Diddy is ramping up to the release of the R&B-themed The Love Album: Off The Grid, his first proper solo album since 2006’s Press Play (though there was also the acclaimed group effort Last Train To Paris with Diddy – Dirty Money in 2010 and the, uh, less acclaimed 11 11 with dance producer Guy […]
Kylie Minogue – “Tension”
I don’t think Kylie Minogue could have anticipated what happened with “Padam Padam,” the intensely catchy lead single from her new album Tension. “Padam Padam” came out four months ago alongside the album announcement, and quickly turned into a sensation and Song Of The Summer contender. Minogue hasn’t put out a single from Tension since […]
Final Gasp – “Blood & Sulfur”
In a few weeks, the awesomely evil Boston band Final Gasp will release Mourning Moon, their first full-length. I can’t wait. Final Gasp’s sound is a beautifully forbidding combination of hardcore, goth, and metal, and they churn like prime Samhain. The band recorded the album with Arthur Rizk, the Cold World/War Hungry/Eternal Champion/Sumerlands guitarist who’s […]
Maxo Kream – “Bonecrusher” (Feat. Key Glock)
Every once in a while, I hit play on a new song, and I know within 10 seconds that I’m going to love it. This is one of those times. Maxo Kream and Key Glock on the same song? And it’s called “Bonecrusher”? And it interpolates Bone Crusher 2003 fighting-in-the-club crunk anthem “Never Scared”? Yeah, […]
PinkPantheress & Stay Kids’ Hyunjin Appear On Troye Sivan’s “Rush” Remix
Troye Sivan has had a big summer. He was one of the best things about The Idol, the Weeknd’s HBO show. (The Idol was not good, and it will not return, but it sure generated a lot of conversation.) In July, Sivan also released his playfully horny dance-pop single “Rush,” and Stereogum’s readers decreed that […]
Metal’s Song Of The Summer
Mean Mistreater’s debut single, “Bleeding The Night,” inspires a specific type of heavy metal feeling. I immediately sensed it when I caught the Austin, Texas, quintet performing a high-octane set of Trad Belt-contending heavy metal sweetened with a sprinkle of midnight malevolence. “This song title explains it all,” Janiece Gonzalez, Mean Mistreater’s singer, writes in […]
Wings Of Desire – “Made Of Love” & “Be Here Now”
The UK indie rock duo Wings Of Desire made an impression with the series of EPs that they released in 2021. The band found a sound that was both revved-up and blissed-out, combining shoegaze textures with Springsteenian bombast. The band quietly followed those EPs with a couple of singles, 2022’s “Choose A Life” and this […]
Doja Cat Announces New Album Scarlet, Previews “Demons” With Retro Horror Trailer Starring Christina Ricci
Last month, Doja Cat went on social media and pointedly refused to tell her fans that she loves them: “I don’t though cuz I don’t even know yall.” It’s time that someone said something about parasocial stan armies, and Doja is exactly the kind of pop star who doesn’t mind doing stuff like that. The […]
Yours Truly Turns 10
Ariana Grande’s debut album starts with a whoosh of strings, twirling like the spell that magicked Cinderella into her ballgown. The next track, “Baby I,” begins with the LucasArts THX intro, just before brass hits lock into place like spotlights. They’re less hooks than overtures, the first few notes before the curtain rises on the […]
Slowdive – “alife”
We’ve already weighed in on Slowdive’s magnificent new album everything is alive, which drops this Friday, but they might as well keep that hype train rolling with one more advance single. Today it’s “alife,” a lush and uptempo track that helped the band to really get into album mode. Neil Halstead offers some context: “alife” […]