Pop

Benee – Fire On Marzz

On her new album, Fire On Marzz, New Zealand singer/songwriter Benee joins the ranks of artists like Clairo, Mallrat, and others in proving once again that new-age, “bedroom pop” is helping mainstream music move in the right direction. The Auckland-born songstress flows smoothly over up-tempo drumbeats and groovy basslines on tracks like Soaked and Evil Spider, with other songs taking a more relaxed and smooth R&B tone, as shown by Wishful Thinking and Want Me Back slowing things down and taking it easy. At only 19, Benee creates a seemingly vulnerable and reflective project full of emotion, while still maintaining the radio-friendly style and sound that got her close to the top of the New Zealand Hot 40. While it’s not an artistic masterpiece by any means, this album has undeniable mass appeal, which is partially what makes it so great. It is a glimpse into the future of the radio, if there is one, and one of those albums that you could turn on at a kickback and nobody would complain. Benee is an exciting new face in the industry, and she’s clearly just getting started.

Sure Sure – What’s It Like

L.A. based band, Sure Sure, have released their new album, What’s It Like? The self-described “experimental pop” group is exactly that, bridging the ever-growing gap between classic and modern popular music. Incorporating the most enjoyable aspects of today’s indie music with a crooning, sometimes-psychedelic sound, the band creates a timeless feel-good record that spans generations of sound. Layered vocals, Moog-style synths, and catchy guitar riffs blend together to form a soundscape that would be fit seamlessly into the repertoire of countless decades. Certain tracks, most notably Good Thing, are incredibly reminiscent of pop music’s golden age, inducing memories of Elton John, while others, like Might Might Not, sound more similar to new-age bands like Parcels. The album boasts enough of a gritty tone at times to consider it rock, with fuzzy guitars chords filling songs like Warm Animal and What’s It Like. My favorite piece of this project came early, with the guitar solo in Good Thing blowing me away and instantly becoming one of my favorite riffs in recent memory. This album is the soundtrack to a non-existent summer, with warm tones and bright sounds making it perfect to listen to on that weekend drive to the beach.