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Yes, it’s a 100% pop song list this time around: indie pop, synth-pop, synthwave, & electro-pop tunes, because sometimes pop rocks! Innocently, yet insidiously, infectious earworms to make you squirm with delight (or, ummm, maybe with distaste for some). ;)
1. Mirror Image – “Sour” – AGT’s (that’s America’s Got Talent to non-watchers) cheeky twin brother turbo-charmers Colton and Trent Edwards, who dance, sang, and generally had a good time on the show, drop their debut EP and this is the title track.
2. Nakita – “Sucka” – An anti-love, electro/synth-pop song by New Zealander Nakita will spin ‘round in your mind for a while…
3. Carter Reeves ft. Abhi The Nomad – “Fly High” – Laid-back, but upbeat island-vibed summer-sunshine goodness (Summer is coming right? I mean, I know ‘winter is coming’, but I’m hoping for a different season!).
4. Boy Pablo – “Losing You” – Breezy and melodic redux with perceptive lyrics about love from the Chilean-Norwegian singer-songwriter Pablo Muñoz. Dare you not to sway to this one.
5. Gunship – “Art3mis & Parzival” – Prime retro-‘80s sythwave from the masters. Their throwback ’80s videos are must-see!
6. By An Ion & Timecop1983 – “Falling Apart” (The New Division Remix) – Classic retro-‘80s sythwave redux. Neon lights, rain-slicked nighttime streets, diaphanous synths, Motorik beat, airy vocal diffusion – This one has it all.
Original version:
7. Fjokra – “Evening Lights” – Fiendishly imaginative, genre-fusing Fjokra (the man, the band) meld pop with a heaping dollop of Muse-like alt-rock (Oops, I guess there is some rock in this list!) and Queen-like vocal harmonies, and more on this amalgamated track.
8. New Feelings – “Real Love” – I know nothing about this artist, except that he’s Swedish. He sounds a bit like Marian Gold (but sharper and deeper vox), the lead singer ’80s “Forever Young” wonder Alphaville, emoting against a synth-pop backdrop.
9. Unbloom – “Chances” – Yep, I think Canadian producer Jonathan Zarola breaks out the Auto-tune for a bit amid the staccato and crisp beats, but that’s okay, right?
10. Keiynan Lonsdale – “Kiss The Boy” – The CW’s The Flash, Divergent, and Love, Simon star Lonsdale drops a new electronic pop tune with relevant lyrics that reflects upon same-sex love and acceptance, a deeply personal message from Lonsdale because he recently came out as bisexual.
11. Madison – “Baller” – Just added this pop firecracker by pop-star-in-a-perfect-world Madison, because the amp knobs go up to eleven” even for pop, right? She rocks pop so hard and cool and fun and meaningful! This new track is no exception. Search for more awesomeness from her with the tag “noiseofmadision”.