Today’s lineup features a captivating blend of chillwave, edgy pop, and thought-provoking lyrics. Featuring Limage, D’Arcy, Omari Vel, Jesse Jo Stark, Josie & The Uni Boys, Ricky Montgomery, and HIDDEN FORTRESS. Each song is witty and fun and carries deeper messages that resonate with listeners. As we dive into these tracks, you’ll notice a common thread of themes that challenge us to reflect on modern life’s and relationships’ complexities. From exploring emotional vulnerability to critiquing societal norms, this collection invites you to engage with the music on a more profound level. Get ready to discover sounds that are both entertaining and enlightening.
Limage – “Plug In”
Limage’s second single, “Plug-In,” delves into something that I think everyone will relate to in one way or another—the isolation of digital intimacy. Produced by Grammy-award-winning Los Hendrix, the song captures the tension between connection and autonomy, channelling Limage’s genre-blurring R&B into synth-rich beats that pulse like neon cityscapes at dusk.
D’Arcy – “Temptation”
Many of you will remember that we hailed D’Arcy’s ‘22 debut album, “The Art of Flying,” as “Scary Good”, and that’s something we firmly stand by today, fortunately, and in a show of what a great musician she always was, D’Arcy continues to evolve her sound, seemingly unburdened by expectations in a brilliant and continuously exciting display of artistic will-to-power. While we eagerly await her next record, every single released since has been a surprising and mouth-watering preamble, tempting us to fall even further in love with her unique, genius vision.
www.instagram.com/thedarcyshow
Omari Vel – “Delmonico”
In “Delmonico,” Omari Vel thoughtfully explores some mistaken ideas about masculinity and aggression and how society views and interacts with these notions, with the hopes of confronting what many dubs as “Toxic masculinity” to illuminate a new path into personal growth with a sense of social responsibility.
Jesse Jo Stark – “i’m yours”
Jesse Jo Stark’s “i’m yours” combines catchy pop trappings into her well-known dark rock ‘divattitude’, perfectly preserving her signature style while also taking it to new expanses. The song explores the intense emotions of love and longing, merging vulnerability with a raw, edgy energy that only JJJ can bring.
The lyrics vividly depict a relationship filled with anxiety and uncertainty, as the narrator wrestles with feelings of possessiveness and a yearning for validation. The recurring motif of a “panic attack” underscores the depth of her emotions, while her heartfelt plea—”When will you tell everybody I’m yours?”
www.instagram.com/jessejostark
Josie & The Uni Boys – “沒完沒了的完美” (Eternal Perfection)
Josie Ho, an acclaimed artist and fashion icon, presents “Eternal Perfection,” inspired by personal experiences and societal pressures. The song reflects on the pursuit of unattainable perfection and the anxiety it brings as it condemns us to an endless loop. This serves as a moment of intense clarity and reflection on Josie’s behalf, as she takes stock of her journey as a musician and the unexpected tolls that her dedication to her craft can take.
www.instagram.com/josie_ho_chiu
Ricky Montgomery – “Superfan”
With a superb animated music video Ricky Montgomery’s “Superfan” critiques the obsessive culture surrounding music in the age of TikTok and fleeting, clippable moments. Do these relatively new technologies and platforms change the way we think and experience music? Does that devalue the work and care artists put into songs somehow? It’s a poignant question and with over a billion global streams to his credit, Ricky Montgomery may very well be the best person to ask it for us.
www.instagram.com/rickymontgomery
HIDDEN FORTRESS – “Electric Skeleton”
“Electric Skeleton” is pure psychedelic synth bliss taken to its utmost refined, groovy extreme. The song is ostensibly about the “absurdity of life” -as HIDDEN FORTRESS puts it- but in all its funky-laced glory, “Electric Skeleton” is about falling in love with the unexplainable intricacies of biological life and consciousness in our weird little planet. A truly memorable track full of nostalgic soundscapes that stimulate one’s feverish imagination.
