Listen: Bad by Oleyada

Described as Lily Allen meets The OC soundtrack meets David Lynch, Bad is the latest single from Canadian artist Oleyada.

With distinctive West Coast vibes, Bad was written in Los Angeles with Grammy-nominated product Rodrigo Martins. Whilst the song rides syrupy, laid-back melodies, the sweetness is deceptive, with lyrics that betray LA’s more sinister side. The dreams of celebrity and success may be alluring, but Oleyada hints at something darker, hence those references to The OC and Lynch. The easy-going atmosphere of Bad is what draws me in, but it is the biting lyrics that gives the song some depth.

Recording music in her bedroom studio, the Uruguayan descended artist’s musical craft was self-taught. Rather than pursuing classical theory, Oleyada chases sounds she feels instinctively, even if she can’t fully explain them.

Check out Bad below:

Listen: How I Do by V!ctoria

Based in New York, singer, songwriter, and musician V!ctoria has just unveiled How I Do, a heartfelt single that rides a wave of gentle instrumentation and emotive vocals.

Having spent the best part of six years making music professionally, V!ctoria recently took a step back to refine her craft and artistic vision. Resisting the urge to be pigeonholed, she has actively embraced a style that spans genres, from R&B to indie and alternative, her sound is fluid and evolving.

On How I Do, this manifests in a stripped back sound that centres on a steely guitar riff, as V!ctoria’s vocals ask for a moment, and for the space to express herself. Written, recorded and produced in her bedroom, How I Do has a disarming depth, taking inspiration from the experience of ‘doing something out of character just to feel close to someone you’ve lost’.

Set atop an upbeat dance-influenced melody, the core of the song remains emotionally resonant. Vocals grasp at fragments that feel like rituals — ‘I grind my teeth on cigarettes, just to taste your lips again’ — partly a way of processing, but also maybe an attempt to shift reality and influence outcomes. The result is vulnerable and honest, and just a little courageous.

Listen: Eyes First by Sad Alex feat. Grayson Foster

Arriving with the kind of upbeat percussion and soft synth pads that quicken my pulse, Eyes First is a song about falling head over heels for someone from the first moment you see them.

Eyes First is the latest single from new artist Sad Alex. Pursuing her art through not just her music, but also through drawing, Sad Alex has taken to producing the artwork for her releases by her own hand. Together with Grayson Foster, Sad Alex has turned in a song that bubbles with the excitement and energy of a kind of irresistible attraction. It is the kind of obsession where the more you get to know someone, the more it feels like they are the perfect match for you.

Embracing a kind of 80s plastic sheen, I can’t help but feel buoyed by Eyes First’s desperate affection, where even the pain it describes only exists because of how wonderful something feels it could be. Together, Foster and Sad Alex have made a pretty great little pop song, and I’m here for it.

Watch: vdm by emilyldn

Arriving in my inbox this week, alongside a notable lack of uppercase letters and a little sass, is this release from London-based emerging talent, emilyldn.

Obliquely titled vdm, the track is a blend of sharp percussion, filtered synths and glitchy melodies. With elements that remind me of the likes of Kieran Hebden, emilyldn has conjured a piece of electronic bass with elements of witch house but comes lands in a much lighter place. We end up with something like electronic jazz, like a freeform string-percussion collaboration.

Emily herself is a bit of an enigma at this stage, simply billing her music as ‘for fans of: having a journal, forgetting your umbrella at home, random tube delays’. So far, so very London. Check out vdm below.

Listen: Silencieux Témoins by Monde Ray

Monde Ray is the musical solo project of French artist Manon Guiol, and here she unveils new single Silencieux Témoins.

Riding on a wave of heavy synths, Silencieux Témoins is a deep slice of electronic R&B, leveraging darkwave and EBM bass tones. Crisp drums punch, soaking the listener in wet reverb, all whilst Guiol’s French vocal creates a cinematic atmosphere that oscillates between a dark paranoia and an ethereal uncertainty. She gives way to the song’s hook, however — her voice silenced to make way for a dark, instrumental chorus.

There is an appropriate sense of aloofness at play on Silencieux Témoins, reflecting the fact the song is concerned with ‘the superficiality of certain relationships, particularly when entering a new environment where no one truly knows you’. This is a song that deliberately keeps you at arms length, mysterious, dark and unwilling to fully let you in, yet capable of captivating the listener all the same.

Having made music since childhood, Guiol learnt classical piano and music theory before shifting towards electronic composition and production. Initially working under the name Manone, focusing on darker electronic sounds, she joined dream pop outfit Tender Tones as composer, keyboardist, and vocalist. In 2023, Manon made a move south from Paris, and at the same time embraced 80s textures and EBM, completing her transition into Monde Ray.

Check out Silencieux Témoins below: