New Music Friday - 18/07/2025

Albums/EPs:

• FLETCHER - Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?
• HANA - Extendedpray
• Jessie Murph - Sex Hysteria
• Mae Muller - My Island
• Miss Madeline & Chase Icon - STRAWBERRY LEMONADE: 

Singles:

• Alessi Rose - Everything Anything 
• Alexis Strum - Everybody 
• Alice Glass - CATCH AND RELEASE
• AURORA - You Can't Run From Yourself
• Blood Orange (feat. Caroline Polachek, Lorde & Mustafa) - Mind Loaded
• Claudia Valentina - I luv that babe
• David Guetta, Dimitri Davis & Loreen - Pum Pum
• Ella Eyre - space
• FKA twigs - Perfectly
• Georgia - Wanna Play
• Haven Madison - Anybody
• Joyner Lucas ft. Ava Max - Tear Me Down
• King Princess - Cry Cry Cry
• Luke Markinson - FAKE TAN
• Mae Stephens - Tiny Voice
• Matilda Grace - I'd Rather Miss You 
• Renee Rapp - Why Is She Still Here?
• Sadie Jean - I Tried
• Skye Newman - Out Out
• Sofia and the Antoinettes - SPIRALLING
• The Aces - Twin Flame
• The Last Dinner Party - This is the Killer Speaking

FLETCHER - Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?:

Party: Why do I feel like this will not sound like a party? Nice piano, it sounds good. Her voice doesn't totally work for me, it feels a bit too...deep or dark? I don't like the contrast with the piano basically. Not sure I'm feeling the buildup in production either. Sometimes I feel like ballads should just stay as ballads, you know? Like why do we have a drum here? Also, are those weird vocal effects at the end? Not feeling that. 5/10

Hi, Everyone Leave Please: Hmm, not totally feeling the verse here. It feels like it's trying to do a bit too much. Oh, okay, wasn't expecting that production change. It's a bop but also kinda not really? Almost like an acoustic or singer-songwriter type 'bop'. I definitely enjoyed it more than the previous track. I feel a tiny bit of MARINA in some of the singing, which I like. 6/10

Don't Tempt Me...: I feel like I appreciated this ballad a bit more. And then it gets a beat. Why are we doing that? That guitar is...not it. I don't want it. Why the hell does this suddenly have a mega beat? We did the gradual buildup thing but I just do not think it works. It's too fast, and very...messy. 4/10

The Arsonist: Uhm, this production? The hell? I just thought this was a bit mediocre. I do not like that production choice either. It's annoying. Some decent vocals here but still...that production is not good in the verses. 5/10

Boy: Oh, it's this song. Maybe not the best choice for a single, I don't know. It sounds good enough. But it's a bit of a mess to have a song to be like "I'm sorry I failed you for not being a lesbian even though I never actually said I was lesbian so I apologise to fans that will take it a bit too seriously". This song is allowed though as it's no longer pride month. 6/10

Chaos: A bit boring and bland overall. Some good vocals though. She can sing! 5/10

D i s t a n c e: Oh we're going q u i r k y. I see. I just don't like the production on this album. These songs are all ballad type songs. Fine. But why are we getting beats and production that doesn't really fit with it? It may well be intentional, but I don't think it sounds good. I think it sounds bad. 4/10

Good Girl / Gone Girl: Oh, I hated the repetition here. It feels like it's almost trying to be some sort of club song but not. Like if you're going to do that type of repetition with that beat...I feel like this is not the way to do it. Like as I've said the contrast just DOES NOT work for me. 4/10

All of the Women: Sounds a bit like Sabrina to start with. Okay, the most explicit bop of them all I think. It has a very strong indie pop 'bop' vibe to it. I feel like it's better than a lot of the other songs for sure. It commits to being a bop from the start and not half straddling a ballad and making it a mess later on. More songs should have been like this. This was a lot better in general! I even started liking it a lot more towards the end. 7/10

Congratulations!: Hmm, interesting start. We'll see. And then a...guitar? It's serviceable and fine. Voice is good as ever. Weird break with background vocals that I didn't really like too much. It's all fine though. Not bad, not good. 5/10

Would You Still Love Me?: I guess it's piano ballad time to end. Wouldn't surprise me if it poorly switched it up in the song though. This was a perfectly fine ballad. So far, so decent. Sometimes just sticking with the piano is the right choice. Oh, a fakeout ending? That's fun. It's a nice ending with the talking and the piano. I do like that. 6/10

Overall Verdict: This just did not really work as an album for me. It was all over the place, and didn't really know what it was trying to do. FLETCHER, commit to either sad girl indie singer-songwriter music, or making indie pop bops. Don't try to do both like in some of these songs. The beats did not fit the songs at all. I feel like she may be better at the former, but like...she proved she can make good bops with All of the Women. Unfortunately, the rest of the album ranges from mediocre to just plain bad. Definitely not one I'm coming back to. 

HANA - Extendedpray

Illusory: Bit of a generic dance track so far, though I feel like it could build into something cool. It was decent. Nothing really special to it. Nice to listen to, pleasant, but that's it really. 6/10

Solidground: Unfortunately this did nothing for me at all. Just bland and nothing really. Oh, what's this changeup? Eh, it was kinda nothing. Whatever. 5/10 

Cahethel: This one felt better with the background vocals. They worked well. Production was better too. This one was a LOT better. Where was this energy the whole time?? This is great! Works so well. Good vocals, good production. 7/10 

Overall Verdict: With only 3 songs (excluding the extended mixes), it's a bit difficult to give an overall verdict on this. One song was great, one decent, and one mediocre. Some of it was more bland and boring, some of it was great. That's all I can really say. I wish it was longer so more of this could be explored, especially some of the sounds in Cahethel. 

 Jessie Murph - Sex Hysteria

Gucci Mane: Oh that is a country accent. We're going country here. Voice is good. Production is...fine, not amazing. This was decent! Had a decent build up and a decent voice. 6/10

1965: Oh we're doing a radio/TV switching thing? That's fun. Oh, I did not expect that beat. Snapchat in that accent...sounds kinda wrong. Decent song, kinda a bop. Didn't need the long talking outro type thing though. 6/10

Couldn't Be Worse: Huh, these are not sounds I'd think were on a country project. So maybe it isn't really one. Or it's a blend of things. Very electronic. Another enjoyable song. Not a favourite but decent to listen to. 6/10

A Little Too Drunk: A chill almost R&B leaning track. I'm not totally feeling Jessie's voice here. It's a fine track, decent but nothing too special. Bit of an abrupt ending. 6/10

Bad As the Rest: Another chiller track. I hope they're not all like this. Oh, that's fun, we got more boppy. I'm here for that. Not fully feeling it but it's decent. Some good vocals here. 6/10

Touch Me Like A Gangster: Random talking to start with. Sure. Some good vocals here again. But it's again pleasant but nothing special. 6/10

Heroin: It's heroin but this time with an E-oh, wrong song. Oh, piano ballad time? Why not. Piano ballads can be quite good. And Jessie's voice sounds decent for it. Not feeling some of the harmonies really. But overall it's decent. 6/10

I Like How I Look: I like the vocals in this one and the background vocals. Makes a catchy song. Still not amazing but good enough. 6/10

Ain't But A Thing: Bit of an acoustic snoozefest, I can't lie. Just...there. It's a song to exist. 5/10

The Man That Came Back: Kinda boring, but some of the more passionate parts bring some interest to the song and it sounds good in those parts. 6/10

Sex Hysteria: This is a bit of a wild switchup with that production? Oh, or not. Boo, that could have gone somewhere really interesting instead of into a piano. Oh, okay, this is a fun switchup! I'm here for this energy. The most interesting track so far honestly, although cohesion wise I'm not sure it totally fits. 7/10

Donuts (feat. Gucci Mane): Wait hold on, this was the title of the first track. That's fun. Also we've got into bop territory here? Good feature, honestly may have been the best part of the song. Wasn't feeling Jessie's part as much by comparison. The production is decent overall too. Unfortunately not quite good enough because of Jessie's part but still decent. 6/10

Blue Strips: I hated this at first but honestly? Not too bad now. It's kinda boppy and fun, some of the lyrics are a bit...but whatever. Not awful! 6/10

Best Behavior (feat. Lil Baby): Oh, that heavy production. Are we going more rap here? Ohhh, the production here is pretty good. Another one of the standout tracks here I think. Lil Baby works fine here. Good song overall! 7/10

Ur Bill Is Big As Fuck: It's a bit more of a boppy song but this one doesn't work quite well for me. Still decent though. Fun ending going really fast, though I didn't like it just ending. 6/10

Overall Verdict: I was warned by some people that this would be terrible, and it...wasn't. It's not my favourite album ever, to be fair. It suffers from having too many songs and going in a few too many directions, with too many musical styles. Most songs are firmly in the 'decent but could be better' category. I especially enjoyed the more boppy songs towards the end, if the whole album was more that energy, I would have liked it more. But overall, a decent enough album. Probably not an album I'll return to but I don't regret listening to it. 

Mae Muller - My Island:

My Island: Welcome back Caroline Polachek! Okay, kinda not what I was expecting. We've got a fun boppy energy here. The production feels a bit messy and kinda a bit all over the place but it doesn't sound awful. The vocals I feel are what's letting me down a bit. Mae Muller just doesn't sound as good over this production. Cute chorus though. Not the best song, but decent. It wasn't even 3 minutes and it felt like it went on a bit too long, oops. 6/10

Hello Kitty: Oh...well let's hope it picks up quick. Because currently I'm still feeling that discordant feeling. It doesn't quite work all together for me. The chorus is definitely better. There the elements of the song work together better. Not as much of a fan of the verses. 6/10

In My Head: One of the singles, right? I think I remember liking this. I think it almost fits her better than some of the other songs she's made. It's not a full on bop but it's good. It's the one that definitely sounds the best to me. 7/10

Touch Me City: Is it a Mandatory Ballad? Went from being a bit soulless to being more of a bop. I like the beat on this. It sounds like a good song and the vocals work well with it. Oh, the switchup to have more of a beat? Those hits? Hmm, I'm sat! Good song. 7/10

Breakaway: I feel like at first I was feeling this more but I actually disliked it more as it went on. Fun vocal distortions there though. It's not bad, it's decent, but I do wish I liked it more. The "had to break away" part just does not work majorly for me, at least when it's more sparse. 6/10

Overall Verdict: Overall, I think it's a step up from her first album. Going independent seems to have helped her understand who she is an artist and what sort of music she should make. I feel like some of it is not quite there yet, and could be better, but this is a decent pop EP. I look forward to seeing more from her and hopefully emulating some of the more successful songs on the EP. 

Miss Madeline & Chase Icon - STRAWBERRY LEMONADE:

STILLETTO PUMPS IN THE POOL: Kinda a bit too chill to start with. It's not terrible but it better go somewhere. Oh, okay...hmm. Chase sounds great as ever. She serves cunt with every line pretty much. The chiller vibe is not really my favourite though. 6/10

REALITY SHOW: This better sound like a cunty reality TV show. So far, not majorly gagged. Oh, another Real Housewives reference. Fun. But we want a RHOSLC reference! Not an Orange County one. Anyway, ehhh. It's fine. Not really the energy I would expect from both of them. It's way too chill? It's not bad but...yeah. 6/10

CANDY APPLE DRIP: I'm honestly disappointed by this EP. Chase Icon sounds great in this as ever, and I feel is the better artist out of the two. Even though this is more of a bop...it still isn't one? Like, what happened? Why are we giving 5 year old party? You're supposed to be CUNTY artists!!! 6/10

SPEED LIMIT: See, this is fine...again...but it's way too chill. Artists can make what they want but...I don't want this. Like I said, it's not bad but I just don't think it fits either artist really...it's too chill for them. And I'm definitely not as much of a fan of this chill energy. 6/10

BALMAIN: Sigh...same thing for this one. Chase sounds good. Disappointing direction for the song though. It's good enough but...yeah. 6/10

Overall Verdict: This was a disappointment for sure. When I saw these two artists had made an EP together, I was so excited. I was ready for the cunty bops. They were not there. It felt like it may have been leaning more towards Miss Madeline's music, but even still she definitely has more cunty and boppy songs. It wasn't bad...but it's not what works for these artists, and I did not enjoy it as much as their other work. Chase Icon sounds fantastic on pretty much every song she's on though. She fits songs so well. 

Singles:

Alessi Rose - Everything Anything: This kinda screams indie or alt pop type of artist honestly. It just has that style of song. The chorus is kinda boppy though! Okay, the chorus is quite good and really carries the song well. Pretty decent song. Looking forward to the album! 7/10

Alexis Strum - Everybody: Oh, this is kinda fast. I'm not fully here for it. It's...decent enough, but I find it a small bit annoying. Sounds decent otherwise though. 6/10

Alice Glass - CATCH AND RELEASE: Okay, we're going fun production. A short bop. Nothing too special honestly. It's a pop song that sounds decent. That's about it. 6/10

AURORA - You Can't Run From Yourself: A bit too short but this was another good song from AURORA. Good production, good vocals, good all around. 7/10

Blood Orange (feat. Caroline Polachek, Lorde & Mustafa) - Mind Loaded: Oh, I do not like those high vocals. Good production though. It really is strong. Oh, the one sentence at a time from the artists was fun. Lorde sounds good here. Wait, Caroline Polachek was in this song? Where? I feel I missed that. Oh, I see, she's in it a bit with the background vocals. I wanted more! Also, the fun switchup at the end, okay. Still, good song! 7/10

Claudia Valentina - I luv that babe: This better be a cunty bop. And it seems like it is! Like the production here. I don't think I like it quite as much as the last song I heard but it's still good! The production is really the standout here. Enjoyed it a lot! 7/10

David Guetta, Dimitri Davis & Loreen - Pum Pum: Will this be another generic dance track? We shall see. Well it has some fun dance production, so it's a good song. The features work well too. It's a generic dance track but it's a good one! 7/10

Ella Eyre - space: Omg a song about space, this would have been useful for me last week. Or maybe not...I'm not sure I like it. I don't like its general sound. It really feels like it's in the Caity Baser type sphere of music as well as Georgia's song (coming up). And I do not like that vibe generally speaking. Mehhhh. 5/10

FKA twigs - Perfectly: Lead single for the deluxe version, right? Hmm, not the strongest start but we'll see. Ehhh, it's a bit mediocre. Not why I liked the original album. It has the higher voice that I don't often like too much. The ending was decent though, fun production there. 5/10

Georgia - Wanna Play: Oh, it sounds like I wanna play with that production! Oh okay this is a strong start. Let's not mess it up. She's got the cunty bop energy. Although honestly, not totally feeling her voice here. Decent song but I feel like her voice does drag it down for me, even though it's fun. 6/10

Haven Madison - Anybody: Decent voice. I think this will end up being a decent song. Some good production here. Does feel like a typical indie/alt pop type song but you know what, it's good! 7/10

Joyner Lucas ft. Ava Max - Tear Me Down: I know there's an album here but I'm only interested in this song because of the Ava Max feature. She sounds good here. Feels like a more downbeat song for her--oh, okay, rap time. He sounds decent but the transition was kinda sudden. Decent enough song, but I don't want to listen to the album. Ava honestly sounds really good here, better than in a lot of her own solo music. 6/10

King Princess - Cry Cry Cry: This was a great song! I really enjoyed the general vibe. Both King Princess's voice and the production here is great. This is turning out to be a great album so far! 8/10

Luke Markinson - FAKE TAN: This is kinda awful but also kinda good I don't know. It's not amazing. Some of those vocals are bad, same with the lyrics. The production is a bit generic but it is also boppy. All in all it evens out to be a mediocre song. Hot man on the single cover obviously gets points though (joke!) 5/10

Mae Stephens - Tiny Voice: This kinda has almost like a...Caity Baser vibe (derogatory). It has that sorta goofy production and energy that doesn't always work, and I feel like it doesn't work here. It's not bad by any means but...meh. 5/10

Matilda Grace - I'd Rather Miss You: Not really a fantastic song. Kinda just there. Didn't really feel much about it. It's...fine. Lyrics are a bit cringe in places. 5/10

Reneé Rapp - Why Is She Still Here?: I feel like I've heard this chilled vibe in other songs, but I do enjoy it. It sounds good! I'm a bit confused about overall what the album is going to sound like at this point, but still. Good voice here too! 7/10

Sadie Jean - I Tried: A ballad...we'll see. Good voice. Nice piano so far. Oh, we've got out of chill ballad territory. Some good production here. It was a good shift and it still works with the sadder vibe of the song. Good song. 7/10

Skye Newman - Out Out: Oh, this is not where I expected a song with that title to go. It's a nice and pleasant piano ballad. Good voice. Good ballad. 7/10

Sofia and the Antoinettes - SPIRALLING: This feels like a song I won't majorly like but we'll see. Cool intense production there between the sung parts. Not a major fan of the voice. It's not really for me. It's not bad or anything but I don't super like its general vibe. 6/10

The Aces - Twin Flame: Great vocals here. Less of a fan of the production, it's got some weird funk dance energy I'm not quite there for. Hmm, actually, it's growing on me. It's quite boppy. I enjoyed this in the end. 7/10

The Last Dinner Party -  This is the Killer Speaking: Killer of my ears, killed by The Last Dinner Party! Amiright girls???? Hmm, good production. It seems pretty typical so far. So... mostly not for me. Oh, it went from better to worse. That's sad. The first part definitely sounded better. Way too long as well. Save me. 5/10