Melissa Kacar

With her 2024 album,  eternal sunshine , Ariana Grande proved that she could find the light within herself in even the darkest of times, amidst experiencing so much heartache in the wake of her divorce. Now with the release of an additional six songs, she proved to herself that brighter days are already here.  Often, deluxe albums are generally made up of throwaway songs that didn't end up making the cut for the full album but work better as extras for the die-hard fans. However, hearing these bonus tracks can also leave you wondering how they could have ever been left off the standard album in the first place. With brighter days ahead: eternal sunshine deluxe , she wrote all of these songs after initial release of the album. It truly does feel like an entirely separate companion to the original songs. Some of these new tracks actually surpass parts of the standard track list for me. They maintain a strong narrative connection to the original album's storyline, while also fur...

An early version of "Never Felt So Alone" by Labrinth was featured in the second season of the hit HBO series  Euphoria , which he composes both the score and soundtrack for. Despite it being a fan favorite, it wasn't a part of the officially released soundtrack. Its official release over a year later was a long time coming for fans of the show. It ended up serving as the second single for Labrinth's third album  Ends & Begins  in 2023. It's such an incredible album by one of the coolest and most innovative producers in music.  When it came time to officially release the song on his album, he approached Billie Eilish to see if she'd want to feature on it with him. "Once I started piecing the song together, I was just like, 'Do you know what? I think this is the moment where I think Billie would be a sick addition,'" he said in an interview with Eddie Francis for Apple Music 1. He also shared the story of how he approached her about work...

"Not Strong Enough" by the indie rock supergroup boygenius is an honest and reflective exploration of mental health and self-identity.  The group, consisting of singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers , Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker , crafted such a cleverly written and emotionally intense listening experience with their debut album, aptly titled the record ,   in 2023.  I love all three of them individually as artists and songwriters, but there is always something so special about the magic they create when they come together as a collective. "Not Strong Enough" is one of the best song they have released yet and represents the artistic identity of boygenius so perfectly. It truly feels like the heart of the record . I immediately connected so much to the message of it ever since the first listen. From being caught up in "s pinning out about things that haven't happened" and all of the inner complexities that make us who we are - it shares such a moving a...

And for a fortnight, there we were forever 🤍 Happy Record Store Day! I have always loved collecting Taylor Swift 's music on vinyl and I was so excited when it was announced she was releasing a new 7" single for Record Store Day ! To celebrate one of the biggest events of the year for independent record stores, Taylor and Post Malone released a special 7" copy of their song "Fortnight". Post Malone was also the Record Store Day ambassador this year, and this is one of two special pressings he released to celebrate it.   I love this song and all that it represents for the emotionally intense 31 track masterpiece The Tortured Poets Department . The themes present within this song thread through the rest of the album so intricately.  The true power of this song lies in its subtlety. Its lyrical connections and narrative echoes only fully reveal themselves after spending significant time immersed in the music. It's a powerful testament to the album's lay...

Hey Billie, you there? Happy Record Store Day! To celebrate one of the biggest events of the year for independent record stores, Charli xcx and Billie Eilish released a special 7" vinyl single for their iconic 2024 collaboration "Guess". It was one of my most anticipated releases for this year and I'm so happy to have it in my collection! There were only 10,000 copies of this vinyl pressed worldwide and sold exclusively at independent record stores in April 2025. It is a classic black pressing with the iconic shade of brat green as the center label. The disc itself is overall very minimalist, with no markings at all on either side of the center label. Like all of the vinyl from the BRAT era , there is a sticker closing the record that needs to be cut open very carefully. This is one of two special releases Charli released this year to celebrate independent record stores.  It is housed in a cardboard sleeve, which is so different than any other record sleeve I'...