Serena Joy - Olivia Rodrigo

Moody pop rock with some new wave production undertones. The lyrics are multifaceted being both personal and political, not that the two aren’t intertwined. Very applicable to the current state of the world with the lack of care for others that so many people are exuding while horrible things are constantly happening around us.

Touch Touch - Haute and Freddy

Dance pop with 80’s synth inspiration. Curiously the lyrics here are also a mix of personal and political. Commenting on desire in a relationship but also saying “give me some relief from just simply existing” which is something a lot of us can relate to right now. This track is super groovy and totally aligned with the sound of their album from earlier this year.

Tough Luck (When You Don’t Call) - Boy Harsher

Synth pop and dark wave with a driving beat. This song is personal yet relatable. It perfectly explains the feeling of disappointment when someone you hope reaches out to you does not do so. If you like my “songs to send to your crush” playlist this song is for you.

Best albums:

Mini Skirt Warrior - flowerovlove

Alternative pop album full of banger after banger. So many fun songs for easy listening. Very comparable to Holly Humberstone, Gracie Abrams, Avery Cochrane and that type of catchy pop girl sound. My favorite tracks are American Wedding and Don’t Even. There is also a WILLOW feature!

I Music Be Dreaming - Alabama Shakes

Blues rock with trademark soulful vocals from Brittany Howard. Their first new album in over a decade is pretty mellow and holds some solid political messages. The calm energy is broken up from time to time by incredible guitar solos or some upbeat funk production as we’ve come to expect from Brittany’s solo work.

So Much For Goodbyes - Billy Strings

Bluegrass and folk album made to honor his late mother. The first track greets listeners with amazing uplifting instrumentation before the project just breaks open to raw emotion. The instrumentation, vocals, production and writing are all of the highest quality. The record is also co-produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett alongside Strings.

My full new music Friday playlist:

Spotify:

Apple Music: Apple Music Playlist

Tidal: Tidal Playlist

The album opens with ‘Psycho S***’ and immediately the autotune took me by surprise but after a few listens I found this sound starts to come together. Lyrically the song starts a bit ambiguous but builds into a direct confrontation of current political leaders. Julian is saying that there is no excuse for ignorance anymore, artists cannot separate their art, and the average person cannot ignore the state of emergency. This is a very powerful album opener.

The transition to track 2 ‘Dine n’ Dash’ is very abrupt. There is a break from the overwhelming autotune on the album and it feels like a more personal confession in the lyrics. Julian is expressing what it’s like to be alive in this time when every day holds a new atrocity, no one in the middle and lower classes can afford anything, and absolutely anything can happen because it feels that checks and balances of politics are gone. I love the melding of personal and societal themes here, because yes everything is connected.

There is no transition to the next track, “Lonely in the Future”. The autotune comes back full force. This song is both so sad and so comedic, I love it. It’s seemingly poking fun at the unoriginality of musicians today and how he’s already done everything. He calls out Harry Styles for his interpolation of ‘Hard to Explain’ by The Strokes on ‘As it Was’. He also calls out music critic Anthony Fantano for his inability to recognize art, telling him to stick to the technical descriptions. This song is also a direct statement on how lonely it is in the present day with the dependence on technology and lack of real human connection.

Next is ‘Falling Out of Love’. The production here is simple and beautiful. This song seems to detail the collapse of a personal relationship and learning how to be alone and to move on. We also never find full respite from the themes of our collapsing world with subtle lines like “dancing alone in the acid rain is new” where the acid rain is not the focus of the sentence but clearly something in the bigger picture is wrong if there is acid rain. There is so much to unpack in this song.

‘Going to Babble On’ follows and sounds like a very classic Strokes song in its production. Thematically this song unpacks the contradicting urge to continue life as usual vs be completely in the know about the horrors of the world. Julian is stating you should be in the know but it’s hard because you still need to keep up with life and keep up with your job while the world is falling apart. It is also a double entendre with the title meaning to babble on like continue talking about nothing but also the place Babylon and our move as a society toward spiritual corruption in every sense. This song does a great job of expressing the insanely difficult balancing act of life today. This is very poignant for me right now, this is something I’ve been grappling with lately among my friends.

‘Going Shopping’ is next and Julian continues to hit the nail on the head with the urge to disconnect from current events. This is actually insanely applicable and timely. I think everyone needs to listen to these last two songs back to back. It sounds like he’s really calling out the people who choose to avoid the reality of what is going on in our world. Something most people are guilty of from time to time, I know I definitely am. I am so impressed with the thematic delivery here.

Next is ‘Liar’s Remorse’ continuing the discussion of choosing comfort over reality. Asking AI for answers instead of doing the work to find out for yourself, avoiding love because you’re scared of getting hurt, society as a whole is becoming so avoidant and it will become the death of us but it also feels like the only way to survive. I’m so impressed by what he is unpacking thematically here.

I love the instrumental on ‘The Fruits of Conquest’ a track commenting on the tendency of the U.S. to try to control, expand and act through violence ever since our colonial beginnings. We are leeches on other cultures and then make it all about us and how hard it was for us to do the taking. This is another song that has so much more to unpack and I think this is one of the best songs of the year.

The final song on the album is ‘Tyrants of the Mellow Moon’ and the instrumental intro is beautiful. Lyrically it almost sounds like Julian is hinting at this being the last The Strokes album or just discussing this possibility of everything eventually ending. There are call backs to previous songs about originality in music coming to an end and it feels like he’s saying he’s explored all of the originality he has to offer. There is only so far you can go before you are stealing from someone else. He perfectly ties together the themes of his personal life and greater political themes here. In art, in life and in politics people are stealing and literally and metaphorically killing constantly.

I can’t believe how much this album has grown on me even from just my first to second listens. It is not an easy listen with the unique auto tune but it is an incredibly worthwhile project to dive into when you have the time to really unpack what is being conveyed. Overall I would rate this album a 9.25/10 and it has been added to my best albums of 2026 list but let me know what you think in the comments.

Visually I love the composition and the three figures John Cale of the velvet underground, designer Marc Jacobs and director Martin Scorsese represent the three pillars of Music, Fashion, and Film.

The album opens with the lead single ‘Rock Music’. A song that makes it clear the queen of the 2024 dance floor is moving on to new sounds stating “I think the dancefloor is dead so now we’re making rock music”. The song explores a new use of electric guitar while still being a dancey track.

Next is my favorite of the singles, ‘SS26’. I think this is one of the best songs of the year with the honest transparency in the lyrics and a grungy electronic chill rock style. This is such original music.

She follows it with ‘Card Declined’. Charli’s personality comes through so strongly which is a huge testament to her artistic ability. She bluntly discusses the materialism of celebrity culture in the most simplistic terms before splitting into a rock riff for the last 30 seconds of the song lyrically focussing on yearning which is something people now feel for sought after material things.

The next song ‘Camera’ is a genuine confession about Charli’s desire to pursue acting and her concerns that doing so could destroy her music career. This is a super repetitive track but I think it’s a representation of these thoughts swirling repeatedly through her head.

‘2007’ follows and finds Charli reminiscing on her life before her music career. How she used to wish for the day that she would be a pop star. I like the meaning of this track but I need more time with it musically.

The next song ‘I’m Afraid’ is one of the saddest songs on the album about the societal pressure for marriage to be the most important event in people’s lives, especially women's lives. She seems to grapple with the idea of being a good wife, compromising her artistic abilities and questioning if making art is inherently selfish.

‘Yeah’ follows. Amazing how a song with genuinely like 10 words can say so much. Charli seems to be commenting on her tendency that may be a past tendency now, to seek approval and do what is expected. It kind of listens like watching a short chaotic scene in a movie that really solidifies the direction of the plot for that moment in time.

Her last single, ‘Wink Wink’ follows. This one is so catchy and fun but also seems to continue to grapple with some of the previous questions. It also talks about her “bad girl” “party girl” personality that was on full display during ‘BRAT’. It feels like she’s pretending to move on from that part of herself to enter a new era but the use of the line “wink wink” after these statements makes it feel like you’re let in on the secret that she hasn’t actually changed, those parts of her are still there, she’s just in a different life phase right now.

The next song ‘Persona’ has some of my favorite lyrics on the whole project. It is such an interesting description of what it’s like to interact with someone who so clearly puts on a public persona. There are so many people that I could speculate that this song is about but that’s because it can apply to so many situations. I am not the biggest fan of the balance in the production on this track but the lyrics make up for it.

‘Magic Metal Montana’ is my favorite non-single from the album. It’s such a sweet friendship love song about her relationship with her long time friend and producer A.G. Cook who is referenced by name in the first line. I love the alternative rock production here. It fits the theme of the song so well, feeling sweet and comfortable.

The final track ‘No One Lasts Forever featuring David Cronenberg’ is so palpable in its message. Charli states her idea that art should not be made to outlive the creator but to be enjoyed in the present, ideally feeling triumphant about what you have created while living is what being an artist is all about. The idea of being immortalized in your art is just feeding an ego because in reality “no one lasts forever”. The track fades out with David Cronenberg the pioneer of the body horror genre repeating “they are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever” for about a minute which on my first listen I had to soothe myself to make it through listening. I found myself going through the experience of coming to terms with this statement during the repetition. It is a meditation that will set you free if you can embrace the truth of the words. A mindset shift can occur while listening to this film legend, if you can take a deep breath and let the message sink in. As David Cronenberg said in an interview “That's not a cause for sadness. It means you shouldn't be burdened by the success (or failure) of your work.”

This album made me dance, it made me think, it made me uncomfortable, it is a true artistic representation of the present moment in Charli’s life and so many listeners' lives as well. Overall I would rate this album an 8.8 out of 10, definitely one of the best of the year, but let me know what you thought in the comments.

The album opens with ‘Hit the Wall’, the lead single, and an absolute banger. Lyrically she is going through a really rough mental patch and I love the use of the term “hit the wall” to describe this, which could also refer to hitting a creative block or a block in a relationship. It sets the stage for a variety of different themes. The bridge is also one of the best I have heard in a long time. Her voice soars and it is so catchy.

‘Death Wish’ follows and switches the tone from looking inward to singing about someone else. She also takes on a much lighter vocal tone and beautiful acoustic guitar riff. Gracie shared that this song is about a friend’s relationship with a narcissist and what she felt while listening to them talk about their relationship. The next song is The Knife and from the moment I heard the piano intro I knew I was going to be in love with this one. That series of chords will do it for me every time. Her vocal delivery here is immaculate. So many genius stylistic choices with dynamics and subtle runs. Lyrically this song feels like carrying a horrible relationship with you for a long time to the point that the pain becomes so familiar that you just let it linger. This song would have been really relatable for me when I went through my first break up.

The title track is next and the distorted guitar intro is instantly captivating combined with some of the most crystal clear vocals I have ever heard from her. I can picture this song live holding an audience in silent awe. It sounds like Gracie is exploring a parent child relationship and according to Genius Lyrics it is a reflection and apology to her mother. She found herself growing from pushing against a parent to growing into the good parts of them and being grateful. This is a stunning song. The final line of the chorus where she takes the upper harmony is stylistically perfect.

Next we have the other single, ‘Look at My Life’. An upbeat song with sad lyrics, my favorite combination. It sounds like Gracie is starting to question what her life has become with her increasing fame, looking happy but really struggling internally. I love the line in the bridge “move across the country just to judge myself just as much” Humans love the idea of making a big change to start over but unless you address what’s going on on the inside things aren’t going to change.

‘Good Reason’ is a gentle break up ballad and it is so wildly relatable to me, she talks about some highly specific experiences in a relationship ending that I can’t believe someone else has felt. Talking about something with this degree of detail and making it still have relatability is a talent.

‘Men Like You’ switches the focus from romantic relationships ending, to a friendship ending. Gracie sings about a girl she was friends with who ended up being super fake and exploitative. She compares this friend to the bad men she has dated which is a gnarly dig but it sounds like this girl deserves it.

‘Sober’ comes back in on a much softer note. Lyrically I am really intrigued, it sounds like a female friendship turned romantic but the other girl can’t come to terms with it so they have a falling out. This track sounds so sad no matter what the intended meaning is.

‘Broke My Heart’ follows with just as much sadness but much more energy. The bass drum comes in hard and I love it, this is one of my favorites so far. We also get some backing vocals from Bon Iver which are such a perfect addition. This is such a sad song that could be about the loss of someone from a romantic breakup, friendship breakup, or death.

‘Mews’ has some of my favorite production on the whole album, it listens like an instrumental interlude but it has lyrics to fully develop it into a song. Some of the lyrics like “i want your family to know me now” are just horribly relatable for me. She has some really great lines, “guess i slowed you down, when you planned on racing” is genius. The instrumentals fade and swell at the perfect times, it feels like someone’s labored breathing.

She gives us a break for one song with ‘Minibar’, the one time she gets really playful on the whole project. It still talks about feeling weird in her fame and the related social situations but with a much lighter tone. This one is definitely going to be a big hit.

‘Imaginary Friend’ sounds exactly like an acoustic version of year 3000 by the Jonas Brothers at the beginning. It’s all I can hear now haha. This song references some past moments in her discography like “do you remember all the shit i broke, well i fixed it” in reference to “breaking dishes when you’re disappointed” from ‘i miss you, I'm sorry’. And “but im cool now if you even care” in reference to her song ‘Cool’. The song was also co-written with her partner Paul Mescal and according to Genius Lyrics it started with them just messing around with lyrics together.

The next track is ‘Afflictions’ and it feels like something straight off of ‘Evermore’ by Taylor Swift. It sounds so heartbreaking but lyrically it seems to be a song about loving someone so much you don’t want to be without them. It’s probably my least favorite song to listen to because it feels so vulnerable.

‘Humming’ has such a classic gracie sound with the wavering vocal tamber. The song seems to be a commentary on what it’s like to be alive in the world today adding some political commentary. “No way to make sense of it its why I’m making sound” is such a good way to describe the power of music in addressing difficult topics. The Bon Iver backing vocals here add a lot to the folk feeling of this track.

‘What If It’s Right’ featuring Marcus Mumford is next and the beginning sounds exactly like no one knows us by Brandi Carlile. This cross over makes sense because this song with Marcus has a very folk feel to it as well. I love how much space is given to the instrumentals here. Lyrically it sounds like finding hope and comfort in the person you are with while making intimidating life decisions, having to lean into the unknown but doing it together. It’s actually a really sweet song.

But we couldn’t end there she comes in with ‘Cold Goodbyes’. One of the saddest songs on the whole album. We hear the themes of feeling lost in her career and juggling what people want from her. It sounds like sometimes she wishes she could just run away from it all and likes to imagine doing so even though she knows she never will. This really reminds me of ‘The Lakes’ by Taylor Swift. The whole project has a lot of similarities to ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ which makes a lot of sense because the album is produced by Aaron Dessner and has performance and production credits from Bon Iver, both of whom also collaborated on Taylor’s two albums.

After spending a week with this album I have grown really fond of it. I started pretty sceptical because it has a very slow tone compared to her last project but it actually works really well. I think it lacks a bit of cohesion at times and there are some lyrical misses where it feels that she is picking words to add a certain vibe rather than to add meaning but I think this album has a lot of really great highlights. I know y’all love a number rating so overall I would rate this album an 8.1 out of 10. A high enough score to land it a spot on my best of 2026 playlist.

Olivia is growing up, she went from not being able to drink on her first album to being friends with stoners now. An immature song title contrasts the adult longing captured in these lyrics. The Taylor Swift cadence, yes it is a trademark of hers, in her bridge electrifies an already addictive song. Lust transforms to love in ‘Honeybee’. The softest song on the album. The dreamy echo of vocals suits her tone, a sound that has been featured on past songs as well. ‘Maggots For Brains’ starts with a techno kind of percussion and we hear the cure influence again in the guitar riff. Immediately such a strong instrumental. Lyrically it’s giving obsession, falling too hard, losing yourself. This is a favorite for me. The outro feels like a classic and perfectly leads into another experimental rock guitar riff on ‘u + m = <3’. Olivia is taking classic uptempo, spiraling guitar driven techniques and pairing them with internet age terminology, talking in text speak. This merger is flawless, with imagery of classic timeless lovestruck young adult behavior. ‘My Way’ is simplistically catchy. This feels the most similar to Olivia’s previous pop rock style featuring her spoken word bridge, calling out another girl for challenging her relationship, but with a post punk esque melodic baseline that is the signature of this album. ‘Purple’ has a synth-y, strobing beat that has Lorde’s inspiration all over it. 80’s synth pop meets the atmospheric, dreamlike elements of The Cure’s music. This also serves as the end to the first half of the album deemed “the girl so in love” portion.

We move on to the “you seem pretty sad” section starting with the song ‘The Cure’. A song I’m currently calling the best song in her discography. And while it is on the sad side of the album, the song is about a relationship not being the cure to all your problems which is ultimately something everyone needs to come to terms with. Sonically this is a masterclass in 90’s alt rock instrumental builds. Getting a new song that sounds like this in 2026 from a mainstream artist is an unbelievable treat and speaks volumes to the caliber of Olivia as an artist. ‘Begged’ is soft and beautiful and full of dreamy harmony but is my least memorable track from the album at this time. Quickly followed by one of the coolest songs, ‘What’s Wrong With Me’. A Robert Smith feature on an album heavily inspired by The Cure gives me full body chills.

They sound perfect together and this truly ties the whole project together with a golden bow. I would also like to note that this is the first time Olivia has ever featured an artist on any of her albums. A sign to never settle for anything but your dream vision. This chorus is one of my favorites of her career as well, a smooth, moody pop loop. Not doing too much. Lyrically she has fully come to the realization that the person she’s been in love with is diminishing her potential. I have a breakup playlist that needs this song as well as the next track, ‘Less’. I have never heard a song that articulates what I experienced in my last relationship more clearly. This is the epitome of having relationship OCD, convincing yourself that all your concerns are connected to that but later realizing that they are actually real concerns and you need to break up. I swear she climbed into my brain for this piano ballad. ‘Expectations’ feels like we transported to the peak synth pop era of the 70’s and 80’s. Like what in the Devo and Krafwerk influence is happening here. I’m obsessed with Olivia’s obsession with this era of music. This is the self respect new wave inspired anthem we need and another absolute highlight. ‘Cigarette Smoke’ concludes the album. On the surface it’s a pretty standard ballad but I’m glad I took more time with this one to catch her references to previous tracks on the album (‘Honeybee’ and ‘My Way’). It also conveys a pretty complex breakup situation that again is eerily relatable on both sides. I love the way the track fades out as a conclusion. I think her lyrics on this project have grown greatly in maturity while still being a breakup album. This album is one you can get lost in and transported through eras of music and eras of a relationship all in 50 minutes. I would easily call this creatively Olivia’s best album and one of the best albums of 2026. I would rate it a 9 out of 10.

These are all of the new releases from 2026 so far that I would highly recommend sorted by genre:

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Alternative pop

• Shhugar - Baby Nova

  • APG

• Girlfriend - Grace Ives

  • Capitol Records

• Cruel World - Holly Humberstone

  • Interscope Records

• So Much Has Changed - Maro

  • Secca Records

Explorative alternative

• Jean - Yebba

  • RCA Records

• Petal Rock Black - Willow

  • Gamma

• In Times Of Dragons - Tori Amos

  • Universal Music Group

Chill indie

• Oda - Daniela Andrade

  • Crooked Lid Records

• Death In The Business Of Whaling - Searows

  • Last Recordings On Earth

• Some Things Never Leave - Annabelle Dinda

  • Independent

• Memory Be A Blade - Waterbaby

  • Sub Pop

• Devotion - Sunday 1994

  • Arista Records

Dance pop

• Big Disgrace - Haute And Freddy

  • Atlantic Records

• My Ego Told Me To - Leigh-Anne

  • Virgin Music Group

Alt rap and hip hop

• I Am - Lexa Gates

  • Capitol Records

• To Whom This May Concern - Jill Scott

  • Blues Babe Records

Alt folk and country

• Your Picture - The Sha La Das

  • Daptone Records

• Nellene - Deloyd Elze

  • Concord Records

• Graceland Way - Mikaela Davis

  • Kill Rock Stars

Pop rock

• Squish - Gretel

  • Concord

Alt electronic pop

• Worst Girl In America - Slayyter

  • Columbia Records

Full Playlist: Best Albums of 2026

‘My Ego Told Me To’ is a collection of 15 catchy pop songs with reggae rhythms honoring her Jamaican heritage. There are also some softer pop moments, a bit of rock guitar and some electronic pop production. In some ways these different production styles add a bit of confusion to the otherwise very cohesive vision but I understand their purpose. They add variety to peak interest and serve as a soft introduction to her sound to fans of other genres. They also work as interludes throughout the collection. Her lyrics are an honest expression of female empowerment and self empowerment. She also shares love for her family and origins especially on the interlude ‘You ARE a star’ in which her grandparents share supportive words about the trajectory of her career. The final track, ‘Heaven’, concludes with her two children singing showing her strong family ties. There is also a good deal of flirty energy in her lyrics making it an uplifting expression of a largely fun and happy life.

The lack of discourse about this album is shocking. Why is she not receiving the same recognition as Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall, the other members of Little Mix, upon releasing their own solo projects?

JADE - THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! PERRIE - PERRIE

I can only assume that people didn’t press play because I could not stop listening after I heard the direction of the opening track, ‘Look into My Eyes.’ One song later I felt the direction solidify on ‘Dead and Gone’ one of the most reggae heavy songs on the album and simply one of the catchiest songs I have encountered all year. I am so excited for you to hear this album if it hasn’t graced your ears yet. If you like pop, reggae, or electronic music this one could be for you. More specifically if you’re a fan of music by Rihanna or Tyla you should definitely give this one a spin. Here are a few of my favorite songs to get you started:

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Starting with singles:

The first one you need to hear is Yellow Eyes By Yebba.

This woman is unbelievable, her crisp and agile vocal is so unique on this mellow pop song. I’ve been obsessed with her since she released Evergreen in 2017.

Luckily her sophomore album Jean, comes out March 6th.

Let’s Do It Again by The Last Dinner Party and War Child Records.

The instrumentation here is so well thought out the pacing of the track is wonderful. It has a bit of a swing energy coupled with rock and pop.

Casual Lady by flowerovlove.

This song was my introduction to this artist and I’m obsessed. Her personality comes through so clearly and I think she’s going to fill the void for more Chappell Roan music with her playful pop presence.

Okay there are more good singles but you’ll have to check the playlist for those

I want to talk about albums now because that’s what I’m most excited about this week.

First a complete and utter surprise: My Ego Told Me To by Leigh-Anne is my favorite album of the week.

She sounds SO different than she did in her girl group, Little Mix and the reggae production here is incredible. She’s really leaning into her Caribbean roots. It’s so beautiful to see her making the music she wants to. This album is so catchy I’m going to be listening to this a lot.

Petal Rock Black by Willow is also out.

I could also call this the best album of the week and for totally different reasons. Willow explores what feels like spiritual energies in her music and she isn’t afraid to make new sounds and a lot of noise. It is so fun to listen to what she creates.

Angie Angie Angie by Spill Tab is also amazing.

I’ve loved her for so long so I will be making a whole video about this album. Something really interesting I heard here was a vocal technique that gave a Billie Eilish essence to many of the songs. This album is beautiful and has something for every energy level.

U2 also dropped an EP called Days of Ash that came as a total surprise to me.

It is a commentary on the social and political unrest in the U.S. right now. Upon first listen I felt that they handled their sound and these topics really well on these 6 songs. I would definitely say they are worth checking out.

There are still more great releases from the week including Mumford and Sons, Larry June, and Lana Del Rey so go check out my playlist for the rest of the list!

1. Talkin’ bout a revolution - Tracy Chapman

To inspire the poor and working class to rise up and claim their right to equal opportunities.

2. War - Bob Marley and the Wailers

To destroy racism and guarantee equal rights for all oppressed people.

3. Where is the love - Black Eyed Peas

To remember unity and community and protest racism, terrorism, and consumerism.

4. The Times They Are A-Changing - Bob Dylan

To remind older generations to embrace societal change towards equality and acceptance.

5. Earth Song - Michael Jackson

A call for urgent environmental care and a plea to stop destruction of the planet.

6. Redemption Song - Bob Marley and the Wailers

A call to liberate the collective consciousness from oppressive systems.

7. This Is America - Childish Gambino

A wakeup call about the Black experience in America and Gun violence.

8. Freedom - Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar

A call to eliminate systemic racism and oppression and raise awareness for Black Lives Matter.

9. Which Side Are You on - Natalie Merchant

To inspire people to fight for workers rights against exploitative corporate systems.

10. HIND’S HALL - Macklemore

A reminder to stand on the right side of history and vocally protest against the genocide in Palestine.

My full playlist of songs like these “talkin bout’ a revolution” can be found here:

<3 zarasmixtapes

As we are already two weeks in to the year I already have a lot of new music to share with you. Without further ado here are the first recommendations of the year.

1. RATKING by Brimheim

For fans of Florence and the Machine and Magdalena Bay. This album was at the top of DJ Kevin Cole’s list from 2024. Simply cannot get enough of the track ‘Brand New Woman’ from this indie pop masterpiece.

2. The Big Feel by Lucky Lo

For fans of Caroline Polachek, Marina and the Diamonds and Brimheim. The lead singer has a unique tone and playful quality on this indie alternative pop album with some rock elements.

3. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan

For fans of Bob Dylan ;) I somehow have gone 25 years without taking a moment to fully appreciate this album. It took watching ‘A Complete Unknown’ to remind me of this revolutionary folk album. Timeless and required listening for all music fans.

4. Afterlife by Baby In Vain

For fans of Clairo, Wallows, Faye Webster and The Marías. This album feels like a calm summer day watching the clouds drift over. Dreamy indie pop.

If you are interested in the full list of albums I have listened to so far check out my playlist ‘An album a day 2025’ on Spotify :)

an album a day 2025

Listen to Midnights on Spotify

Personally, I have listened to Midnights more than any other Taylor Swift album since 2022. I believe it exemplifies some of Swift's strongest writing and catchiest choruses of all time. Its subtlety is its strongest feature and it only gets better with age. Swift's latest project, The Tortured Poets Department, was also primarily produced by Jack Antonoff. The 31 song album could have benefited from a few different production styles, most importantly more bass lines. I can’t help but hope that Swift will collaborate with another producer in addition to Antonoff for the re-release of her R&B pop album Reputation. Max Martin is the obvious choice as the original producer of the project but there are plenty of other options for a more hearty production style better suited to this reproduction. 

To celebrate the two years of Midnights I would love to share some of my favorite memories with the album. 

I listened to the whole album from start to finish with my best friend on the night of its release. Taylor was teasing another surprise later in the night but it was already midnight so we couldn’t imagine staying up much later. When my BFF went home we made a deal that if Taylor released any other new songs that night we would wake up and reconvene to listen to them. Three in the morning came around and all of a sudden we were woken up with seven new songs. We frantically texted each other in shock but agreed we were both too wrecked to drive across town at that hour but the three AM surprise made for such a memorable night. 

Another best friend performed all of Bejeweled to her boyfriend at the time making sure he knew that she was a damn catch. Turns out he didn’t know how lucky he was so she had to move on. She also pretended to be going through a break up when Midnights was released to be able to really feel all of the songs. This is the kind of commitment I like to see and in this case was also major foreshadowing. 

Another best friend felt her long term relationship was so beautifully represented in the song Sweet Nothing. The type of gentle and steady love that is so comforting and so seldom represented in mainstream media as it is far less interesting to outsiders than relationships filled with turmoil. Taylor really made sure that all emotions were captured on this album. 

The best friend that I stayed up with on the night of the release found her favorite song on the 3AM edition. Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve became the anthem for her reaction to the actions of her first boyfriend. It came out years after they broke up but still had a huge part in memorializing that time of her life. 

My other best friend was in the group who felt that Midnights was very repetitive upon first listen but after listening to it constantly for a week it grew on her and she got to enjoy it live at Eras Tour. 

Personally, I saw myself so deeply in two songs from this album. Midnight Rain and Mastermind spoke intensely to my state of existence in 2022 becoming the ultimate sound tracks to my year. I was so lucky to get to see both of these songs performed live at the Eras Tour with my best friends two years later. Midnight Rain still remains one of my favorite songs of all time by any artist.

There are the obvious choices such as Ariana Grande, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift. Arguable three of the most prolific artists of this generation. Something that these artists have in common are discographies with more than one album that pushes boundaries and genres, defying expectations of them as an artist. They also produce a consistent quality of lyricism, production and vocal prowess that displays an above average level of musical talent. Additionally, their own musical artistry is their primary focus and what they are most well known for. They don’t practice other art forms or careers to remotely the same degree as their own music creation. This combination is really important because these aren’t necessarily the most talented vocalists or instrumentalist of our generation but they do have a combination of factors that separate them from their peers who simply have technical ability.

There is another type of artist who I would still consider highly relevant and successful but they have taken an alternate route of combining their music career with an additional pursuit such as acting, writing, hosting, or judging. Some names I think of in this category are Selena Gomez, Jennifer Hudson, and Kelly Clarkson.

Kelly Clarkson is particularly interesting in this regard with her affinity for covering others songs. She created a segment on her talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show” called “Kellyoke” in which she sings a cover of another artists song on each episode. This series has taken the internet by storm with people claiming that Kelly Clarkson ‘owns a song’ after she covers it due to her ability to tackle every genre with ease and show off her elegant and powerful voice. One of the most famous examples of this is her cover of Billie Eilishe’s "‘Happier Than Ever.’ If you have yet to see this clip, check it out for yourself below.

Kelly Clarkson is known for nailing every cover of every genre she has attempted, putting her own spin on it with lyric and note changes and being incredibly respectful to the original artist. This likely comes so easily to her as she got her start on American Idol (which she won) winning the hearts of viewers by flawlessly covering songs. On the other hand, her own albums are nothing to write home about. They lack the quality lyricism and boundary pushing production mentioned before and instead fall into the mediocre pop category sung by someone with an outstanding voice. She is a perfect example of how vocal talent is not enough to be highly successful long term. This is not to say she has never released a good song, I’m sure many of us can name at least a few of her greatest hits but if she simply released albums with an occasional hit she would no longer have much cultural relevancy. Instead she and her team capitalized on her bubbly and relatable personality and her untouchable voice to create the ‘Kellyoke’ segment of her talk show. Covering everyone's favorite artists and doing it better than almost anyone else overshadows her inability to write consistently strong music and creates a genius publicity strategy.

In another post I would love to dive into the artists whose careers are dependent on their stand out creative persona such as Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Katy Perry. (Speaking of which, things are not looking good for the new Katy Perry album after her first single :/ ) But more on this later.

Here is a playlist with a diverse assortment of songs from the artists mentioned in this post.

Spotify Playlist

I would love to hear who else you think falls into these categories and if you agree with who I listed.

<3 zarasmixtapes

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