Lady Gaga has gone through musical phases more than a lot of artists, and she’s seemed to have settled into a great groove that mixes the writing of her early days with an electronica that flexibly fits tones from a bit of everywhere. Drenched with a lot of jagged, 80s-tinged synths, this album is at its best when Gaga is really holding nothing back, but too often, she leans into safe antics that dull the record’s punch. Harkening back to Gaga’s older rock-meets-pop aesthetics, “Disease” is a kaleidoscopic party banger using its incredibly catchy hooks to centre a deluge of sonic waves that are constantly exploding over listeners with vast electronic landscapes and guitars, all allowing Gaga to do some of her most exhilarating power growls in ages. “Abracadabra” takes a more catwalk-strut style drive to its beat, making you want to burst with swagger and take control, while Gaga unleashes a half dozen lush melodies that feel timeless amidst the futuristic churn of the song. With Gesaffelstein along for some grimy electronics, “Killah” is surprisingly groovier than anything, making for a song that while funky, is seemingly lacking more bite than either of these two artists usually pack on their own. “Die with a Smile” leaves just a little neon tone on the edges, for a more classic duet, with the duo playing to a borderline R&B swing to let their vocal talents shine more than the core of the song itself.
Echoing a bit of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe” amidst its moody sound, Rachel Bobbitt’s latest single brings a bit of 90s melancholic rock into focus. As the track swims in a wash of harmonies and lush reverb, Bobbitt guides us through layers and layers of psychedelic colours. While the song shifts between these dense tones and more stripped down moments, Bobbitt keeps its momentum and core melodic charge strong, always letting you know where that next big swell is coming from. Taking an even bigger step from her last songs, the stacking of the harmonic moments creates such rich dynamic range in the song, as you’re pulled time and time again through the lens of her vision.
Few bands can bring something startling new to the indie rock space, but Divorce manage to not only push the boundaries of arrangement, but harmony as well. With such ambitious writing and a cohesion in their use of harmonies and sounds, the band craft something all their own that’s worth celebrating. The tension in the sadness and hope of “Antarctica” is so painfully beautiful, it’s almost unbearable at times (in a good way of course), with its bittersweet harmonies making for a wholly satisfying kind of musical conversation where the emotion is brought by how discordant or harmonic they can be at one singular moment. With the beats building on “All My Freaks” you can feel bad times fading away as the choruses burst with lively colours and therapeutic rush of bubbly synths. “Hangman” lets the bass drive for a more frustrated and pained track, trying to find its way through the darkness, only giving you an infectious resolve in its final moments. With strings and ah’s flying around, “Pill” is a wondrous sonic dance, with Divorce not only keeping the reins tight, but managing to build ten-fold on the emotions of this track again and again.
Known for his hip-shaking bangers, Pierre Kwenders has fleshed out a darker club sound on his latest EP. The slinking bass and dancing vocal lines of “Everyday” immediately pull you into the groove, leaving you lost to the sound as Kwenders’ begs you to chant and dance with him. Taking on a more watery affectation, “Clair De Lune” has a softer shuffle in its bones, letting the alternating voices provide a conversation left on the dancefloor itself. After its shadowy and downbeat feeling start, “Tears on the Dancefloor” rises to euphoric highs in every chorus, letting you revel in its ecstatic church organ like swells, as Kwenders vocals bring a brilliant high to fill out the sound. The dynamic sound of “We Like” feels like an even bigger step up on this record, with the verses blending into that club world, and the choruses exploding into this whole other dimension and fidelity of sound, making you feel like you’ve expanded the aspect ratio on a song.
As a ramp up from her previous efforts, the scale of Sasami’s latest record is mountainous, and constantly growing to match the limitless bounds of her emotion. In a haze of vintage electronica, Sasami evokes Robyn and disaffected pop on “Slugger,” trying to put all the pieces back together with time to put it in perspective. “I’ll Be Gone” takes a smoky dive to help Sasami move on, with the burnt production serving as an echo of a relationship’s wreckage and the enticing eroticism that seems to reignite flames if only for a second. Clairo lends equally dazzling vocals on “In Love with a Memory” as a spiraling synth run sees both singers complementing each other and the sunny instrumentation. Falling into the pop-rock wailing canon, “Honeycrash” loses a little singular vision to give Sasami her own screaming ballad for making a damaged love work.
