Josiah Wise, AKA serpentwithfeet, forged his creative identity in the fires of deliberate introspection and holistic growth, emerging triumphantly with DEACON, a grounded, neo-R&B album uniting his vocal training, gospel upbringing, and newfound warmth. Previous albums have traversed the melancholy and yearning he has known, and with DEACON, we are baptized into an era of unapologetic Black queer contentment. “Hyacinth” displays Wise’s vocal range, embracing melodies and piano accompaniments that are diaphanous, vulnerable, and self-possessed. The radiance of this album resists fleeting happiness, instead summoning the quiet magic...

“I’m rotting and I’m never coming back the way you knew me then,” Kalmia Traver (Rubblebucket) sings languidly on opener “Red Marker,” setting the radiant, springtime-trippy tone for Max Heart. What began as Traver’s solo side project, Kalbells has bloomed into a band featuring Angelica Bess (Body Language), Zoë Brecher (Hushpuppy, Sad13), and Sarah Pedinotti (Lip Talk), and their collective groove is definitely in the Heart. These 10 tracks are psychedelic in the most mind freeing, soothing, yellow-smiley-face sense of the word—elastic funk and fluid...

CasanovaOnTheMic’s newest single, “NO MAKEUP," is a reminder for all women that you are fine just the way you are. Produced by Fliptunesmusic, the single reads as a love letter to the natural beauty that resides within all of us. “I wanted to let women know they are more than booty and that they should know their worth,” Casanova states about the inspiration behind the track.  Originally from the Island of Guam, CasanovaOnTheMic is an artist that transcends all genres from Hip-Hop to Dancehall. Performing at...

The music video for Lana Del Rey’s “White Dress” is a collage of sun-bleached visuals: wind turbines, a barking golden retriever, a desert road at dusk, and a barbecue joint with roller-skating waitstaff that appears to be planted in an airstream park.  This kind of Americana imagery has been a constant throughline in Lana Del Rey’s discography, and it’s as present as ever on her long-awaited sixth album Chemtrails Over the Country Club, which was released on March 19. The album features folk-y sounds freshened up...

Blues/psych veteran Guy Blakeslee (the Entrance Band) delivers seven songs of restlessness, transformation, and matters of the heart—roving confessionals stamped with experimental production techniques and a flair for the dramatic. Opener “Sometimes” stumbles slightly under the weight of funereal pacing, but the title track enlivens—a steady, wistful earworm evocative of staring out an unfamiliar window while travelling alone. “Giving Up the Ghost” oscillates between plodding digital squall and fluttering, gilded melodies; “What Love Can Do” proselytizes on the upbeat: “Have you seen what love can do?/It can take any wall and break right through/I know damn well what love can...

Going to Hell is the debut full-length solo effort from Lande Hekt of beloved U.K. indie-pop band Muncie Girls, and it’s also Hekt’s first album after coming out as gay. The album sparkles with infectious feel-good pop; the lyrics follow themes of yearning and contrition, as well as stepping into who you are, and perhaps connecting with others who may need it (like on the beautifully anthemic eponymous track). The brightest encapsulation is the single “Whiskey,” where Hekt’s voice is smoke and velvet, the slow...

Queen Bey officially became queen of the Recording Academy during the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards on March 14.  Held in celebration of this past year’s greatest achievements in music, the ceremony nominated Beyoncé for nine awards, making her the most nominated artist of the night. This comes as no surprise, considering Beyoncé had an exceptionally busy 2020. In what was arguably the best collaboration of the year, she and fellow Houston-born rap star Megan Thee Stallion released “Savage Remix,” earning them a joint award for Best...

Since Ella Fitzgerald’s double win at the first ceremony in 1958, women have been making Grammys history. Judy Garland became the first woman to win Album of the Year in 1961, followed by Astrud Gilberto, who held the same honor for Record of the Year in 1964. But still, between 2012 and 2017, 90.7% of general category nominees were male, according to a USC study. In such a male-dominated industry, women are constantly proving themselves to be a force to be reckoned with, and this year,...

Goat Girl plays it elegantly loose, and a little more mature, with On All Fours. For its sophomore album, the South London group unpacks its musical discussion of Planet Earth, those inhabiting it, and where we’ll go from here. Rhythmic organicism, unsettling sentiments, and ambitiously playful jumps make up the primary vessel. Tracks flow into each other with ease but swell into distinctly different beings over time. On All Fours is carried by sci-fi synthesizers, grounding guitars, and familiar human yearnings for something more. As the album...

It’s only fitting that Doja Cat’s video for “Streets” opens up with her doing the famous #SilhouetteChallenge that has spawned almost 400 million views on TikTok. The challenge consists of a person standing in front of a doorway, while a snippet of the song “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” by Paul Anka plays in the background. The audio then transitions into “Streets” and the video cuts to the person dancing sensually to the music. Only their silhouette is shown with mood lighting to accompany...