New Music Friday - 23/05/2025

Albums/EPs:

• Julia Michaels - Second Self
  
• Louise - Confessions
• Tom Aspaul - Cabin Fever
  

Singles:

• Agnes - BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES 
• Alison Goldfrapp - Reverberotic
  
• Alexandra Kay - The Last
• Charlotte OC - Romeo
• Claudia Valentina - Candy
  
• Grace Davies - Super Love Me 
• Lauren Spencer Smith - bridesmaid
• Lozeak - FOMO
• Paige - twenties 
• Rachel Newnham - Trust Issues
• Reneé Rapp - Leave Me Alone
• salem ilese - fridge
  
• Talia Mar - ENEMY.
• Tia Wood - Never Come Down 
• Vera Blue - In The Corner

Julia Michaels - Second Self:

Heaven II: Send me to the 2nd version of heaven please. Do NOT like the vocals in this. Nopeeee. Even the layered or choir like moments. Badddd. Also, just a boring song otherwise. 4/10

Scissors (feat. Maren Morris): This song is a lot more catchy and good from the start. A MUCH better song. I would listen to this again unlike the previous song. 7/10

Try Your Luck: A bit boring at first but it didn't push its luck and it turned into a better song thankfully. 7/10

F.O.O.L.: A cute song, nothing amazing but it was a pleasant listen. Good job the EP improved. 6/10

GFY: It's pianoooo time. Not really here for this. Mediocre and boringggggg. I will go fuck myself though, sounds fun! 5/10

Time: Okay that was a cringe start, it didn't really fit, too fast. This song was actually somehow less than nothing. I don't like it. Bad. But it is an emotional moment, so I guess it has that. 4/10

Overall Verdict: This was a mess of an EP for me. Some songs I liked, others I really disliked. I don't know if my rating is inconsistent, or maybe perhaps it's this EP. It's definitely not one I want to return to. None of it is majorly my type of music, but still, there were better songs here and I would have enjoyed the EP more had they been like that.

Louise - Confessions (Deluxe Edition):

Confession: So far, so generic. I really like the chorus. I think it's what really takes the song from meh and generic to something better. It carries the song. Like, that chorus is catchyyyyy. 7/10

Borderline: Okay is this generic pop? Yes. But is it hitting for me right now? Also yes. I can't quite place it. Is it maybe reminiscent of some 2010s stuff? 7/10

Manifesting: This was a bit of a flop of a song. Just boring and not really much to it. Like...meh. It sounds fine but it did nothing for me. 5/10

It Ain't Love: This song was better but Louise is not beating the generic pop allegations. I guess if you're a mega fan of these types of songs you're going to be stunned by the whole anthem. Maybe I could see it growing on me with more listens? 6/10

Only Dancer: I'm not sure it's because I just saw Kylie Minogue live but some of these songs are giving some Kylie Minogue energy to me, at least in parts. I think this fits the bill of an alright pop, maybe dancey energy, track but it's nothing that special. 6/10

Follow Me: Hmm...yeah I'm getting a bit bored of it now. Like...I don't know. The songs are technically different and sound alright but I think having these songs one after the after just isn't really doing it for me. Still a decent listen though. 6/10

Get Into It: Okay moaning. Is this the new sex anthem? Ohhh, this does feel a bit different. The production could mean it's a way better song. Okay, maybe not, but it's still a good and better song. More moaning! 7/10

Love Me More: I love you but I love me more? Such a common songggggg topic. Okay but I do love the synths there. They are eat synths. It carries the otherwise generic song.  7/10

Don't Kill My Vibe: Sigrid tease? Sigrid clearly outdid this song. This was one of the slower songs, and also...meh. I mean it's a nice message but still. 5/10

Just Like That: Last track of the standard album I guess? Okay twinkle synths. It got better after being a bit boring and generic again. The chorus did something at least, though it didn't last very long. 6/10

L.U.V: This really really reminds me of another song. A Tove Lo song maybe? Can't remember which one. It has good synths. That chorus is pretty decent. I like it. 7/10

Diamonds: I can see why this was more of a deluxe song. It's a bit...generic. It sounds alright and I guess I could listen to it again but still. 6/10

Overall Verdict: I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this album currently. There are some stunning tracks, and some that are boring and mediocre. It does feel like it's very much a generic pop album, and sometimes it does that well, but sometimes it does that badly and it's TOO generic. Nothing really stands out to me. I could maybe see it growing on me with more listens, so it's not an album I'm instantly writing off, but it's definitely not an instant favourite either.

Tom Aspaul - Cabin Fever:

Going To My Head: Oh my god it's birds, the horror! The intro to this was fairly boring. There's nothing of much substance there. Tom sounds good I guess? I think when the beat came in is when I started appreciating this song a lot more. Something clicked in my head when that happened. You know what, I'm convinced! You won me over. It's a BOP after all! It just got even better too... 8/10

Sauna: It's gay time (well, it kinda was before). Oh, this is a weird interlude type thing? Or just a really short song I guess. It does sound good. I liked the progressively louder production. You know what, fine, I accept it. You win Tom. Even though a short  8/10

Cabin Fever: Not the panting...Okay, I really like this. It's a gay desire anthem. I'm here for it. I'm really just here for the general vibe and production of this album honestly. The album cover fits it well in my view. 8/10

Bang Bang: I was a bit more meh on this one but again it won me back...there are no misses. Oh, THAT CHORUS!!! You know what...INJECT THAT CHORUS INTO ME. I could see myself repeating that chorus and song so much, it's SO GOOD. 8/10

Not My Place: Oh we're the mandatory slow song? Or...okay? Guitar or whatever is going on there? There's an annoying catchiness to this even though it's simultaneously annoying me at the same time. Definitely the weakest song so far but it's not bad by any stretch. Random abrupt end...okay. 6/10

Drama: Fun start. Can it keep the momentum? It definitely does with the chorus. Enjoying it a lotttt! I think I'm less of a fan of the verses and bridge but they're still good. Decent song! Really do like the chorus though, that's a hooook. 7/10

Midsommar: Hmm, interesting intro. And birds again. Wait, another interlude type thing? With talking, interesting. I mean it sounds alright but this is short already and has interludes? I don't know. It was good though.

That Girl: I think this gets a bit too repetitive at times but it still does sound good. The later choruses do sound better with the additions to it. Again, not so sure as much about the bridge. 7/10

Make Room For Me: This was another song that I liked less than the other ones. It's...fine. But nothing much stood out to me. It kinda just passed by me. 6/10

70s Angels: Not really here for this song either. It was kinda like the last one. It was a different slower vibe I'm not a major fan of. Chorus is kinda catchy though. 6/10

Cabaret: Definitely a better song to close off the album. It's not my favourite but it is a cute closer. Enjoyed listening to it and I do think it reflected the better parts of the album well. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This was a great album! I enjoyed it a lot. There were a few songs that were a bit more mediocre and did not stand out, but there were quite a lot of songs that were great. I did find it weird an album this short had those 2 interludes, but I wasn't fundamentally against them, they did serve some purpose.

Singles:

Agnes - BALENCIAGA COVERED EYES: Did not majorly enjoy the start to this song. First minute or so was okay but...eh. And then it became a more dance type track. It definitely improved from that point. Parts were too repetitive for sure. Parts sounded amazing too, so I'm a bit confused about this song. Bit of a mess. 6/10

Alison Goldfrapp - Reverberotic: Weird and slow start. Not here for that. Oh but here comes the production and synths. It feels a bit...wrong? Or robotic? Probably intentional. It's won me over actually. Maybe I'm just being too kind today. It sounds good! Okay, weird outro that I presume will make sense in the context of the album more? 7/10

Alexandra Kay - The Last: This is a country song. It has a lot of the country cliches. It is a decent country song. Nothing special but it's good and sounds good! 7/10

Charlotte OC - Romeo: Interesting vibe. Almost country like, or adjacent? Definitely heard that kind of production in country music before. Or maybe I'm just stupid. Definitely a pop type track too regardless. Anyway, a good song I enjoyed listening to and I'll definitely check out her upcoming EP! 7/10

Claudia Valentina - Candy: Not the interpolation of Milkshake by Kelis. I mean, I think I both like and hate it. It's catchy...I can't help myself. Maybe this is quite good actually. Help... 8/10

Grace Davies - Super Love Me: Not a fan of those layered vocals. Ahhhh, I'm not going to be a huge fan of this song, I can tell. Maybe it could grow on me though? I could force myself to like it? I don't know, it's possible. It intrigues me enough to check out Grace in future though. It does sound decent. 6/10

Lauren Spencer Smith - bridesmaid: I've heard this type of song a lotttt. Kinda generic alt pop to me. Lauren does sound good but it's almost so formulaic. It's the emotional sad type of song. You know what, I can't argue with it though, it does sound good. Will be looking forward to her album! It won me around. 7/10

Lozeak - FOMO: A new song to add to the mixtape. And it already sounds like this is one of the best ones. Stunning production right from the start! I am already obsessed with this and it will be on REPEAT. Everyone should have FOMO of not hearing this song... That was a really fun ending too! 9/10

Paige - twenties: I almost didn't listen to this for some reason but this was pretty decent actually. Enjoyable song. The chorus is gooood. 7/10

Rachel Newnham - Trust Issues: Interesting artist I'm not sure I've heard of before. It is kinda a generic alt pop song but again, it sounds decent! Really do like the production of the start of the chorus. Definitely want to check her out more.  7/10

Reneé Rapp - Leave Me Alone: The return of the legend! "Leave me alone bitch I wanna have fun"...that part of the song is SO GOOD and SO CATCHY. The chorus hits too. It's a pretty good song! Gives me a lot of hype for the upcoming album. 8/10

salem ilese - fridge: Mehhhh. Not for this. Mediocreeeee. Wow vocal effects, I'm...whelmed. EW IT HAS A MATTY HEALY REFERENCE. Gross....automatically a flop. It does pick up a fair bit. Oh this is a bit of a mess for me. Those sound effects are annoying...Can't help thinking this song is a mess and not in a good way. 4/10

Talia Mar - ENEMY.: Having production like that is an instant win for me. Stunning song! It HITS! HIT ME WITH IT. 9/10

Tia Wood - Never Come Down: A more acoustic offering. These are hit and miss for me. This was a pleasant and nice listen. Never going to be a favourite song but this was an example of a good acoustic song. Good vocals. 7/10

Vera Blue - In The Corner: Good electronic start. Catchy structure to the vocals in the verse. It was a chiller electronic song but still a good song. It gets faster towards the end - not sure I'm super here for that this time. 7/10