We’re not even half way through January yet and my inbox is already flooded with SWEET SWEET music. Hey! No complaints here! Sure, my last whopper of a ‘Promising Pop‘ feature only came out a few days ago, but #sorrynotsorry! That only speaks to the volumes upon volumes of catchy a-f earworms I’ve been bombarded with these past few days. I told you 2016 was going to be a good year for pop, and SO FAR SO GOOD!

In this edition of Promising Pop, I present you Kiiara, in her SECOND ‘Promising Pop‘ feature and her THIRD overall appearance on the blog. Next up I have a promising new duo from the West Coast who actually mention Kiiara as one of their influences. It only seemed natural that I pair these guys together. Alright, enough chit-chat. LET’S GO!

KIIARA

Ever since delivering her lightning bolt of a debut (“Gold“) just six months ago, singer/songwriter Kiiara has been billowing and brooding over the blogosphere like a massive electric storm—shooting down SMASH after SMASH. Her latest electrically-charged jam, “Say Anymore” reunites the former hardware store clerk from Illinois-turned enigmatic electronic-pop diva with her “Gold” hitmaker, LA-based producer Felix Snow (Leona Lewis, Gallant, SZA). “Say Anymore” is actually Kiiara‘s fourth Felix Snow collaboration, following “Gold,” “Tennessee,” and “Feels,” co-produced by Brenton Duvall. “From the nightclub to be bedroom floor / I never felt quite like this before / It’s your eyes that I really adore / If I say anymore, if I say anymore,” Kiiara coos, her spectral staccato flitting and floating over Snow’s trademark glitchy electronic beats like a musical phantasm. To say I’m ready for an album would be an understatement.

For the time being “Gold” is the only song available on streaming/download services right now, but I have a feeling that will all be changing shortly. Just last week Atlantic Records casually Tweeted a link to an article on The Fader, proclaiming Kiiara as an artist “You Need To Know About in 2016,”—this DESPITE any sort of formal press release or signing announcement from the label. There’s another storm a’brewin’ and Kiiara is its lightning queen. Get ready world.

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PARALEXIS

Paralexis is an exciting new electronic pop duo hailing from the Seattle area. They describe their absolutely hypnotic new song, “Freefall” as “Japanese galactic dream pop.” SOLD! The song is an alluringly synthful duet, featuring plenty of shimmery vocal effects, mesmerizing harmonies and beautifully layered production work. Inspired by a contemporary crop of current electronic-pop and R&B artists like ASTR, LIZ and Kiiara—Paralexis sites Odesza as one of their dream collaborators. Currently attending college at the University of Washington and Seattle University respectively, Paralexis for the time being make their dreamy brand of synthpop in between classes, in dorm rooms and in study lounges – in other words – ANYWHERE THEY CAN, which is pretty impressive actually. If they can make slick electro-pop like this in a dorm room, imagine what they could come up with in a proper studio! When it comes to describing their vibe, “we like to think of our music as dramatic with kind of dark lyrics all wrapped in a dreamy, lighter production,” the band tells me in an email. In addition to “Freefall,” Paralexis has two songs on YouTube—”Starlight” and “Gun Metal,” the latter which has amassed nearly 16,000 listens so far! Can’t wait to see what these guys do next.

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