Mini Bear’s new song “Cyberlove” might tackle twenty-first-century disillusionment over the influences of technology on dating culture, but it’s also assuredly saturated in the kind of romantic, nostalgia-laden pop glitter that allows it to exist in two different decades simultaneously. As the alias under which Los Angeles-native Lauren Kop crafts her “emotional electropop,” Mini Bear isn’t afraid to wear on her sleeve all the early Madonna and Janet Jackson influences that dot her music. On “Cyberlove” she relishes in it, letting all the twinkling synths, thudding drum samples, and bottomless bass ruptures to cascade around the crystal-shimmer rush of her vocals.
Running through all the anxious and bitter revelations that come with engaging in “swipe culture,” Kop’s cries escalate until they’re left darting between the tangle of dance-pop glam and you’re left with its incessant hooks in your head. Toss in a brief intermission filled by the riveting sheen of an electric guitar burning holes into the backdrop of analog synth textures and the kind drum thunderings that you toss in to solely blow out speakers, and Mini Bear has concocted the kind of dance-club wrecker that is a gift to any 80s-themed bash. Yet for all its allure the song is also steeped in the kind of budding emotionality that is as captivating as the sparkle that soundtracks it. You might come for the rapturous beats, but you stay for Kop’s youthful and biting engagement of what it means to be connected in the digital age.
“I got out of a five year relationship and found myself immersed in the world of app dating and swipe culture where there’s too much choice, which in turn made me feel super anxious and disconnected,” Kop said about the song. “It can feel like a video game where people are endlessly swiping to achieve validation. ‘Cyberlove’ is a slightly dark take on the difficulties of connecting behind the screen, yet retaining that optimistic desire to connect and find love which I think as humans we still all share.”
Listen to Mini Bear’s new song “Cyberlove” below!
https://soundcloud.com/newprofessor/mini-bear-cyberlove/s-b5saO
Catch Mini Bear tonight for a Friday night soirée at The Echo tonight and at the Bootleg Theater on June 27 in a DJ set for Polartropica’s single/video release show. Visit her website and Facebook to stay updated on future tour announcements and releases.
