Bratfaced DBLN

Recruiting new members and unleashing top shelf pop bangers at a rate of knots, Babylamb's latest release is the effervescent Mister Magic.

An ode to fleeting moments of being your best self, the track teams sax, synths and sneering vocals with memorable lines like "I am afraid of strangers. I think most men are dangerous... so there."

I'm probably said some version of this last time I shared their music, but it makes me misty-eyed with pride to have an Irish pop act producing music with this level of invention.

Taking musical and visual cues from turn-of-the-millennium boyband culture, Toronto musician Casey MQ's recent album babycasey explores "identity formation through the prism of pop."

Having spent much of my childhood flailing around the living room trying to emulate Take That dance routines, the themes of the record definitely resonate.

Candyboy or Celebrity Crush are probably good entry points, but the entire album is really worth your time.

Promise3 is the musical project of Belgian duo Andras Vleminckx & Brent Dielen. Blending retro eurodance influences (check out their cover of Eiffel 65's Blue) with glitchy future-pop, the duo's musical output is backed by bold visuals beamed in from some queer technicolour utopia.

The Final Fantasy-inspired video for new single Future Funeral is excellent and I recommended checking out their entire back-catalogue.

Contact is the first track to be lifted from I Don't Party Enough Anymore, a collaborative EP from Irish pop prince Jack Rua and San Diego-based musician Saint Taint.

Produced remotely during lockdown, the track explores extremely relatable themes of isolation (reference) and sexual frustration.

Gradually building to a dramatic crescendo, Saint Taint's barbed production is the perfect foil to Jack's sweet pop vocal. I'm excited to hear what the rest of the EP has in store.

I've had Æ MAK's New Friend on heavy rotation the past few weeks.

Lifted from a new three-track EP, the track finds Aoife McCann exploring a darker, spikier sonic palette than her previous work.

The excellent accompanying video, directed by Mark Logan, makes debauchery in Dublin look far sexier than the reality of vomit-splattered cobblestones in Temple Bar.

Elio's Charger turned up on one of my favourite playlists earlier in the year and I remember thinking it sounded like a blend of Realiti by Grimes and some of Charli XCX's more recent material.

Turns out there's a pretty strong connection to Charli, who's been a "creative consultant" for the Welsh singer and recently turned up on a remix of Charger.

The song was brilliant to begin with, but the addition of Charli's verse is the cherry on top.

"Some days I feel good, then I really wanna disappear," sings Slayyyter's on Clouds, capturing the emotional lurches of lockdown life.

The sad-banger, written early in the pandemic, is probably my favourite of a hat-trick of recent releases that point to her debut album, Troubled Paradise, being one of the most exciting pop releases of the year.

If you're not already sold, there's also a Heidi Montag collab to look forward to.

One of the most exciting Irish acts to emerge in recent years, Saint Sister are gearing up for the release of their self-produced second album, Where I Should End, in June.

Dreamy lead single, Karaoke Song, finds the duo exploring new sonic territory, leaning into a shimmering pop sensibility.

The bubblegum-hued music video is lots of fun and I fully support Gemma and Morgana positioning themselves as Ireland’s newest girlband.

You might remember Mette Towley from her starring role in the video for Lemon by N.E.R.D and Rihanna.

Turns out she’s a popstar in her own right and her recent release Petrified (reputedly the first of a string of singles we can expect this year) might just be my favourite pop song so far this year. A slow-burning soft-banger chockful of twists and turns that keep you guessing, the track is accompanied by an exhilarating music video that helps copper-fasten the appeal.

LA garage-pop trio Cherry Glazerr are embracing a new synthier sound on their latest release, Rabbit Hole.

“Try my best not to be disgraceful,” sings Clementine Creevy, over a sample of All Because Of You by The Moderations.

Co-opting that for my new year’s resolution.

I’m hoping to post a lot more in 2021, even if nobody is reading!

I’ve got some nice songs lined up for the next few days but, before then, I wanted to share something that I was very fortunate to work on back in September.

‘Gotta Tell You: Irish Pop in a Pandemic’ features music and chat from Irish popstars CMAT, Jack Rua, PureGrand and Gold Blooded Woman.

Hot on the heels of the iTunes #1 single Black Hole, Eiza Murphy returns with excellent anti-party anthem Taxi.

The Cork singer-songwriter-producer cites Finneas among her influences and the spiky production on this track certainly wouldn’t sound out of place on a Billie Eilish record.

What truly sets the song apart though is Murphy’s dynamic vocal, effortlessly flitting between featherlight and full-bodied in a way that emanates star power.

Having been in demand as a featured vocalist for a few years, Dublin singer Gemma Dunleavy’s debut solo EP finally landed in June of this year. As she explained during a brilliant set at this year’s Another Love Story, each song on the EP explores and interrogates a different stereotype about the part of Dublin’s North Inner City that she’s from.

The R’n’B-inflected title track recently got a video treatment that fully confirms Gemma’s status as one of Ireland’s most exciting popstars.

There’s a deliciously old-school quality to Omar Apollo’s Stayback, which sounds like something Lucy Pearl might have put out at the turn of the millennium.

Arriving on foot of two EPs, the track serves as the lead single for the 23-year-old American singer’s debut album.

The accompanying video, awash with neon and beautiful young people, conjures up a Harmony Korine daydream.

omar apollo · Stayback

Berlin-based singer Finn Ronsdorf recently released his debut EP, Odes, a collection of beautiful torch songs that deliver on the promise of last year’s debut single Ode To A Love Lost.

Reaching for Cold Hands might be my favourite, but I recommend listening right through.

Finn Ronsdorf · Reaching for Cold Hands

Although Tallsaint’s Feel Like Myself was released in February this year, it feels perfectly suited to soundtracking post-pandemic weirdness.

Louisa Osborn’s plea for a mental health day starts off like a pristine PC Music track, before contorting into something more sonically expansive.

Brimming with invention, it’s the latest in a series of exciting releases from the Leeds singer and producer.

Dance to the Radio · Tallsaint - Feel Like Myself

Part of a new wave of Irish artists pushing pop music in interesting directions, PureGrand is the musical alter-ego of Dubliner Luke Faulkner.

Latest single Timeline, written and produced by Faulkner, teams nostalgic musical influences with more contemporary lyrical concerns of millennial isolation.

Faulkner’s dynamic vocal delivery is star of the show and parts of the song remind me of nineties George Michael, which is one of the highest compliments I could possibly pay.