Madonna’s career is punctuated by chameleon-like change. By the end of the 80s, she was beginning to take a more adult approach to her sound and writing. …

One thing I have noticed through my navigation of various indie-pop/experimental pop fields is that Sweden knows what’s it’s doing. Artist like Robyn and Tove Lo always seem to have something fantastic and different to give to the pop sphere. Another Swedish group who’s sound is worthy of calling out…

Reznor created an ode to darkness on The Downward Spiral. His prowess for creating horrific sounds and somehow bringing beauty to these moments made his sophomore outing what it was. Post Spiral, Reznor’s flirt with self-destruction lyrically began to become more of a reality in the years following. The death…

Like many, I was introduced to Spellling through her latest album The Turning Wheel. It’s lush instrumentation and vivid lyricism took be by the hand and glided me through the gorgeous soundscape Chrystia (Tia)Cabral had intricately woven. This sparked my interest in her prior works. Were they similar to the…

From the Choirgirl Hotel bites with its anger and sadness. Following up the album, a year later, is a collection of more atmospheric alt jams that she was inspired to write on her Plugged tour. To Venus and Back was originally supposed to be a b-sides and live double album. …

I found out about Tom through his debut album Black Country Disco. It’s pop/dance infused take on heartbreak and coming home was an invigorating listen. The autobiographical nature of each track gave a fresh take on what can be more surface level dance pop. The follow up, a queer artist…

I found out about River’s work through an Apple playlist highlighting up and coming LGBTQ+ artists. I was quite taken by his wistful throwback sound that was married with an indie/hip-hop flavor that made Lana Del Rey’s first two projects so evocative. Since then, Westin has dived deeper into the…

You could hear chimes of what was to come from her 1995 contributions to the Higher Learning soundtrack. There is a taste of horns and more abstract songwriting on “Butterfly” that would be much more prominent on her third album. …

Many could have easily called out Carly as a one hit wonder with her 2012 hit “Call Me Maybe”, but Jepsen has consistently shown she’s got a prowess for making perfectly crafted pop albums since her meteoric 80s pop inspired Emotions. The Loneliest Time is yet another upbeat stellar number…