Pop essentials and a little bit more

Vanessa Carlton Gives Us A Snapshot Of Times Past With ‘Great House’

April 20, 2026

Following on from our review of ‘Animal’, we bring another track from Vanessa Carlton’s brand new album, ‘Veils’. ‘Great House’ sees Carlton call on the powerful senses of memory and permanence.

Vanessa Carlton Defines The Difference Between Predator And Prey In ‘Animal’

April 20, 2026

The first of two songs we will review today, ‘Animal’ sees Vanessa Carlton examining the untamed side that she, like all of us, hides inside her. The protagonist of the song knows she’s being hunted, yet she also knows she’s an animal too.

Video Review: AC Scott ‘Highlands’, A Quiet, Reflective Companion to a Song About Loss

April 17, 2026

AC Scott’s ‘Highlands’ is the kind of song that stops you in your tracks without ever raising its voice. Built around a delicate piano line and a steady, almost heartbeat-like rhythm, it leans into stillness rather than drama, exploring loss, memory and the strange pull of returning to somewhere that no longer feels the same. It’s deeply personal, but never closed off.

Forget the 9-5: Janet Devlin Unveils Sharp Visualiser for ‘Working For The Man’

April 16, 2026

Tapping nails on a desk, twirling a phone, making calls, and staring at an endless stream of spreadsheets – all while glued to your chair until 5pm – the 9-5 grind can be exhausting. That’s exactly what Janet Devlin’s new music video captures: the boredom, frustration, and monotony that fuel the gritty fan favourite, ‘Working For The Man,’ released last Friday.

Mari Wilson Has Some ‘Good News’ With Latest Single Ahead Of New Album

April 16, 2026

Celebrating 45 years of recording and touring 80s pop icon Mari Wilson – the Neasden Queen of Soul and one of British music’s most enduring and versatile artists, returns with her joyful new single, ‘Good News’. The track is the first release from her upcoming album, ‘Girl About Town’, which is set to drop on the 4th of September this year – her first new album of original material in over 10 years.

NFTS ANNOUNCES NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR COMPOSING TALENT, SUPPORTED BY HANS ZIMMER’S BLEEDING FINGERS MUSIC

April 16, 2026

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) one of the world’s leading training grounds for film, television and games education, today announces the launch of The Bleeding Fingers Scholarship, a new funding initiative supporting students to join its prestigious Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Composing.

Porter Block Reflects On A Fickle World With ‘Gift Or A Curse’

April 16, 2026

Like those artists before them, Porter Block often aim to capture the defining spirit and mood of particular moments in time with their projects. Their nostalgic-tinged guitar pop songs call to mind the golden age of classic rock, and new single, ‘Gift Or A Curse’, is no different in this respect, as Porter Block reflects on the fickle nature of this complicated world.

J.a.y. Young Tells A Tale As Old As Time With ‘Love.hate.’

April 16, 2026

Houston’s J.a.y. Young has been crafting raw and sincere hip hop tracks since 2010, bringing in his words the compelling desire for connection that unites us all as humans. In his latest release, ‘Love.hate’, he tackles what follows when you grow apart from someone who you had always regarded as a true brother.