It's a Houston Hot Girl musical link up! There are very few joys left during this quarantine. But this is a win, I will gladly take. Megan Thee Stallion, creator of the Hot Girl Summer, leader of the Hotties, just announced the release of the remix to her hit "Savage" with a surprise feature from fellow Houston, Texas native, Beyoncé.  If you're not a fan of rap, or less familiar with Megan thee Stallion as you are with Queen Bey, you have definitely come across her hit "Savage"...

POLIÇAWhen We Stay Alive(Memphis Industries) “Don’t you hold on to that hurt so long/Or do,” Poliça’s Channy Leaneagh sings on “TATA,” the second track on her band’s fourth full-length, When We Stay Alive. The self-proclaimed “busybody” suffered a tough fall last winter while clearing the ice dams on her Minneapolis home’s roof, damaging her vertebrae. Constricted to a brace to heal, Leaneagh grappled with reclaiming her emotions via deep reflections and realizing “the power in resurrecting her inner self.” When We Stay Alive stands its ground sonically, never straying...

HAYLEY WILLIAMSPetals of Armor I and II(Atlantic Records) In February, American singer-songwriter and Paramore front-woman Hayley Williams shared PETALS FOR ARMOR I, which featured five songs from her upcoming album, including “Simmer,” “Leave It Alone,” “Cinnamon,” “Creepin’” and “Sudden Desire.” PETALS FOR ARMOR II is the second extended play and was released on Atlantic Records on April 21, 2020. The second part includes “Why We Ever,” “Over Yet,” “My Friend,” “Dead Horse,” and “Roses/Lotus/Iris/Violet,” (featuring backing vocals from Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers of...

“I’m not a pop star,” Lizzo insists. “I’m not an ‘It’ girl. I’m one part  Detroit gospel, one part Houston rap, and one part Minneapolis weird.” This pronouncement isn’t surprising, since much of Lizzo’s appeal lies in her refusal to be limited by genre. Backed by years of classical music training and girl-group cred, the 27-year-old has one of the most multifaceted voices in hip-hop. She does it all, delivering effortless, gospel-inflected hooks and tart-tongued verses that touch on everything from race and gender to cannibalism...

SHOPPINGAll Or Nothing (Fat Cat)     All Or Nothing, the fourth LP from London threesome Shopping, was written across an intense 10-day period, and the urgency of those power sessions is clear. The album opener, “Trust In Us,” brings a propulsive bass line that sets the momentum for the entire album. All or Nothing is true to Shopping’s notable no-frills post-punk sound, but they have found space within that to experiment. Songs like “For Your Pleasure” and “Initiative” add in tightly wound synths and ditch their signature guitars entirely. In...

SHELBY LYNNE Shelby Lynne (Thirty Tiger Records) Twenty years ago, Shelby Lynne released her hugely successful landmark album, I Am Shelby Lynne, which fused Americana roots music with a soulful R&B sound. Lynne’s eponymous new offering, Shelby Lynne, brings together those same musical elements, resulting in her most personal work yet. There’s a whole lotta feeling going on in every track of this collection. Two of the songs, "Revolving Broken Heart" and "Love Is Coming," are featured in the 2020 film When We Kill The Creators, which Lynne also stars in. There’s also the torchy heartache...

The COVID-19 lockdown has turned a lot of us into sullen brats (quaranteens, if you will). We're proverbially “grounded” and relegated our rooms, totally oscillating from extreme despair to rage to boredom. We're experiencing the kind of maniacal munchies that could only previously be explained by a Biblical tide of hormones. Expendable income? Ha! Yes, everything sucks and life is so not fair, but before you ugly cry into your tattered poetry notebook, get this. Michigan punks The Lippies just dropped their surprise EP, Pop 'n' Lockdown, through label...

Oof. Heartbreak on top of a pandemic. If you are one of the millions of humans going through a breakup right now, my heart is with you. While reading this, you’re likely isolating in separate rooms from your live-in ex. OR you haven’t seen them in weeks and weeks, and have finally broken up through cryptic, barbiturate-enhanced text fights. Either way, your situation is brutal.There are a few things to consider. First, be kind to each other. Any challenges you have (or had) are likely...

SOCCER MOMMY Color Theory (Lorna Vista Recordings)      Sophie Allison (Soccer Mommy)’s sophomore record is all about time, and how it’s quickly running out. It’s also about catharsis, like on the seven-minute “yellow is the color of her eyes,” where she laments being away from her sick mother. Elsewhere on color theory, Allison chastises herself for her inner demons (“lucy”) and beautifully decimates white knights on “royal screw up,” an acoustic track that builds to become a symphony. But it’s “circle the drain,” in which Allison sweetly...

TOO FREELove in High Demand(Sister Polygon)     Too Free makes dance music for every space. The solo road trip, the dark warehouse club, the crackling excitement of sexual chemistry, or the wild confidence of finding yourself. Ultimately, Love in High Demand is about connection—and its heavy bass, shuffling beats, and tactile vocals perfectly reflect those kinetics. From the polyrhythmic R&B of “Elastic” and rich club sub of “ATM” to the warm, soulful ambience of “Breathing Underwater,” each track is a new embrace, beckoning you from its...