Author: Press Room
When Ayra Starr first stepped onto the scene, she became a go-to for pristine, pretty music with her first two albums – ‘19 & Dangerous’ (2021) and ‘The Year I Turned 21’ (2024) – both powered by chart zingers. But on ‘Starrgirl’, the Beninese-Nigerian singer ascends, becoming an artist who knows her space in the music world and still pushes at the sides of the box to make more room. Bouncing between R&B, blues, Afropop and pure pop balladry, she is more confident, playful and sure in her own light – which shines brighter than ever on this record. Kicking…
Les Claypool has spoken to NME about his latest album with Sean Ono Lennon, how a “new energy” that Primus haven’t seen for “many years” is inspiring new material, and comparisons to viral duo Angine de Poitrine. ‘The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy’ with Lennon dropped in May and marked the third LP from the duo as part of The Claypool Lennon Delirium. Structured as a psychedelic-prog concept album, the record follows the narrative of an AI robot gradually turning humanity into paperclips, but also holds themes of empathy, mortality and free will at its core. “Shiner…
Rosie O’Donnell took over Jimmy Kimmel Live last night as guest host and used the opportunity to take aim at her long-time nemesis, Donald Trump. “If you thought the president hated Jimmy Kimmel Live when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel?” O’Donnell declared as she kicked off Monday night’s episode, her first in a four-night stand as guest host. “Buckle up, people! Buckle up.” She explained that Trump’s reign has been so bad it forced her to vacate the country. “I’ve been living in Ireland for the past two years because of Mango Mussolini,” she said. “I read that Project 2025…
Shakira made a surprise visit yesterday to Quibdó, the capital of the Colombian province of Chocó, where nearly 200 schools have reported damage following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Aug. 10. During the visit, Shakira committed an initial $1.25 million to help rebuild 10 schools and a university via her charitable foundation. The Colombian singer toured several damaged schools and met with children. She was accompanied by Howard Buffett, son of billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett and a longtime donor to Colombia who has helped Shakira set up schools there before. The $1.25 million pledge brings together several…
Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. are officially back and have announced their fifth album. Dopamine Chamber arrives on Oct. 16 via XL Recordings and the record’s lead single, “Marianne,” is out now. “Marianne” pulls from the same post-punk chords of their last album Romance. With atmospheric drums and brooding guitar, Chatten beckons the listener to him like a snake oil salesman: “This year, you should come and stay here,” he sings. “You can follow my lead/I can help you disappear.” “Marianne” takes partial inspiration in the 2024 miniseries Ripley, which starred fellow Irishman Andrew Scott. Dopamine Chamber was produced by James Ford,…
Taylor Swift has praised Phoebe Bridgers‘ ‘Lost Weekend’, hailing the album as an “absolute triumph in every way”. The pop star shared a post about her friend and former collaborator’s third studio record on Instagram last night (Monday August 17), following the project’s release last Friday (August 14). “It’s her birthday but she gave us a gift,” wrote Swift, who teamed up with Bridgers on ‘Nothing New’ – a ‘From The Vault’ track from 2021’s ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’. “Haven’t been able to stop listening. This album is an absolute triumph in every way,” she told her followers. The singer went…
“The arc still bends towards justice, right?” Laura Veirs asks at the start of Temple Songs, her first collection of original material since 2022’s Found Light. Veirs follows her opening gambit by confessing she’s “not so sure in the middle of the night,” wondering why she’s “still holding this fucking sign.” The nod to protests and societal upheaval provides context for the sublime tranquility of Temple Songs: It’s an album that plays like a respite from chaos.Fittingly, Veirs made Temple Songs without any outside assistance: She wrote, recorded, produced, and played every note on the record, barring some saxophone credited…
Nessun altro presidente americano è stato ossessionato dall’approvazione delle celebrità tanto quanto Donald Trump. Non è stato certo ricambiato, anzi, da quando ha annunciato la prima candidatura alla Casa Bianca ha ispirato un numero enorme di canzoni di protesta. Temi: razzismo, sessismo, ipocrisia, corruzione, avidità, aspirazioni autoritarie e molto altro. Ci sono pezzi cupi, invettive furiose, canzoni su questioni politiche precise e altre che esprimono un rifiuto viscerale delle sue politiche o della sua persona. E ce n’è di tutti i generi musicali: rock, pop, punk, rap, folk, cantautorato, indie. Alcuni degli artisti presenti in questa lista denunciano gli abusi…
As with so many regional subgenres of rap, you likely know a jerk song when you hear it, even if its particulars raise more questions than they answer. How are such tinny 808 drums still shredding laptop speakers and JBL Charges that boom through subway cars? Why do the blown-out claps, jacked from Jersey club and footwork, still get the feet moving? Jerk’s frosty rhythms have fueled the ascents of a new generation of 2020s rap stars in xaviersobased, Nettspend, and YhapoJJ; now, barely five years in, mutations and alternate colorways are beginning to appear.Bronx native ksuuvi, a frequent collaborator…
Heartbreak has been well represented in recent Latin pop. The Marías worked through a breakup between bandmates on Submarine; Bad Bunny ached his way through a lonely summer on Un Verano Sin Ti, and Shakira turned a highly publicized split into a manifesto of self-renewal on Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. Karol G made her own contribution to the canon with 2023’s Mañana Será Bonito, channeling anger and sadness into confessional songwriting after her breakup with Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA. In cutting verses, she detailed crying into Gucci handkerchiefs, stalking Instagram stories, and hiding emotional wounds under layers of…
