Staff Picks
Your Hunni Is a Gracious Host on 'Welcome to the Party'
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Jul 26, 2024
"Start every song with when I was younger / 'Cause I'm trying to make sense of it," Your Hunni begins on "Angel," incisively noting their...
Sean Leon Keeps Listeners Wanting More on Addictive "WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
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PUBLISHED Jul 26, 2024
Sean Leon's "WHAT IS HAPPENING?" could easily have been a funk banger. All the pieces are there: a shimmying synth bass, choppy strums of ...
Future Star's Nostalgia Hits Home on 'It's About Time!'
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PUBLISHED Jul 16, 2024
For reasons that are difficult for me to fully articulate, there's something so quintessentially Vancouver about Future Star, whose...
Mo Kenney's "Evening Dream" Is a Polaroid of a Bittersweet Breakup
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PUBLISHED Jul 3, 2024
Mo Kenney's "Evening Dream" is a breakup song that plays out like a movie — even when the emotions are painful, the hazy glow of nostalgia...
Vivian Girls' Cassie Ramone Captures Otherworldly Enigma on 'Sweetheart' Solo Album
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PUBLISHED Jul 1, 2024
The first time I played Vivian Girls' self-titled 2008 album on vinyl, I listened to the entire thing at the wrong speed before I realized...
Charli XCX and Lorde's "Girl, so confusing" Remix Finds Healing in Confrontation
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PUBLISHED Jun 21, 2024
"Girl, so confusing" is already one of the most vulnerable songs on 'BRAT.' On an album shaped by its unfiltered, plainly spoken...
The Japanese House Is No Worries If Not on “:)”
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PUBLISHED Jun 18, 2024
While I ultimately ended up putting forth Afternoon Bike Ride's subtle "Good Company" for my 2023 song of the summer, I almost went with a...
Zsela's 'Big for You' Is a Luxuriant Exhale
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Jun 14, 2024
Zsela's voice is an anchor. The NYC songwriter's deep, bottom-of-the-throat vocals pull her songs to the dusky half-light of the ocean floo...
