Well, it’s been a rough week, friends, with widespread anxieties running rampant concerning the coronavirus, politics, and wherever it is we all work (yep, it was a rough week there, too). Which is why the superb, dance-cry synth-pop of Sulene‘s “Kiss Harder” couldn’t have arrived a moment too soon — it is exactly the song we could all use today.

You’ve definitely heard Sulene van der Walt before — she has composed music for drama series, films, and major-brand commercials — but most likely didn’t know it was her. Here, however, we get the latest taste of her pop-artist persona, and it’s a delectable confection that deserves to be celebrated.

“Kiss Harder” is a deceptively sad song, though you’d never know it by the blissful rush of the arrangement, vocal melodies, and many of the lyrics. But pay closer attention to the situation she’s describing and it’s just devastating. Everything kicks off with an uptempo ’80s drum beat as Sulene sings about/to the object of her affection over a simple synth pad. Wasting no time at all getting to the hooks, by just over twenty seconds in we’re already at the pre-chorus, which is so deliriously catchy it might as well be the chorus itself. It’s a euphoric moment, strategically placed early in the track to give the impression of rapture — the syncopated, giddy high of “Everything about you gives me that feeling!” immediately followed by the coy daydream of “This could be something.” This sentiment — matched by the crescendoing pads, sparkling synths, and riffy guitars in the musical arrangement — holds true through the chorus: “We touch like we’re in love / We talk like it’s sent from above.”

It’s pretty much the ultimate crush song… until the next two lines of the chorus: “If we kiss harder could it be enough? Cause something isn’t fitting and I just can’t figure it out.”

In other words, it’s that common conundrum that plagues most relationships at some point or another: if we’re just more passionate, will that fix the problem? But rarely is this idea treated as directly and honestly as it is here. Sulene knows the answer to that question is “no” — there are always other underlying issues at play — but it’s not human nature to think that way, and by the end of the track she is repeatedly pleading for her partner to “kiss her harder harder harder harder.” She doesn’t want this relationship to end, even though she knows it will, and is grasping at straws to make it work.

At first blush, this is early Madonna territory (we actually already wrote that about her banger “Diamond“) . But a more apt comparison is a more bedroom-produced version of Carly Rae Jepsen‘s output from the past several years. There’s even a direct CRJ reference in the form of a reverby “Hey!” emoted in the background at 1:09, as well as other pop tropes like the unexpected key change at about 2:30, and the one-off harmonized background vocal a few seconds later, “I think it could be enough!”

“Kiss Harder” is an absolute jam, and one that continues to reveal its candy-coated layers upon repeat plays. Check it out, along with the full “Fire Escaping” EP below — it’ll win you over, and help you get through the next week.

Touring the world as Nate Ruess (of fun.) and Betty Who‘s guitarist, having her music featured in plenty of scores and also being the rocker chick avatar on Rock Band VR: she is the pop artist that you have likely seen or heard before, but have not put a name to. Well, Sulene is that name and, as she prepares to release her second EP, her sound is developing into something exciting. Originally hailing from South Africa, the up and coming artist has chosen a bedroom in Brooklyn to self-produce this new music.

Her brand new track, “Diamond”, optimises a modern romance of falling for someone who wants to be in an open relationship. Bringing together very danceable synth-pop with heart-breaking and blissful lyrics, her bittersweet offering feels familiar yet refreshingly current. The multi-faceted artist is not shying away from showing us her production skills and impressive ability to create a layered and euphoric synth bop.

“Diamond” is the first single from her new EP, entitled Fire Escaping, which follows her 2017 debut release, Strange. Her first collection of songs attracted a lot of attention from those in-the-know and Sulene is poised to have a breakout year. Her new EP was inspired by the likes of Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Sky Ferreira and The Twin Peaks original score as well as her newfound sobriety. After all, obsessions and addictions are often closely linked and she sings “Can’t kick it, you’re the best bad habit” in her new track.

With so many artists carving their own version of what is pop, Sulene has chosen to be personal with her first-ever video, shooting in some of her best-loved places in NYC: Arlene’s Grocery, The Loft at Elsewhere, and an overpass on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which is one of her “favorite movie-esque spots”. Watch the Ian Fursa-directed visuals below.

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