Kristiane Alphson is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. After singing in an acapella group at high school, she started doing solo shows in LA. She spent the last few years writing and crafting a sound of her own.

Her new single Wish I Could Be Your Girl is only her second ever. It follows her debut single I Can’t Tell, which she released last August. Her latest track is a dreamy alternative pop song that grabs your attention upon first listen. It tells an intimate tale she wrote only recently. Subsequently, producer Jesse Munsat made it sound the way she dreamed it would. The two did a great job!

Kristiane tells about Wish I Could Be Your Girl: “This song to me isn’t about literally wanting to be somebody’s ‘girl’, but rather wanting to fit the archetype of the kind of partner that’s easy to be with, uncomplicated. I think as someone who struggles with mental health it’s easy to demonize your emotions, instead of embracing that it’s okay to be someone with a complicated history/emotions.”

Later this Autumn, Kristiane will release another single, followed by an EP early next year.

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

Last summer, I was very enthusiastic about Dopha’s single The Game. With her new single, the Danish singer (born Sofie Daugaard Andersen) proves me right. Anti Breakup Song is another fine pop single with an edge. Ironic and self-conscious, it’s about how difficult it can be to look up and just go on when things don’t go as planned.

Anti Breakup Song contains lyrical references to Britney Spears, The Cardigans and Garbage. Funnily (and probably not coincidentally) the music is a mix of these three as well.

Dopha is currently finishing her debut album The Game. I’m looking forward to it very much!

Recommended as well:
Dopha – The Game

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

Polish-born Adam Byczkowski is a promising artist who is currently living in Berlin. Using the artist name Better Person, he just released his debut album Something To Lose.

The single Close To You is based on a drum pattern that could have been borrowed from Prince. Meanwhile, Byczkowski’s timbre and way of singing bring the late Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis to mind. Great references as far as I’m concerned, which make for a throwback to sophisticated ‘80s and ‘90s pop. Furthermore, the track was produced by MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser and mastered by Greg Calbi (Joe Jackson, Tame Impala and hundreds more). I’d say Byczkowski couldn’t have surrounded himself with better persons.

In his own words, Close To You is ‘a simple song about love and growing tired of the nightlife’. He explains: “When I wrote this song I was quite done with going out. It’s ironic because now all I dream of is a good ol’ pre-covid party time.” Don’t we all? Until then, Better Person provides us with a wonderful alternative…

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.