Indie Light

Cade Hoppe is California born and New York based, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who draws influence from the likes of Ben Folds, The Killers, Taylor Swift and Coldplay to produce his own unique brand of indie-pop music. Today I’ll be reviewing his EP ‘Just Look at the Moon’ which was released November 3rd 2023.

‘Fresh Start’ opens nice and fast, light and bright keys flowing into Hoppe’s synth infused melodic vocals. And I want to say upfront how much I like his voice, it’s soft and yet has a strong husky edge to it, makes for easy listening. This track has a tight percussive undertone that blends with the fast paced ambient melody and together it really just works, the track manages to be built up and complex without sounding cluttered. I’m convinced I’ve heard Hoppe’s music before but I don’t appear to have reviewed him previously, and that’s my mistake because one track into this EP and I’m already confident I’ll be keeping an eye out for his music in the future. 

‘Labels’ slower off the bat than the previous track, and heavier and more consistent, rhythmic percussive beat this time around, but more of the same sensational vocals, and you just experience this track, it’s slow build, it’s bouncing energy and all together you’re just swept along with Cade’s music. I especially like the musical flares that play beneath Hoppe’s voice as he delivers certain lines, it enhances and intensifies the delivery and really works with the overall melody of the feel, building into the structure to make another excellent track. 

‘Moon’ changes things up again, soft acoustic chords, and gentle flowing ambient melodies, which blend with his voice, and he goes for a softer delivery this time which blends in perfectly with the track. It slowly picks up, percussive beats fusing in and more complex electronic beats all adding to create a bright musical fusion. It’s very close, as I truly enjoyed all 7 tracks on this EP but I think ‘Moon’ might be my personal favourite on this release, it just had the perfect balance of musical elements, fast and slow, soft and hard, that when put together just really worked for me. I think my favourite part was after the slow start and then the build, it returns and closes out on that slower note, a perfect bookend to a top notch track. 

‘Fool’s Gold’ has a nice atmospheric build up, and a complex blend of chords that expertly support his voice. It’s a very close second for personal favourite, just pure and deep and gentle. The kind of song you could just get lost in. Even when it begins to build, as I expected it might, it manages to maintain the right amount of pacing and energy to keep with where it started off while still developing as it progresses. I really enjoyed this, and Tori B Bearly, popped their head out from their book to tell me ‘This sounds lovely’ which is high praise indeed. But seriously though, I really enjoyed ‘Fool’s Gold’ . It’s a tremendous addition to what has already been, and I’m sure will continue to be an amazing EP. 

‘Dirty’ opens strong with vocals, another slower track, one that just fills up a room with its bittersweet notes. I said earlier that it was real hard to pick a personal favourite, and yeah ‘Moon’ just snagged it but they were all good, and I could have made an equal case for ‘Dirty’ or ‘Fool’s Gold’ as all three are truly amazing, beautiful performances that embody most what I like about music. The chords in this track are its true highlight, they blend in well, fading in and out, counterpointing and boosting the vocals, as well as the backing instrumentals to create a song that I’m grateful I got the opportunity to hear. 

‘Fresh Start Again’ is the shortest track on this EP by a wide margin, but it’s not one that’s easily forgot, not only is the opening instrumental just superb but it’s just really sharp, and punchy, blending in the slower, melodic pace, and the subtle chords backing up the main instrumentals, to create something brief and breathtaking. 

‘Only Human’ is a strong closer to a great album, as I said up top I’ll be keeping my eye out for Cade after listening to this track, and I advise that you do too, because his music is worth it for sure. It’s another fill the room type track, one that demands to be heard, and not by being overly catchy, or loud, not an earworm of a track, just one that’s bright and powerful and that takes over your life for four minutes and eighteen seconds it’s playing. 

So that’s what I thought of Cade Hoppe’s EP and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Spotify. While you’re at it, why not keep up to date with Cade by visiting their website, and support Cade by following him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.