Listen: Arcade — darkDARK

darkDark are duo Chris James and Genevieve Vincent, who look to combine cinematic synths with contemporary pop. Genevieve is a classically trained composer and producer who has soundtracked movies and TV shows, and written orchestral music. Chris is a composer, mixer, and sound designed who has worked on advertising for Nike, Google, Levi’s and Audi.

Inspired by, and aiming to replicate, the experience of being immersed in a video game, Arcade is a synth piece that conjures visions of light trails and soft focus cinematics.

Beyond leveraging sounds that evoke the feel of video games, Arcade’s lyrics explore the notion of getting lost in a game, falling out of sync with reality. Cinema represents as much of an inspiration for the song as gaming, however, with the likes of Her, Ender’s Game, Ready Player One, and the Black Mirror episode San Junipero all helping inform the song’s lyrics.

Check out the crystalline beauty that is Arcade below:

Listen: We’re Going Under — The Fur feat. Yvo

Hailing from Sweden, The Fur delivers the kind of emotive, dance pop their homeland has come to be known for, but he combines it with the kind of polish from the other side of the Atlantic… We’re Going Under sounding somewhat like a Carly Rae Jepson or Tegan and Sara number.

The song is a collaboration with fellow Swede Yvo, and it bristles with glittery candy-coloured joy. The face that Yvo and The Fur are good friends is evident in the sound the pair create here on We’re Going Under — it frankly just sounds like fun.

The Fur’s talent is on full display, with saxophone stylings giving this an 80s-tinged sense of nostalgia, and the shout-out vocals provide a playful sugar rush. The result is joyful, heartfelt, and infectious. Check it out below:

Listen: Are You Ever? — Eliza Elliott

Created by NY-based independent singer and songwriter Eliza Elliott, Are You Ever? is a heartfelt piece of alt-folk with a textured aesthetic. Filtered drums hit like heartbeats as Elliott quietly pours her heart out, depicting a tale of love that doesn’t quite catch.

In Are You Ever?’s chorus, Elliott sings about two people unable to love one another in quite the right way. As the main vocal sings the hook, “Are you ever gonna let her, find the right way to be close to you?”, there is a faint echo in the background, repeating the lines back. The sound evokes two individuals trying their hardest to communicate with one another, but unable to be heard over their own boundaries and barriers.

The verses hint at it, but the closing bridge makes clear that what initially sounded like a depiction of relationship disfunction from a third-party perspective is actually autobiographical. From the middle of the song’s forth-minute, Are You Ever? becomes utterly heartbreaking, Elliott singing:

“You’re not God’s favorite, but you’re mine. I think about you all the time. And all the rocks we collected — did you throw them back? “Haven’t cried for you in a month, I got so scared I used them up. And all the rocks we collected — did you throw them back?”

As processed vocals and synths build in the song’s conclusion, I found myself getting goosebumps over the naked grief Elliott manages to evoke. The feelings of loss, and fear over someone discarding monuments to love, hits hard.

Listen: I Look At You (It’s Over) — Shears

Shears is the musical pseudonym of Edinburgh-based musician Becca Shearing. Following on from her 2021 debut EP, Mind In Decline, and last year’s sophomore release Superhues, Shears has been working on music in her home studio.

I Look At You (It’s Over) is the result of quiet, focused work in that studio. Entirely written, produced and mixed by Shears, Becca uses the song as a vehicle to bring together her love of pop and an appreciation of drum and bass production aesthetics. The result sees Shearing deliver a soaring, emotive vocal atop of rolling drums and deep, sub-bass. The song hits a magnificent stride in the final minute, layered vocals creating a building sense of momentum.

Whilst Shears’ new song sounds like it is about a person, the break-up being depicted is actually about Shearing’s relationship with her phone:

“If I’m on social media too long, my head feels cloudy and less clear, my creativity is sapped, and ultimately, I just get really down. And it’s designed to draw you in and keep you there for as long as possible. So, I try to limit my usage or make sure I’m going on social media to do something specific. When I get outside and spend time with people, that’s when I’m relaxed and happy and the melodies come back into my head.”

Songs that use a romantic relationship as an analogy for something else are relatively common, but I love the juxtaposition here. The relationship we have with our phones _is_ a notoriously intimate one, and the somewhat irritated personification leveraged by Shears on I Look At You (It’s Over) feels surprising yet true.

Listen: Rated X — Nieri

Following on from his glorious track, Where Would You Drive?, LA-based musician Nieri is back with another slice of fresh electro-influenced pop.

Rated X sees Nieri dive into sensual territory, realising sexual pleasure through dedicating himself to a single person. Through that dedication, you can truly understand and stimulate someone’s desires. The X in Rated X subverts expectations, substituting explicit for exclusive. In a description that is in itself somewhat alluring, Nieri says:

“In this song, I wanted to celebrate the profound connection that emerges through physical intimacy. Specifically, the joy of feeling appreciated and accepted in a long-term relationship, while also embracing the exciting exploration of each other's bodies in various ways.”

More playful than Where would You Drive?, but still delivering a powerful message, Rated X sees Nieri perform a verse as a rap and has a crunchy acid-tinged sound to it. Crisp synths combine with body-shot beats to create something sexually charged and infectious. Check it out below: