This record is Drag Race bitch-track core (complimentary). It's like an amalgamation of Ayesha Erotica, Azealia Banks, and Doechii. Let me tell you, this EP gets the pregame bumping!

🌟 404, Bop It, Miniskirt, Back It Up, Kunt Bitch, Bass Down Low

Last weekend I went to see The Moment (which was genuinely great and hilarious). Charli’s film revolves around a pretty simple but loaded question: can she make something that matters after BRAT? Will people care about her post-BRAT output, or was that her commercial and cultural peak? This album answers that question pretty clearly. YES, she absolutely can.

I did not expect Charli to pivot into something this lush and orchestral. This record is gorgeous in a way that feels almost ... read more

I don't think there's anything I can say about this record that hasn't already been said 1,000x before. So I'll just state the obvious and say that this is a spectacular record and we lost Amy way too soon.

🌟 Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Me & Mr. Jones, Just Friends, Back to Black, Love Is a Loosing Game, Tears Dry On Their Own, Wake Up Alone, Some Unholy War, He Can Only Hold Her, Addicted

I’m currently home sick with the flu, which is the only reason why I can write 3 reviews in one day. Typing these out and actually thinking through them takes way more energy than it looks, so bear with me.

Anyway, I think the most interesting question floating around gay Twitter right now is this: has Zara Larsson's escape from the Khia Asylum accidentally awakened Big Sweden, or more specifically, the Swede Khias? Between Robyn, Agnes, A*Teens, Tove Lo, and Cobrah either dropping ... read more

I listen to pretty much everything Pitchfork reviews under the Pop/R&B label. Sorry not sorry, I fucking love Pitchfork, and I’m genuinely sad they’re making people pay to read their reviews now. So when I saw Kieran Press-Reynolds describe this record as “dance-pop meets trip-hop,” I was immediately intrigued. In hindsight, that description is honestly laughable after actually hearing the album.

Call me basic, call me mainstream, I truly don't gaf, because ... read more

I hadn’t heard of Jenny on Holiday before seeing Pitchfork’s review of this record. Going in, I already knew this sub-genre of pop (synthpop blended with indie rock) isn’t really my thing, and unfortunately this album didn’t do anything to change that. If anything, it confirmed why I usually stay away from this lane.

The biggest issue is that it just isn’t very interesting. The music feels safe and overly familiar, offering little that stands out or feels new. ... read more

Jesus fucking Christ, this record more than earns its title. Erotica isn’t just sexy, it’s confrontational, sweaty, and unapologetically erotic in a way that still feels dangerous decades later.

This is not the kind of “sexy” that gets focus-grouped or sanded down for mass appeal. It isn’t glossy, robotic, or engineered in a boardroom like Dua Lipa or Tate McRae. This is sexuality rooted in experience, intention, and self-knowledge. That’s what gives this ... read more

What can I say. Unfortunately, some truly terrible people have made some of the greatest pop music ever – just look at Michael Jackson, Kanye West, or Azealia Banks.

There’s just no denying how insanely infectious this record is. This is peak Timbaland production, and the melodies are ridiculous. Every track feels engineered to move bodies, whether it’s on a dance floor, in a car at night, or alone with headphones on.

And as much as it pains me to admit it, Justin sounds ... read more

There is no wasted space on this record. No dead weight, no filler, no song that doesn’t serve a clear purpose. Control is easily Janet’s best and most influential body of work, and its industrial funk blueprint is still being copied today, from B’Day–era Beyoncé to Doja Cat’s Vie.

Context matters for this record. This was the first album Janet made after firing her father as her manager, and you can feel that freedom in every second of it. The album is ... read more

Pop music isn’t just about good vocals, vibey production, or diaristic lyrics. One of the genre’s core obligations, always, is to be entertaining and interesting. That’s why the worst pop albums aren’t necessarily poorly sung or badly produced. The real failure is boredom.

Maybe I’m being extra critical because I’m deep in a Madonna phase right now, and one thing Madonna was always ruthless about was having a point of view. Her music didn’t just sound ... read more

There’s a reason HAIM ends up all over my summer playlists. Their music always feels breezy, like laying on the deck of a boat with the sun hitting just right. I like this record, even if I still don’t think they’ve topped Days Are Gone yet. The shift in sound is welcome. It’s looser and less tightly wound than their early work, with big Sheryl Crow energy running through the whole thing.

That looseness does lead to a few lulls in the middle, though, where the momentum ... read more

Justin Bieber has really convinced every white boy with a mic to make an R&B album that sounds like Mk.gee and Dijon cosplay. If you were to tell me this was SWAG II, I’d believe you without hesitation. It really does feel like The Kid LAROI reheated Justin's nachos. The whole R&B pivot is even funnier once you remember he’s Australian.

Anyway, this was my first The Kid LAROI album, and while I’m not impressed, I’m also not mad about it. It’s fine. ... read more

nostalgia,ULTRA feels like somebody handed you a mixtape they made in their bedroom at 23, and then stole your heart while you listened. It sounds homemade in the best possible way. Slightly rough, intimate, and unconcerned with polish for polish’s sake.

What gives the album its weight is how quietly ambitious it is. Frank interrogates masculinity, intimacy, and ambition without ever sermonizing, letting the atmosphere do most of the work. Nostalgia becomes both comfort and warning. A ... read more

Imaginal Disk sounds like the moment the universe finally pressed CTRL+ALT+DEL on pop and rebooted it into hyperspace. From the second the pulsating synths, glitchy arpeggios, and shimmering soundscapes hit, you’re transported into a world that feels both alien and deeply emotional. The best way I can describe it is that it feels like you're cruising through a jet stream of zero gravity while planets and stars streak past you in slow motion, all backed by basslines that buzz like ... read more

A very promising debut. I love the sultriness of her voice, and the way the samples are used feels intentional rather than gimmicky. The album is emotionally resonant without overselling itself, a really solid example of bedroom pop done with care and restraint. It doesn’t reinvent anything, but it shows real instinct and taste, and I’m genuinely excited to see where she goes next.

🌟 Eighteen, Take Care, Did You Try, I Told Ya, Don’t Feel the Same

Audrey Hobert is white SZA.

🌟 I Like to Touch People, Sue Me, Bowling Alley, Thirst Trap, Chateau, Sex and the City, Shooting Star

The album is definitely bloated, but Khalid has this post–coming-out glow that makes it his best work yet, in my opinion. There’s a looseness and confidence here that wasn’t always present before, and it really suits him. This feels like a stronger, more assured take on that summer dance R&B lane, honestly a much better version of what Destin Conrad was reaching for. Even when it runs long, the warmth and ease of it carry things through.

🌟 Medicine, In Plain Sight, ... read more

This is Cocomelon for indie-pop fans. Kitsch in the worst way, aggressively corny, and somehow proud of it. She’s earned herself a room in the Khia asylum with this one.

🌟 Princess of Power

This one genuinely pains me to write. Coco has one of the best voices I’ve heard in years. The tone, the rasp, the sultriness, it’s unreal. She can sing sing. Which is exactly why this album is so frustrating.

Because the record itself is not just mid, it’s actively bad. The “Toxic” sample on “Taste” is egregious, like a crime scene you can’t look away from. For an artist this musically gifted to rely on such a lazy, tacky sample is baffling. ... read more

I’m genuinely glad Amber learned how to edit herself here. Compared to Three Dimensions Deep, this is a tighter, more cohesive statement, and it’s refreshing to see an up-and-coming R&B artist resist the urge to dump a bloated, playlist-length album. Not every R&B girlie needs to follow the SZA or Summer Walker model.

That said, this feels like a step down from Three Dimensions Deep for me. I just prefer Amber in a sultrier, more uptempo lane. Her deep, raspy voice is her ... read more