Written by Elijah P.

There’s an unspoken gap in synthetic pop grounded from the bedroom and r&b recorded in lapel mics, and the one way to address the void in between those genres are the acts that bridged it: Men I Trust, Clairo, and just to name a few. Those artists paved the way for DIY musicians to come up with ideas wherein they mix in several musical influences and ultimately come up with a singular, signature sound or movement. It was an itch longing to be scratched for many and yet it’s still missing the oomph everyone was looking to consider. For bedroom pop/r&b neophyte Nathan Ron Del Mundo aka Neytan, it comes across as if that itch has been scratched by his versatility and taste in his first ever EP titled “Normal Pop Radio”.

Judging from the EP title alone, it looks and sounds like the 17-year old performer-producer wasn’t trying to duplicate an era that was lost, but rather he finds comfort in the strumming, the vocal twisting, and the mic cupping with additional themes of love, infatuation, and other what have yous that are sonic hallmarks in those respective genres. Tracks like “ALMANDINE” and “Malaysia” – the latter track being a loosie that isn’t on this EP but it exemplifies his knack for choosing appropriate melodies – are examples of hard-hitting and hazy production choices that best suit his vocal range. There are showcases of variety in genre choices but it’s enough to disjoint the EP even further. The filler tracks “SHE’S PRETTY (OUT OF MY LEAGUE)” and “CHICKEN WINGS” are products of soft soul and r&b that are easy on the ears but run on the mill if seated among the sea of songs that are identical structurally. It only makes it more superficially restrained rather than melodically consistent that would brand their identity later on.

If anything “Normal Pop Radio” is memorable for, it’s the sheer potential the young up-and-coming musician can pull off sonically. However, his vocal chops could get a little bit of training before he can go full on Rex Orange County while surfing on those dreamy symphonies cascading to the drum machines. Neytan has a lot of work to do in the future, especially when searching for a natural sound to cling on and not rest on the laurels of his Discord contemporaries. Moving beyond one’s influences is one step closer to being a performer of a lifetime.

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