Inspired by the glittered pop-mania eruption of the early 2000’s, when high-gloss teen bop talents like Britney Spears ruled with undeniable catchiness and memorable dance moves, self-described “pop prince(ss)” Rhoadse brings us his TRL-inspired EP.
Sell My Soul is a sampler platter for pop-hungry listeners, offering a variety of flavors from all-night dance bangers, to R&B slow jams, to sentimental rock ballads. “It’s like a candy store: from smooth, rich chocolate to sugar-coated sour Skittles, there’s something there for everyone,” Rhoadse says. The record is less of an homage to the boy-band pop styles of the past and more of a proclamation that a new pop star has arrived.
Looking to fill a void in Boston’s music scene, Rhoadse, originally from Reading, PA, noticed while studying at Berklee that there weren’t many and up and coming pop musicians in Boston. He wants to lead the charge to build a new lane for them to grow here. “A lot of what I’ve seen is smaller indie-rock/alternative bands at house shows or national pop acts coming in to play larger venues,” he explains. With the launch of his EP, he hopes to make it possible for more pop and electronic musicians to develop their sound in the Boston music scene.
On Sell My Soul, Rhoadse sings about heartache from a deep well, particularly on the R&B soul jam, “F%*ked Up.” While the song sounds like a tear-filled call to out an ex, Rhoadse tells us the song came from an act of violence that happened to him at a club in Spain: “I bought this nice pair of earrings and decided to wear them that night… someone got physical with me and was calling me a bunch of degrading slurs and insults in regards to my appearance.” Luckily, Rhoadse came out of it physically unscathed. His response to the situation? “You got me fucked up to think that I’m the one [at fault].” In effect, the song isn’t about an ex, but about dark corners of society telling him that he can’t be who he wants to be. The song bleeds with painful authenticity that stems from this experience and can be heard in the anguish of his voice of the chorus.
The EP hits its pop stride in the final song, “Stay Up,” a dance-all-night electro-pop banger built for the weekend. The song has an effervescent, uplifting chorus with a fast-paced bounce, and creamy synths. The auto-tuned vocals are just catchy enough to loop and leave on repeat while partygoers dance for hours, without noticing the song hasn’t changed.
Perhaps inspired (but not limited) by the dance energy of “Stay Up,” Rhoadse is looking to incorporate dance and choreography into his future performances and has musical ambitions across many different genres. “Right now, I’m focused on pop/electronic music; however, I want to also bring queer topics and experiences to genres that do not normally talk about them like R&B, rock, hip-hop, and country,” he says. He’d also like to see more representation of queer musicians living their truth in pop music and the music industry, both musically and in presentation, as he never wants to feel as though he needs to be confined to a certain space or form of expression.
