Photo Credit: Ryan Rundle On stage, Cannons lead singer Michelle Joy is an enigmatic presence – sporting glam-rock looks and exuding a sense of effortless cool. On her band’s third album – and first since their breakthrough LP Shadows (which boasted the band’s first AAA chart-topper) – Joy seeks to transplant this effortless cool into her band’s… Read more
Photo Credit: CBS.com Have you ever heard the song “McFlurry” by the Sleaford Mods? Banging track. The outro consists of vocalist Jason Williamson mockingly chanting “I’ve got a Brit Award, I’ve got a Brit Award // No Surrender, No Surrender // Animal, five-day bender,” imitating the attitudes of overblown rock stars celebrating dubious awards in a played… Read more
Photo Credit: Zackery Michael A single start-to-finish listen will reveal to just about any listener that the fourth full-length album (joining about a half-dozen EPs) from Vancouver, Canada duo Bob Moses, The Silence in Between, is a strong and tight offering of atmosphere club-type EDM and bouncy, fun pop. Appropriately-titled opening cut “Seen it Coming” is the perfect… Read more
Photo Credit: Getty Images for The Recording Academy (All Photos) Award show attendance has been reliably falling year-on-year and this year, the Recording Academy seemed less concerned than ever about doing anything to revert that trend, with an overlong, self-indulgent ceremony that ran for a seemingly never-ending 2 hours and 33 minutes. Beyond making a… Read more
Photo Credit: Emily Lipson This is the album Charlotte Aitchison – you probably know her better as Charli XCX – should have made at the beginning of her career, back when she was still a pop star on the rise releasing albums such as True Romance and co-writing platinum-selling mega-hits like Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and… Read more
Photo Credit: Ryan Allan Wisconsin’s Carlie Hanson had her big break when her song “Only One” was added to a playlist curated by Taylor Swift. The best moments on her debut album Tough Boy occur when she embraces a Swiftian style of songwriting; where small details are blown up to cinematic proportions – where being in love… Read more
With Coronavirus receding and the world slowly opening back up, the last year has allowed musicians to finally get back in the studio and record new music. Combine this with a pandemic’s worth of soul-searching and you find an entire generation of new talent making urgent music that meets this moment. From soul-searching singer-songwriters to… Read more
Photo Credit: Sariel Elkaim Kyle Harvey – known also as K.i.D, SuperDuperKyle, Kidd Kash, and, most commonly, just Kyle – has made a name for himself through his work with other artists. His breakout hit was the now-Platinum certified “iSpy” with Lil Yachty – his only other Platinum-certified track is “Playinwitme”, featuring Kehlani. On It’s Not… Read more
Photo Credit: Mat Hayward/Getty Images Ever since Lana Del Rey had her breakthrough back in 2012 with what some critics described as the “shallow,” “overwrought,” and “depressing” Born to Die, Lana has remained a contemporary pop mystery who rarely appears on TV shows or in interviews. Even though Born to Die would prove some of the most negative… Read more
Photo Credit: Courtesy Republic Records Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s After Hours wasn’t just a success, it was a record-breaking triumph. The album’s second single “Blinding Lights” spent over a year in the Top 10 and was recently declared the biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time. Meanwhile, “Save Your Tears” – buoyed by a remix featuring Ariana Grande… Read more