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Virgin by Lorde // Album Review

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Virgin  is representative of a transformative chapter for Lorde 's artistic evolution. With this album, she explores every facet of her identity with the most raw, unfiltered forms of introspection at the forefront. Themes of femininity, sexuality, body image, and identity are explored in a fully transparent and intimate way. Reemerging only once every four years with new music,  Virgin  feels like a culmination of every chapter in Lorde's life and artistic journey thus far. It's an album that is starkly different from each era that precedes it, yet still honors every version of herself in a way that feels like a retrospective as much as it is an embrace of the person she is still becoming.  She truly bares it all with this music in a way that does come off as if she was trying to also be intentionally divisive with how specific and abrasive so much of it is lyrically. It gives such a clear look into who she is, which is emphasized by the actual x-ray image of her bo...
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"From The Start" by Laufey // Song Review

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Laufey 's "From The Start" is a refreshingly unconventional blend of jazz and pop that feels both timeless and modern. The instrumentation leans into a classic, vintage style while the lyrics are cheeky and youthful, creating a playful contrast that feels uniquely her.  The song is a sweet and sincere portrait of unrequited love. On "From The Start", Laufey confesses her feelings for a friend who doesn't feel the same, and the vulnerability in her lyrics paired with the way she performs them feels deeply diaristic. "Don't you notice how I get quiet when there's no one else around?" she sings in the opening verse. "Me and you and awkward silence, don't you dare look at me that way, I don't need reminders of how you don't feel the same".  "You know when you're in high school or middle school or something, and you have a friend, and you kind of like them, and you're listening to them describe somebody they li...
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"Sunshine Baby" by The Japanese House // Song Review

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The Japanese House 's "Sunshine Baby" has a certain warmth and glow, while also carrying the weight of inevitable change and the conflicting feelings that come with it. Amber Bain, the British singer-songwriter behind The Japanese House, captures that feeling in such a stunning way. Her vivid and introspective songwriting captures the mundane, small details and translates them into an intimate and profound snapshot of a moment in time. "I wanna be a part of it, I wanna sing along, the feeling when the windscreen wipers line up with the song, perform my stupid rituals, everything is cyclical, hold on to this feeling 'cause you won't feel it for long," she sings in the opening verse.  This song has such a wistful, golden feeling that is also full of longing. It's deeply rooted in nostalgia, while still looking onward with optimism. "Sunshine Baby" captures the complex feelings that come with knowing that one chapter is closing and the future ...
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"Pool" by Samia // Song Review

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"Pool", the opening track of Samia 's 2020 debut album The Baby , is a haunting and introspective introduction that sets the emotional tone for the rest of the project. It's a slow burn that focuses on fleeting intimacy in such a vulnerable way. While the rest of The Baby is more varied stylistically, "Pool" beautifully represents so many of the themes that recur throughout the rest of the album. The Baby feels thoughtfully bookended by "Pool" and the closing track, "Is There Something in the Movies?" as well. "Pool" opens with her grandmother, also named Samia, singing a song she used to sing to her as a child, which is such a deeply personal and grounding way to begin the album.  In a track-by-track breakdown of The Baby , Samia told  Flood Magazine  that "Pool" is about "hiding away with someone in a stranger's house in Texas for a few days, spending most of it staring at the moon from the pool, knowing fu...
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"Ivy" by Frank Ocean // Song Review

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"I thought that I was dreamin' when you said you love me" opens the emotional journey of Frank Ocean 's "Ivy", setting the tone for all that is to follow. This is a song that feels like a memory unraveling in real time. Featured on his 2016 sophomore album Blonde , "Ivy" is a beautiful ode to young love and the lingering ache of its aftermath. It's minimalistic in production but emotionally expansive, pairing alternative R&B textures with stripped-down instrumentation.  The song connects deeply to the overarching themes of love and loss throughout  Blonde.  His raw and emotional performance on "Ivy" makes it clear that the song is rooted deeply in a specific, personal experience, even though he is known to be a very private and elusive artist that rarely speaks about the inspiration behind his music. Still, the feeling behind "Ivy" is universal and largely speaks for itself. "Ivy" feels like an ode to a first l...
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"my future" by Billie Eilish // 5 year anniversary song review + limited edition store exclusive vinyl picture disc

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"my future" was released as the first single off of Billie Eilish 's sophomore album, Happier Than Ever . Released exactly a year prior to the rest of the album, this song signaled a transitional period for Billie as an artist. Coming off of her record-breaking debut album the year prior, with this song, Billie and Finneas set out to prove that they weren't interested in doing the same thing twice. They experimented with a wide range of influences across the album, but "my future" was definitely a more understated and simplistic sound than what they had went with on much of her debut.  "'Cause I, I'm in love with my future, can't wait to meet her," she sings in the chorus. "And I, I'm in love, but not with anybody else, just wanna get to know myself". With this song, she embraces change and growth above all else. The dreamy jazz-inspired melodies reflected her growing maturity, willingness to experiment and expansion of h...
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