"Sensational" - Portland (you need to hear this!)
Step into another world with dream pop duo Portland's "Sensational" (despite their name, Portland is NOT from Portland, and actually Belgian!) The single is off their sophomore album "Departures," slated for a March 2023 release. And although Portland is primarily a dreampop act, I definitely hear twee snippets come across, at least in "Sensational." The band themselves acknowledged the song can sound melancholic, but as member Sarah Pepels explained, "If you listen to the lyrics, they're quite hopeful. It's the ideal combination of a modern song. It's about not giving up." The song is reminscient a bit of bands like Kisses and In Coma, with maybe a touch of Wild Nothing thrown in for good measure. As for the band's name, that comes from the duo Pepels and Jente Pironet's love of Portland-based singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Their debum album, "Your Colours Will Stain," was released in 2019 to much critical a...