I welcome anyone to tell me who to watch when it comes to upcoming talent, but in the middle of all the well-intended suggestions, I do feel like the average talent show judge who sits through a lot of not so good stuff to get to the one or two artist that stand out. This week, that honor goes to a duo from Amsterdam, called CUT_
Apparently, they’ve done some appearance recently that caught everyone’s attention, but altogether they seem to be on their way to something. They have had some great venues and festivals to play and they have a great, artistic concept to share.
Within this concept they incorporate audio and visuals to create a total package. Even though the band themselves see this as an unique selling point, I see this a lot within the genre they are in. They make a bit of a mix of what they, themselves, describe as “alternative electronics and edgy pop music”. Basically, it’s Lorde meets Goldfrapp.
I would say it’s experimental that will appeal to a select group of people. The songs have a lot of variation, so the clear building elements of mainstream pop are somewhat lacking and the music takes unexpected turns. Sometimes that means it doesn’t pick up energy where you with a commercial ear would expect it to. It’s the thing that intrigues or puts off.
The thing that appealed to me right away, are the vocals by Belle Doron. I’ve often mentioned that there’s a new way of singing and delivering lyrics, nowadays, that a lot of female singers are using. I can just never really put my finger on what exactly they are doing, but Sia, Lorde and even upcoming artists like Léon are using it, moderately and excessively. Belle has also managed to give it a place in CUT_ songs and I think it helps define their sound.
If you want to introduce yourself to CUT_, you can best start with “Tune In Tune Out”. Once you get the feel of it, you can explore their other material.
