Melissa Kacar

"What Was That" by Lorde Lorde summer is officially here! The lead single from her forthcoming album, "What Was That", feels like a true rebirth for Lorde as an artist. Collaborating with Jim-E Stack and Dan Nigro for the first time, she's brought a fresh yet deeply emotional energy with this new song, and I couldn’t be happier that she's back. Listening to this gave me the same joy and euphoria I felt when I first heard Melodrama at 17 years old. It's hard to put into words right now, but this is such an exciting time for pop music and Lorde is one of the key voices that are really shaping this transformative and exciting new era for the culture.  "Egg" by Djo An early contender for my favorite album of the year is absolutely The Crux by Djo . Every song is incredible, and I can't recommend checking out the entire album enough, but one that really struck me is "Egg". It is such a profound and thought-provoking exploration of ide...

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...