Australia's Dark-Pop Princess CXLOE Has a "New Trick" Up Her Sleeves
"I got a new trick / Why'd it take all this time?" Australia is home to some of the finest, most globally cherished pop exports of our time: The Sisters Minogue™. Natalie Imbruglia. Holly Valance. Enter CXLOE into the discourse. The 26-year-old Sydney-born singer-songwriter has been making waves…
"The Motto": Ava Max & Tiësto Unite for a Time-Traveling Party Anthem
"Believe it, we ain't got no plans to leave here..." Paws up, Maxxinistas: our time is now. Being a card-carrying Avatar is a full-time job, but it pays well in bangers and bops aplenty: we've got our heads and our hearts to look after, toasts to raise with all of the kings and queens on the…
Foxes' 'The Kick' Is Set to Be One of the First Great Albums of 2022
"It's insane, but you know when you've got it..." Forget all the 2021 end-of-year "Best Of" listicle discourse. Who needs it? It's time to talk about next year. English singer-songwriter Louisa Rose Allen, best known as Foxes - who you all know and love from Zedd's "Clarity" surely, as well as a…
Conan Gray, "Telepath": A Synth-Pop Ode to the One Who Keeps Crawling Back
"Call me a telepath..." Conan Gray is kind of psychic. It's like he has ESPN or something. After dropping his Top 5-charting debut album Kid Krow last year, including "Maniac" and the TikTok-trending "Heather," his most commercially successful hit yet, as well as a slew of singles ever since,…
"Kiss of Life": Kylie Minogue & Jessie Ware Meet in the Middle of the Dance Floor
"Give me the kiss of life..." During the most locked-down, isolated of days amid the pandemilovato last year, several of our most beloved artists sought to keep us sane by supplying a much-needed escape via the dance floor in our minds - two of whom being Jessie Ware with What's Your Pleasure?…
"Am I Alright": Aly & AJ Provide a Perfect Indie-Pop Self Check-In
"It can’t be just me who's running on empty / It can't be just me who feels this way..." Aly & AJ want to know: you alright, babes? And to that I say: good question! In this wildly weird year of The New Normal™, admittedly, there haven't been a ton of records that have managed to grab my…
"Cleo": Shygirl Steps Into Her Spotlight
"You got me feeling like a movie star..." There are several perfectly good reasons for Shygirl to feel like a movie star at the moment. After dropping her Blu performance film this summer (which is a great introductory medley if you're unfamiliar with her music), as well as big dick-beckoning…
"A Second to Midnight": Kylie Minogue & Years & Years Shine Like a Light in the Dark (And Do Drag!)
Kylie™ made the dreary days of lockdown a whole lot brighter last year with her 15th studio album Disco, a loving ode to the genre, and a most necessary nostalgic escape in the bleakest of days. One year later, things aren't...worse necessarily, but we're not back to normal yet, either. Whatever…
Kelly Clarkson Kicks Off Christmas With a Festive Middle Finger
Kelly Clarkson is having a very different kind of Christmas this year. Maybe you are too. As nice as it'd be if everyone was feeling lovey-dovey this coming holiday season, the sober(REFERENCE)ing truth is that some of us just don't get that warm and fuzzy feeling at the thought of snuggling up…
"Good Ones": Charli XCX Enters Her Evil Main Pop Girl Era
"I always let the good ones go..." Charli XCX is a sell-out. Or, well, that's the goal. Over the past few months, our dearest Charlotte Aitchison, She of Track 10 Fame, has been distancing from left-lane, artsy-fartsy, experimental alt-hyper-pop princess sonic territory and not-so-subtly…
"One Night": Griff Tries to Dance the Darkness Away
"Can I have one night, one night, one night where it's just me alone?" Griff's still got the good stuff - arguably more than ever. The 20-year-old Chinese-Jamaican UK singer-songwriter's been on my radar (on my ray-duh) for a minute now - at least over a year now - and she's been steadily…
"Burning Bridges": Sigrid Sings the Pop Praises of Self-Preservation
"Can't love somebody who loves burning bridges..." Alright, Miss Sigrid is not playing around. To be fair, it was made abundantly clear upon the release of euphoric disco-pop smash "Mirror" back in May that the 24-year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter was breaking out the big guns for her…