Melissa Kacar

"BLUE" // Billie Eilish Words can't express how much I've been loving Billie Eilish 's latest album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT this month. Dare I say it's my favorite album of the year already!? Every single song is so incredible, and it was so hard to choose just one favorite, but for the sake of this list I went with the incredible ending track "BLUE". I was literally transcending the first time I heard this song, it's so rare to have an experience like that while listening to music. The first part of the song blends the chorus of a song called "True Blue", a previously unreleased demo from Billie's early career, while also lyrically connecting every single song from the rest of the album together at once. About mid-way through, the song switches up again into an ethereal and emotional ballad. It perfectly closes out the album. I was so blown away by her stunning vocals, emotive lyricism, as well as Finneas ' incredible production...

"Training Season (Extended)" // Dua Lipa Training season's (finally) over! Dua Lipa is back with another smash hit, "Training Season", which serves as the second single for her upcoming album. She previewed it at The Grammy's this month and I was counting down the days until I would be able to listen to it again! It's been on repeat ever since!  Much like "Houdini" , she also released an extended cut of the song, which I absolutely love even more than the standard version. The production is absolutely incredible!  I am so excited for the rest of her album ! "Deeper Well" // Kacey Musgraves Last month I mentioned that we were long overdue for new music from Kacey and it seems like she heard my call! "Deeper Well" is the title track of her upcoming album and it feels like a return to the Golden Hour sound. It is such a beautiful and reflective song, that lets her talents shine so brightly. Her album is coming out next mon...

Happy Record Store Day! One of the records I was looking forward to the most for this Black Friday event was the deluxe pressing of Djo 's 2022 sophomore album DECIDE . Djo is the alias for actor Joe Keery, who is best known for playing Steve Harrington in Stranger Things , as well as roles in Free Guy and Fargo , among others. He is one of my new favorite artists that I discovered this year, I absolutely love everything about this album.  DECIDE  focuses on Joe's deepest existential thoughts, his perception of life and relationship with fame in the digital age. Much of it was definitely written through the lens of the pandemic as well, which was an isolating and introspective time for many. His prominent influences on this record include artists like Daft Punk, Tame Impala, Devo and The Talking Heads, to name a few. Some of the instrumentals throughout sound straight out of a Nintendo video game too, which is such a cool reference to be drawing inspiration from with an album ...

Ten years ago, Lorde released her record-breaking debut album and changed the course of pop music forever at only 16 years old. No one was making music like this before  Pure Heroine, it truly was the antithesis of so much that was popular at the time. This was such a revolutionary album and pushed pop music forward in a way like no other. She paved the way for so many artists and the legacy she solidified for herself with this album alone is so remarkable and inspiring. The echoes of Pure Heroine  are present in every single alternative pop album released in the past decade . It is such a timeless album and feels just as relevant today as it was ten years ago. For her to be so young and to have had the foresight to create an album like this makes her such a visionary in my eyes.  Pure Heroine  consists of ten songs, a truly flawless track list. It is concise and devoid of any filler. The curation of her music is something she has always excelled at with he...