While new music is dropping practically every day, we understand that the task of breaking through all that music clutter is difficult. Here at Popwire, we do you a favour by handpicking new singles and albums you ought to keep your headphones on for.
Marian Carmel
“Boy oh boy, where do I even begin?”
‘You Like The Chase’ is Filipina-born and Singapore-based singer-songwriter, Marian Carmel‘s take on relationships and heartbreak. Written on a whim after a conversation with a friend, Marian channelled her frustrations and anger into the song, which birthed a complex piece that juxtaposes the lighthearted front with a darker and outraged undertone.
Listen to ‘You Like The Chase’
lullaboy, gone too long
While staying true to lullaboy’s emotional Pop and R&B sound, ‘gone too long’ blends acoustic elements with unique bass-heavy production, and a new layer to his unique soundscape, pushing him further than he has ever done creatively. The single reflects on lullaboy’s personal experience of being in a long-distance relationship, which includes the push and pull of time apart and coming back together, and taking leave again with no end date in mind but the wisdom and preparation of what is to come and of course, being more in love than ever before.
Listen to ‘gone too long‘
Yeo, TIRED
Channelling Moses Sumney, Brittany Howard and Blake Mills on this one (or the most) raw and exposed single of an emotional ballad, Asian-Australian producer Yeo releases ‘TIRED‘. Written in the midst of Melbourne’s lockdowns in 2020, Yeo waxes lyrical about a love giving him the tenacity to overcome all obstacles. The accompanying music video blends social realism with surrealism to tell the story of a blue-collar worker who yearns for more.
Jaime Wong, I Swore I’d Stop Writing About You
The release of ‘I Swore I’d Stop Writing About You’, marks singer-songwriter, Jaime Wong‘s departure from the theme of her initial debut self-titled EP and her come-back single after a 6-year hiatus. The single, while still about a failed relationship, touches on finally getting to the point of seeing things the way they are – no longing, just acceptance, reflecting Jaime Wong’s mental conflict of constantly writing about the same subject matter or person.
Listen to ‘I Swore I’d Stop Writing About You‘
BBYBITES, Take Me Hard
Danish pop newcomer Bbybites bursts into the scene with ‘Take Me Hard’ – a song that serves as the antidote for the lack of romance and passion in Copenhagen’s dating culture. The disco-influenced track captures the burning desire to feel the kind of love you see in movies, with the music video similarly showing no restraint on big emotions (trust us it’s worth the watch!) – as well as cameo appearances from numerous Danish artists including Off Bloom’s Mette Mortensen.
QYO, Waiting for a Change
The first single by Singaporean musician QYO, ‘Waiting For A Change‘ was released this month kicking of Pride month and with the first live broadcast performance at Pink Dot 2021 on 12 June. Beautifully written and accompanied by smooth ballad vocals, ‘Waiting for a Change‘ symbolizes the changes and challenges that people, QYO herself included, have to go through in life, and how change is best embraced with optimism.
Listen to ‘Waiting For A Change‘
Katz feat. Charlie Lim, Forgetting
Following the success of their 2018 collaboration, ‘Hollow’, Melbourne-based songwriter and producer Katz and Singaporean singer-songwriter Charlie Lim have teamed up again to release Alt-Electronic Pop single, ‘Forgetting’. As part of Katz’s upcoming sophomore EP ‘Only You’, ‘‘Forgetting’ is about how irrational and fickle human nature can be – chasing after fleeting feelings and letting history repeat itself, which paradoxically, is also the very thing that keeps us going.’ Combining elements of UK garage, evident in the 2-step beat, and emotive pop, clear in Katz’s chord progressions, instrument choices, and arrangement, “garage and pop are two styles of music we are both big fans of in their own rights, and which seem to also work really well when blended together in a considered way”, Katz shares.
Shelter Boy feat. boy pablo, Terrace
‘Terrace‘ is a laidback slacker indie-pop number on the surface, it also delves into funk territory with free-flowing synths as Shelter Boy‘s unmistakable vocals are joined by internet sensation, and dream pop juggernaut, boy pablo.
The release of ‘Terrace‘ also comes with news of Shelter Boy’s debut album, ‘Failure Familiar‘ which will be released on Friday 10th September 2021 via Scruff of the Neck records in the UK.
Listen to ‘Terrace‘