What: "Grumpy electro pop"
Where: Derry
Why: Róisín Donald has just turned drinking age but her list of musical accomplishments is already quite illustrious. A slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury stands out alongside appearances at showcase festivals such as The Great Escape, Other Voices, M for Montreal and Hard Working Class Heroes.
Her recent stuffed set on the Other Voices music trail in Dingle showcased her appeal, with the musician at ease playing multiple instruments at once.
Roe calls her music "grumpy electro pop" but it's a lot less dour than that descriptor sounds. Her songs are anchored by a voice suitable for pop hooks, and Donald isn't afraid to coat her words in effects and surround it with crystalline synths, drum machine beats and guitars. That imaginative pop style is heard on the celestial uplifting pop of Cheek, Boy from her second EP, released last year.
Next up on the release front this month is the single Wasted.Patient.Thinking., a shimmering electronic pop song about "looking after number one", which confirms her pervasive iridescent tone.
“People can be the worst, and you need to take care of yourself before anyone else, otherwise it’s just a whole mess that you don’t deserve to be involved in,” she says of the song. Roe makes that realisation into a pop song you’ll want to repeat.
You have to hear this... Soccer Mommy – Your Dog
Sophie Allison, a 20-year-old Nashville songwriter, has been building a reputation for her bedroom indie-pop music and has had online outlets touting her for success in 2018. "I don't wanna be your f***ing dog that you drag around," Allison sings resolutely of a failing relationship on a preview single from her forthcoming album, Clean, due in March.
You have to hear this... Marcus Marr – High Times
One of DFA Records' new artists released one of the best tunes of 2016 in Rocketship, an electro-robot funk track that brought the Londoner to the attention of many a DJ. His latest single, High Times, goes for a more minimal aesthetic, sounding like a French Touch Daft-Punk-esque house track trying to stay under the radar while remaining under the skin.
