The 2023 MTV VMAs nominations were announced this week and they were a little head-scratching. Particularly when it came to Video Of The Year. At a time when pop music — I'm sure this also applies to hip-hop and country — is more diverse and experimental than ever, voters celebrated gimmicky, effects-laden visuals instead of original, important and/or emotionally-engaging content. I can think of...
Hopeful isn't the first adjective that comes to mind when you think of Billie Eilish's music, but that is exactly what "my future" is. Defiantly so. "I can't seem to focus and you don't seem to notice," the 18-year-old begins the song over FINNEAS' lovely, stripped-back arrangement. "I'm not here, I'm just a mirror." However, she decides to embrace the possibility of happiness on the chorus. "Do you...
The synth-pop queens are really showing out in 2023! Lady Gaga's Chromatica got the party started, Jessie Ware's What's Your Pleasure? and Rina Sawayama's SAWAYAMA kept it going, and Kylie Minogue's Disco is on the way. You can now add Róisín Murphy's 5th album to the mix. The Irish auteur, who first came to fame as one half of Moloko in the 1990s, is releasing Róisín Machine (it's a pun... her...
Taylor Swift has already won Album Of The Year Grammys for both country and pop offerings. (Fearless and 1989, respectively). She could feasibly take home a third with folklore. Which is excitingly difficult to horn into any particular genre. There are country and pop elements in the mix, but also folk, indie and Americana. The result is a heady, rustic brew that evokes fog-smeared forests and log...