Australian pop queen Kylie Minogue returns with a vengeance on her latest LP. — Kylie Minogue has earned her place at the top of international pop stardom. Similar to her contemporary Madonna, Minogue is able to reinvent herself effortlessly. Over the last five or so years, Kylie has been much more adventurous as she explored the landscapes of country music (Golden (2017)) and Disco…

Estonian electro-pop star delves into her dark side on her third album. — Kerli’s career has been about perseverance. Having got her start at the age of 14 in a Baltic singing competition, she would hit a rough patch only two years later after being dropped by her label. This didn’t stifle her drive. In 2008, she released her debut album Love Is…

Uchis delves deep into love and affection on her 2023 release. — Kali Uchis has a voice like satin. My first introduction to her unique sound was from her debut album, Por Vida. The way she annunciates her words pulls like caramel. Her blend of languorous, almost cursive brings a sweetness to this style. The Columbian artist garnered an even wider audience…

Borné’s debut takes us on a psychedelic folk-rock journey through self-discovery, healing, and rebirth. — The beauty of being a Nashville native comes with the ability to see artists rise into the mainstream from our local underground. Musicians like Gabe Lee, Bully, and Soccer Mommy have been a joy to share with friends and watch grow their audiences. I try to keep my ears open…

Taylor Swift continues her venture in rerecording her albums with her pop smash debut 1989. — As many know by now, Taylor Swift’s masters to her first six records were purchased out from underneath her by Scooter Brawn. In an effort to gain back financial ownership of her works, Swift has been rerecording the entirety of these albums while sprinkling in quite a few unreleased songs…

Chicago-based artist Sacha Mullin returns with a soulful throwback sound on this latest release. — Sometimes new music happens to fall into your lap. I got to listen to singer/songwriter Sacha Mullin’s latest record, Casino Wilderness Period, before its release on November 14th, 2023. The Chicago based started his music career with his debut album Whelm in 2013. As his career began to blossom, he…

Rina Sawayama’s sophomore release exercises some of her past demons through the larger-than-life pop production of Stuart Price. — Rina Sawayama has been an artist to watch in the realm of pop since she dropped her debut EP, Rina, back in 2017. Her fresh reinvention of late 90s/early 2000s pop aesthetics and thoughtful lyricism set her above the rest in the indie pop scene. Her experimentation would only continue…

Everett’s fourth outing brings a little bit of country to his Jason Mraz-like approach to the singer/songwriter genre. — One huge perk of living in the Nashville area is discovering up-and-coming or underground singer/songwriters in the business. I went to a songwriter’s circle back in October 2022 to see Gabe Lee play and just happened to see Everett come on prior to Lee’s performance. I was impressed by Steve’s…

Dollanganer’s 2018 takes a macabre look at the nature of love. — In exploring Ethel Cain’s back catalog of music, I wanted to dive into some of her inspirations. One artist that Cain has cited as inspiration was Nicole Dollanganger. I was immediately intrigued by the dark and morose cover of her 2018 album Heart Shaped Bed. At the time of my…