Get in each glorious groove with McVerry's charm.

Sean McVerry certainly knows how to give the people what they want. His "Red Light" music video, directed by Matt Speno, doesn't take itself too seriously, littered with McVerry's classic goofball nature. Locked between the real and the fantasy, the song itself inhabits some mind-bending dream state, dealing with perceptions of life.

On the song, he recently spoke to Ground Sounds, "Musically, 'Red Light' was originally this slow, dreamy groove I made with a few old keyboards of mine. I kind of swam in it for a while in this studio, reflecting on a few ideas and concepts, eventually coming back to this moment I had riding my bike in Brooklyn. I was riding around my neighborhood and stopped for some traffic, noticing this group of hip looking folks sitting on their steps in what looked like this completely staged scene — down to every outfit, casual-yet-rigid-stance and synchronized-cigarette-drag."

Photo: Jonathan Sacca; Cover Design: Amber Vittoria

He continues, "[That moment was] easy to satirize, but then again, something most folks (including me) is guilty of — which is putting on this little show for public perception. I sped the track up to match my perhaps misguided bitter energy, added a few drops of self-deprecation, and recorded a bass line that ensured non-stop-head-bobbing."

The robotic, metallic but loose choreography was helmed by Robert Lewis and performed by a trio of ridiculously-talented dancers, Seneca Lawrence, Marcella Lewis, and Keerati Jinakunwiphat. Their motions are like waves tumbling across the sea and clashing into McVerry's very-stone-like demeanor.

"Red Light" is one of many sterling cuts from his new EP, Private Lives, out now on Sleep Well Records. Other moments like "So Certain" and "Get Real" harken to classic synth-heavy '80s-isms, a little bit indie, a little bit delicious dance-pop, a whole lotta funk.

Watch "Red Light" below:

Follow Sean McVerry on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


Jason Scott is a freelance music journalist with bylines in B-Sides & Badlands, Billboard, PopCrush, Ladygunn, Greatist, AXS, Uproxx, Paste and many others. Follow him on Twitter.


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Also, Sean McVerry, MEAUX, and July Jones Take Things a Little Slower.

It's time to be chill AF.

Ready to Pop is in the mood for chill vibes only this week. Whether you're looking for smooth weekend tunes or boozy, late-night filters, breakouts like Sean McVerry and July Jones are likely to be just your speed. While beats and anthemic grooves are nice, sometimes, you just wanna slow it down a bit. Below, check out our latest obsessions, rated on a (slay) scale of "Super Chill" to "Shook" to "Wig Snatched."


JHart - "Put It to Bed"

JHart

"Look what your lips made me do," JHart confesses on the opening lines of his sweeping, film noir-esque new single "Put It to Bed." The friction between slick strings and the drip-drop is exhilarating. More importantly, JHart's voice is equal parts sultry, piercing, and smooth.

Slay Scale: Shook

Follow JHart on Twitter | Instagram


Sean McVerry - "Burning Out"

Sean McVerry

The edges of Sean McVerry's voice burn like charcoal embers slowing vanishing in ash. So, "Burning Out," his new vibe-hard single, following an EP equally as icy and rich, is suitably supple in tone. He colors in chilled shades - that's a given - but there's something so unshakably '80s about his whole aesthetic that reaches quite an apex here. "What's the answer? I need an answer," he wrestles, pulling unsettled ends together and then apart.

Slay Scale: Super Chill

Follow Sean McVerry on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


Anna Shoemaker - "What Am I Doing to Me?"

Anna Shoemaker

There is a tremendous amount of pressure for a debut single. But Anna Shoemaker does the damn thing with "What Am I Doing to Me?," an atmospheric piece which zigs and zags between kitschy alt-pop and heartier stock. She also packs one of those truly ethereal voices which gets easily stuck on the brain.

Slay Scale: Wig Snatched

Follow Anna Shoemaker on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


MEAUX - "Summertime"

MEAUX

Buttery smooth, MEAUX's debut single "Summertime" coats the heart muscles with a smattering of harp-strewn fluttering. It's built upon a sturdy foundation of R&B, and her vocals are both penetrating and gliding. "Always think of you in the summertime," she sings, positioning a tale of lonesomeness and sweet nostalgia.

Slay Scale: Shook

Follow MEAUX on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


July Jones - "Girl in Paris"

July Jones

We've all been there ⎯⎯ so tangled in our infatuations with someone that we forget, you know, that they're already taken. "No, I don't wanna be friends," pop up and comer July Jones inserts with her new single "Girl in Paris," which mingles classic Top 40 with the airiness of a fresh French afternoon on the plaza. Her vocal is crisp, even through the pounding distortion which funnels her timbre through rattled percussion.

Slay Scale: Wig Snatched

Follow July Jones on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


Jason Scott is a freelance music journalist with bylines in B-Sides & Badlands, Billboard, PopCrush, Ladygunn, Greatist, AXS, Uproxx, Paste and many others. Follow him on Twitter.


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MUSIC | Sean McVerry aims a sharp but euphoric "Red Light"

The pop singer-songwriter readies a new EP, Private Lives, out April 20

The sticky funk track is a glorious space odyssey.

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