Three outstanding new tracks in the alt and dream pop space that will have you vibing out all summer

LATE2THEPARTY – “City is Empty”
-This new track has a really playful and chill beat to it. The instrumentation and production sets a wonderful mood for the track, feeling like you’re hanging out with your friends on a rooftop party or something like that. It’s definitely got the vibes of being an enjoyable, easy-come, easy-go style of summer anthem. The lead vocal is particularly strong, moving from powerful vocal to buoyant falsetto with ease. The whole composition feels like a genre-blending summer treat. Give it a spin.

Alyson Witt – “Soft Spot”
-I’ve lost track of how many songs I’ve featured from Alison Witt by this point, but it’s quite a few. And it’s easy to hear why I keep saying yes to these tracks. This one has a production style that feels both dreamy and otherworldly, but also grounded in this vintage 1970s color. I really appreciate how the mood is set 30 seconds even before the vocal ever enters, and then the vocal is, of course, outstanding, which propels it to a whole other level. I don’t mean to oversell the sound, but there’s something about the understated vocal expression that really does remind me of what I like about some of Lizzy McAlpine’s most intimate recordings. Witt captures that same complex emotion and a delivery that just makes the listener want to lean in and connect.

Dans un Revve – “Belong”
-It took me about 20 listens before I finally figured out what this track reminds me of… and honestly, I hope that the artist hears this as a compliment, but it reminds me of the chords on a video game soundtrack. There’s a gorgeous, atmospheric quality to this song that makes it a quintessential example of dream pop. In a world with so much “in your face” music that’s all about aggression and taking it to the limit, it’s nice to just float in the air a bit with this sound. The piano carries a lot here, but there’s a gentleness in the vocal that situates itself right in the middle of the ethereal production work; it’s not too much to say that it sounds like my dreams often feel. I really enjoy this art.