Kaelen's Staff Picks

thanks for coming's 'What Is My Capacity to Love?' Makes Magic from the Mundane
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Sep 29, 2023
Rachel Brown's work as thanks for coming feels worlds away from the shattered art rock they make with Nate Amos as Water from Your Eyes. Wh...
ML Buch Continues to Defy Description on "Well bucket" and "Working it out"
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Sep 28, 2023
You know an artist is striking previously unstruck nerves when any attempts to contextualize their music lands you on descriptions like "mi...
Faye Webster Is in No Rush on the Beautiful "Lifetime"
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Sep 20, 2023
Faye Webster's music tends to find a molasses-slow groove — sun-warmed and droopy eyed, the kind that you could sorta just vibe on for hour...
Marika Hackman's Tense "No Caffeine" Tries to Pull the Brake on an Inevitable Crash
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Sep 6, 2023
It starts with a gentle piano figure and Marika Hackman's sombre vocals — things feel like they're entering pillowy ballad territory until...
Kylie Minogue Finds Pure Release on "Tension"
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Aug 31, 2023
Over 30 years into her career, Kylie Minogue suddenly had another hit on her hands. "Padam Padam" — released four months ago to a slow-grow...
Mannequin Pussy Are Bloodthirsty Angels on the Vengeful "I Got Heaven"
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Aug 28, 2023
"And what if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch?" Missy Dabice snarls at one point during Mannequin Pussy's "I Got Heaven," spittle flying...
Chappell Roan's "HOT TO GO!" Is a Stroke of Horny Genius
Exclaim! Staff Picks
PUBLISHED Aug 25, 2023
"HOT TO GO!" should be annoying. On first listen, it kind of is — it's got that grating, self-aware hook (or, in this case, series of hooks...
Exclaim!'s Staff Picks: Sheer Mag Are (Thankfully) Still Themselves on "All Lined Up"
PUBLISHED Aug 3, 2023
Sheer Mag do one thing. In regard to most bands, that would sound like an insult, but Sheer Mag do that one thing so well — so (seemingly)...