The Big Four: The following tracks are a selection of those submitted through Musosoup that deserve your close attention!
By Marilù Ciabattoni
Discovered via Musosoup
AMARA ctk100 - Win / Sin
Release Date: 15/04/22
Location: London, United Kingdom
A mix of Lucy Loone, Emilie Autumn, Jazmin Bean and Cottontail, AMARA ctk100 brings the heat in this ultra-futuristic single titled “Win / Sin.” Is she a winner or a sinner? We will soon find out! Her vocals are whispered–dare I say demonic–and they strongly contrast with the heavily electronic instrumentals. The first half of the song is tight and repetitive, but it loosens up a little bit when her vocals become more high-pitched and expressive, bringing out the playfulness that lies underneath the darkness of AMARA’s style. My favorite part of the song–vocally and instrumentally–is the bridge, when the artist alternates “And a sin and a win” until she brings us back to the initial section, repeated exactly as it is at the beginning if it wasn’t for the addition of an electric guitar riff and melodies to compliment her voice. I think this track is extremely well produced and executed, and I’m curious to see what else AMARA will put out.
FoE - Diamonds (feat. Alina Valentina)
Release Date: 27/05/22
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Alina Valentina’s voice resonates like a Daft-Punk-styled vocoder in “Diamonds” by Tel Aviv’s own FoE. The melody walks us through the song from start to finish–very high-pitched at first and then played like a guitar riff until the end. The first thing that stands out to me is how “Nineteen-eighties” this track sounds, following the revival initiated by mainstream products like Stranger Things, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia and The Weeknd’s Dawn FM. I can see this synthpop song as the soundtrack of a Blade Runner spinoff or some other science fiction movie. Valentina’s voice seems to come from another world, a world where humans are replaced by machines and only the power of music–given here by the overwhelming instrumentals–can free us all from becoming more and more automatized.
Christen Cooper - That Kind of Guy
Release Date: 03/06/22
Location: Nashville, United States
Christen Cooper’s “That Kind of Guy” initial riff tricks us into believing that we will be listening to a bluegrass song, but it then transitions into a not-too-demanding pop-rock banger. The track has one essential focus: the search for the right specimen of a man. She sings about the actions “that kind of guy” should perform: “I want that kind of guy who [...] calls when he’s missing you, not just when he’s lonely / Not afraid to fall in love but he’s not in a rush.” These unrealistic romantic expectations remind me of literally any of Taylor Swift’s songs–and the country vibe is another element that Cooper shares with her. Another song I would associate it with is “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen for the same overly romantic attitude. From a vocal standpoint, Cooper is very good at switching from falsetto to lower notes, and this skill gives variety to her singing. Excited to see what she’ll put out in the future.
I Am The Unicorn Head - All the Right Things
Release Date: 17/06/22
Location: United Kingdom/United States
What are all the right things you couldn’t say? I Am The Unicorn Head are here to tell us. The two-piece transatlantic rock band (one from the US and one from the UK) started their music project during the pandemic, “largely to help our own mental health,” as they admitted. “All the Right Things” is a lazy, alternative rock track–instrumentally speaking–and you’re not even sure what they’re talking about until you get to the very end: they’re looking for somebody they cannot find, and there are some things left unsaid for no particular reason. And then come the coolest lines in the song, made even cooler by the rhyme: “So I look around, you’re nowhere to be found / I’m still trying to get your raw skin cells off the ground.” To provide a raw ending to the song, the lead singer repeats the last lines of the chorus without all the effects added in the studio, as if he was singing it in an acoustic fashion.
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