whilst they have a huge success in the very short time for the band already, for me this has all the makings of THE track to provide the biggest breakthrough they need. From the lyrics, to the entire production and the nothing short of catchy as hell chorus.

Despite only releasing their first song last year, so far they have one track with over 2 million streams and six with at least 200,000, and the rest not far behind, which is remarkable to say the least. APRE are a band to keep very close tabs on because they are going to break it very soon, so make sure you catch them before they stop playing the so called ‘smaller venues’! 

AFTERTASTE – The Academic

AFTERTASTE is yet another effortlessly catchy and singalong Academic classic 

It is the Irish Indie rockers 2nd single since releasing their hugely successful debut album, Tales From The Backseat, and they have used the feedback and response to that album as a great platform to inform and further improve their sound. 

This next wave of Academic does fell like it has a slight edge of maturity to it, whilst still keeping their instantly recognisable sound. This is sometimes hard to master as a maturity often leads to drastic changes in sounds, but The Academic have managed to maintain their sound.

I’m sure this will fit right into their live set and be yet another song that will delight the crowds on their tour in October.

Cut Me Off – Munkey Junkey

Munkey Junkey (aka Kurran Karbal) is a self-producing DIY electro-indie-hip/hop. He has grown up in and experienced a multitude of cultures, and it is very evident when it comes to his unique sound. To me, the easiest way to explain it would be a mix of Post Malone and Twenty One Pilots, with subtle sounds from some more rock classics, but his Middle Eastern influences occasionally shining through.

From playing lead guitar for Zuzu, creating out of this world sounds, to now creating his own tracks, this lads talents are endless. I have to say that Cut Me Off has really brought me into falling for his sound and it is one I don’t think I could ever get tired of listening to. I don’t like to compare people to big artists, but I genuinely feel in this case that if an artist like Post Malone had released either of Munkey Junkey’s songs, they would be top hits across the world.

He is only 2 songs into his career but I already cannot wait to see what else he has to offer and follow his surely hugely successful career.

Not Enough Love – Larkins

Now, I first heard  Not Enough Love a few days before its release when Larkins supported The Wombats’ front man Murph in his new solo project, Love Fame Tragedy, and I instantly knew that this was going to be a hit. And since it has been released I have not stopped listening to it. From the opening synth riff, it just puts you in a great mood, which is rather ironic as the lyrics ‘not enough love in this town’ portray a greatly contrasting feeling.

As a lot of the other songs from this month, it is extremely catchy, and I just cannot get the opening out of my head.

I first listened to Larkins in 2015 when their debut single Hit and Run came out and have kept very close tabs on them ever since. And despite liking that so much, the amount they have improved and developed since then is remarkable and I hope they continue to carry on that way, and don’t take ‘a wrong turn down a right path’!

Yoko Oh No – Gen and The Degenerates

The more songs that Gen and The Degenerates release, the more I get sucked into their aura and fall in love with them. At over 7 minutes long, Yoko Oh No is quite lengthy and could almost be split into 2/3 songs. At around 3 minutes in, the sound changes from a slow ballady type track into a groovy almost jazzy number. After this point, it is much more upbeat and fits better into the rest of their collection. As with their previous release, Jesus Green, they float in and out of varying styles throughout their tracks and Yoko Oh No is no different. Towards the end of the second section, they reintroduce the chorus from the first part and so effortlessly that I had to go back and check that the song hadn’t repeated and started again. The way they have managed to do this is something very plaudable. 

Yoko Oh No is part of a double release alongside Cocaine which is along a similar style to Jesus Green. I hope to see much more coming from this band in the very near future because they are on a roll!