In the opening moments of Caroline Polachek’s new album, ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ – the second under her real name, and seventh overall – the alt-pop singer wails in vocal intervals for 25 seconds. Soaring atop...
Mae Stephens – ‘If We Ever Broke Up’
https://open.spotify.com/track/6maTPqynTmrkWIralgGaoP
There are TikTok viral moments and then there’s Mae Stephens’ TikTok viral moment. Ever since the start of the year, her debut single ‘If We Ever Broke Up’ has been dominating the...
For the prodigal return of Paramore, who had been on hiatus since 2017’s Grammy-nominated ‘After Laughter’, Hayley Williams re-dyed her hair that trademark red. The blonde era was a long one, encompassing ‘After Laughter’ and Williams’ solo album ‘Petals...
Humble readers, I come to you as a sad Beyoncé fan. Like seemingly half of the UK’s entire population, I found myself in the online queue for the 'Renaissance' tour this week, rapidly losing the will to gig. I...
Alex Lahey - ‘Good Time’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsRafjwS8Fc
“I just want a good time/don’t care how/but I know everybody needs it.’’ So sings Alex Lahey, summing up the transition from January blues into the promise of forthcoming spring. Gearing up for the release...
Content warning: Mentions of misgendering, queerphobia, fatphobia
A staple of mainstream UK pop, the idea of Sam Smith being a particularly controversial or debatable figure may have seemed quite unlikely in the mid-2010s. With a beautiful voice and penchant for...
DAISY JONES & THE SIX – ‘REGRET ME’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ywkDC9rEo
Not only is ‘Regret Me’ an exciting debut single, but it arrives from a totally new band – a fictional one, albeit. The first single from the eponymous 1970s group based on...
At this point, everybody knows that an era-opening performance from Beyoncé is going to go down in history. Shrouded in secrecy, Knowles-Carter returned to the stage last week in the form of an appearance at the unofficial opening of...
How do you find your new music? It might be TikTok, YouTube, copping a look at Spotify’s latest ‘trending’ playlist or taking a recommendation from a Bandcamp ‘new and notable’ list. All these options are more than valid, and...
Arlo Parks - 'Weightless'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zb9X_unuqo
Nobody does longing and heartbreak quite like Arlo Parks. The 2021 Brit Awards Breakthrough Artist winner is a magician with words, a true poet who has studied some of the greats and found her voice both...