POSTS TAGGED : Art-Pop

Party Fears – ‘Sun King II’

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Party Fears are Berlin-based Irish duo Maggie Devlin and Eilis Frawley. Formed in South Korea before moving to Berlin, Party Fears concern themselves with art-rock meets garage-pop with a touch of punk, jittery guitar riffs, shout-able lyrics and decidedly danceable disco grooves.

In 2017, the duo released their self-titled debut album and they are now prepping a new EP, Just Friends for release in 2019. ‘Sun King II’ is the second single lifted from the forthcoming EP, and it is powerful post-punk with disco and art-rock leanings. Moving along a forceful drum beat and urgent bassline, it is an upbeat, synth-splashed and defiant anthem. Caught between exhaustion or frustration, ‘Sun King II’ and Devlin’s scorching vocal, rails in the face of Brexit chaos, Trump, toxic masculinity and crash economics. Amid the energetic rhythms and powerhouse bass, an irresistible jerky guitar riffs slides into place perfectly to complete the jigsaw. A very promising indication of what is to come from Party Fears.

Listen to ‘Sun King II’ below. Like what you hear? Check out their self-titled debut LP here.

Velodrome – ‘His Physique’

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Velodrome is the experimental project of London-based DIY singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kate Evans.

Evans embraces a charming exploration of baroque vocals, layers of melody & quirky lyrics with a lo-fi, retro aesthetic, as demonstrated with formidable dexterity on debut single ‘His Physique’. It’s a transfixing off-kilter concoction of sweet and catchy harmonies and melodies, with offbeat lo-fi psych-pop that playfully bubbles along with a bouncy charm. Evans’ delivery can be gentle, making her seem like the shyest of characters at times while on other occasions, her compelling baroque vocals sweep in to blow everything else out of the water. There is a slightly bonkers strangeness at play too but this musical whimsy probably wouldn’t resonate so much were it not for the moments of melodic sweetness – but thankfully, both are in plentiful supply. A fantastic opening intro to Velodrome and hopefully there’s plenty more brilliant bouts of offbeat lo-fi psych-pop on the horizon.

Listen to ‘His Physique’ below now.