Pop Spotlight

When traditional Hip-Hop mixes with trap in a bubble of conscious madness with dominant confidence in your ears, that means you’re listening to something extraordinary. Tik Tok by 1200 Slim is here to tell you […]

The masterful R&B singer returns with more creative control on a project where her voice, style, and swagger are well preserved. Toni Braxton could have had more. That seems like a crazy assertion to make […]

Produced with the National’s Aaron Dessner, the introspective Canadian singer-songwriter’s stately fourth album evokes an atmosphere of quiet loveliness. In 2009, Hannah Georgas wrote a song about hoping to run into an ex at a […]

Michelle Zauner (a.k.a. Japanese Breakfast) and Ryan Galloway of Crying form a socially distanced, easy-going pop duo whose music offers a brief respite from the times.  Recently, a few critics have classified the year 2013 […]

With her solo debut, AlunaGeorge’s Aluna Francis explores dance music in many forms—pop-house, dancehall, funk, Caribbean and African dance—as a personal refuge and an industry corrective. Featured Tracks: Play Track “Body Pump” — AlunaVia SoundCloud AlunaGeorge, […]

Although recorded in the shadow of tragedy, the Brazilian singer-songwriter’s first album in six years is characteristically delicate in tone and full of charm. Bebel Gilberto made Agora over three years of tragedy. In that […]

Ricky Reed, the producer behind Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” as well as hits by Jason Derulo and Fifth Harmony, offers a solo debut made via livestream and defined by a hazy, late-night melancholy.  Ricky Reed, the […]

Packing 15 producers into 50 minutes, the fun but overstuffed Future Nostalgia rework hopscotches between piano house, Baltimore club, and the kind of dance remixes that power Chelsea gay bars. Featured Tracks: Play Track “Break […]

The Colombian pop star’s latest is low stakes, neither offensive nor remarkable, the sound of a reggaetonero you’d expect to find on a mood board for a fashion campaign. Can you really be macho if […]

On her sophomore album, the singer examines good and evil through a series of spare, cryptic parables. Sevdaliza approaches her sophomore album Shabrang like a lounge singer fresh off a marathon reading of Paradise Lost, […]

Katy Perry’s bubbly, cliché-ridden pop feels especially unsuited for life in a pandemic. But despite all her garbled platitudes, she remains a master at executing chart-topping formulas. Between rows of Spandex at Forever 21, in […]

The Australian pop singer finds freedom in the EP format, breaking the family-friendly veneer of past releases and serving up his most idiosyncratic music yet. Featured Tracks: Play Track “Stud” — Troye SivanVia SoundCloud Late last […]

Matthew Tyler Musto’s latest album feels like a time capsule for this cursed year, a nauseating sludge of every “Study Beats” playlist and every TikTok influencer’s attempt at writing a hit. In Naoise Dolan’s recent […]

J $pice rapper, songwriter, and fashionista delivered a brand new track called ‘Stop It,’ where he pulls out new rap tricks and treats us with the finest urban flow. The track is a rap lesson […]

The Nigerian superstar’s latest LP can feel heavy under the weight of his personal reflection and pan-African crusade. It is a load worth carrying. Featured Tracks: Play Track “Alarm Clock” — Burna BoyVia SoundCloud As a […]

The dancehall superstar’s latest mixtape is the best of every facet of his work, from slow-wine ballads to summery head-bangers. It’s a testament to his place at the forefront of the genre. The version of […]

After a car accident derailed her life, the pop singer returns with her second album, compacting emotional and romantic upheaval into tactile electro-pop packed with splashy synths and soaring melodies. Kiesza’s house-pop hit “Hideaway” arrived […]