Tag: pop

Prince was a multi-instrumentalist

In 1979, Prince was 20 years old when he released his debut album For You.

All tracks were composed, produced, arranged and performed by Prince himself.

But did you know that he also played all the instruments on the album?

To be more precise, he played 27 different musical instruments, including electric and acoustic guitars, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, clavinet, ARP Pro Soloist, ARP String Ensemble, Minimoog, Polymoog, Oberheim Four Voice, bass guitar, drums, Pollard Syndrums, slapstick, wind chimes, glockenspiel, finger cymbals, handclaps, fingersnaps, water drums, bongos, congas, brush trap, bell tree and wood block.

This is just one of the many reasons he is regarded as one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Virgin by Lorde

Released on June 27, 2025, Lorde‘s fourth album, Virgin—produced with Jim-E Stack and touches from Dan Nigro—marks a seismic shift. Ditching Jack Antonoff‘s polished sheen, Lorde dives into synth-pop’s gritty underbelly, evoking Melodrama‘s euphoric pulse but laced with the unflinching intimacy of a 28-year-old reckoning with her body, identity, and industry scars. The cover, an X-ray of her pelvis revealing an IUD, screams transparency: this is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor stripped bare, not some virginal archetype, but a “raw, primal, innocent” force reclaiming femininity on her terms.

Continue reading “Virgin by Lorde”

After EP by After

After EP (cover)

In the hazy glow of 2025’s nostalgia boom, After‘s self-titled debut EP arrives like a forgotten flip phone rediscovered in a drawer—charming, unapologetically retro, and brimming with that early-aughts sparkle. The duo of Graham Epstein and Justine Dorsey, both born on the same day in 1995, channels Massive Attack‘s brooding atmospheres with Michelle Branch‘s pop wistfulness, crafting a 16-minute fever dream of trip-hop laced with Y2K gloss. It’s Frutiger Aero aesthetics in audio form: glossy waves, dolphin motifs, and hashtags screaming #livelaughlove revival.

Continue reading “After EP by After”

The Rubber Teeth Talk by Daisy the Great

The Rubber Teeth Talk (cover)

Daisy the Great‘s The Rubber Teeth Talk, released on June 27, 2025, via S-Curve Records, marks a bold evolution for the NYC-based duo of Mina Walker and Kelley Dugan. Produced by Catherine Marks (known for her work with boygenius and St. Vincent), this 11-track album transforms post-tour introspection into a kaleidoscopic journey through the subconscious. Drawing from distorted dream logic, it blends indie pop’s whimsy with raw emotional excavation, creating a space where grief, desire, and absurdity coexist. Backed by bandmates Bernardo Ochoa and Matti Dunietz, the record feels like a theatrical diary entry—playful yet piercing, theatrical yet intimate.

Continue reading “The Rubber Teeth Talk by Daisy the Great”

I’m Only F**king Myself by Lola Young

I’m Only Fucking Myself (cover)

Lola Young‘s third studio album, I’m Only F**king Myself, set for release on September 19, 2025, via Island Records, is a 13-track collection that shifts focus from romantic entanglements to internal battles, as Young herself described it as centering on “personal struggle” with “real bangers” throughout.

The album blends gritty alt-pop with soulful R&B edges, production that amplifies her raspy, emotive vocals against punchy beats and sparse instrumentals. Opening with the introspective interlude “how long will it take to walk a mile? (interlude)”, it sets a contemplative tone before exploding into “F**K EVERYONE,” an anthem laced with defiant lyrics about embracing fluidity.

Continue reading “I’m Only F**king Myself by Lola Young”