New Music Friday - 09/05/2025

Albums/EPs:

• Ava Joe - Try Me
• EMELINE - the devil on my bra strap  
• Kali Uchis - Sincerly,
• Maren Morris - D R E A M S I C L E
• PinkPantheress - Fancy That

Singles:

• Avril Lavigne (feat. Simple Plan) - Young & Dumb
• Blusher - WHATEVERWHATEVER
• Calum Hood - Call Me When You Know Better
• CMAT - Take A Sexy Picture Of Me 
• Halsey, Amy Lee and Evanescence - Hand That Feeds
• Miley Cyrus - More to Lose
• ROSÉ - Messy 
• Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Taste
• Tyla - Bliss

Ava Joe - Try Me:

Polly Pocket: Uh oh guitar! I don't how to describe that exactly but it was...fine? It was chill, it sounded kinda nice, it wasn't my favourite, but it was a nice listen. 6/10

Black Smoke: Okay, I guess this is a really similar vibe and isn't really that different. It's the same sort of song, so I'd say my opinion is the same. Chill, sounded kinda nice, reminds me of something, but nothing exceptional to me. 6/10

Try Me: I guess this feels slightly different but it's still the same sort of vibe overall. I do like listening to it. I just don't think I'd normally choose to, y'know? 6/10

Black Summer Babe: Hmm, I mean, it's nice? That's all I really got. It doesn't inspire much in me overall. 6/10

Eleanor Close: Well, this sounds different I suppose. Not really in a good way. It's different in a worse way. So, yay for that. 5/10

Overall Verdict: Most of this was decent enough, but not really for me. It did feel a bit repetitive for most of it, but maybe I'll take that over the less good last song. It's an EP I don't think I'll ever listen to again, but I did enjoy listening to it, so that's something.

EMELINE - the devil on my bra strap:

take it: The start, meh. It gets a bit more interesting although it does feel a bit generic pop song with its production. But hey, can't argue with the synths! I can't argue with its boppery sadly, as much as I want to... 7/10

i don't wanna get sad i just wanna get rich: Not here as much for this one. Like...eh. It's alright. Trying too hard to be a meme type song I fear. I mean it is kinda catchy but still... 6/10

it's my party: Not the panties dropping. Hmm, it's definitely a different vibe and I appreciate the production is different here. I kinda think it sounds a bit mediocre overall though. Some of the lyrics...no. It's actually getting kinda annoying. 4/10

you should be scared: Okay we've discovered vocoders. Did we need the whisper parts? Also, I'm just not feeling it. I am scared to listen to any more of this sadly. 5/10

new york: Meh. I'm not here for it again. It's...mediocre. 5/10

heartbreak in a bottle: Did we discover a vocoder again? Eh...yet again. It's kinda not a lot. It just does feel soulless for me. I guess it's a bit more boppy? I'll give it that. It ended rather abruptly but...it's over. 6/10

Overall Verdict: A good start, and then the rest just...fell down. I was not here for this EP. Bland, uninspired, safe pop that I have no interest in returning to.

Kali Uchis - Sincerly,:

Heaven Is a Home...: Fun intro, kinda grand. It does sound kinda angelic and heavenly with the vocals and the production. Wasn't really a mega fan of the first part but it did get better when the beat fully came in. The rest actually sounded pretty cool. 7/10

Sugar! Honey! Love!: That was a fun transition! Really smooth. This sounds good as well. It's a similar sort of chill and pretty vibe but I'm here for it. This one is a bit faster but it sounds great as well. 7/10

Lose My Cool,: This is another fun song with a similar vibe. Honestly, I'm here for the overall vibe of this album. It's chill, pretty and an enjoyable listen.  Didn't think I'd like it as much as I am doing. Got a bit repetitive towards the end but we take most of the song. Maybe it didn't need to be quite THAT long. 7/10

It's Just Us: I like the beat on this one, but I think for some reason I enjoy it slightly less. Maybe it's the exact production or the vocals with it? 5/10

For: You: Unfortunately feel the same about this one. The momentum has fallen off a bit. It's not sounding as good in these songs. 5/10

Silk Lingerie: This song sounds better again. We love inconsistency! But it sounds decent again actually. Back to the chill and nice vibes I appreciated before. 6/10

Territorial: Another in the good category! These songs don't feel super different to me but they're different enough and they're all good listens so I don't really mind. 7/10

Fall Apart: I do like the transitions into each other. A chill bop I like the production of! Fun ending too. 7/10

All I Can Say: Sounds great! Another chill bop. It kinda reminds me of other songs too. Maybe it's just other songs on this album though! Maybe the album is getting too long at this point though! 7/10

Daggers!: Hmm, not as sure about this one. Yeah, definitely wasn't as good for me. I feel like I'm getting fatigued from this album now. 6/10

Angels All Around Me...: Another chill bop! I do like it but I do feel like I've heard it all already at this point. I think the album having already ended would have been good. This is one long song with kinda a switchup in the middle for some reason. Didn't like that bit as much. Okay weird ending. Anyway, it didn't need to be that long. 6/10

Breeze!: Meh. Not here for this. What is the point of going on this long with the album at this point? I just want it done. Like was there any need for this song? It's okay...I guess. 5/10

Sunshine & Rain...: One of the singles from what I remember. Not feeling it now either. I guess something in its favour is that it's somewhat different from the songs immediately before it. Not majorly so though. I am still done with this album. 6/10

ILYSMIH: I'm glad it's finally ending. Again, I'm not really sure what's special about this song. I've heard it already. Do I need to hear it again with some different words? No! 6/10

Overall Verdict: A chill and pleasant album to listen to. It has songs that mostly hit their mark, in that they are not typically songs I would seek out to listen to but it provides an enjoyable and pleasant listening experience. That is, until it doesn't. The album starts to feel far too long and repetitive and some points, with me having heard it all before in the album already. Did the album need that many songs or to be as long as it was? Not sure about that. I don't mind longer albums when it's justified, and here it does not feel like it is. But as well as that, there were just some mediocre songs. I think there's a fantastic album here with cuts, but as it stands, it falls down a bit because of its length.

Maren Morris - D R E A M S I C L E:

lemonade: You are a waste of lemons! For some reason I quite like it. Lemonade is over...officially ended. 7/10

people still show up: Not as here as much for this. Kinda a weird vibe shift production wise compared to the last song. Maybe synths aren't always good. 5/10

cry in the car: This is a lot more of a bop! It's maybe a bit too loud if that makes sense. Still, I definitely like it more. 6/10

cut! (feat. Julia Michaels): Another decent song. I'm not sure I'm a HUGE fan of this type of sound but it isn't awful. 6/10

bed no breakfast: The same sort of opinion I think. It's not my favourite but it is a decent listen. Maren sounds good and the production is good enough. 6/10

dreamsicle: Boringgggg. Just not here for it. More like a snoozicle. 5/10

i hope i never fall in love: This album so far is unfortunately not really for me. It's another kind of bland, boring song for me. 5/10

too good: Kinda cringe. We're definitely not saying this song is too good, that's for sure. 5/10

push me over: Push me over I don't want to listen to it anymore. It's...not hitting. I don't know. 5/10

because, of course: I'm not a mathematician either, I can relate girl! But unfortunately this is not a good song either. I'm just not feeling this album. 5/10

grand bouquet: Me when I'm a grand snoozefest. Maybe country is not for me. 5/10

this is how a woman leaves: Okay, this song kinda eats actually. Finally. We've been waiting for an eat this whole time. This has exactly what I want. Sounds fantastic. Has the passion. 8/10

carry me through: Not as good as the last song but still good! Like, where was this energy the whole album? Have I just missed it somehow? 7/10

holy smoke: Omg the new Pope anthem! This was another good song actually. Like, I don't know whether I just suddenly got in a good mood listening to the end of the album or these last few songs were great, but I could have taken a whole album with these sorts of songs. Maybe I'm just contradictory and inconsistent, who knows. 7/10

Overall Verdict: Well, it wasn't a great album. Too many of the songs were bland, boring, and nothing. Not really my thing. However, a few songs, especially towards the end, show the talent that Maren has. There could have been a fantastic album with more of those types of songs. Where was it! Argh, missed potential is so annoying.

PinkPantheress - Fancy That:

Illegal: This is good! It's both chill and has interesting production, and it's exactly the sort of song that PinkPantheress is great at. A great start to the mixtape. 8/10

Girl Like Me: Okay, fun transition into this song! Unfortunately, Slayyyter outsold with a song named Girl Like Me. There's parts of this song that are highly annoying and this one definitely isn't as catchy unfortunately. How did a song I disliked follow one I really liked? Mess! 4/10

Tonight: I recognise that production flourish from somewhere! This is definitely a way better vibe. It's way more of a bop. Definitely seems like a PinkPantheress song. 7/10

Stars: This is alright! I'm not like mega gagged by it, but it's fine. We don't need the cringe talking moment though. 6/10

Intermission: Well, that was a very short and nothing intermission. Moving on!

Noises: This was a whole lot of nothing that just passed me by. Same silly man, same nothing, it was quite bland sadly. Not much to see here! 5/10

Nice to Know You: It's also boring...like what is going on? Maybe I just don't like this type of music but I remember really liking her previous project a lot. No thanks to this. It's nothing. 5/10

Stateside: This song does sound a bit better, it isn't so nothing, but it's still not reaching the potential of a great song. 6/10

Romeo: A lot better! This is way more of a bop. It sounds way more interesting than some of those bland songs on the project. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This was heavily inconsistent. It has some really quite good songs, but also some...messes. A lot of it was just mediocre. Like, how do you manage that? Was I just moody listening to part of it? Like, am I the problem? But this definitely wasn't as good as the PinkPantheress projects before.

Singles:

Avril Lavigne (feat. Simple Plan) - Young & Dumb: Sounds like a pretty classic Avril. Was that a reference to one of her old songs? But anyway, a decent song that is exactly what I would expect from her. 7/10

Blusher - WHATEVERWHATEVER: Oh Blusher don't go eating like that...calm down, let everyone else rest a little. You can't just end everyone's careers like that. Great song! Production is funnnnn. Okay, kinda not where I was expecting the song to go. A bit underwhelming but still good! Wacky outro but why not. 8/10

Calum Hood - Call Me When You Know Better: Time to enter my 5SOS era...jk...unless? No thanks to the vocals here. I'm instantly out. Absolutely not. I mean the production is decent enough but ew....why would you make yourself sound like that? Turn it off! I'm not entering my 5SOS era after all... 4/10

CMAT - Take A Sexy Picture Of Me: Okay, when is a m*n going to do that for me? All the ones I get on a certain gay "dating" app are not sexy...Anyway, the song is...eh. I don't like CMAT's voice here and nor do I like the production. 5/10

Halsey, Amy Lee and Evanescence - Hand That Feeds: Woah, this is kinda creepy a bit, dark or something like that. Wasn't really expecting that. I really like dark types of production like this. Very much enjoy this! Wonder what the film is like.  8/10

Miley Cyrus - More to Lose: The next single and next song on the album! Interesting rollout so far even if I've had mixed opinions on the songs. Guess we're starting slow, and it sounds decent! There's no way it's staying slow. It's building up to something! Oh, maybe not quite? It still sounds decent though. It's a fine enough song and I definitely appreciate it in the context of the album released so far. Not my favourite but nice! 6/10

ROSÉ - Messy: I'm not really feeling it. The production is giving drama and I think I'm supposed to feel something but I just don't. I just feel like it's almost soulless somehow. Maybe I'm just being a hater this week, who knows? 5/10

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Taste: Okay, that's a fun sound! She can't really miss can she. This is probably going to be one of my favourite albums of the year because all the singles so far have been hits actually. They just all sound great, and so does Sophie! 8/10

Tyla - Bliss: I've really liked a lot of Tyla's music so far. This sounds like it's starting well. It's giving BOP energy! I really enjoyed this actually. It's so short though...like what are we doing? But still, such a fun listen! 8/10