In some very, very good news, Lil Nas X dropped the music video for “Industry Baby” today.As we have all come to expect out of Lil Nas X, the video is pretty spectacular. It begins with him being sentenced to 5 years in Montero State Prison (an allusion to his Satan shoe legal troubles with Nike), where his life as an inmate includes hot pink uniforms, impeccable naked shower choreography, a Shawshank Redemption-style escape, and finally, a prison-break that has every inmate dancing out of...

  CHAI’s latest album, WINK, is chicken soup for the pandemic-ravaged soul. Though, in this case, it feels appropriate to swap the soup for the karaage (Japanese fried chicken) that earns a sultry dedication on the Tokyo-based band’s third LP. To help cope with COVID isolation, CHAI “made an album that was like a friend,” lead singer/keyboardist MANA says through the band’s interpreter Rena Tyner. (The four-piece prefers to remain surname-less.) “It’s an album that I can cry to, get mad at, and get happy with.”...

Britney Spears has declared on Instagram that she's done with performing until her dad steps down from her conservatorship. "For those of you who choose to criticize my dancing videos... look I'm not gonna be performing on any stages anytime soon with my dad handling what I wear, say, do, or think!!!!” Britney announced in her post. She then went on to say that she would rather dance in her living room than be controlled on stage. Jamie Spears has been left as the sole...

Mannequin Pussy embraces some enormously hard-to-fill voids on Perfect. Freshly a trio, the Philly punk staple parted ways with founding guitarist Thanasi Paul near the end of 2020 and spent most of the pandemic apart. Exploring that emptiness and their evolution as a group, the three-piece powerhouse reunited in the studio to create almost all of the well-rounded tracks for their fourth EP. Diving headfirst into a reinvigorated and fervently vulnerable sound, Mannequin Pussy lyrically lets go without loosening its sonic chokehold too much. The result...

Halsey has unveiled the cover art for her latest album, “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power,” complete with a video tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the 13-minute-long silent film, Halsey is lavishly dressed as she walks barefoot around the famous New York landmark, looking at various artworks depicting motherhood, including Duccio Di Buoninsegna’s ‘Madonna and Child’, as she cradles her own baby bump. The singer, who announced her pregnancy back in February, could have stepped out of one of the...

Midwife, aka multi-instrumentalist Madeline Johnston, captures all the angst and intensity of the past year on one intense recording. Elements of shoegaze, metal, post-metal, pop, and electro-pop commingle on her latest release, Luminol. The name of the record comes from the chemical used by forensic investigators to discover blood and other bodily fluids left behind at a crime scene. And just like its namesake, this difficult-but-important album has a way of dredging up all kinds of forgotten emotions. Themes of depression, confinement, and claustrophobia work...

On her third album, London-based musician Billie Marten takes her minimalist acoustic foundation and grows a verdant, beautiful landscape all over it. Like the single, “Garden of Eden,” Flora Fauna is an exemplar of growth: Marten’s signature breathy, tender vocals swim amidst rich, abounding instrumentation including horns, strings, toe-tapping beats, and drums and bass which enliven these pop songs. She strikes a cunning balance of play and contemplation, joy and longing. And her lyrics, which always express quiet truths about her inner experience, now sparkle with optimism....

It is hot girl summer, yes. But maybe it is also blasphemous babe beach season? (Question mark intended to be read aloud for emphasis.)  Rarely can you find a more interesting and profound mix of religion, sex, and love than in the music that artists of past and present have blessed us with. Included below are songs for you to meditate on the power and practice of love, lust, and longing, in whatever form they may take this summer.  1. “Like A Prayer” by Madonna (1989) Like a...

SPELLLING has spent her last few projects solidifying her work as an electro-pop goddess. With The Turning Wheel, she takes on a whole new creative task, by curating (and self-producing) a brand new musical experience. Swapping synths for richer instrumentation, SPELLLING offers highlights including melodic opener “Little Deer,” a soulful title track, and the moody “Queen of Wands.” The songs shift as effortlessly as their sounds, proving just how deeply SPELLLING is focused on mastering a cohesive project. The Turning Wheel offers a new spin...

This week was another success in terms of music. We got a new Doja Cat album (with many amazing features), a new WILLOW single that is bound to be a hit and many more songs that will wander onto our playlists all summer. Below are six songs, out this week, that you need to check out.  1. “I Don’t Do Drugs” by Doja Cat (feat. Ariana Grande) Right off of Doja Cat’s new, highly-anticipated album “Planet Her'', “I Don’t Do Drugs” lives up to the hype. The...