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Femmepop – Underground E.P

Rhys Pearce — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 17:08:12 +0000

January 30th sees the release of Femmepop’s brand new E.P, entitled ‘Underground’. Piloted by Irish songstress, Margaret O’Sullivan, this release follows the widely regarded and musical highlight of 2014, ‘From a girl who never sleeps’. I’ve admired Femmepop’s music for a number of years now, so to be offered an exclusive peek at her new material was a total no brainer.

The record opens with title track, ‘Underground’ and a steady drum beat leads us into the first song. Quickly we are refamilairised with Femmepop’s no nonense approach for writing catchy pop melodies, along with a perfectly uncomplicated view of song structure. The music is uplifting and it burns warmly below the surface like a bed of hot coals. The smooth sound of ‘There is a place’ compliments her voice perfectly and the vocals really soar on this track. I love the way the music meanders its way deep into your brain and the ease in which you find yourself lost within the dreaminess it projects. Third track, ‘The Game’ is a personal favourite of mine and it embeds itself within you from the first listen. Although its sound conjures images of blue skies and cruising along sunny highways, O’Sullivans words appear to dig a little deeper, exploring her own thoughts of individuality. The last but one track ‘Celestial’ again takes us on another trip into the skies and it further reaffirms that her voice could easily make the sound of a metal bar hitting a trash dumpster sound interesting. We finish as strongly as we began, with ‘Games & Toys’, a predominately intrumental track that is a vast and unfeigned piece of music. You could say its the perfect ending to a throughly enjoyable record, a record that sadly draws to a close far too quickly.

There’s one thing that you can always rely on from Femmepop and that’s O’Sullivan’s incredible prowess for song writing. Her passion is always present and when she sings, its hard to imagine it coming from anywhere but the heart. To be this early into the year and be gifted with such a great sounding E.P is an absolute treat and ‘Underground’ has certainly set a high bar for anyone releasing new material in 2016! For further updates on Femmepop’s new E.P, drop by and give her page the thumbs up www.facebook.com/Femmepop

Underground (EP) by femmepop

By Rhys Pearce

Rhys Pearce is a Musician and Writer from the United Kingdom, with a number of years experience writing for a host of Websites and Zines, as well as recording and touring in bands himself.

Email: rh*********@**********ve.com

FEMMEPOP DELIVERS SOMETHING NEW FOR THE SCENE!

NewRetroWave — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 16:07:00 +0000

From A girl who never sleeps by Femmepop

I first became familiar with the work of Margaret O’Sullivan aka ‘Femmepop’, when a friend of mine turned me onto her debut EP, entitled ‘Kick’. Released it 2009, it took me back to the alternative rock sounds of the early 90’s and drew some resemblance to the likes of Hole and The Breeders. Even from my first listen, it was immediately evident that O’Sullivan was enormously talented, her abilities as a singer/songstress were unquestionably accomplished from the get go and her songs never faltered in conviction and sincerity from beginning to end.

Following the release of ‘Kick’, Femmepop released a handful of singles, the first being ‘Beautiful Boy’ in 2013, a hooky sugar coated rock song, complete with a dirty guitar riff that wouldn’t sound out of a place at a riot grrrl show. The same year saw Femmepop transition into synth-pop with her single, ‘1983’, shortly followed by the first of 3 back to back collaborative singles, ‘Timescapes’ and ‘Our time’ both with Timecop 1983 and ‘Not that kind’ with Robert Parker.

On September 17th 2014, Femmepop released ‘From a girl who never sleeps’, her debut full length album, of which she wrote, recorded and produced. Mixing and mastering duties on the album were carried out by Gavin Monaghan, of who has previously worked with Babes in Toyland and The Twang. This eleven track gem is a perfect representation of O’Sullivan and she succeeds here in stitching together different sounds and influences, almost as if she were presenting you with a mix-tape. I’ve read a couple of reviews of this album that have highlighted that it sounds uneven in places and that the fusion of guitar and drum songs along with straight up synth songs doesn’t quite work together. I on the other hand believe that this only adds to its overall charm and in return makes for a much more interesting listen. In turn this further showcases O’Sullivan as not a one trick pony but as an artist with versatility. As a whole this record takes us on a nostalgic trip, with an overall tone that is greatly upbeat and hopeful. As a synth record it delivers with ease and songs like ‘Neon Nights’ and ‘Astrogate’ could hold their own even against some of the retro scenes big hitters. Femmepop’s vocal range is incredible and at times is reminiscent of Madonna, helping cast the mind back to when the self proclaimed Material Girl was making good records. Whether you’re a fan of Femmepop’s guitar sound or her synth sound, the truth is that there’s something here for everyone and I strongly believe things will go from strength to strength for her. If your going to do anything today, swing by her bandcamp page and check it out for yourself. You wont be disappointed.

– Rhys Pearce

SOMETHING MAGICAL FOR THE EARS!

NewRetroWave — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 15:03:00 +0000

HEY GUYS,

WE HAVEN’T POSTED IN A WHILE. HERE IS SOMETHING NEW FOR YOUR EARS TO ENJOY

😉