SEARCH FOR: FUNERAL

10. Typo – Kuru My insecurities with recency bias are unfortunately forcing me to place this song at the bottom of the list, but if I wasn’t so concerned with that it would certainly be placed much higher. Kuru is a prodigy of modern pop music, and though I could’ve picked any number of his singles throughout 2020 for this list, he has never made anything quite like “Typo,” plain and simple. It had to be placed on this list out of respect among anything else. Kuru was able to spin the usually-brash and detail-lacking stylistics of drill music into an atmospheric pop ballad that showcases one of the single best performances from a solely vocal perspective all year. This hook is genuinely unreal — defying all set conventions in order to craft something that will stick in the memories of this entire year as we look back on it in the future. The instrumental carries that exact same demeanor with it as well, just bursting with atmosphere and thematic weight all the same with its soaring synths and aforementioned drill-centric drums. This is a song that is unforgettable in ways that most other tacks couldn’t even comprehend nor at the …

Despite the youthful and free-spirited nature that the grand majority of acts within the upcoming next wave of pop music exude on a day to day basis, they have come to deliver tracks upon tracks that do nothing else but solidify a sense of both comfort and confidence while still keeping those former tendencies ever-so-true. This methodology mostly stems from how effortlessly they come to flaunt their extremely apparent talents, as it truly seems as though they are all in full realization of how incredibly gifted they all are, and instead of hiding that fact even in the slightest, they use it to their advantage to make far more gripping and appealing offerings in the process. That notion is exactly what the trio of Funeral, Yurms, and Angelus have expertly communicated in the most vivid fashion on their latest song together entitled “That’s Ok!” — a straightforward yet momentous track that is without question a highlight of the already-stacked year that each of these three have had thus far. The three deliver their confidence-bursting verses over yet another remarkable job on production from 4am, who flaunts his always apparent versatile nature here with a beat that does very little to …

When I was first put onto My Favorite Color a few months ago, I enjoyed what I heard but I wasn’t sure what to expect from him in the future. The first song I heard was entitled “Funeral”, and it was a simplistic, introspective look into what MFC could speculate would happen after his passing. I thoroughly enjoyed the track even though it’s not the typical style that I listen to, but then he dropped his debut album Velma, and I couldn’t believe my ears. He had so many different sounds and styles throughout this entire album, and I couldn’t fathom the dexterity that he brought to the table, so after hearing that project, I became an instant fan and questioned why I was even slightly skeptical in the first place. One of my favorite songs off of the project was called “Hooray!”, and its jazzy, soulful, fun-loving aesthetic drew me in from the moment I heard the initial guitar riff. I’m so excited that MFC is keeping the fun going as well as the momentum he has built up with the release of a brand-new music video for this unbelievable record. He takes us through various decades, going in …

In any rising music scene – regardless of its perceived level of meaning and/or significance – the act of properly noting landmark moments is an absolute necessity in both evaluating how that very scene has progressed to the point where it has today, and also predicting where it might go from here.  These moments are certainly seldom for any musical movement in this light, there is simply no doubting that — but when a scene finds themselves transfixed with the approach of saturating the market with single after single from a seemingly endless amount of emerging acts, these all-too-momentous events become slightly easier to pick out, but are that much more exlusive in the process.  That is exactly where Blackwinterwells had found herself within this incredibly prolific next era of pop music in the recent past. She has essentially been the world that this scene has revolved around since its earliest signs of resurgence, what with her all-encompassing and blatantly consistent production work across the landscape as it stood, so it’s only fitting that she’d be the one to come through with an equally encompassing full-length project of her own to serve as one of those landmark events in its …

A common trait amongst nearly every member of this ever-rising next generation of pop music is their willingness to put their own spin and expand upon quite a wide variety of previous pop stylistics. This notion not only proves that these acts are not only learned students of the game, but ones who also know what their defining sound is and are convincingly ready and willing to apply this status to any venture they take on. Funeral is certainly an act who can say he does this on more than a routine occasion; it’s practically the name of his very own game at this point. His most recent string of singles has showcased a wide variety of sounds in styles — all differentiating themselves from each other song by song. They have all tackled different angles of this endless pop world that he finds himself either paying homage to, or conclusively defining all the same. His latest in this string is entitled “Talk2Me” — and it’s yet another divergent foray into that aforementioned world as it stands. This track is far more energetic and grooving than his most recent offerings, as it takes after a more alternative-based style in regards …

Progression, collaboration, and passion; these are three terms that most prominently encompass what is shaping up to be the next wave of pop music heading into the future. It is a movement that is set to live and die by these concepts, and the most talented acts at the forefront of it have not only proven their status by simply making incredible music in this light, but also by being forces of their own in stressing and accentuating what those terms truly mean. Though this movement is wide-ranging and all-encompassing, few acts can truly call themselves a certified “matchmaker,” or even just someone who’s brought people together in a way that creates nothing short of substantial change within this community as it has come to be. One would certainly be remiss to leave a figure like Kmoe out of that discussion, because the influence that he has had over this very scene combined with his sheer musicality alone proves nothing else other than the fact that he’s not only able to hold this status, but also be one of the most provocative and prolific ones to lay claim to it in the first place. The Canadian prodigy out of Vancouver, …

Though the underground pop scene is progressing forward at a convincingly rapid rate, that does not mean there isn’t room for the artists who make up this landscape to constantly try new and off the cuff things with their sound, style, or a little bit of both at the same time.    To say that one of this genre’s most premiere and ever-rising stars in Funeral has practically made a career out of doing exactly this – and only this – is a complete and utter understatement. It is tellingly difficult to pinpoint an exact signature style that he has hampered on for a given amount of time simply due to how divergent of an artist he really is with each successive song, project, or other item he drops.   And as if this trend had any reason to break in the first place, he has just followed up his previous single – the excitingly manic and resounding “Crash Tonight” – with a guitar-tinged alt-pop ballad in “Tooslow.”   Though this track certainly marks yet another new sonic direction for Funeral, what with its focus on that aforementioned main guitar riff along with its more upfront and vivid percussion choices, …

As wifisfuneral began to drop singles leading up to his album PAIN?, my anticipation grew more and more. Each single showed off a different side of the Florida hitmaker that we might not have been used to seeing, but I knew we were in for something truly special. Now that the album has been out for a couple of weeks, I’ve had time to go back and revisit the project a few times, and every new listen makes the album even better, in my opinion. His dexterous skills are abundant, and his emotions are at the forefront of every song. Sometimes these feelings shine through with sadness or depression while other times there is lust and passion, but no matter what song you’re listening to, wifi doesn’t hold back a single feeling from listeners. One of my personal favorites off of the album has to be “Backache”, and although it is definitely more of a sexual, erotic cut, his melodies and aptitudes are on full display. Considering I’ve already talked about the song when the album first dropped, I’m not going to go into heavy detail, but we have recently been gifted a brand-new music video for this hit and …

Wielding unbridled honesty, raw emotion, and an experimental sonic style, bloody white has made his presence known. The Santa Barbara, California-native has finally released his first, six-track EP, you’d walk right over me. Combining his brand of emo-pop singed with electronic elements, the jack-of-all-trades who produces, writes, sings, mixes, and even masters all his work plants a poignant flag in the ground that screams; I am here.  The 14-minute project embodies unfiltered emotions that draw on bloody white’s high school years and the flurry of emotions felt throughout life’s most formative moments. Feelings of betrayal and heartbreak are translated through songs like the project’s opener, “gravity,” overdosing,” and “funeral.” In contrast, songs like “tongue tied” and “first time” embodies upbeat energy that feels both nostalgic and enduring of not only life’s weight but of growing up and the complex feelings that attach themselves to adolescence. Alongside the release of his newest EP, bloody white also shared a five-minute animated short film that further texturizes the feelings of empty loss and monotonous wandering. Snippets of the project’s records come to life in the pencil-drawn style of the video that follows an animated bloody white throughout a day reminiscing, heated arguments, and reconciliation. Watch …

Since things have gotten serious for the grander state of underground pop music, various artists have been capitalizing on this increased exposure in a variety of manners. Especially as of late, there have been so many instances of songs coming out within this scene that have genuinely sounded like no other track in existence, in turn creating a platform of boundless acts waiting to flaunt their elevated work.  An act who’s always been considered as forward-thinking and unique as they come within this movement is Funeral, but even their past work cannot stand up to the track they’ve just come through with — the exciting, breathtaking, and simply remarkable “Crash Tonight.” Put bluntly, this is a track unlike anything to ever grace the pop world as it stands. Funeral combines an unmatched sense of harmony, bone-chilling vocal tones, and themes of pure and utter despair from a lyrical perspective into a brief explosion of a track that stands alone as a singular experience.  The thematic elements of this track shine through first, as Funeral takes a lyrical method often found in most grunge/alternative tracks some 20 years ago in their rapid and sudden contradictions of things they have just said …