STOP EVERYTHING: Slow Dance- Photocomfort

Photocomfort sounds like a band carved straight from Scandinavian icefloats, all chilly harmonies and impressively precise production; every element in latest song Slowdance, is perfectly placed to ensure the contrast between controlled, compact verse and delicately blooming chorus is thrown into stark relief. But they actually hail from Boston, Massachusetts so maybe it’s just raw talent and 3 pairs of excellent ears for sublime electropop. Equally impressive is previous single Not Love; frontwoman Justine Bowe stretches her wonderfully expressive vocals across slapping, stormy beats courtesy of bandmates Gabe Goodman and Will Radin.  Photocomfort possess a spark that’s obvious to even a casual listener and these guys have already supported Glass Animals, MS MR and earned a prestigious play on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show. Basically: they’re not to be sniffed at.

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STOP EVERYTHING: Seventeen & Outlaws- Alessia Cara

Right now we’re blessed to be living in an epoch that prizes standout pop tracks- yes the charts might be playing the same old Waze & Odyssey boring bass beats but on the internet it’s clever lyricism paired with an infectious melody that is really ruling the roost. Taylor Swift, for all her faults, can write a bloody good pop song. Carly Rae Jepsen too has recently been heralded for her ability to pen euphoric earworms that also carry emotional heft. Pop is no longer dismissed as fluffy fare- it’s a serious, thinkpiece prompting business. And now we have Alessia Cara, newly minted 18 year old and already responsible for one of the biggest buzz tracks of the year with Here, her painfully accurate depiction of 90% of the house parties you’ve ever attended. It wasn’t a fluke.

FRESH NEW KICKS: Sharpness- Jamie Woon

By now it seems relatively safe to dub Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio a comprehensive success. Artists are premiering exclusive content over the airwaves at a rate that probably has Jay Z crying into a handkerchief worth more than your entire wardrobe. OVO, FKA twigs and Pharrell are just a sample of musicians choosing to drop new tunes on their own shows without so much as a hint of a pre-order option on iTunes. And thankfully, that has led us to this happy occurence: Jamie Woon, the original sonic mould for thousands of Soundcloud electronic R&B artists, has returned to rescue us from the musical doldrums with a brand new track that Pharrell cheekily decided to air on his Beats 1 slot, without Woon’s prior knowledge. Then Disclosure followed suit by showcasing it on Radio 1 and now the song has finally made it online for you to listen at your leisure.