After her father filed to end her conservatorship, 39 year old Britney Spears, is finally engaged to long-term boyfriend Sam Aghari.  The beloved pop princess revealed her engagement with a video on Instagram of her and Sam flaunting her $70k engagement ring, designed by Forever Diamonds New York, with a hidden message engraved.    The engagement has been responded to with an abundance of joyful congratulations from fans all over Instagram and Twitter.  The 13-year conservatorship, which followed Britney’s infamous public meltdown in 2008, controlled both the singer’s personal...

Since their debut in 2019, Amyl and the Sniffers have embodied everything that it means to be punk. The group is known for their insane live shows, outrageous style and fresh music; they are making waves in the punk scene. Their new album, Comfort to Me, out Sept. 10 is proof that nothing, not even 2020, can hold them back.  BUST sat down with Amy Taylor, the lead singer, and talked about how she found herself in the music industry, how she dealt with the lockdown,...

Janet Jackson took to social media on Monday to tease the release of Janet, a two-part documentary about her life that will air on both Lifetime and A&E. Slated for a January 2022 release, the film will coincide with the 40th anniversary of her first album, Janet Jackson (1982). It also follows the addition of her music to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry earlier this year, an honor bestowed annually to 25 recordings that express the “diversity of American recorded sound heritage.”   “When I was...

L'RAIN Fatigue  (Mexican Summer) On her sophomore album, experimental multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek mixes moods and switches styles with chaotic energy. While spanning different genres, the overarching sound is rich and dense with unexpected tone shifts, sudden stops, layered loops, audio clips, and samples. On “Find It,” fuzzy dreampop fades into traditional gospel and ends in a cacophonic chorus. A child’s handclap game adds rhythmic flourishes to the smooth R&B landscape of “Suck Teeth.” A voicemail from her late mother is tucked away under delicate fingerpicked guitar on “Blame...

Angel Haze is the perfect interview subject — honest, open, and eager to share her thoughts and creations with the world. I start off the interview with one of the first questions I like to ask all the folk I interview: what are your pronouns? “I don't have any, I mean, you can call me anything you fucking want, I really don’t subscribe, you know what I’m saying?” Even through a ZOOM screen, the rapper’s charisma and personality are palpable. Released independently, it’s been almost six...

Following suit of artists who are bringing back the early 2000s such as Dua Lipa and Doja Cat, Chelsea Collins, singer, songwriter and producer, is doing her part to ensure that pop stays as lively and fun as we need it to be. The 22-year convinced her parents to move from San Francisco to Los Angeles while she was in high school so that she could further pursue her music. Since then the singer has released singles such as “07 Britney," an upbeat pop ode...

VWETO IIIradiates power. This third installment in Georgia Anne Muldrow’s astral, vibed-out, hip-hop beat series is both an amp-up and come-down—all trippy textures and stomping kicks, looping like a personal soundtrack to all the times you’ve felt invincible. It’s largely instrumental,but the sound design slots into that front-person role. Muldrow herself composed, performed, recorded, produced, mixed,andmastered this record, unearthing her soundscapes with freedom and precision—whether on the reverbed funk of “Old Jack Swing,” the neon ’80s hype of“Unforgettable,” or the freeform of “Grungepiece.” Put on...

Lauran Hibberd has her tongue firmly planted in her cheek and her heart right on her sleeve with her latest EP “Goober.” Intimate, real, and with enough wit to fill a comedy club, this slacker-pop star’s music has a sound reminiscent of Weezer, Courtney Barnett, and Sløtface while still remaining completely unique. Hibberd’s second EP, following the 2019 release of “Everything is Dogs,” finds her more thoughtful and certainly more confident without sacrificing her hyperspecific and relatable lyricism. Produced by Suzy Shinn (known for her...

Mykki Blanco expertly harnesses inspiration from their worldly travels, experiences with a great love, and talented family and friends to create this concise, deliberate “mini-album.” Each of the nine songs feels unexpected yet perfectly arranged, and together, they form an eclectic group whose individual moments of excellence highlight one another. With some old-school saxophone and Blood Orange’s R&B melodies, “It’s Not My Choice” oozes sexuality and longing for one’s lover to return. “Want From Me” brilliantly fuses bossa nova lounge rhythms and crooning with Blanco’s...

For her third full-length release, indie songwriter extraordinaire Lucy Dacus finds herself revisiting her formative coming-of-age years through candid and vulnerable autobiographical accounts. Her narratives reveal early experiences with relationships, sexuality, and beyond, with relatable rawness.  Songs like “First Time” are saturated with layered vocals, fuzzy guitars, and poppy percussion, while others take a less-is-more approach, like the highly anticipated ballad “Thumbs”—the fan favorite from live performances minimizes the instrumentation to instead spotlight the chillingly intense (yet perfectly poised) lyrics about the heavy feelings and fantasies...