New Music Friday - 30/05/2025

Albums/EPs:

• Heidi Montag - Heidiwood
• Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful
  
• yeule - Evangelic Girl is a Gun
  

Singles:

• Addison Rae - Fame is a Gun
• Ava Max - Lovin Myself 
• Conan Gray - This Song 
• girl in red - Hemingway
• GRACEY - Gimmicks 
• HAIM - Take me back 
• Kate Nash - GERM
• Lily Knott - blonde
• Lorde - Man Of The Year 
• Mabel - January 19  
• Natalie Jane - fallin
  
• Olivia Dean - Nice To Each Other
• Sofia Camara - Girls Like You 
• Wet Leg - CPR

Heidi Montag - Heidiwood:

Thank Me: Okay weird choir start. Thank Heidi for making AOTY, yes! I would be surprised if I don't like this a lot but we shall see. Hmm, maybe not this song as much though... Lyrics are fun for this type of song but the production is what's letting it down for me I fear. Flop outro too. 6/10

Heidiwood (feat. Chase Icon): Now this is really a GREAT song. This is more of what I want. It's just an undeniable bop, great production, great everything. Chase Icon is also a fantastic fit here and she really eats up her verse. It's all around just a fantastic song. Also, Chase Icon definitely deserves to pop off more! 9/10

WET HOT SUMMER: This is another better song. Not as good as the last one but it's still good. It's going to be a WET HOT HEIDI SUMMER. 7/10

Prototype: Okay, we're eating here. How many times will I say some variation of this in the many many tracks to come? Probably a lot! Production is good, but Heidiwood may just be the peak that can't be replicated for me. 7/10

Any Excuse To Party: Nevermind, maybe it can be replicated. This is another song in that sort of vibe. Great production here. Love it. Most deep song of 2025. 8/10

Screensaver: This feels like more of a chop sadly. Those vocals with this production is not giving. Not the forcing in of the word "situationship" girl that did not fit. I think the later choruses worked better but it's still not as good a song as the others. 6/10

Under Your Clothes: Oh, the chorus of this one is hitting. That's some boppy energy. That chorus is really doing a lot of work here. The verses don't hit as much but you know what, that chorus is too good for me. 8/10

Sriracha: May be another chop? Okay, that "hot-ot-ot-ot-ot-ot" may need to be injected into my veins. Changed my mind! This is actually fantastic. Maybe this will be my full verdict for every song when I've forced myself to like--I mean listened to the whole album more. 7/10

5G (Extended Mix): Funnnn intro! Who doesn't want to be fucked in 5G? This is goood production. I saw this live and I kinda remember it being it different live somehow? Still a decent song. 7/10

Go Harder: I guess we are going harder! Really fun song, really good production again. This is more like itttt. 8/10

Top: It's my new era! With this song, I can't go wrong! Another decent song. It's nothing fundamentally different (who's expecting that at this point?) but it's good! 7/10

Tetris: This really reminds me of another song with the "oh no no no". What song is it? But it's a decent song! Cringe Tetris reference honestly though. 7/10

Flash (Extended Mix): This feels like a bit more of a miss to me. Doesn't sound amazing, it just sounds alright I guess? 6/10

Forgive and Forget: This one has good production once again! Enjoyedddd it. That chorus is also eating. This is pretty good actually. 8/10

Bad Publicity: Another good song! I feel like it does remind me of another song again though. Maybe I've just listened to too much music. 7/10

Scandalous: I feel like I'm running out of things to say because a lot of these songs are fairly similar and there's a LOT of them. It's a good song. Good production. That's it I guess? 7/10

America's Sweetheart: Another FLOP. I can't even identify what makes these songs flops in comparison, they just are. 6/10

White Flag: Another stunner! More like a SLAY flag. 8/10

Animal: Another fun song! I really enjoyed it. Me when I have substantial stuff to say still. 8/10

Explicit: Another decent song, pretty similar as the ones before. 7/10

I Wanna Be Your Girl: I guess this is the closest to a Mandatory Ballad we are getting? It's definitely slower than some of the other songs. It's alright. 6/10

Last Call: Okay, I'm getting a bit bored at this point. End it! Please! I mean divorced from the overall album the track is not bad but please, I don't need anymore. 6/10

No Going Home: Another slower song to end the album. Kinda expected. It's fine, but I am really done with the album at this point. 6/10

Overall Verdict: Maybe I'm a hypocrite because a lot of this album was pretty similar to each other. It definitely felt like it dragged towards the end. Did it need to be that long and have so many tracks? No, I don't think so. It was far too long. We don't need every track ever made on the same release. But were many of the tracks good? Yes, they were. Unfortunately, a fair few were kinda generic, but that happens when you release so many tracks on the same album. Still a fun listen! Not sure I like it as an album, but I do like many of the songs on it.

Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful:

Prelude: A fun intro track! It really sets the scene well, and makes you think you're in for a ride. Sadly, based on bits of what I've read, I feel like it may set up an album that doesn't actually exist, but we'll see how it goes. I do think it's a really cool intro with the talking and the gradually increasing production though. 9/10

Something Beautiful: This really isn't my favourite until it randomly starts switching it up. It's quite boring until that point. From then on it's mostly great! Really experimental and fun production there. This is what I want from an album that was set up well by that intro. 7/10

End of the World: Nice transition but this IS a weird vibe change. Like, we're way more upbeat now. Weirddd shift. Especially as this is a fairly 'normal' song. Though it does kinda feel a bit wrong to me still too? It's a decent enough song though. 6/10

More to Lose: I really like albums with transitions. Really makes them feel like one work. Okay, fun start to this one. Twinkling and stuff. Hopefully it's not just a generic ballad. I may have already heard this, I forget which songs were singles before the album. Okay, so it was a generic type ballad song, it sounds decent though! 7/10

Interlude 1: Woah, gun shot! Fun transition into the interlude. And those sounds are familiar! Even if some of the songs are generic so far I'm really liking how this album flows as an album. Not a fan of the name "Interlude 1" though. Boring! I don't mind this interlude---okay the switchup is real. I like it! Even though it's not a song with lyrics I think it's good enough to get ranked. 7/10

Easy Lover: Unfortunately this does feel like it will be another generic song. We'll see! Not that it's bad, I just...see a different path for this album based on the first 2 tracks and the interlude. Where did that magic go? It was mostly fine, but I think the quieter bit in the bridge was meh. Otherwise, good! 7/10

Interlude 2: Why are we having an interlude again so soon after the previous one? This better be good. These interludes make me feel I'm getting a completely different album to what I'm getting. They're full of fun sounds and vibe changes and it just doesn't compare to the fairly safe and normal pop tracks on most of the album. The album isn't bad but it could have been SO MUCH BETTER! Missed opportunity. I really do like these interludes, but it makes me see the rest of the album worse. 7/10

Golden Burning Sun: See, now I feel like we're back to fairly generic pop tracks. She has a great voice on this, and it's a good listen. I just really want to give this album more and I can't. But it's still good! I'm so conflicted arghhhh. 7/10

Walk of Fame: Fun transition into the next song yet again. I think one thing the album does really well is flow as one work. Again, the transition makes me think I'll get something different. Woah, a 6 minute song! Well, this could be fun. Fun start with the vocals. Okay, we're going boppy! I did enjoy this a fair bit. But it's still a generic pop album ARGHHHH Miley what you could have done! It's good at that...but WHY did you squander the potential???? Also, although I liked this track, did it really need to be 6 minutes long? Good song though. 7/10

Pretend You're God: Okay, I will do. Or do I need to pretend because I already am? This has interesting vocal effects mixed with the production. I like it. It definitely feels a bit less safe as a pop song overall. 7/10

Every Girl You've Ever Loved: Woah, now what is that instrument? Now that's different! We're doing something different here thankfully. Is it a saxophone or something? Oh, another bop, okay! I really enjoy this actually. I think the vocals and the production go together EXTREMELY well. I guess I'm looking for things a bit closer to this? Weird almost like interlude in here? That's fun. I did enjoy it but it's almost a different song at that point. Ending was fun! That last bit of production, ooo... 9/10

Reborn: Maybe this could be something based on how it's starting? I liked the talking start. And I feel like it's got much more of an identity here. This is more of what I want! This feels a lot less generic and is way more of the energy that I wanted from the album. Like, you get it Miley! Where is this the rest of the album? It's good but it's not as good as this! Maybe another track that suffers from being a bit too long though? Fun interlude out again. 8/10

Give Me Love: Hmm, am I a fan of this instrument? Maybe. This one doesn't feel like it's as much for me sadly. Just its general vibe is kinda...no. But it does have closing track energy and I do feel it kinda fits well. Fun ending to the album too with the more weird production. 6/10

Overall Verdict: This was a good album, but it could have been SO fantastic and maybe even my favourite album of the year. The last few songs really proved what it could have been if it ditched some of the more generic pop and leaned into a more experimental edge. The interludes and start also hint towards it, but then unfortunately it loses that momentum. It's still good, but it's too safe, and it could have been way better. So, basically, this is still a good album. The rest of the tracks could grow on me, but although it's good, it still could have been a lot better.

yeule - Evangelic Girl is a Gun:

Tequila Coma: I know some people who may have been in one of these before! This is pretty standard yeule so far. It's a mix of I like it but also I really don't. The production elements stopping or changing every so often is fun and I like it. Listening to yeule's music always unsettles me and it's doing that again here. A good song even though it made me feel a bit...weird listening to it. 6/10

The Girl Who Sold Her Face: Guitar! yeule is very good at making really interesting production choices, they're great at that. I guess this one makes me feel less uneasy and does sound better? I really like the contrast between the more 'normal' elements and the less normal elements. 7/10

Eko: I feel like this is the most 'normal' song so far and I really enjoy its sound now actually. A really good and enjoyable song! Less of a fan of the song towards the end though. 7/10

1967: Another fairly normal song. Not sure I'm quite as much of a fan of this one, and it definitely has the eerie vibes to it too in the background. 6/10

VV: yeule is really good at making these types of songs. They're not really for me but for anyone who likes this type of music it's absolutely fantastic. A more chill song which still has the more eerie and also electronic sounds. Decent, but not really for me. 6/10

Dudu: Me when dududu. Okay, this is FUN! Not really what I expected but you know what, let's gooo. Maybe not as good as I first expected but still good. Less eerie energy to it and it's one of the most upbeat songs so far, at least production wise. 7/10

What3vr: Okay, back to more weird and somewhat eerie vibes. No thankssss. Fun kinda chill track though except when it's not quite that. 6/10

Saiko: Wacky noises. Almost sounds like a distorted clock tower bell or something. Fun distorted production generally! Well, that is almost like a mess of sounds and I'm not sure how to feel about it. It's good, sorta kinda? 6/10

Evangelic Girl is a Gun: I think I appreciate this a lot more now than I did when it was a single. It's actually a pretty good song! It fits really well in the context of the album and is more of the kinda eerie, kinda discordant, electronic vibes that yeule does well. Another good offering. Really fun towards the end too! 7/10

Skullcrusher: Weird start indeed. Probably not going to like this one as much because it's slower and even more weird. I guess it got better? Very much not a song for me but I appreciate it. Didn't have many lyrics and was more of a vibey song but it fits the album well and I think it's a good closing track. 6/10

Overall Verdict:  This may be the best yeule album so far for me, even if yeule's music isn't really for me. I think it's too eerie and dark for me to really like it. I find it fairly unsettling. Still, I definitely think this was a lot more listenable overall than Glitch Princess (haven't listened to their previous album). I think they've got a really good idea of what their identity is as a musical artist, and this album executes it well. Not really for me overall, but I'm glad I listened to it, and it's a good album!

Singles:

Addison Rae - Fame is a Gun: I think this is my least favourite single so far. The voice is almost like...I don't know, whiny like? It annoys me. I think it's my hatred for child like vocals coming through again. It does have kinda addictive qualities in it so maybe I'm going to end up loving it but currently...ew. 5/10

Ava Max - Lovin Myself: What the FUCK is this intro? Help? What????? This is...like generic as hell. I think I hate it. Like, I'm sure her label keeps forcing her to record new songs but her previous 50 million singles for this next album were way better. This is AWFUL. The lyrics feel phoned in and honestly so does the song generally. I actually talked to someone on the Tube back from Mighty Hoopla who said it was like a Born This Way copy. I kinda see that? Anyway, it's awful. 2/10

Conan Gray - This Song: I'm just not here for Conan Gray it seems. This is another miss for me after a long list of misses. This is just really boring and bland to me. Well that was a song to exist! 5/10

girl in red - Hemingway: Going to be a sad acoustic coded song, which are very hit and miss for me. Okay, less quiet than I thought. I actually enjoyed this a good amount. Good song! 7/10

GRACEY - Gimmicks: I really liked this until the chorus...and then...maybe not. The production and vocals were kinda eating and then it fell off a cliff. I'm not sure it sounds good anymore. Enough of it was okay I guess? Outro was weird and unnecessary for me too. 6/10

HAIM - Take me back: No. That's what I have to say to this. That production...no. This is not a song for me. Put it that way. Mess. Hated that! HAIM's upcoming album isn't going to be one of my favourites this year, that's for sure... 4/10

Kate Nash - GERM: End those fraud TERFs. Kinda clocked them actually. Cis men are the problem! And yet these idiot transphobes are focused on a small percentage of the population, and trans people are more likely to be victims of abuse too! This song has a fantastic message and I think it's delivered extremely well. It's both an enjoyable listen (it's not generally my music) and the lyrics are great too. 7/10

Lily Knott - blonde: Not sure I'm going to like this majorly with its opening. Instrument and production is just annoying me. I liked this more than I thought I would actually, I think the production and the song picked up a fair bit and it sounds decent. 7/10

Lorde - Man Of The Year: Uh oh, scared of that instrument choice! Serious subject matter but I found the first minute incredibly boring. Weird production elements started making it more interesting towards the end. More interesting but still not good sadly...meh. 4/10

Mabel - January 19: Didn't like the intro, not sure I'm a mega fan of the production either. Also...those weird processed vocals. Nope. Like, I'm all here for a return to more R&B for Mabel, I think it's more authentic to her, but I'm not here for this song. January 19 2025 was the calm before the storm... 4/10 

Natalie Jane - fallin: Interesting intro! This could be good! Or...maybe not. I did expect it to be a more fast paced or dancey track but I feel it flopped. I feel like it's the choruses I don't like, I actually enjoy a fair bit of the rest of the song. Sad! Random slower bit too... 6/10

Olivia Dean - Nice To Each Other: It's a guitar, run away! It's a perfectly listenable song and I enjoyed listening to it. It's chill and good vibes. Good vocal layers too. A pretty good song all around. 7/10

Sofia Camara - Girls Like You: Okay, a song I like! It's nothing special but it does sound good. She has a good voice and there's some good production here. 7/10

Wet Leg - CPR: This was alright! I like the production in the chorus. Definitely didn't flop as hard as I thought it would considering I'm not a major fan of Wet Leg releases generally. 6/10