Taylor Swift got the music world buzzing when she abruptly announced that she would be releasing a new album tonight. I'm going to need some time to fully absorb folklore, but the lead single is a triumph. Co-written and produced by Aaron Dessner (of The National), this is the kind of heartfelt, multi-layered love song that made early albums like Fearless and Red so special. It's tempting to call the...

It's time to face the facts. Mariah Carey is a literal saint and deserves to be acknowledged as such. The 5-octave angel is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut album by releasing goodies every Friday. Mimi got the ball rolling last week with The Live Debut — 1990 EP and now blesses us with two remix EPs. Her generosity knows no bounds! Which songs got the #MC30 treatment? "Someday" and...

One song can change your life, just ask Trevor Daniel. The 25-year-old went from relative unknown to breakout star when "Falling," a track first released in 2018, went viral on TikTok. Streaming numbers surged and the sing-along anthem promptly started climbing the Billboard Hot 100. It would eventually peak at number 17, sell double platinum and — just this week — become the most-played song on...

And she's back! Kylie Minogue launches the DISCO era with a glorious banger called "Say Something." Co-written with frequent collaborators Richard "Biff" Stannard and Ash Howes ("Love At First Sight" and many other bops), the pop icon's latest is a sweeping mid-tempo disco moment that falls somewhere between Scissors Sisters and St. Vincent. "We're a million miles apart, in a thousand ways," the living...

Where there's smoke, there's fire! After days of increasingly loud whispers about Kylie Minogue releasing new music, the pop icon fired up her Instagram to drop a bombshell. Not only did she cheekily confirm the title of the lead single (i.e. "Say Something"), Kylie also shared the cover, title and release date of her new album. KM15 is called Disco and it drops on November 6. The artwork finds Ms....

Brandy's long-awaited 7th album, the sensibly-titled B7, is less than two weeks away. (It drops July 31). The R&B icon revealed the tracklist today and it's a comprehensive, 15-track opus including collaborations with Chance The Rapper ("Baby Mama"), Daniel Caesar ("Love Again") and her daughter Sy'rai. The flawless 41-year-old opened up about her first offering in 8 years in an interview with Apple...

In some ways, First Cow is an anti-western. Instead of obsessing over the violence that defines the genre, director Kelly Reichardt gives us a glimpse of frontier life between the gun fights, bank robberies and hangings. She paints a portrait of two like-minded souls just trying to survive and enriches it with tender observations and whimsical detail. (I'm fairly certain that this is the first western...

Becky G is one of the busiest women in music. So far this year, the 23-year-old has rolled out an English-language bop called "They Ain't Ready" and five Spanish-language collaborations including "Muchacha" with Gente De Zona and "Jolene" (yes, a Dolly Parton cover) with Chiquis Rivera. She now drops "My Man," a Spanglish bop that samples a classic hit from Chiquis' mom — the legendary Jenni Rivera....

If you're looking for clumsy jump scares and buckets of gore, Relic is not the film for you. Natalie Erika James, in one of 2020's most auspicious directorial debuts, focuses on atmosphere, tension and emotional nuance. This is the kind of fright fest that slowly seeps under your skin, and then lingers long after the final credits roll. Which is no small feat for a body horror that — on the face...

Jessie Ware takes us on a guided tour of club history on What's Your Pleasure? (out now). The much-loved Brit dabbles in dreamy disco, '80s funk and '90s club culture on her 4th album, which isn't an entirely unique approach. Other artists have turned to the dance floors of yore for inspiration with varying degrees of success. What makes this such a triumph is the attention to detail. There isn't an...

Zara Larsson staked her claim as pop's Next Big Thing when So Good became the most-streamed debut album by a female artist of all time (more than 2.6 billion at last count). That's a very hard act to follow, which explains why the Swedish pop sensation is taking her sweet time with the followup. Over the last couple of years, the 22-year-old has released a steady stream of singles includes the global...

Believe or not, we're half way through 2020! And while this year has been a non-stop cavalcade of horrors, there has been no shortage of good music to dull the pain. It's never easy to pull together a mid-year list (some of these albums will, no doubt, wear out their welcome by December), but I really wanted to celebrate the heroes that were brave enough to kick off new eras in the middle of a global...