We write often about Nashville’s impressive, vibrant pop scene, and the plethora of talented and diverse artists who comprise it, though, despite their many unique approaches and undeniable personality, it would be fair to say that if you zoom out and look at local pop as a collective, the majority of the most buzzed-about acts are much more alike than they are different. Which is why when we come across an artist like self-described “dark industrial nightmare pop” singer Notelle, it feels like a genuine, revelatory, breath of fresh air.
Not exactly new to the scene, Notelle has been working with DJs and producers around the world for more than five years, amassing millions of upon millions of streams, high-profile playlist adds, and praise in both the pop and EDM world for all of her collaborative efforts. Only more recently, however, has the buzzworthy singer been shifting her focus more towards her solo work, first catching our ear in late 2018 with her stellar formal debut “Power,” and further expanding her sound throughout last year with a string of fantastic subsequent tracks.
Settling onto a sound that echos the industrial, etherial dark prowess of acts like Nine Inch Nails in equal measure with the electro-laced, contemporary dark pop stylings of artists like Billie Eilish, Notelle has managed to bring a darker, edgier, raw, and more macabre dimension to the local pop landscape. Earlier this year, she doubled down on her brooding and dark ethos with a Slenderman inspired tune called “Come for Me,” and, today, Notelle returns with another great new effort- “Alive”
Gritty, industrial, and darkly atmospheric, “Alive” embodies those two above influences perhaps more than any of her other material to date (if Billie Eilish were literally tasked with recording a NIN tribute, we imagine it would go something just like this), and is undoubtedly our favorite Notelle song yet, with it earnest, raw, and manic emotional energy. “Written on brink of hysteria, ‘Alive’ tells how truly electrifying madness can feel,” we’re told in a press release, “Interlacing themes of toxic love with the societal habit to discredit women’s emotions, [‘Alive’] manages to package up honest, gut-wrenching self-awareness in nervy, sonic insanity.”
Hear Notelle’s “Alive” below, and find it on your streaming platform of choice!
