Posts

West End Girl

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West End Girl Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025 Lily Allen Seven years have passed since Lily Allen bagged herself a Mercury Music Prize nomination for  No Shame , a peppy yet vulnerable record that chronicled the singer-songwriter’s attempts to pick up the pieces following the breakdown of her first marriage. Her fifth studio album,  West End Girl , adheres to a similar formula—eviscerating themes concealed within bright pop melodies—pulling the listener into a tightly contained soap opera that arrives in the wake of her second marriage (to  Stranger Things  star David Harbour ) ending. Announcing the record, she said it was an attempt to document “the events that led me to where I am in my life now” while also describing it as a “mixture of fact and fiction.” Setting the scene with the title track—a dreamy, orchestral number that depicts a couple moving into a new home but hitting a bump when one of them lands a role in a play—the album narrates a bait-and-switch story in which ...

SE9 Part 1

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SE9 Part 1 Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2025 Skye Newman

Evita (2025 London Palladium Cast)

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Evita (2025 London Palladium Cast) Album ∙ Musicals ∙ 2025 Andrew Lloyd Webber ,  Tim Rice ,  Rachel Zegler  &  Diego Andres Rodriguez Zegler excels in a West End recording of the Rice/Lloyd Webber classic .

Forever (Legendary Edition)

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Forever (Legendary Edition) Album ∙ Rock ∙ 2025 Bon Jovi

Survive - EP

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Survive - EP Album ∙ Alternative ∙ 2025 Lewis Capaldi

There’s Always More That I Could Say

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There’s Always More That I Could Say Album ∙ Pop ∙ 2025 Sigrid “I feel like I’ve combined the best out of the two albums I have out already,” Norway’s pop queen Sigrid tells Apple Music , as she thinks about  There’s Always More That I Could Say . “It’s the same carefree, joyful, childlike wonder, bursting with creativity from the first album. And it has the ambition and the nitty-gritty detail and expansive production from the second album with some of the harder lyrics.” The down-to-earth star isn’t entirely comfortable talking about her music in such glowing terms, but she should be. Working with longtime collaborator and good friend Askjell Solstrand , she’s produced 10 perfect pop tracks, from Norwegian summer jam “ Jellyfish ” to the heartfelt breakup ballad that’s the title track. Unleashing herself from the studio was a key move for Sigrid as she and Solstrand headed out into coffee shops, parks, and remote places to write. “I really loved making this album,” she says. “Som...

PHOLKS

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PHOLKS Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2025 Leon Thomas The NYC singer weaves soul, R&B, and psychedelia on an adventurous project.

love?... or something like it

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love?... or something like it Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2025 Halle The LA singer’s solo debut blends R&B elegance and openhearted intimacy.

GO:OD AM (10th Anniversary)

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  GO:OD AM (10th Anniversary) Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Mac Miller “Wondering how I got this high, fell asleep, and forgot to die,” raps Mac Miller on “ Weekend .”  GO:OD AM  represents a reawakening for the rapper, who, after struggling with temptation and addiction, emerges with clear eyes and a stronger focus. He slays bars with impunity on “ Break the Law ” and “ Clubhouse .” He imparts the value of experiences and repercussions on “ Brand Name ” and “ 100 Grandkids .”  GO:OD AM  is like a late-night conversation with the MC—all the crazy stories, deep thoughts, and laughs—reminding us that whatever happens in life, the sun will come out tomorrow.

2005

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2005 Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 ian

CAOS

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  CAOS Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2025 Miguel A lot has changed in the eight years since Miguel last released an album, from the state of the world to his personal life. (In 2023, his divorce from longtime partner Nazanin Mandi was finalized.) If 2017’s  War & Leisure  hinted at turmoil both personal and political, the fifth album from the R&B auteur lands directly in the thick of it. On  CAOS , the fight for peace is messy, but cathartic. Previous hits like “ Adorn ” and “ Coffee ” reveled in the bliss of intimacy, but here Miguel ventures beyond soulful psychedelia to embrace darker sounds and themes, landing somewhere between P-Funk and Nine Inch Nails . In the dark underbelly of the present, love feels a lot like rage, and vulnerability and anarchy coexist more easily than you’d think. He’s masked, strapped, and ready for whatever on “New Martyrs (Ride 4 U),” a Bonnie and Clyde anthem for uncertain times. He sings in Spanish on the apocalyptic title track,...

Creature In The Black Night

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Creature In The Black Night Album ∙ Rock ∙ 2025 Dayseeker Post-hardcore energy meets emotional catharsis on the band’s seventh LP.

30.

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30. Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2025 Queen Naija The day Queen Naija turned 30, she knew exactly how she wanted to honor the occasion. “I wanted to hike a mountain,” she tells Apple Music ’s Ebro Darden . “So, I did it. I just wanted to do something that was really empowering, something I’d never done before, and to challenge myself. And when I got up there, I was able to see the sunset, and it was beautiful. It was serene.” After years of documenting the highs and lows of her life online, the YouTube star turned R&B singer is learning to quiet the noise. “I used to be such an oversharer,” she says. “Now I’m trying to find the balance between maintaining my peace and family while staying true and relatable.” Looking back on her twenties, she sees how heartbreak and healing have shaped the woman she is now. She walks through that growth on  30. , a project that marks both a personal reset and creative evolution. “People know me as, like, the heartbreak girl, the lover girl, and that...

GOLDFISH

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GOLDFISH Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Hit-Boy  &  The Alchemist At this point in their respective production careers, Hit-Boy and The Alchemist are responsible for so many hip-hop hits and faves that it seems pointless to try and list them. Their contributions to the culture span generations, with decades in the game and no signs of slowing down for either artist. Yet one area where the two don’t get nearly enough shine is in the vocal booth, their rap talents often overlooked by contrast with their widely recognized instrumental prowess. That’s precisely what makes  GOLDFISH  and their prior duo collabs of the past few years: their skills both behind the boards and on the mic put on proud display. Off the rip, they’re in fighting form with the one-two punch of “ Doing My Best ” and “ Business Merger ,” maintaining energetic confidence for the album’s full 50-minute runtime. “ God Is Great ” snarks at lesser beatmakers and wack wannabes with a pointed use of gospe...

Returning To Myself

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Returning To Myself Album ∙ Singer/Songwriter ∙ 2025 Brandi Carlile Brandi Carlile is hardly the only songwriter to be inspired by Joni Mitchell . But she is on a short list of artists who can boast that her own album is a direct result of having been Mitchell’s close collaborator. “I had finished playing the Hollywood Bowl [in 2024] with Joni, and it took up so much of my spiritual space and my mind space,” she tells Apple Music ’s Zane Lowe . “I felt really emotionally make-or-break, because I just wanted that to be a pivotal moment for Joni.” Carlile’s stewardship of her hero’s comeback performances, alongside  Who Believes in Angels? , her 2025 team-up with Elton John , another one of her idols and mentors, left her little time to tend to her own music. “It became so overwhelming and so all-consuming that this little voice did start to say, ‘OK, you’re not going to live very long if you keep setting the bar for yourself in these really stressful places,’” she says. “‘And you’r...