DonUpNext‘s latest release, “Gave Up On Me,” is a melodic, guitar-driven song with emotional storytelling. It’s about fighting to keep going when people around you stop believing. It’s about faith and perseverance and determination in the song. It gives the song a sense of personal struggle without losing hope. The guitar base allows the vocals to do the emotional heavy lifting of the story.

The lyrics encapsulate that mentality with simple images, “The top is full but I’m still gonna climb up the mountain.” It is a simple yet powerful image of someone not giving up just because the destination is crowded or hard to reach. That resolve is even more in peril with the track “I’m drowning in my thoughts I’m fighting to stay focused.” It’s this need for support that’s felt before the song slips into the painful realization “Need a helping hand but they gave up on me.”

“Gave Up On Me” toys with that contrast of isolation and persistence. DonUpNext doesn’t make the journey sound easy, rather the song dwells in the struggle of trying to keep focus while bearing doubt and disappointment. The track is emotionally grounded with melodic vocals, a guitar-driven beat and a faith-centered message turning a hard experience into a statement about continuing to climb.

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AquariO‘s latest release, “Get Some FCKN Therapy,” is an electronic pop and alternative dance track that’s 3:25 in length, with a steady pulse of 120 BPM, a dark, minor-tinged tonal palette, and it’s got a bite. It begins with contained tension that slowly escalates into a more expansive climax of catharsis. The record is blunt by design, the provocative title setting the emotional tone immediately, but there’s room for humor, urgency and self-awareness.

The lyrics really hit hard with honest, “I know that you’ve been hurting i know that you’ve been holding it in, I know that you got your trauma, But everything has their trauma, but does it make it feel better, When you’re hurting me. The words do not simply describe pain, but ask what happens when personal pain becomes something someone else must carry. The directness makes the song feel like a conversation, but it also locks down its emotional tension.

AquariO’s atmospheric queer-pop musical world is a dark place, and “Get Some FCKN Therapy” is a release against it. The arrangement builds to a splendid finish. It’s electronic pop with an alternative dance vibe. But its greatest strength is the way its music and message play off one another.

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