New Music Friday - 18/04/2025

Sorry, folks! This was republished because I accidentally messed up the old post when trying to work on the new one (25/04/2025). New one coming shortly, hopefully! 

Albums: 

• Cassyette - This World Still Fucking Sucks 
• Isabel LaRosa - Raven
• Julien Baker & TORRES - Send A Prayer My Way 

Singles:

• Addison Rae - Headphones On
• Alex Porat - Better Than That
• Aly & AJ - If You Get Lonely
• Blake - Ransom
• caroline (feat. Caroline Polachek) - Tell me I never knew that
• Chloe Qisha - Modern Romance
• iyla - Skirt Hurt (Redemption)
• Jacob Alon - August Moon
• Juno James - Scares Me To Death
• Kilo Kish (feat. Miguel) - negotiate
• Lana Del Rey - Bluebird
• LE SSERAFIM (feat. JADE) - HOT (English ver.)
• Maren Morris - bed no breakfast
• Mercer Henderson - Goner
• Nelly Furtado (feat. Sid Sriram) - GOD
• Nelly Furtado - MARRIAGE
• Say Now - Can't Keep A Beat

Cassyette - This World Still Fucking Sucks:

Phantom Limb: This is another decent song from Cassyette. This definitely feels like it fits the vibe of her music and the album. It's a bit weird to me in that it's both kinda low key but also not? Like it kinda explodes but also kinda doesn't? It isn't really my favourite due to the disconnect but I did enjoy listening to it and I think it makes a good deluxe album track. Could do without the almost spoken bridge though. 6/10

Disease: Oh, I didn't realise this was a cover of Lady Gaga, that's fun! What the hell, okay. It's way less my thing than the original but like it when a cover really does reimagine a song in a different way based on the artists vibes and this really does. Maybe it'll make some other people like the other songs more? Definitely minus points for it ending so suddenly though. 7/10

Overall Verdict: I'm only reviewing these new tracks (well, I didn't realise one was a cover, so the singular new track) and not the stripped back or extended ones. I was very surprised by my like of a lot of Cassyette's songs, I didn't really think she made my genre of music. I think it's on the edge of what I like, but I do like a lot of it. I think Phantom Limb does continue her decent music that is somewhat for me and somewhat not for me. It definitely fits the vibe of the album and her music, and it was a decent listen. Same for the cover, I way prefer Lady Gaga's version, but it was a really cool reimagining of the song based on her vibe of music.

Isabel LaRosa - Raven:

Famous: This seems really intriguing just based on the start! I like the beat. It definitely feels like it's going to go somewhere good. Oh, and it definitely did! I really like the production on the chorus, and her voice fits this song really well. It's kinda dreamy but I really like its contrast with the more 'intense' production. Maybe not a mega fan of that bridge part but oh well, it's a tiny part of the song. 7/10

Good Girl: I wasn't really expecting the vibe based on this album cover. Dare I say I hear Tate McRae here? Here I will be sounding hypocritcal as hell for liking this and not Tate McRae's music. It really reminds me of some of the songs off Tate's most recent album honestly. But I really do like it, I can't lie. 7/10

Pretty Boy: Okay, I really do like this album. Although time will tell if the tracks sound too similar like Tate's album, and I get a bit bored of it by the end. I think there's been enough variety so far thankfully. This song is super short, a bit of a hate crime, I don't know why artists do this. The chorus is definitely the most catchy part of it. 7/10

Girl of Your Dreams: This definitely sounds different enough. I'm not sure how I would describe this, maybe a darker pop song? Maybe that's been the vibe of a lot of the album and that's why I really like it. Again, not really a fan of the quieter 'bridge' part (with a song this sort saying it has one is kind of an insult), but the rest of the song is great. 7/10

Cry For You: Okay miss beat. This definitely does feel a bit distinctive. It's a guitar? Gagged, not really where I thought the song would go. It definitely subverted my expectations but not in an amazing way. Okay, maybe when we got to the next bit, it improved. While I was just saying I hope not every track was the same, this one definitely wasn't my favourite. It was nice but I just wasn't a huge fan.  6/10

Home: Some of this definitely seems formulaic at this point. Start with a quiet part, then there's the beat (similar to the last song), then explode in the chorus. It is definitely start to grate me on somewhat. This is exactly the problem that Tate McRae's album fell into. It probably doesn't help the songs are all around 2 minutes as well. Like, how many ways can we make the same song? 6/10

Hope It Hurts: This was at least somewhat different. It didn't hurt to listen to, but it also wasn't my favourite either. At least it gets something for being somewhat different? 6/10

See You Again: How times change. At the start of the album I was eating it up, and now I'm like, hmm, maybe I want this to end soon. I guess it's a more acoustic instrument based song? It is a song. I guess it has that going for it too. I listened to it. It gets points for being a bit different again but doesn't mean I like it. Also, woah, 3 minute song, that IS crazy. 5/10

Good For You: Another of the same sort of song. It's not awfulll but I'm done with hearing this same song but slightly different song. It is NOT good for me. 6/10

Favorite: Well, it has different sounds! A win for humanity. I just think that my mindset is fundamentally that this album needs to be over already by this point, I've heard enough, and it's getting hard to get through. This song I do think is maybe one of the better ones I've heard though. It is particularly catchy. Maybe I'm delusional and it's still basically exactly the same but oh well. 7/10

Muse: Wow, it's a different type of guitar. That's crazy. If only it was a stunning song. It's not. Get me out of here. 6/10

Destroy Myself For You: It's a piano and a slower song maybe? Now that is different. It's almost like a breath of fresh air. Did we really need to go more intense here? I know I'm often not the biggest fan of ballad type songs, but still. 6/10

Piece Of My Life: The acoustic guitar is back! Not my favourite but I like how it's different from the vast majority of the album. 6/10

Burning: Another more acoustic song, so I guess the end of the album was a fair bit different to the rest of it. Not really sure why we made the acoustic shift, in a sense it feels a bit disjointed, but I'll take it as a break from the rest of the very similar songs. It's pleasant to listen to but that's all I can really say for it. 6/10

Overall Verdict: I could summarise this album by saying it has almost 1 song (okay, maybe a couple more). It starts quiet, maybe with some distant vocals, something like that. The verse introduces a beat or in rarer cases a guitar. The chorus explodes with the same sort of sound every time. The bridge makes things super quiet or even silent, and then it explodes again in the least chorus. Maybe I've just described pop music, but I'd like to say pop music sounds better than this. The songs are not the worst in the world, but as an album, I really don't want to hear the same song again and again and again. It's Tate McRae level unfortunately. 

Julien Baker & TORRES - Send A Prayer My Way:

Dirt: Will I like this album? Probably not. But here I go anyway. It was an acoustic song that just passed me by really. Didn't really feel much at all. Makes me feel I'm somewhat about to waste 40 minutes but oh well. 5/10

The Only Marble I've Got Left: Oh my god, it's a song for me! Okay, the production in this one at least seems a bit more enjoyable. This song was a lot more enjoyable actually, especially later on. I enjoyed listening to it. 7/10

Sugar in the Tank: Another pleasant sounding song. Not quite as enjoyable as the last, but this has definitely picked up from the first song, and I'm thankful for it. Another enjoyable listen still. 7/10

Bottom of a Bottle: I'm actually surprised. Why would they put such a misleading song at the start of the album? I've consistently enjoyed listening to every single other song on this album so far. It's higher energy, and just sounds better. The harmonies sound good and they fit well together. 7/10

Downhill Both Ways: A song I enjoy less because it is more chill, especially the first part. It did get better though but not enough for me to like it a lot. 6/10

No Desert Flower: It's a more stripped back song again so it's not really my favourite. Still a pleasant listen though. Just not a song I'd return to. 6/10

Tape Runs Out: Oh no we're going back to more kinda flop songs that I'm not really as appreciate of. What happened? Bring me back! I guess good songs run out. I definitely feel more indifferent to this song, which may be what happens if this is the sound of the rest of the album. 5/10

Off the Wagon: Me when [I do literally anything]. It gets me off the wagon. But unfortunately this seems like another stripped back slower song. I'm feeling indifferent to this song too. 5/10

Tuesday: Objectively the worst day of the week. Also may be the worst song on the album, so omg they were so clever doing this! Please get it off. It just sounds bad to me. Am I okay? I don't know. 4/10

Showdown: Well, my optimism was misplaced clearly. Yikes. Jokes on me for talking too soon! I should have known. One of the most stripped back songs of them all. And I did not enjoy it at all either. 4/10

Sylvia: If I were to take part in a Music League where one of the categories were "Songs with a name in them" I would not submit this song. It's also the name of my grandma! If only it were good... It is not. I do not remotely like it. It just sounds bad to me. Everything went so wrong. 3/10

Goodbye Baby: Hey, Julien! Cringe. Maybe it's supposed to be cringe but...ew. Didn't like this song either really, but at least it's over. The bell signifies my freedom! Goodbye, album! 4/10

Overall Verdict: Towards the start, I thought this first song was misleading and I was really going to enjoy listening to this album. Unfortunately, the first song was probably more reflective of the album than I wanted it to be. There were a few songs here I liked I lot more than I anticipated, but unfortunately the rest of the album kinda was what I expected to dislike. Nobody is surprised really. I just wish it was more like the earlier tracks that I liked. Oh well, I will not be returning to this album. 

Singles:

Addison Rae - Headphones On: 10/10 within the first few seconds. That it's. I love the chaos of the start. YES, this is so good. She's actually taking it. The almost like 'chaotic' production being in the background is so good throughout. And it's just so catchy. I really like it, and this is shaping up to be a really good album. The songs are similar enough, but not the same. The chorus is SO GOOD in this song. Addison likes cigs huh? I definitely prefer the chorus to the verses, but they are still good. Honestly, I think I overhyped the song on first listen, but it's still a fantastic song. 8/10

Alex Porat - Better Than That: A generic alt-pop type of song. But the chorus does hit for me I can't lie. It does make me want to check out the rest of Alex's music. She sounds good. Actually, it really grew on me throughout, I really did like this. 8/10

Aly & AJ - If You Get Lonely: I feel like this will be another Aly & AJ song that isn't for me. It's a pleasant song at least? It's a very enjoyable listen, it's just not really my general vibe. Probably going to be the same for the upcoming project I presume is coming out. Just a pleasant listen. 6/10

Blake - Ransom: This is a cute alt-pop song. I do feel like it's rather typical of the genre but it's still good! Blake has a good voice. I'll definitely check out more from Blake. 7/10

caroline (feat. Caroline Polachek) - Tell me I never knew that: Oh no, this ain't going to be it by the start. I mean, Caroline always sounds great, but the production is not it. Nope. I'm scared of guitars sometimes when they make songs like this. The way I'm not sure I ever want to hear this song ever again. Make it stop actually please. It hurts. Also, is that a man to add to its crimes against humanity? It's messy...but not in a good way. It's going on for too long PLEASE. Honestly, tell me I never have to listen to that again. 2/10

Chloe Qisha - Modern Romance: It has an 'older' style of production again, or at least it is reminiscent of older styles of music, which I think is the vibe Chloe is going for with this upcoming project. Honestly, some of the lyrics and vocals in the first verse don't seem like they fit the best for me, which sucks. I saw a comparison to State of Grace by Taylor Swift for the chorus and I really see the similarities there, which means I like the chorus a fair bit. These lyrics are kinda wild?? Also not being a cat person... I'm going to be honest, this is my least favourite single of them all so far. Also, part of that production in the bridge feels almost like video game sounds. 6/10

iyla - Skirt Hurt (Redemption): This is a very nice R&B song. As ever, it's not my favourite genre, but I always enjoy listening to R&B songs and artists. It's a very good genre of music. This is another decent song in this genre. I very much enjoyed listening to it, it was fun! I liked the length of the song and how it switched it up as well towards the end, it was a really fun listen! 7/10

Jacob Alon - August Moon: I saw Jacob Alon live opening for Olly Alexander. He was...uh, not my favourite. His music was very acouustic guitar. This benefits from not just being an acoustic guitar like his set. This is a lot more enjoyable than that. It's not my favourite but it's pleasant. I'd say it's very slow acoustic type of pop. Is that folk? I'm not as sure about genres here but whatever. Definitely more pleasant than his set but his music will never really be for me. He can sing though! 6/10

Juno James - Scares Me To Death: This is not what I was expecting based on the cover art. It's a fun pop song with rock influences in part, especially the chorus, I think. I enjoyed listening to it. I could definitely check out more songs from Juno. 7/10

Kilo Kish (feat. Miguel) - negotiate: I'm going to really like this EP, I can tell. Distorted vocals in the start, I like it. It feels weird in a good way, you know? There's something about this I quite like even though the vocals are all processed and it feels kinda weird? The production again feels quite electronic, and it feels like this project is well thought together based on the singles. 7/10

Lana Del Rey - Bluebird: It's a guitar, uh oh! Very much not a fan of this. It's grating on me almost immediately. For some reason, I don't like Lana's vocals, and nor do I like the sound of the production. The harmonica SUCKS I'll be honest. I'm going to find a way to find away from this song honestly. Just an all around bad song. Sorry Lana, the previous song was a lot better. 3/10

LE SSERAFIM (feat. JADE) - HOT (English ver.): I'm only doing this because of JADE. She can't miss, so hopefully the same applies here. To be fair, from the start, this song doesn't seem too bad. I do like this song actually, and JADE adds well to it. I wish I heard even more of her, but it's understandable that we don't. Definitely a song I could listen to a lot more! 7/10

Maren Morris - bed no breakfast: Not my favourite but I do like it. Get rid of that person girl! The hookup is overrrrr. I actually do quite like this. It's definitely more chill, but I like listening to it. I have a feeling this upcoming album could surprise me in how much I like it. 7/10 

Mercer Henderson - Goner: Not really my favourite. Some of the chorus layered vocals annoy me. Not sure I'm super a fan of Mercer's voice generally. Another cute alt pop song. 6/10

Nelly Furtado (feat. Sid Sriram) - GOD: I spy a piano. Okay, we're going for a chiller sort of track, I see. Also, we're going all God? Is this actually a very religious song, like unironically? It also just doesn't sound good, regardless of that message. At least its saving grace is that it doesn't last very long. Also, the chorus like vocals are boring, and the feature, ehhhh. 2/10

Nelly Furtado - MARRIAGE: At least this seems to have some synths in it, and would be more what I expected honestly. This is a lot better almost by default. This is a lot more catchy. I'm not sure I'm a mega fan of Nelly's voice, which is annoying, but that can't be helped. Maybe I'm liking it a lot more than I should compared to the previous song, but it's a breath of fresh air. It's an enjoyable song but nothing too special. 6/10

Say Now - Can't Keep A Beat: Me when I can keep a beat. Okay, this feels like it's going to eat. It instantly remind me of another song, can't remember what it is currently. This song is serving somewhat honestly. It's definitely bringing the beat, that's for sure. Those parts in the verses really DO sound like another song. 8/10