Future Vibrations: There's still time for a Valentine!
- blondevibrations
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
February may be drawing to a close, but there is certainly still time to discover something new in your life. In fact, here at Blonde Vibrations HQ, we have a sneaking suspicion that love actually is
everywhere, in the music you have not yet heard. We think you might just fall in love with the artists selected for February’s Future Vibrations.
‘STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN’ by Alfreda arrives with glamour. What begins as a fleeting image, ‘me on the tube catching someone looking at the hole in my tights and then seeing the song from his perspective’, becomes something far more theatrical in her hands. It explores voyeurism flipped into performance art. There is a delicious audacity in the concept whereby she takes the male gaze and narrates it back with a raised brow. The verses lean into more spoken-word lyrical reflection, then the chorus opens up to something expansive, celestial. Alfreda’s approach to craft feels innovative and exaggerative, cabaret theatrics made into something even more visionary. While you can hear the old-school influence, its the chic, high-gloss production that makes it feel so now. It feels like Alfreda is set to face the same come-up as Chappell Roan and we really hope the world sees the stardom in this artist immediately.
‘Falling’ by Romanie exhales a story in a diaristic way. She traces the realisation of falling for the wrong person with bruised clarity and slow fractures, as she reflects that it ‘felt like it was more of an omen of my own breaking down’. The track sits within the emotional architecture of ‘It’s Not That Funny’, an album that moves between the deeply personal and the politically urgent with a steadiness and vulnerability, as she allows herself space to reflect on being human. The honesty makes this record feel rich, confessional without cushioning its necessary truth. Another standout is the devastatingly poignant ‘Power At Play’, written in response to ‘the 95th woman being killed at the hands of a man in Australia that year.’ It feels stark, but Romanie gives this weight and fury, not allowing it to seem like something abstract. Closing on this song felt intentional, now allowing you to walk away without thinking back to its message and sit with the discomfort. Romanie’s presence feels vital.
For fans of Alessi Rose and Olivia Rodrigo, it’s time to tune into BERENICE and her latest release, ‘Wifey Material’. Framed as the ‘audition tape of 21st Century womanhood,’ she performs the role of the perfect girlfriend like it is a casting call or package to perfection and ready for dispatch. She bends and snaps expectations not by loudly rejecting them, but by embodying them so convincingly they begin to look absurd. The performance becomes a mirror. Sonically, it is catchy and commanding, but there is seniority in the delivery, she understands the systems she’s critiquing. The irony is calculated rather than flippant. The result is a track that feels playful on the surface but quietly radical in its execution, ruthless and real from the get go. BERENICE carries a bite in her sound and it makes us truly excited to see what else she has up her sleeve as whatever direction she turns to next, we just know she will completely own her narrative.
‘Circles’ by Blondeting feels like afterglow at 2am, a suspended moment built on a gorgeous rhythmic undercurrent. The track pulses to carry you through a spiralling loop which mirrors the emotional repetition at its core. At heart, ‘Circles’ captures the exhaustion of loving someone who keeps one foot out the door, skimming the surface where depth is required. The song seems to whisper what the relationship cannot, that emotions should not be carried alone or avoided, and these obstacles can be overcome with communication. The sound does not feel intrusive, but you are instead immersed into this world that Blondeting has created. The intricate, atmospheric layering feels expansive and freeing, it allows this spiral but also an ultimate release and it is beautiful. Keep an eye out for an oversized Nokia 3310 in the future, if you see this, Blondeting will not be far behind.
‘Sunglasses’ by Lelia struts in with an elusive yet confident, magnetic energy that feels engineered for sticky dance floors and ego boosts. The track drives with a heavy synth bass and an attitude that runs through it, creating an intentionally unbothered feel. It is both glam and abrasive enough to leave a mark. Lelia’s vocals cut through the production with a smirk, as though she is constantly steps ahead of whoever she is addressing. It demand reaction and late night urgency, we are counting down to Friday night to play it on full blast (sorry, neighbours). What elevates the track is the let turn towards the end, a retro, riff led moment that feels feral, bending the track into another dimension just as you think you have entirely mapped it out. This allows the final chorus to rush in with a surge of impact that becomes even more unapologetically dominant. ‘Sunglasses’ suggests that whatever Lelia does next will not be subtle and we cannot wait.
‘Don’t Take My Lover Away’ by Ego Ella May glows from the inside out. Lifted from her forthcoming sophomore album ‘Good Vibrations’, releasing in March, the track feels warm and full-bodied. The song holds a tender contradiction in its core, wanting the good feelings of life to last forever but understanding love and loss in equal measures actually sometimes being that meaning of life. She is not naive to impermanence, she understands it intimately and it shows as the song carries this emotional weight. The plea in the title is the sound of someone who knows love is fragile and precious as it is not guaranteed, so we feel that gratitude present throughout. She recognises how the mind can spiral and fear can distort reality, how thoughts can race ahead of what is actually happening, and sings through it. Her glossy vocals are nothing short of stunning. They feel soothing and steady, almost lullaby like. There is an earnestness to her delivery that makes every lyric feel candid and rich in feeling. If this is just the beginning of what ‘Good Vibrations’ has to offer, then we are stepping into a body of work that is vulnerable yet entirely beautiful.
‘Out Of My Mind’ introduces us a a new major player on the music scene if you have never come across Dionne before, fusing indie-rock grit with an intense, soulful spin. From the first few seconds, there is a captivating and brooding pull, drawing you into something far more intricate than a standard alt-indie track. The song breathes, the edges are sharp, yet the emotional centre is soft. It grapples with a consuming hopelessness or disillusionment with the state of the world, in humanity itself. There is a plea, asking outwardly for answers with ‘tell me you feel it, I’m not on my own / even stealing my mind, ‘cause there’s nowhere to turn’. You can feel the sense of mental claustrophobia present, wondering if your fears are solitary or shared. Everything softens into a moment of stillness during the bridge, leaving a more candid, exposing essence. That closing chorus returns more fuller and resolute, choosing to voice exactly what she needs to say. Big things really feel possible with Dionne’s solo project as she provides the perfect combination of edge and introspection.
Hannah Grae’s ‘Cupid Must’ve Been High’ feels like a refreshing exhale after pure romantic delusion. She manages to embody that embarrassing realisation that the person you believed was heaven sent was, well, not sent with any clarity at all. The title alone suggests how questionable Cupid’s judgement really was. There is actually something satisfying about the way she dismantles the fantasy as something impulsive and not sober. It is not bitter though, just felt away as love is seen as flawed and emotional chaos becomes the punching. The track leans into dramatic peaks at exactly the right moments, building tension before letting it spill over in theatrical bursts. Overall, the surges give the track a larger than life quality, with moments found between attitude and sincerity. Hannah is amused at her past self ultimately, and sometimes you just need to say it out loud. That person was not the one and it is absurd that they were ever in the running. Putting this universal truth into a song is something Hannah Grae has aced.
The cool thing about Ledbyher is that she does not sound like she is chasing a lane but building something entirely for herself. ‘The Elephant’ feels self-led in this way, distinctive and guided by a creative compass that only she needs to fully understand. We will be filled in on the details later as the project turns more and more heads. This mixtape has an immediacy to it, like a party but not an obvious kind. With frequencies of loft, R&B, drill, to name a few, this genre-blurring is the natural byproduct of a mind which refuses to dilute itself to one direction. You get the sense that she could hone in on any one of these sounds and dominate it, but the fluidity makes it all the more enjoyable. Highlights of this collection of tracks include ‘BIG WISH’ and ‘CIGARETTES’. This is the kind of artist you want to find early as she is her own blueprint.
If you are searching for ‘folkpoptwang for ur train journey window,’ Joely June has delivered exactly that. Her EP, ‘My Love Has No End’, feels made travelling through the fields with thoughts you only admit to yourself on the journey. Where this feels like a breezy listen on the surface, there is so much more sitting underneath that lightness. Joely has mastered the feeling of vulnerability without losing clarity as she has such emotional maturity in her delivery. You can feel the experiences lived through across this EP. ‘Your Dog’ stands out in particular, and you can sense a subtle but powerful shift. She delves into catastrophising, the spiral of overthinking and jumping to conclusions before arriving at the facts. She handles the thoughts of assuming the worst through this specific anxiety so gracefully and it resonates with the listener. It feels like there is compassion across all of her writing. The softness, paired with the airy delivery of her vocals, makes every thought a safe one to receive. Joely should be incredibly proud of putting something this candid and tender into the world.
Now we can look forward to spring!
Comments