Melissa Kacar

At the heart of it, "Bags" is one of the purest expressions of yearning, encapsulating Clairo 's innate ability to freeze a moment in time and preserve fleeting feelings that seem so brief as they're happening, yet become forever immortalized through this song. "It's definitely about me learning to be comfortable in a place of the unknown," she said in a 2019 interview with Genius.  She brings a sincerity and vulnerability to her songwriting that allows her to be completely open about her feelings, never holding anything back. Recognizing the importance of savoring the mundane, simple details of falling in love is ultimately why this song holds such a special place in her discography. In this track, she opens up with full transparency about the things she left unsaid in an effort not to scare the other person away, even though she so badly wishes she could express the intensity of what she's truly feeling in those moments. There's something so p...

"Add Up My Love" and "Slow Dance" beautifully encapsulates the overall narrative arc of Clairo 's third album Charm . Released as a part of Urban Outfitters' 2026 Valentine's Day vinyl collection, these two songs pair so beautifully on this exclusive 7" single . It is pressed on a baby pink vinyl, with an embossed front cover that features a line drawing of cupid and gorgeous typography. The attention to detail is evident with this release. It looks almost like a Valentine itself, which captures the aesthetic of the overall theme of the release so well. It was limited to just 3000 copies. I love collecting Clairo's music on vinyl and am always so captured by the way the warmth and beauty of her music is translated into the physical releases. So much of  Charm  is rooted in beautiful, sincere love songs that are simply written, but also incredibly evocative emotionally at the same time. The track list sequencing of this record overall really doe...

"Secret Language" is a beautiful portrait of what it means to love before you can even put it into words. It feels so singular to Ryan Beatty 's voice and artistic vision, especially in the way he writes with such specificity for his own partner, but still makes the feeling so much larger than himself in a way that can connect to anyone who has ever tried to capture such a specific form of emotional intensity.  The song's backdrop is rooted in stunning Americana imagery and sweet, poetic lyricism. There is a deep sincerity and openness in the way he expresses himself throughout all of  Sweet Fortune , his fourth album this song is apart of, even though he often writes about how closed off he can be emotionally. "All the ways I say it in a secret language, did you hear what my words couldn't tell? I keep it all to myself," he sings in the beautiful chorus.  "It's an arms-open-wide song," Ryan said in an interview with Vogue alongside its re...

looking like an angel on the walls of versailles is a curated playlist inspired by Olivia Rodrigo 's  you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love lead single "drop dead" - an infectious all encompassing love song that perfectly bottles the lightning‑strike first rush of a new crush and the flood of emotions that come along with it. The lyricism of this song has been feeling particularly inspiring since it was released, especially the vivid imagery she threads throughout the verses. With her long‑awaited new album finally out today, it felt like the perfect moment to put together a collection of songs that echo the feeling of "drop dead", the track that opens the album and plays such an integral role in its larger narrative. Even as the song shifts in tone and meaning across the record, "drop dead" is an incredible opener for the flood of emotions she was experiencing at this point in her life. She captures the rollercoaster of this relationship throug...

Happy Record Store Day! To celebrate the semi-annual independent record store event, Icona Pop released a special limited edition glow-in-the-dark vinyl pressing of their iconic breakthrough hit, "I Love It". Originally released in 2012 as the lead single from their self-titled debut album, the track quickly became a defining anthem for the Swedish pop duo. Not only did it launch their career, but it also marked the first major hit for Charli XCX , who at the time was just 21 years old and an emerging songwriter carving her place in pop music. Charli had signed with Asylum Records in 2010 while still in school, spending her early years experimenting with different sounds and resisting the idea of mainstream pop, which didn't initially align with her vision as an artist. Her breakthrough came when she began collaborating with producer Patrik Berger, who was then best known for his work with Lana Del Rey and Robyn , and later worked with artists like Carly Rae Jepsen , ...

Rozzi 's "Fig Tree" has such a warm, soulful sound that beautifully taps into the intimacy of the lyrics and the personal metamorphosis she was experiencing. She wrote this song, and the rest of the corresponding albums she named it after, when she turned 30. It was inspired by the many ways she felt like she was entering new stages of life both personally and within the relationships around her. "You know I used to be someone else, though I'm not sure who, but she goes farther away, the closer I get to you," she sings in the chorus. The song captures the very distinct shifting sense of self that comes with growing older and allowing yourself to change. The title was inspired by the famous passage from Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar , in which the novel's protagonist, Esther, is confronted with every possible future set before her, each one symbolized by a fig hanging on a fig tree. While she spends so much time wondering which fig to choose, they all ...