Poptastic Confessions

Poptastic Confessions

Friday, October 29, 2021

Toyota City by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Parralox on their 5th consecutive Friday of releases. This time, it is with the track "Toyota City." In case you missed the previous 4 releases, Parralox have remade the Human League's 1980 album Travelogue, and they are releasing one track every Friday spanning 17 weeks. 


"Toyota City" is an instrumental track. Well, there might be some vocals saying words, but it is not your standard verse/chorus song. It's a lovely hypnotic mid-tempo number. Check out the music video with vintage footage here ...


"Toyota City" was written by Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware, Phil Oakey, and Philip Adrian Wright. It was produced by John von Ahlen. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear "The Black Hit Of Space""Only After Dark", and "Life Kills""Dreams Of Leaving" there. Enjoy!




Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Monday, October 25, 2021

Can We Be Friends? by Carda × Alius

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Carda is back with a brand new track called "Can We Be Friends?" and it is a with an artist by the name of Alius. We weren't familiar with Alius so we will be checking them out after this!



"Can We Be Friends?" starts off a slow song with a female vocal. We asked Carda who was singing, and he told us that the singer wanted to remain anonymous. How mysterious! Whoever she is, she gives a great vocal performance. The music picks up the beats during the first chorus and the build continues to the chorus where you will want to belt it out and sing along. Have a listen ...



"Can We Be Friends?" was written by Adrian Cardamone (Carda), Liam Quinn, Lisa Goldworthy, and Sebastian Ivanov (Alius). It was produced by Carda, Quinn, and Alius. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. We've added it our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear Carda's previous single with Liam Ferrari called "Giving You Half" there. Enjoy!


Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Renderings—The Alex Di Ciò Remixes by Jody Watley

Dear Poptastic Readers,

The Queen of Cool Jody Watley has released a new EP today called Renderings—The Alex Di Ciò Remixes and it features her new single "Not A Single Day Goes By."


The first track is Jody's new single "Not A Single Day Goes By" which is a song about remembering someone who has passed on. It's not typical sad song, but a song about missing that someone special. It feels more accepting of the loss than sadness. The song has a very prominent guitar part, which was played by Levi Seacer formerly of Prince's NPG. Have a listen ...


"Whenever" is the next song on the EP. This wonderful feel-good song is originally from Jody's fantastic album Midnight Lounge. It was released as a single in 2003 and it is firm favourite of ours. This is a really nice new remix. It has such a great vibe to it.


"A Beautiful Life" is an amazing song about self empowerment. It was taken from her album The Makeover and it was released as a single in 2008. Alex's mix stays true to the original version giving it some added pep.


"Clouds" is another song taken from her Midnight Lounge album. This song is rather dreamy and the new mix just adds to that atmosphere. See what we did there? haha. This is really chill.

"More" is the final track on the EP and it is also from Jody's Midnight Lounge album. This lovely RnB groove is about wanting more out of love than what you are currently getting. It's a great mix.


"Not A Single Day Goes By" was written by Jody Watley. Produced by Jody Watley and Rodney Lee. Mixed by Alex Di Ciò. All of the other songs were written and produced by Jody Watley and Rodney Lee. Mixed by Alex Di Ciò.

 Renderings—The Alex Di Ciò Remixes is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! You can steam the EP here ...



We've added "Not A Single Day Goes By" to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on SpotifyEnjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Dreams Of Leaving by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Parralox on their 4th consecutive Friday of releases. This time, it is with the track "Dreams Of Leaving." In case you missed the previous 3, Parralox have remade the Human League's 1980 album Travelogue, and they are releasing one track every Friday spanning 17 weeks. We realized last week that we will only be able to cover the first 10 or 11 tracks this year. In December, we stop featuring new music for our year-end countdown. We'll have to catch up with the December releases in January.


"Dreams Of Leaving" is almost 7 minutes. The first 3+ minutes are a standard mid-tempo pop song, then it goes all wonky in the middle before it comes back again. John is on lead vocals and we quite like this. To be honest, we don't remember the Human League's version. The music video is filled lots of 80s goodness clips. Have a look ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMVFq2wd0jQ

"Dreams Of Leaving" was written by Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware, Phil Oakey, and Philip Adrian Wright. It was produced by John von Ahlen. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear "The Black Hit Of Space""Only After Dark", and "Life Kills" there. Enjoy!




Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Poptastic Confessions Interview with John von Ahlen of Parralox in 2015


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Thursday, October 21, 2021

Give It All Up by Duran Duran featuring Tove Lo

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Duran Duran have released their fifth single from their forthcoming album Future Past. The new song is called "Give It All Up" and features Swedish artist Tove Lo.


"Give It All Up" is sort of a space age ballad, and a duet as Simon takes the first verse and Tove sings the second verse, and they both come in for bits in the middle. It is a good song, but seems a bit long in clocking in at just over 5 minutes. It could stand a radio edit. Have a listen ...


"Give It All Up" was written by Erol Alkan, Graham Coxon, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor. It was produced by Erol Alkan and Duran Duran. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. We've added it our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You will also hear "Tonight United""Anniversary""More Joy!""Invisible", and "Five Years" on the playlist. Enjoy!

ALSO: Duran Duran earlier this week premiered their music video for "Anniversary." Click on the link to see it!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Time (Hearts Full Of Love) by Erasure

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Erasure are back with new music. Their latest single is called "Time (Hearts Full Of Love)" and it is from their new EP called Ne:EP.



"Time (Hearts Full Of Love)" is a lovely mid-tempo synth pop song about being in love. The music video features singer Andy Bell's image projected on urban and natural places. Have a look and listen ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFXFtGaCWw

"Time (Hearts Full Of Love)" was written and produced by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke (aka Erasure). It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on SpotifyEnjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Friday, October 15, 2021

Life Kills by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Parralox on their 3rd consecutive Friday of releases. This time, it is with the track "Life Kills." In case you missed the previous 2, Parralox has remade the Human League's 1980 album Travelogue, and they are releasing one track every Friday spanning 17 weeks. We just realized that we will only be able to cover the first 10 or 11 tracks this year. In December, we stop featuring new music for our year-end countdown. We'll have to catch up with the December releases in January.


So, if you are a Parralox fan, then you know that they have already released "Life Kills" on their Holiday '19 album. In fact, we reviewed that album back in May of 2020. We are happy to tell you that the version released today is NOT the exact same version they previously released, but instead more a peppy remix. It has more added synths and the music is quite fun. John gives a great vocal performance, too. We've loved Parralox's original version, and we are quite liking this new mix. Have a look at the fun music video that features goths dancing by a pond ...


"Life Kills" was written by Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware, Phil Oakey, and Philip Adrian Wright. It was produced by John von Ahlen. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear "The Black Hit Of Space" and "Only After Dark" there. Enjoy!




Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Please follow Parralox and Poptastic Confessions on social media ...

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Poptastic Confessions Interview with John von Ahlen of Parralox in 2015


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Thursday, October 14, 2021

Come Rain, Come Shine and Love Like I've Never Been Hurt by Kristian Kaspersen

Dear Poptastic Readers,

We got a bit behind this summer on some new music and Swedish artist Kristian Kaspersen has released songs since June. D'oh! So better late than never, we are featuring his songs "Love Like I've Never Been Hurt" and "Come Rain, Come Shine."


We'll start with "Love Like I've Never Been Hurt" because it was released back at the end of June. It is a great dance pop song that is about heartbreak, but is also feels very empowering. Check out the music video where Kristian walking away from a town ...




Next up is "Come Rain, Come Shine" and it has a very Ace Of Base feel to it. It isn't really reggae pop, but it does have a fun rhythm. Kristian gives a great vocal performance. Watch the music video by a pool and a drink here ...


"Love Like I've Never Been Hurt" was produced by Peter Hägerås. "Come Rain, Come Shine" was produced by Emil Hallman (aka SoundFactory). Both are available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copies today! We've added both to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Friday, October 8, 2021

Only After Dark by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

We know it was only yesterday that we told you that Parralox have remade the Human League's 1980 album called Travelogue and they are releasing a song every Friday for the next 17 weeks. We were almost a week late yesterday with "The Black Hit Of Space." Today is the release of the song "Only After Dark." 


We just learned by this release that "Only After Dark" is not an original Human League song. It is cover originally recorded by Mick Ronson in 1974. The Human League released their cover as a single in May of 1980. It didn't exactly set the charts on fire as it didn't actually chart anywhere. Parralox does a great job with the cover. John gives a grand lead vocal performance. The music video is some footage of some women dancers from a long, long time ago. Have a look ...




"Only After Dark" was written by Mick Ronson and Scott Richardson. It was produced by John von Ahlen. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on SpotifyEnjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Thursday, October 7, 2021

The Black Hit Of Space by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Parralox is back with an interesting concept. They have remade the Human League's 1980 album called TravelogueAs an added bonus, they are releasing a song every week for the next 17 weeks. We are already one week late (d'oh!) as the first song "The Black Hit Of Space" was released last week.


"The Black Hit Of Space" is a fun song with John on lead vocals. To be honest, we forgot what the original sounded like, but we are loving this new version. Parralox also has video with subtitles written by the group to the fans and viewers. We learn in the subtitles that they tried to imagine what Travelogue had sounded like if legendary producer Martin Rushent had produced it. He did produce their acclaimed album Dare! with the mega-hit "Don't You Want Me." Here is the Parralox video ...




"The Black Hit Of Space" was written by Ian Craig Marsh, Martyn Ware, Phil Oakey, and Philip Adrian Wright. It was produced by John von Ahlen. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on SpotifyEnjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Please follow Parralox and Poptastic Confessions on social media ...

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The Tipping Point by Tears For Fears

Dear Poptastic Readers,

In a strange coincidence, we mentioned Tears For Fears in our blog post yesterday about Kylie and Years & Years new song, and today there is a new single from Tears For Fears! Did we know? Well, no. But maybe we knew there was new music in the pipeline. But we didn't know it would be this week. The new song is called "The Tipping Point."


We have actually featured Tears For Fears in Poptastic Confessions once before in 2017 with their song "I Love You But I'm Lost." We are big fans of the group, especially their first 3 albums that were released in the 1980s. In the early 90s, Curt Smith left the band after some minor members (we still miss Ian Stanley) had already left. Roland Ozabal carried on the band name, but was largely seen as a solo artist. Curt and Roland got back together for their 2004 album Everybody Loves A Happy Ending.


Tears For Fears pictured in 1985 are Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith

So what is the new song like? Well, it has a very long intro that lasts a full minute. We'd love a radio edit with that minute back please. But once the song gets going, it turns into a haunting pop song with a lovely melody. The music isn't as rock as their last outing and it nice to hear some synths again. Both Roland and Curt sing their vocals together, which makes for a very rich sound. As for the video, we weren't prepared to see Roland with white hair and beard! We knew that Curt had been silver for awhile now. Well, people are allowed to age! Check out the video here ...


"The Tipping Point" was written by Charlton Pettus and Roland Orzabal. It was produced by Tears For Fears, Sacha Skarbek, and Florian Reutter. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on SpotifyEnjoy!



Something Kinda Funny,
—Albert Green

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Wednesday, October 6, 2021

A Second To Midnight by Kylie Minogue and Years & Years

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Kylie Minogue is back with a brand new single called "A Second To Midnight" and features the solo artist Olly Alexander who goes by the name Years & Years. (Ed note: Years & Years used to be a band, but all the other members left. So it is just Olly now. It's kinda like when Tears For Fears was only Roland.)


"A Second To Midnight" is a slice of fantastic disco pop. The lyrics talk about dancing on New Years Eve on 1999. Back then, we didn't know if the power would stop when the clocks turned 2000 because earlier computers weren't programmed for the four digit year to change. So it was an exciting time to see what would happen. The song features Kylie on the first verse and Olly on the second. The music video is quite good, too. Look closely, as you will see glimpses of them dressed up as each other. Have a look and listen ...



"A Second To Midnight" was written by Biff Stannard, Duck Blackwell, Kylie Minogue, Martin Sjølie, and Olly Alexander. It was produced by Biff Stannard and Duck Blackwell. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear these other 2021 Kylie songs there: "Real Groove" and "Dance Floor Darling." Enjoy!



Cheers then,
—Davearama

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Friday, October 1, 2021

Silver Balloons by Little Boots

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy October! It's been a couple of years since we heard from English artist Little Boots, but she is back with a new song called "Silver Balloons."

"Silver Balloons" is a lovely electropop number. It has a nice melody and Little Boots' sweet vocals are endearing. The music video was filmed in Blackpool, which is also the hometown of Little Boots. Have a look ...


"Silver Balloons" was written and produced by Victoria Hesketh (aka Little Boots). It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. We've added it our 2021 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. WOO!



Love, Truth & Honesty,
—Sausi O'Sullivan

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