The minute I began reading the press release introducing BLEACHx and his debut single “Dead Inside“. I knew the track would be a hot listen without needing to press play. Mainly because I remember having written about the LA-based singer-songwriter previously. Launching his solo artist project, songwriter to the stars Jeremy Thurber has assumed the new moniker of BLEACHx. I already knew his CV is impressive. Lists, major hits on JPop/Kpop scene (songwriter) collaborated/worked with Meghan Trainor, Greyson Chance and Jake Miller.
Like with most songwriters, there comes a time when a gear change seems desirable. The fulfilment of seeing your work through as your own creation through and through. Writing, recording, performing it under your own esteem. The level of self-satisfaction is much greater when embarking upon a solo project than when seeing someone else put their vocals on your thoughtfully written lyrics. Songwriters have an instant emotional attachment to their lyrics. It is only natural that they would want to express these feelings through vocals and performance as well. Thus BLEACHx was born from a place of wanting to “bleach” his past and start fresh. The career move also allows Thurber to write from a more personal perspective.
BLEACHx is playing his pop A game for “Dead Inside“. Thurber shares the art form of delivering poignant lyrics, served alongside a jaunty earworm styled, catchy melody. (A strategy often used in pop and works like a dream on this track).
“Dead Inside” is a fun song that is a culmination of all the genres and writing styles I love, and a goodbye to all the negative feelings I had inside. I wanted something dark and maniacal you could also dance to. When I wrote it, my dad passed away, and my BF left me because he couldn’t deal with the grief of it all, and it was exactly how I felt inside.” – BLEACHx
Jeremey Thurber / BLEACHx might be one of the most engaging pop newcomers you have never heard of. But if you are a fan of Leland or JORDY (the vibes are somewhat similar to both), I would advise you to check him out.
For Valentines this year, Kim Petras dropped off her “Slut Pop” EP as a treat for her fans. The not so little aside project took off rapidly. It is seemingly stealing some of the thunder that began brewing with tracks “Future Starts Now” and “Coconuts” for Kim’s forthcoming debut album in partnership with Republic Records. Kim is such a tease. She also knows best what her fans want and craves of her on a music footing. When the invite came along to drop some guest vocals on “Horsey” the latest dancefloor filler from LA-based songwriter and DJ Alex Chapman. The link-up made sense.
This is not the first time Alex and Kim appeared on the same billing. Previously, he opened up to Kim on her North American and European tours. Quite possibly, this collaboration may have resulted in them being impatient to start Pride month. As Alex is DJing at this year’s NYC Pride’s Pride Island next month, we can hedge a bet the link up with Kim on “Horsey” will heavily feature.
I see no need for an explanation from me of the tongue-in-cheek anthem. They just are celebrating the joy and ecstasy of doing the deed. Nothing wrong with doing that. Delivering fun music that celebrates queerness and being who you are. Fun will be had to promote this release, no doubt. In the lead-up to Pride, there is no way to blame them for trying to fix “Horsey” in our heads. Applaud.
While I do not support dance anthems per se on this blog site. This one snuck in and earned my favour. It is time for the clubs and the Pride events to bounce back in a big way, this year. I know already the anthem will go down a bomb. I fully expect it to top every Pride playlist.
There’s more to come from this Alex and Kim team up as well, he is co-writing on her forthcoming debut album.
Nearly 40 years after A Secret Wish, Propaganda’s frontwomen reunite with their producer to reclaim their rightful place among synth-pop’s finest…
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” These words taken from an Edgar Allen Poe poem opened Propaganda’s 1985 debut album, A Secret Wish, regularly considered by many among the finest German pop records ever made. And it certainly seemed a dream when Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken, alongside their debut’s producer, Stephen Lipson, announced they would rekindle the band’s spirit – albeit without Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper – under the legally cautious name of xPropaganda.
It’s not the first time that a follow-up’s been attempted. Co-founder Mertens used the name for 1990’s underwhelming 1234, though Freytag only appeared on two tracks, Ralf Dörper co-wrote just four, and Brücken was absent altogether. A 1998 reunion without Dörper proved unsuccessful, too, despite Martin Gore and Tim Simenon’s involvement, and leaked tapes confirmed they were right to quit. But now – finally – there’s a successor similarly seeped in the monochrome beauty of Fritz Lang’s films but glistening with the sleek lustre of contemporary technology.
They stake a claim to this territory from the outset, with The Night’s roar of synths evoking ZTT’s mid-80s glory days and its stabs of synthetic strings, not to mention Terry Edwards’ muted trumpets, surely intended to recall the tense feast that was their debut’s opener. Chasing Utopia’s simmering keyboards prolong this pleasure, too, with Lipson’s guitar another nod to earlier production styles and muttered German texts underlining the band’s Teutonic roots.
Don’t (You Mess With Me) returns us to more industrial sounds, its stern, snarled, one-note melody packing a disciplined punch, while The Wolves Are Returning asks “When history repeats must we take it in our stride?”, its windswept drama lamenting the far right’s rise in a manner more Pleasuredome than pleasure. Only Human and No Ordinary Girl, it’s true, fall short of the high bar A Secret Wish set – though it’s unfair to judge them against a record quite so old – but Beauty Is Truth’s shimmering synths, tyrannical beat and patient crescendo compensate.
The closing Ribbons Of Steel, moreover, feels like the Omega to Dream Within A Dream’s Alpha, its spoken word tale of separation a high-tech riposte to Prefab Sprout’s masterful I Trawl The Megahertz. It seemed too much to hope for, but this truly is a dream.
To mark its 35th Anniversary, @rickastley is reissuing his classic debut album Whenever You Need Somebody.
Remastered at Abbey Road, it’s out today on CD, 2CD Deluxe and Digital. Deluxe Edition includes 21 bonus tracks including b-sides, remixes, reimagined versions plus sleeve notes compiled from a new interview with Rick.