New Music Friday - 10/10/2025

Albums/EPs:

• Amber Mark - Pretty Idea 
• Ariana and the Rose - The Breakup Variety Hour 
• Dasha - Anna 
• Daya - Til Every Petal Drops 
• Khalid - after the sun goes down 
• Nemo - Arthouse
• Not for Radio - Melt 
• PinkPantheress - Fancy Some More?
• Sofia Camara - Hard To Love 

Singles:

• Alessia Cara & Julia Michaels - Nighttime Thing 
• Allie X - Reunite 
• Celeste - Time Will Tell  
• Demi Lovato - Kiss 
• Hatchie - Only One Laughing  
• JISOO & ZAYN - EYES CLOSED 
• LOVA - Leave It Beautiful 
• Madison Beer - bittersweet
• Maisie Peters - You You You
• Maisie Peters - Audrey Hepburn 
• Nova May - TROPICANA BAR (The Heidi Montag Remix)
• Róise - Rum Makes Me Cry 
• Rose Gray - Lotus 
• Say Now - Supermarket  
• SIENNA SPIRO - Die On This Hill 
• SONIKKU - Drowning
• Talia Rae - Blind in Love 

Amber Mark - Pretty Idea

By The End of the Night: This is a good song! I like its chiller bop energy. Great voice too. 7/10

ooo: Some interesting production here. I like it. It's a bop again! 7/10

Sweet Serotonin: Didn't quite feel this one as much. There's nothing wrong with it, I just didn't really connect with it as much. It has a bit of a different energy, and I'm not sure I like the production and vocals as much here. Still, decent! 6/10

Too Much: Similar here, it's decent but it's lacking something for me still. 6/10

Cherry Reds: Some nice vocals here, but again, felt similar, it kinda just passed me by a bit. Pleasant listen. 6/10

Don't Remind Me (feat. Anderson .Paak): A bit mixed on the feature, but honestly, this is a bop of a song! Enjoyable. This has the energy and the whatever else that was lacking in the past few songs. 7/10

Let Me Love You: This was more on the boppy side, but again, I did not quite connect with it fully. 6/10

Different Places (feat. John The Blind): This was an interesting song! I enjoyed it. Again, I felt more of its energy, it was boppy, the production was enjoyable, so were the vocals, it all worked well. 7/10

The Best of You: Not the evil guitar! Unfortunately, it was just a bit bland and boring, and happened. Nice voice though. 5/10

Problems: This was better again, though not a favourite. 6/10

Doin' Me: A bop! Good song. Had a good energy to it. 7/10

Pretty Idea: Nice vocals, I do like the effects on them, and the production is interesting here. In the end, the song won me over, it's a good song. A good ending song too. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This was an album that was a pleasant listen, it was definitely decent, though it was a mix of songs that were good and some that were not as good. Amber had a great voice throughout, and there were definitely some interesting songs here, but I still do wish it could have been better. Still, pretty decent! 

Ariana and the Rose - The Breakup Variety Hour:

I Just Came to Say Goodbye: Nice voice. It's maybe not my favourite song but I like the vocals on it. Got better later on in the song too. Crazy how often that happens. 6/10

Step 1: Shock and Awe: If the Steps are going to be talking, that will be pretty cool. I like it as a concept. The 6 steps to getting over breakup. It makes a typical pop album about heartbreak seem more interesting. I really do like this, it's fun. And the transition into the next song! Clever! 7/10 

I'm Fine: The talking at the start is a good setup, and the production is fun. It's a bop! The vocals are kinda unique for a lot of what I listen to as well, so I really enjoy this! Also an Itsy Bitsy spider interpolation, hell yeah! Not quite CupcakKe but hey. Great song! Ahahah, I love the stupid dramatics of the song. 8/10

Step 2: Let the Rail Fall Down: So true. Cry cry cry. Another good step song. I enjoy the talking. 7/10

Limitless: Nice transition. But also a nice emotional, sad song. It works well. The vocals work well. 8/10

Step 3: Be The Bad Guy: Okay, I will be! I really do like these. They're pretty cool. Is it a bit cringe? Maybe. But it's also good. 7/10

Villain: Another fun dramatic song! The vocals are fun, and the production gives it a fun and cringe dramatic flair. I like it! It's cringe done right. The only bad thing is how 'villain' is sung. Stop that. 8/10

Step 4: Fall in Love...with Life: You know what to expect, and it's as good as ever. 7/10

Romanticize Your Life: This really does feel like a slow, grand 'romantic' song. It's good stuff. 7/10

Step 5: Back In The Groove: Hell yeah. This is pretty good. Get your tits out! What a flop of a man too. Disgusting. But yes, you're back, girl! 7/10

Back In The Groove: This could be a great setup. Come on. Okay, it delivered. This is a groove song. Just what we wanted. 7/10

Myself Again: Not sure I'm quite feeling this song as much. I see its part in the album but yeah, it's just a bit more of a miss. Not bad though! 6/10

Step 6: Fall in Love...with a Person: Oh no, not a person! Booo! Maybe it will be me. Someday soon? Go girl. You deserve it! 7/10

Here I Go Again: This is a good final song I think. It feels final, and the final part of the narrative. I enjoy it. This album is done well as a concept album. 7/10

Epilogue: Bahahahah, it didn't work out. Sad! This was a fun ending though. 7/10

Higher Vibration: Wait, there's another song? Okay. Why not. Pretty good song to end on! It feels again like an ending song (again, oops), and it wraps things up well. 8/10

Overall Verdict: This was a good concept album. It's very standard pop music, songs about heartbreak and love, but done in these stages as interludes with the songs after that - it's pretty cool! I like it. The songs and the album were cringe in a good way, which works on an album like this and a personality like Ariana's. It's also quite over the top in places, which works well too. It's a good concept album, I liked it! 

Dasha - Anna

Work On Me: Honestly, this did not really do much for me. It's a country track. It exists. It's not really bad, it's not really good either. 5/10

Not At This Party: Honestly, I feel the same about this song. Like it's just country music. I know it's not my favourite genre but I feel like I'm just connecting with this song. It's missing something, I just don't know what it is. 5/10

Please Stop Changing: I get that this is supposed to be more emotional and deep and I appreciate that but I'm still not feeling it. 5/10

Gimme A Second: It's more boppy but I'm just not connecting with this project. May well be a me problem honestly. I don't think it's bad though. 5/10

I Don't Mean To: Yeah, more emotional again, and I appreciate the variety, but I'm just not feeling it. 5/10

Train: For some reason I thought this was going to be a bop. Sadly, it was not to be. Another emotional song. Just don't connect with it. It's a me problem, probably. 5/10

Like It Like That: Oh, we're kinda boppy again. You know what, this song actually worked for me. I don't know why. Maybe I'm in a better mood listening to this song. But it's good! 7/10

Oh, Anna!: Maybe I just am in a better mood because this was good too. Good song to end the project with. On the more 'emotional' side but it worked for me. It just connected. More of this please! 7/10

Overall Verdict: This feels like competent and okay country music, for the most part. It just didn't really connect with me in any way. I'm not saying it's bad, but it just did nothing for me whatsoever. With the exception of the last 2 songs which suddenly connected and were good! Just make more like the last two songs please Dasha! 

Daya - Til Every Petal Drops:

Infrared: Okay cool vocal stuff at the start. Dance beat! Let's go. But it's also atmospheric which is fun. Good song! Production was good throughout. Fun switchup at the end? Will it be a transition? Sad! 7/10

Agnostic: Nice vocals here. They work well. Production is good and catchy again too. Pretty good  song! 7/10

Matador: Another fun and boppy song! Some good production here. The vocals really give the song cool effects. 7/10

Falls: Now that I think about it, she's maybe kinda reminding me of ELIO and similar artists? Good background vocal production thing there. Good song again! 7/10

Petals: Oh, this is fun! Very cool production. 7/10

Sugar Rush: This project is really atmospheric and boppy and I do enjoy it. Good song! 7/10

Bandit: Oh, this is probably my favourite song so far. Great stuff! Just very boppy, great vocals, great all around. 8/10

Wild Side: Pretty typical for the album but still good. 7/10

Recent Memory: Again, pretty good song. Another bop, pretty enjoyable. 7/10

Drift Away: Dramatic, and good. I especially like the chorus. Boppy song! 8/10

Losing a Friend: This was one of the slower songs on the album. Almost pretty standard indie pop girl stuff. Still good. Kinda felt like a last song but hey, we've got one more. 7/10

Demise: A fun bop to end the album with! I feel like parts of the production are a bit annoying but it's still a good song! 7/10

Overall Verdict: I did enjoy this! This was a fun album, with lots of bops, it did feel quite alt pop boppy, and also quite atmospheric, which definitely added to its uniqueness. I think that atmosphere did prevent me from liking it more, but don't get me wrong, it's a good album! 

Khalid - after the sun goes down:

medicine: On first listen I wasn't sure about this but actually it's quite good. I think I just needed to get in the mood of this project. Because it's a good song! Chorus is catchyyy. 8/10

in plain sight: Could be a bop? Get rid of those cringe background vocals though please. Yup, it is! The verse was good but the chorus is goooood. Great song! It almost gives me a bit of K-Pop (not derogatory). Okay random shift at the end? Is this a transition? 8/10

nah: It wasn't a transition? Boo! Anyway, welcome back Troye Sivan! Not quite as good as the previous song but still good! The chorus is enjoyable, it's boppy. Vocals work well here too. 7/10

impulsive: Omg a song for me??? I'm so represented. This kinda does remind me of K-Pop songs I've listened to again. I blame Jungkook probably. Also it really does remind me of Troye Sivan, I'm sorry. As everyone should. Fun song! Vocals are slightly grating in parts but I can look past it. 7/10

out of body: I actually reviewed this song for the missing week I haven't yet released the blog post for. Who knows what I wrote there. Maybe you'll find out one day. Maybe not. Blame how much music was released that week. Anyway, this is a good song! The production is both interesting and catchy. It's a bit out of place for autumn but hey. It's good! 7/10

please don't call (333): Alright fine I won't jeez. Always being told what to do. Well, I was not expecting that bop! Fun song! 7/10

tank top: Welcome back Troye Sivan. That's all I have to say. 8/10

whenever you're gone: This is a bop! Bridge kinda flopped a bit but oh well. 8/10

dumbstruck: The bop train just does not stop. And I'm not complaining! Okay random car lock sound at the end. 8/10

rendezvous: Another really good song! It just doesn't stop. Vocals are good. A good chiller bop. 8/10

true: Cringe start with those people but we'll ignore this. Decent song otherwise! The 'true' hook is a bit of a miss in my opinion. The rest of the song is better. Well, except the end part, that bit kinda flopped a bit. 6/10

instant: Good song! The chorus was catchy. Again, the end was maybe a bit too prolonged and a bit of a miss for me. 7/10

momentary lovers: Feeling like maybe this album needs to be wrapping up soon now. This is a fun and good song though. Chiller bop vibes again. 7/10

yes no maybe: Again, good song! Felt like Troye was back for some of that song. 7/10

angel boy: And this song. 7/10

hurt people: This was a great song to end on I think! It really fits the ending track vibe. The chorus is really good actually. Catchy and powerful. 8/10

Overall Verdict: Welcome back Troye Sivan! A lot of this really did remind me of him, which is a good thing. This album was a good mix of chiller songs and boppier bops, and I enjoyed it. Khalid has a good voice, and much of this has interesting production. The only major criticism of it is I think it went on too long, but that can be overlooked somewhat when you're delivering good music like this. A good album! 

Nemo - Arthouse:

First Door: Oh, an intro track. I hate it though. So I'm glad it's not very long. Stupid sounds. Stop the nonsense! [No rating].

Ride My Baby: Oh, that's a fun switchup. This is a kinda boppy song that just feels a bit...off? I'm not totally feeling the vocals or the production honestly. It is a bit interesting...but I'm not really liking it. 5/10

God's A Raver: We love cults! The start does not sound like the title at all. Gay bar mention woop! The chorus is kinda catchy though. 6/10

Casanova: Kinda catchy but some of the vocals are also quite annoying, so it's mixed. On balance I like it more than I dislike it though. 6/10

Eurostar: This kinda feels like more of the rave-ish song honestly. Some of the vocals again...eh. Production is kinda fun though. 6/10

Arthouse: Run away, it's a piano! Wow, I hate the vocals here. This song grated on me and was annoying. Production and vocals. You believe in music? I don't believe in this music. And it's the title track! To be fair, it did get a bit more catchy towards the end. You win that part. But only that part. 4/10

Easy: Ohh, the vocals work well here, and it's much more of a bop. One of the better songs on the album for sure! 7/10

Hocus Pocus: Ding dong! The doorbell has been rung. Ohhh, may be another bop? Not quite as good as the previous song, but still decent. 6/10

Frog Swamp (feat. MIA GLADSTONE): Mehhhh. Just bad honestly. Feature didn't work either. Bad song. It feels like a frog swamp in that it's bad. Sorry frogs. 4/10

Black Hole: Just a bit boring and bland honestly. Griff outsold. 5/10

One More Shot: Just mediocre again. 5/10

Unexplainable: Boring ballad. At least it's not bad though. Well, it doesn't just stay a boring ballad but it's still mediocre. 5/10

I Got High at The Party: ZZZZ. I am not feeling it. Kinda a bit interesting synths I suppose. Boring vocals, boring everything else. 5/10

The Code: This feels completely disconnected from the rest of the album for me. Maybe because it likely is. This really showcases their vocals well, and is just a bop of a song, and has interesting switchups. What happened? A lot of the rest is just boring by comparison. The song has a passion and soul to it a lot of the other songs just don't. 8/10

Overall Verdict: Unfortunately, based on The Code, and maybe another single, I was expecting to like this a lot more than I ended up liking it. It's a bit wacky, but also it's just highly mediocre. A lot of the songs are bland or just serviceable, and there are very few good songs. The Code does feel disconnected. It's an excellent showcase of their vocal ability and ability to make a good song, but I just don't really see much of that elsewhere.

Not for Radio - Melt

Puddles: I liked the start of this. Nice vocals. Quite dreamy and atmospheric. Nice stuff. A bit of a switchup mid way through? I don't mind the length of this song, I feel like it is justifying its length. 7/10

My Turn: Again, pretty pleasant vocals, and a nice listen. It's good! 7/10

Moment: Hello piano. Pretty pleasant and a chill listen again. Okay dramatic end. Calm down a bit. Transition maybe? Boo! Cool end though. 7/10

Back to You: Good song yet again! Very enjoyable. It's very chill and just good. Cool ending again. Boo to no transition yet again though. 7/10

Swan: This has interesting production, and it's also a chill and good listen. Good vocals. 7/10

Not the Only One: I don't really feel I have too much to say that's new about these tracks, because they're not that fundamentally different to each other, but they're good! 7/10

Magnet: Pretty similar. Pleasant. Good voice. Nice stuff. 7/10

Vueltas: I like this. Cool to have a different language song, and it's interesting. Still pretty similar to the other songs too though. 7/10

Water On Your Nose: Again, pretty similar. Me when I have new things to say. 7/10

Slip: A good final song! But again pretty similar. Moody, and good. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This was maybe too long for me, but I did like it. It's a good album! It's pretty similar throughout, being a mostly chill, atmospheric, maybe a bit moody at times listen. It doesn't really deviate much from that, but it does have interesting production elements in parts too. Vocals are good. It's probably not an album I'll return to, but it's still good! 

PinkPantheress - Fancy Some More?

Illegal (with Anitta): I liked this song before everyone else did, just saying. I'm cool and epic and ahead of trends. It's a great song! Oh, GAG, I thought my phone died or something. That was a cool switchup. Feature is great! 8/10

Illegal (with SEVENTEEN): I like the differences between the two versions and it's not just a feature swap in the same place. Don't think I like this one quite as much though. Still good! 7/10

Girl Like Me (with Oklou): Good combo again. And good song. It's chill and goooooood. 8/10

Tonight (with JADE): Good song again! JADE is never involved in a bad song ever. It's just science. Her part was good! 8/10

Stars (with Yves): Good collab yet again. Production is pretty cool throughout. 7/10

Noises (with JT): Good feature and good song again. JT works well on this beat. 7/10

Nice To Know You (with Sugababes): It was alright but definitely not my favourite song, didn't totally feel the collab either. 6/10

Stateside (with Kylie Minogue): Kylie is fine here but I just don't feel the song here really, it's okay but it's kinda just passable. 6/10

Stateside (with Bladee): Again, this does feel like it fits Bladee well but I'm just not that much of a fan of it. It's interesting production wise but not really my favourite. It's decent enough. 6/10

Stateside (with Zara Larsson): This is probably the best of the 3 Stateside remixes. Like, the production here is better. And all it took is global flop Zara Larsson. Good song! Good combo. It's a boppp. Well, the end is a bit of a flop but whatever. 7/10

Romeo (with Ravyn Lenae): It was alright enough I guess? Didn't majorly stand out for me though. 6/10

Romeo (with Rachel Chinouriri): This was definitely the better of the two! Much more of a bop, and I like the combo. Good song. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This was a pretty decent project overall, though it's definitely not my favourite remix album. There were some pretty good remixes on here, but also some that were more misses. Considering the star cast, I expected better from some of these artists! Anyway, regardless, I do like projects like these, and this was delivered well for a lot of it. 

Sofia Camara - Hard To Love:

That's Just How You Feel: Yes it is. Thank you. Uh oh, the dreaded piano. And it screams typical alt pop girlie. But we'll see. Good voice though. Okay, the later parts of the song are actually quite decent, it has passion, it sounds good. 7/10 

Complicated: Okay discordant piano. The way this is sung is kinda catchy. I like the blowup in the chorus. The emotion is there too. 7/10

Parking Lot: These songs are following similar structures by starting low but by going grand and emotional but you know what, it works. Not complaining. 7/10

Ingrained (DNA): Pretty similar here honestly. 7/10

Girls Like You: Probably my favourite song! It has the passion, the vocals, the production. I don't know, I like this project. 8/10

You Can't Save Me: A good song pretty similar to the rest of the songs. 7/10

Overall Verdict: This project is pretty similar though. It's a dramatic, emotional and grand project. And you know what, I ate it up completely. It's good. These songs are songs I just enjoy and like. I will definitely be listening more to this. 

Singles:

Alessia Cara & Julia Michaels - Nighttime Thing: Cringe Sabrina Carpenter is back. I mean it's alright but apply all of my criticisms from Sabrina songs to this song DAMNIT! 6/10

Allie X - Reunite: Well that was a weird start. Allie X can make music that's alright? Wow, I'm shocked. Not a major fan of the chorus but the verse was kinda doing something. 6/10

Celeste - Time Will Tell: Kinda a bit Adele coded honestly. Good song. Great vocals. 7/10

Demi Lovato - Kiss: This is quite generic. It's not bad, and it has boppy parts, but it is very generic. Also any song that says anything like "take me to the chorus" deserves to be killed. Wait, that was it? Okay. 6/10

Hatchie - Only One Laughing: It's alright. Not really my favourite. Some interesting production though. 6/10

JISOO & ZAYN - EYES CLOSED: Honestly, pretty good! Great combo, bop. It works very well. 8/10

LOVA - Leave It Beautiful: A pretty good song again. I liked the production and the vocals. Good stuff! It reminds me of something but I don't know what. 7/10

Madison Beer - bittersweet: Good song. Some good synths. Does kinda remind me of Peach PRC again. Great song. 8/10

Maisie Peters - You You You: Welcome back Peach PRC vocoder! Like it. Honestly, as a slower song that's quite stripped back, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Great voice. 8/10

Maisie Peters - Audrey Hepburn: Still good, but I'm less of a fan of the country influences here. Still another good stripped back song which honestly shows her talents. 7/10

Nova May - TROPICANA BAR (The Heidi Montag Remix): Kinda a dream team. This was good! They do work together well. It's a good song. Not my favourite Nova song but it's still good, and it does match its name well. 7/10

Róise - Rum Makes Me Cry: Voice is nice but some of the lyrics are a bit too clunky and like too much is being crammed in. Nice production though. 6/10

Rose Gray - Lotus: It's not April but what can be? I like the grand opening of it. It's a bop! I like the vocals on it. Some great synths here. 8/10

Say Now - Supermarket: Me when I'm at the supermarket. Fantastic song! It's boppy and also kinda funny. Love it. 9/10

SIENNA SPIRO - Die On This Hill: Okay sad girl time. Nice piano, nice vocals. Not my favourite song but decent. 6/10

SONIKKU - Drowning: Nice vocals here. Quite airy. I liked it. 7/10

Talia Rae - Blind in Love: Again, a good song! Dramatic for sure. I like it. 7/10