Madison Beer Creates a Tasty R&B/Club Pop Hybrid
Locket is a slow-and-steady evolution of Madison Beer’s best features. It’s a highly satisfying, seductive, heartbreaking, heartbroken pop opus.
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The 15 Landmark Dance Tracks of 1991
These are 15 dance tracks–some pure, some nearer pop–that tell the story of what the form was up to in 1991.
Frost Children Go for Synthpop and Almost Pull It Off
With SISTER, Frost Children haven’t quite figured out the balance between engaging songwriting and just reaching for the big hooks.
Selena Gomez Stops Time on ‘I Said I Love You First’
Selena Gomez’s fourth album zooms out on her celebrity presence, zooms in on her personal life, and hints at happiness and conflict.
STS9 Light Up California with Transcendent Shows
STS9 conjure pure mana for the soul with their wizardly sonic alchemy. The livetronica tone scientists continue to play at a very high level.
Charli XCX Is Everything on ‘Brat’
Brat is next-level Charli XCX, a miracle and an instant classic. It’s the kind of album that makes you feel lucky to be alive at the same time as it.
Pretty Lights Ignite at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco
Electronic dance act Pretty Lights crank up their interdimensional soundship space system with transcendent results and a dazzling psychedelic light show.
The Lively World of Dance Music’s Deadhead LP Giobbi
Possibly the only DJ on earth to get the blessing of the Jerry Garcia estate, LP Giobbi’s first solo record charts a new course for contemporary dance music.
Madonna Returned to Her Roots on ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’
Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor is a self-contained dance record, an unqualified triumph, and a study of dance music from the 1970s to the 2000s.
Sziget Days 3 and 4: Justin Bieber and Calvin Harris Keep the Party Jumping
The triumphant third and fourth days of the Sziget Festival saw massive crowds drawn to its pop megastars, Justin Bieber and Calvin Harris.
The Range’s ‘Mercury’ Is Engrossing, Danceable, and Nostalgic
The not-to-be-missed fourth album by EDM artist James Hinton aka the Range is simultaneously his most retro sounding and forward-looking. Mercury is engrossing.
OH MY GIRL’s ‘Real Love’ Holds Appeal for Britney Spears Fans
If there is such a thing as “alternative K-pop”, OH MY GIRL are strong contenders for the title of this genre’s queens.