Melanie MacLaren’s debut EP Kill My Time is full of atmospheric and deeply layered songs. The final single release of the 4-track EP comes in the form of Deep Dark Sleep which is a tender and rather mesmerizing piece. Finger-picked guitar fills the space between haunting vocals and a spacious soundscape with a slightly dark edge. The talented indie-folk artist grew up in New York and moved to Nashville in 2020. Deep Dark Sleep leaves a lasting impression, but it’s well worth listening to the whole EP. Kill My Time is out now.
Author: Lucy Lerner
Lucy Lerner
Jazz ear. Style scout. Horror-sci-fi fan. Neon Music co-founder and editor, Lucy guides music reviews and streaming picks you can trust.
“Whether your plans go accordingly or not, the world is still out there and it’s still marvellous.” Drift on a river of emotion with Zoé Watson’s song Dust. The genre-bending song twists and turns and the somewhat edgy melody juxtaposes the meaning of the song which is how beautiful the world is. Zoé discusses the inspiration and meaning behind the song, “I remember writing it in a dingy rat-infested attack in Harringey at like 4 am trying to sing as quietly as possible because the walls were paper thin. It’s funny to think of that now because the song is…
Attih Soul drops his uplifting, catchy track Friendzone taken from his debut studio album Shades of Emotions. The Barcelona-based Nigerian singer’s smokey, soulful vocals sing about an up and coming artist who falls for a girl who his friends advise him is out of his league. Sadly for him, he is firmly in the friendzone as he eventually gets rejected. The sunny video for Friendzone was directed and shot by Koji Azevedo and filmed in Barcelona City. We love the nostalgic qualities, humour and overall feel-good vibe on the track and music video. Look out for Attih Soul’s next release…
Alt-pop singer-songwriter Novaa drops her addictive new single I Would Be Rich. Taken from her forthcoming album She’s A Star set for release on May 27th, I Would Be Rich is a song filled with shimmering layers and edgy electronic textures. Honest lyrics and gossamer light vocals float over a sing-song, lullaby-like style melody. The Berlin-based artist comments on her new release, “It is very insulting to me when I get the comment ‘you’re so lucky’ on my successes. There is one thing you can always be sure of, a woman in the music industry and also in any other…
Sink into the warm embrace of a song that is Pompeii by New York artist Sade Fox. A sweet melody ribbons through a spacious soundscape, tender acoustics and poignant lyrics, “Pompeii wasn’t built in a day, but ashes cover it that way”. The song slowly builds into a euphoric climax which satisfies the senses and makes the song rather unforgettable. Sade told Neon Music exclusively, “I really wanted to write a song about taking time to pay attention to the little things, because nothing lasts forever. I think the world would be a better place if everyone just had a…
You would think raw and honest songs come from a wealth of experience, but 14-year-old Oscar Stembridge writes from the heart with themes we can all relate to. His recent single Am I The Only One, is an intimate and heartfelt song about feeling excluded, unique and alone. Oscar wrote the song with Swedish artists Kristofer Greczula and Isa Tengblad, who spurred him on to write about his own troublesome experiences. Oscar says of his new release,“There are so many people around the world who feel lonely and excluded, and it is important that people know that they are not…
Golden Rope is one of those uplifting songs filled with warmth, tender acoustics, a catchy melody and a slinky flow. Considering this is only Bulgarian Cartrader’s second single, it is very impressive. The visuals are inspired by Bulgarian Cartrader’s childhood where a group of school kids gathered around the young artist who had to spend 10 minutes in the headlock of a much stronger kid. Golden Rope and his December debut No Other Drug are taken from the forthcoming11-track debut album Motor Songs which the Sofia born artist produced on his own in his Berlin studio, and was mixed in…
19-year-old Cardiff native Ben Ellis has released his debut single not this time. Short and sweet it begins with stripped back acoustics and soulful vocals but soon builds to passionate, rock-tinged instrumentals and an anthemic chorus that you will find hard not to get out of your head. “I wrote ‘not this time’ about people imposing their fears on me regarding going after my dreams. It speaks to me wanting to stay true to myself instead of conforming to the traditional ideas of what a career path should look like.” – Ben Ellis During the pandemic, Ben has been busy…
Sink into the mesmerising Falling Apart by the one and only Skylar Grey. The American singer-songwriter and record producer is gearing up to release her first album in 6 years on April 28th. Falling Apart is a short and bittersweet tale of looking back at your life and what could have been, “I used to have dreams, So many dreams, Now I don’t dream at all.” This fits into the theme of the album of being lost then found and transformed. I thought that I would reach the stars’Til I fell down, downLovers will desert youFailure will destroy youHow are…
Eli Gosling’s latest release Sunsets and Watermelons is a more stripped back and dreamy affair than previous tracks. Raw vocals soar over sharp guitar lines amping up the emotion. Sunsets and Watermelons is one of those songs which would sound great live as it is so intimate with many layers which reveal themselves the more you listen. It’s expressive, and a little edgy too. Great to see another side of this talented young artist.