Listen: Dopamine - Ladysse

Listen: Dopamine - Ladysse

Dopamine arrives like a warm blanket, Ladysse’s vocals hushed against bubbling bass and soft melodic synths. If the verse is a blanket, the chorus is a rush - an upbeat hook that lands a vocal about wanting to “drown in happy” with exactly the sublime darkness you would expect.

Dopamine is a song about the need to constantly chase the high of feeling satisfied… Something that can almost become it’s own driver of unhappiness.

The song was written in Nashville by Ladysse, real name Stephanie Lauren, in collaboration with producers Andrew Hansen and Aaron Ruiz (aka Skyline Brigade). Together they have created something that claims to land at the midpoint between Robyn’s dance sound and St Vincent’s attitude. Lauren’s likeness to St Vincent was something I touched on when Ladysse last appeared on BlackPlastic.co.uk. Overall Dopamine sounds wonderfully fun and approachable, but ultimately has something real to say.

Talking about the song, Lauren says:

“I’ve had a lot of people in my life turn to drugs or substances of some kind to deal with depression and mental health. It’s so hard to watch the ones you care about go down this road. I’ve definitely had my battles with depression and mental health, honestly who hasn’t? I think the message I want this song to bring is that it’s ok to reach out when you need help. It’s ok to be alone and try to deal with your thoughts if that’s what you need. What’s not ok is to turn to things that will ultimately cause more harm than good.”

Listen: Can’t Bring Me Down - PRIZM

Last on these pages in just April with their Carly-Rae-Jepsen-esque single You Should Know, Dallas duo PRIZM are back with another new song in the form of the righteous sounding Can’t Bring Me Down.

Similar to You Should Know, Can’t Bring Me Down embraces 80s-influenced pop but if anything kicks things up another notch. Where PRIZM’s previous song predominantly focused on a strong hook in the chorus, this new song throws everything at you, with a greater emphasis on the production.

The chorus still has a huge hook, and the chants of “No way, no how… Can’t bring me down” in the outro really remind me of the “S-U-C-C-E-S-S” opening from Pat Benatar’s Sometimes The Good Guys Finish First, itself more recently heard sampled on Lifelike’s glorious So Electric. At the same time, the production work creates an even more energetic feel than You Should Know, complete with a bit of a daytime-sax solo… It is the kind of sound that recalls mid-afternoon chat-shows and gameshows from the 80s, in a good way.

Can’t Bring Me Down was specifically written as an antidote to the current upheaval most of us are facing, as the duo explain:

“Can’t Bring Me Down was an idea we had for a power anthem to uplift everyone during a time of change and uncertainty. It was the first of the new songs we wrote for the upcoming album and was the first time we had created something in weeks. We did our usual chocolate snacks and coffee bundled up in a blanket in the studio and began to dig down for something inspiring and fun for our fans to listen to. We put a lot into this song with layers upon layers of ear candy. This song brought us to life again and set the trajectory of creating a full-length album.”

I love the dense detail in the production work, and the sense of determination and enthusiasm really comes though. Check out Can’t Bring Me Down below, and look out for PRIZM’s debut album All Night, due in September via FiXT.

Premiere: Machine - Mearzy

Claiming influences that include Caroline Polachek, FKA Twigs and Carly Rae Jepsen, Mearzy is a New York based solo indie musician making glossy dance-influenced high-energy pop. With a sound described as making you feel “the high of your social studies teacher seating you at the same table as your crush”, there is a jubilant and enthusiatic pleasure to Mearzy’s music.

You can experience that feeling for yourself with Machine, which arrives in a flurry of sharp, tight percussion and analgoue synths. Deep bass booms beneath pitched vocals, creating a rave-like atmosphere that feels retro and yet very in-sync with our times.

Machine is about the experience of missing the one person who makes you feel like you can survive, and the feeling you get when you finally get to see that person. There is an amped up quality to this song - it isn’t nuanced, but the sheer force of will hits you hard. inspires the feeling it depicts with such strength that I couldn’t help but grin whilst dancing along to it… Check out Machine below!

Listen: Live 4ever - Magdalena Bay

Having appeared on BlackPlastic a couple of times over the past year, US-based duo Magdalena Bay are back with their most intensely energetic track yet. Consisting of Mica Tenebaum and Matthew Lewin, the pair came together whilst studying at school to make fun and clever pop music.

Live 4ever is one of those songs that needs big sound and confined space: play this on your headphones, in your car or just on the biggest speaker you can find. That’s because whilst Magdalena Bay’s latest single isn’t subtle, it does boast an extreme amount unbridled excitement that I found infectious. It’s best experienced in a way that makes you literally feel it.

Big rumbling bass combines with hard drums and laser gun sounds to create a starry-eyed pulse-quickening kitchen-sink style record. In just two-and-a-half-minutes, it manages to cram in multiple genres and styles, resulting in something somewhat overwhelming, yet blissfully fun. Check it out below:

Listen: Don’t Look Down - Superheart

Superheart is an established UK songwriter, vocalist and producer who has focused on producing stripped back, dreamlike, electronic pop music. Having achieved success across a number of prior singles, he is back again with Don’t Look Down, a sun-drenched song that feels like floating on water at sunset.

Combining Superheart’s blissful vocals with electronic guitar work, piano and horns, Don’t Look Down creates a warm, 80s-tinged Balearic atmosphere. The song depicts a universally-relatable feeling of determination to stay the course, with Superheart singing:

“I still wake up every morning though a wave may come without a warning...it's okay I just don't look down.”

We are all living in uncertain times and it can be hard to know how to respond. Discussing the song, Superheart says:

“I've written about feeling low or worried before, but this time it was from the perspective that perhaps sometimes you have to lean into whatever you are feeling and accept it rather than trying to fight it or pretend it isn't happening - or even just admit that it is happening.”

Don’t Look Down makes me feel weightless... Sometimes the first step to overcoming the emotional pain we feel is to acknowledge it. Sharing a feeling gives it a tangibility and scale that somehow feels more manageable, and it is that sense that this song created in me. Listening to it makes things feel just a little bit more okay.