The latest from @Shoffymusic is a bright dance bop called “Love Ya”

SHOFFY, “Love Ya”

Stepping away from the thoughtful storytelling of recent single “Nightmares in New York” for a second, L.A. based electronic artist Shoffy offers up a bright dance bop this time called “Love Ya”. It’s a straight-forward song about telling your special someone how much they are loved, and how much you want to be around them. It’s also a clever production that abandons its lyrics in favour of its melodic hook for almost the entire last minute of the song. That makes “Love Ya” a bit of an unanticipated rave up. I can see remixers having fun with this one, and not surprisingly the song has already garnered early support, including from Apple music. Oozing positivity, “Love Ya” is from Shoffy’s upcoming album Onward, due next month.

UK-born US-based singer/songwriter @TommyNewport returns with the whimsy of “Tongue and Cheek”

TOMMY NEWPORT, “Tongue and Cheek”

Tommy Newport is a singer/songwriter who is definitely striving to be one of a kind, with enough appeal with his songs not to make him simply a niche artist. He recently supported Australian group Lime Cordiale on a tour, and is back with a new song, “Tongue and Cheek”. This is Tommy’s personable look at not always getting everything right (otherwise it would be called “Tongue in Cheek”), while still making sure you pay attention to what’s going on, which includes having the delight of a new relationship.  You can find Tommy’s music somewhere between Finneas, Foster The People and Conan Gray, with the potential to be as successful as any of them. His easy going vocal style and relaxed sense of songwriting go a long way.

NYC indie rock music project @Reboundernyc releases introspective and funky “Boy Friday”

REBOUNDER, “Boy Friday”

After scoring significant streaming success with the previous infectious single “Japanese Posters” to the tune of around 10 million streams across platforms, NYC indie rock project Rebounder brings you “Boy Friday”. The song may help anyone who is what I call in media res – in the middle of things – in their life, wanting to move forward, but not without remembering the past. So Rebounder manages to successfully channel these complicated thoughts and set it to music. And “Boy Friday” – whose video above offers a travelogue of downtown L.A. – makes a good casual listen, too. It features zippy guitar work and a mid-tempo funky melody, all of which reminds me of Paul Weller’s 80’s pop project The Style Council. Rebounder is led by singer Dylan Chenfeld, who has a likeable voice with a beautiful tone that shifts into slight falsetto, which is part of the song’s appeal. If you enjoy their buddies The Neighbourhood and Alfie Templeman, then you’ll know that “Boy Friday” will go down easy.

Moving on and determination are two key themes of @GreysonChance’s exceptional new single “Athena”

GREYSON CHANCE, “Athena”

After returning home from a successful UK and European tour, Greyson Chance is moving forward boldly with songs from his upcoming album Palladium. He already gave us a taste with the warm and thoughtful softer title track, and now brings us the more ribald, energetic “Athena”. Appropriately, the song is about moving on and being determined to give it all, but still wanting a guiding force accompanying him. So, being a former student of ancient history himself, Greyson calls on the Roman goddess of wisdom and battle strategy to be along for the ride. “Athena” doesn’t mince any words and features one of Greyson’s most engaging vocals, and I’m sure it is going to be a crowd favourite and singalong when he tours North America later this year. 

L.A.-based Canadian singer/songwriter @PeterFoldy is back with his effortless new single “Fun, Fun, Fun”

PETER FOLDY, “Fun, Fun, Fun”

The music world is always a better place when there is a new Peter Foldy song in it! After dropping the auspiciously socially conscious, top notch “Toxic World” months before the pandemic began,  the longtime L.A.-based Canadian talent (who is also a film director and producer) returns with the light and easy-going pop track “Fun, Fun, Fun”. Peter continues the trademark songwriting style that he developed through big domestic hits like “Bondi Junction” and “Roxanne”, with an engaging story as well as a hook that simply doesn’t miss. “Fun, Fun, Fun” accordingly has a tropical, summer vibe and it’s a song that you’ll continue to hum, hum, hum long after the good weather is gone. 

L.A.’s @KaceyFifield scores a personal best with new pop anthem “Like Us” with Albanian producer @MarinHoxha

KACEY FIFIELD and MARIN HOXHA, “Like Us”

After a series of engaging releases through to last month’s “Toxic” comes the latest from L.A. singer/songwriter Kacey Fifield and “Like Us”. With a mature sound and tight, uplifting production by Albania’s Marin Hoxha, “Like Us” scores a personal best to date for Kacey. Co-written once again with the illustrious Robbie Rosen, “Like Us” is a true pop anthem that encourages everyone to unite and stand up for being human. We all make mistakes, fall in and out of love, and don’t always make the right choices, but in the end we are “Us” and sometimes take for granted all of what we do right. “Like Us” boldly celebrates all of us, set to an engaging electronic pop backdrop, with Kacey the growing 17 year old voice to lead it. Be sure to give “Like Us” repeated plays and you’ll certainly feel great afterwards!

Meet L.A.-based singer/songwriter @SUMMYsideup and her post-relationship pop track “Wish I Never Met You”

SUMMY, “Wish I Never Met You”

Meet Summer Ferguson, who performs as Summy, with her new single “Wish I Never Met You”. With a punchy, pitch-perfect vocal that recalls songs by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, the Arizona-born Summy eloquently sings about the aftermath of a past toxic relationship and the healing process that ensues. While there is lots of pain and sorrow between the verses, Summy uses her indie pop song to rise above what’s happened and share her experience with listeners in a sophisticated but direct approach. “Wish I Never Met You” never waivers and the steady, near-anthemic kind of melody makes the song inspiring rather than a downer. And stick around for the ending – a beautiful 20 second emotional vocal coda backed only by minimal piano that will certainly turn heads.

Grammy winning producer @PaulVanDyk and vocalist @ChristianBurns transform @DepecheMode’s “But Not Tonight” into an emotional dance anthem

PAUL VAN DYK and CHRISTIAN BURNS, “But Not Tonight”

When two masters of their craft collaborate to remake a Depeche Mode song, you get a strong impression that it’s going to be something special. I was definitely pleased and surprised when I played “But Not Tonight” to find that it wasn’t an original. But Grammy winner Paul Van Dyk and well-respected vocalist (and producer too) Christian Burns have indeed transformed “But Not Tonight” into an emotional anthem. Paul was the first Grammy winner for Best Dance/Electronic album for Reflections back in 2003, and his classics amid a 25+ year career like “For An Angel”, “Nothing But You”, and my personal fave “Let Go” (#4 on my personal chart in 2008) still resonate today. Christian’s humble beginnings in British pop group BBMak (“Back Here”) led eventually to work with with ace producers like Tiësto (“In The Dark”, #3 on my personal chart in 2007) and BT, as well as his own solo releases, often in the Trance sub-genre. “But Not Tonight” is quite different from Depeche Mode’s original from the 1986 Black Celebration album. Paul has booted up the rhythm and Christian’s smooth and effortless voice takes the song to new heights. I’m sure I’ll be playing this one for years to come!

The new era of @MAXmusic is upon us with slick and soulful “Wasabi”

MAX, “Wasabi”

Although I have my past MAX favourites that will always stick with me, a new MAX era is upon us that began initially with “Gucci Bag” and continues with the slick and soulful “Wasabi”. It’s infectious songs like “Wasabi” that will continue to keep MAX as an in-demand name in concert, where he will always flourish thanks to dynamic and earnest performances which attract a dedicated audience. “Wasabi” is also accompanied by a unique and humorous video where MAX is kidnapped and wife Emily has to save him. So let’s just say that unexpected stuff goes down,  and the video also features singer/actress Alison Stoner. MAX continues to ride his current and deserved wave of success, and I’m hopeful that his refreshing vocal in “Wasabi” might parlay the song onto Top 40 airwaves.

The Thomas Nicholas Band @TINband reworks classic 2000’s Bowling For Soup @BFSrocks as “1999”

THOMAS NICHOLAS BAND and BOWLING FOR SOUP, “1999”

You can’t keep a good song away, and sometimes a refreshing update can give it new life all over again. You know Las Vegas-born Thomas Ian Nicholas from his role as Kevin Myers in the “American Pie” movie. When he’s not acting in film or movies, he performs and tours in his own rock band, The Thomas Nicholas Band. So Thomas has recalibrated Bowling For Soup’s 2005 Top 30 hit rendition of “1985” (which itself was a cover of a song by rockers SR-71) as “1999”. And, in conjunction with BFS, it works like a charm as a timely reflection on growing up in the 90’s instead of the 80’s. Light-hearted rock music like this always finds a soft spot with music audiences, and while “1999” is an independent release, I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t get its own due in some shape and form.