The rodeo queen of woke country is back!!!

Golden Hour is absolutely on my Mount Rushmore of country albums, so after years of Kacey bouncing around different sounds and detouring into pop, folk, and softer singer-songwriter territory, it’s honestly just nice to hear her fully tap back into her roots again. And like basically everyone has already said, this is where she thrives.

To repeat the conventional wisdom even more, Kacey is at her best when she’s funny. There’s a ... read more

Since I’m trying to clear out and finally finish the dozens of half-written drafts sitting in my queue, I figured I’d go back to one album from 2025 that I just never found time to properly articulate my thoughts on.

A lot of people constantly ask why R&B isn’t as mainstream or culturally dominant as it was in the 90s and 2000s, and honestly, I think the answer is pretty obvious: modern R&B has become a fucking snooze fest. What made 90s and 2000s R&B so massive ... read more

With the exception of Azealia Banks, whenever artists make a right-wing MAGA pivot, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to unstan them, because as their politics get worse, the music usually follows. Kanye post-DONDA has been a mess, Gwen’s country pivot has zero originality, Grimes sounds half-finished these days, and Nicki’s output has been straight up embarrassing, "Big Foot" being the clearest example. And now M.I.A. feels like she’s fallen into that same trap. As ... read more

I know people are sick of the term, but it is so applicable here. This album, its features, its sound, it’s all Khia Asylum core. I can literally picture everyone from Caroline Polachek to Cupcakke gathering in the courtyard in orange jumpsuits recording vocals for this thing.

But on a serious note, this album is such an important cultural monument. I remember the online chatter around this record in 2017, even though I was literally 13 and definitely should not have had a Twitter ... read more

Welcome to Madonna summer on my page as we gear up for Confessions II. Madonna truly has one of the most legendary discographies ever, and I’ve been meaning to actually sit down and articulate my thoughts on each record, so we’re starting from the beginning with the album that introduced her to the world.

Madonna is a quintessential 80s synth-pop and dance-pop record. Endless grooves, super catchy hooks, and that funky, rubbery production that just makes you want to move. ... read more

Divas, dolls, theys, and gays, this is a mandatory listen. Like genuinely, if I had to recommend one album released this year to my girlies, it would be The Nightlife.

For the uneducated (lol), Honey Dijon is a pioneering transgender producer and DJ within ballroom and queer dance culture. Her public profile skyrocketed after producing “COZY” and “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” on Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE. I bring that up not to make reference to my favorite artist and ... read more

It’s pretty solid. There’s some nice dubstep and UK garage influence all over this, with slick grooves and really catchy vocal delivery. It’s very PinkPantheress core, like that same light, bouncy, slightly nostalgic club sound that’s easy to throw on and enjoy.

The issue is it just doesn’t have much personality. With PinkPantheress, even when the songs are short or simple, there’s still a distinct voice and identity there. Here, it kind of blends together ... read more

Apparently this is unpopular, but Midnight Sun: Girls Trip > Midnight Sun. Zara finally tapped into production that actually feels interesting instead of just clean and safe. “Pretty Ugly (Girls Trip)” alone clears half the original album. That beat is filthy, chaotic, and genuinely exciting in a way Zara rarely lets herself be. She really did her big one there.

What makes this project fun is that it actually pushes the songs somewhere new instead of just lightly tweaking them. ... read more

LMAO 💀

🌟 None

I like this record. It’s an easy listen in the best way, clearly pulling from that golden era of late 90s and early 2000s R&B, both vocally and production-wise. The stacked harmonies are very obviously inspired by the vocal bible herself, Brandy, while the production feels like Keyshia Cole, Kelly Rowland, Brandy, and Janet all got thrown into one late-night studio session.

What saves it from becoming wedding-band pastiche, or some Bruno Mars-ass cosplay album, is Kehlani’s ... read more

Yeah… this album is a complete mindfuck in every possible way. This is Yeezus before Yeezus, OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDE before OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDE, MOTOMAMI before MOTOMAMI. You can hear the blueprint for so much modern experimental pop, hyperpop, and electronic music all over this record. It’s honestly kind of insane how ahead of its time this was.

It’s also crazy going back and reading the original reception to this album. Seeing Pitchfork call ... read more

I have such a soft spot for Ari. She was my favorite pop star growing up, Cat Valentine was that girl on Nickelodeon, and The Honeymoon Tour was literally my first arena concert. So yeah, there’s a lot of nostalgia baked into how I hear this album.

Listening to thank u, next now genuinely feels like opening a time capsule to 2019. The lingo, the trap-lite production, the whole therapy-pop, oversharing, “I’m healing but also spiraling” energy. It’s so of its ... read more

Solid, straight down the middle dance-pop. It feels like a more watered-down, mainstream version of Through The Wall by Rochelle Jordan. Nothing offensive, nothing groundbreaking, just easy to throw on and enjoy.

🌟 Just a Girl, Ear Candy, Oh Lala, Bitch in Ibiza

There’s a million things that have already been said about this album, and most of them are probably better than anything I could write. This record has been analyzed to death for a reason. The songwriting is insane, the cultural commentary somehow feels even more relevant under Trump 2.0, and every time you revisit it, a different line hits you in a completely new way. So instead of pretending I’m adding something groundbreaking here, I’m just gonna list my favorite bars from ... read more

BANGER after BANGER after BANGER after Computer Blue (lol) after BANGER after BANGER after BANGER after BANGER after BANGER.

🌟 Let's Go Crazy, Take Me with U, The Beautiful Ones, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U, Baby I'm a Star, Purple Rain

Joji must've pissed in my ears because this is genuinely some of the most uninspired, low-effort music I’ve heard in a minute. I’ve heard kids in high school make more creative SoundCloud tracks than this interlude ass album.

🌟 Piece of You, Past Won't Leave My Bed

Hiiiii divas! God damn, it’s been a minute since I've last posted. I’ve been buried in final papers and was in D.C. all last week working on a trial I’m part of, so I’ve been basically off the grid. But I’m back now, and while I was gone, Donna Summer’s only real heir, Jessie Ware, dropped her 6th studio album.

Out of the disco trilogy she’s been on since 2020, Superbloom comfortably lands in second behind What’s Your Pleasure?, and that ... read more

I’ve tried to get through this album in full at least five times, and every single time I had to turn it off. I finally forced myself to finish it today, and honestly… it wasn’t worth it. It’s just that unappealing.

What makes this so frustrating is that I love soul and neo-soul. But there's no soul in this soul album. While Ari's earlier work was actually sensual, smooth, elegant, a little raunchy, and soulful, on this record, that entire feeling is ... read more

This is just a pleasant listen. Very millennial dad core, straight down the middle pop with a touch of soft-rock. It’s easy on the ears, optimistic, and enjoyable to throw on. Yeah, it’s a bit basic, but I had a good time with it.

🌟 Changes, Cry, Washed Up, Sideways, Until It Happens To You

Gay Twitter has been going crazy over this album since its release, and a lot of people whose taste I really trust have been giving it nothing but praise. And I’ve actually been sitting with this record for over a month now. I didn’t review it right away because I figured it might be a grower, especially since so many people I respect were riding for it. I kept coming back to it thinking it would click.

But… it just never did.

To me, it sounds like gimmicky Halloween music. ... read more