I'm Green by Mali Velasquez

As a young woman undergoing humiliating newness, any female musician holds my heart in their hands. Mali Velasquez is my latest comfort, my latest forgiver, and my latest reason to stay curious about grief when I lack any framework to recover. Her debut album I’m Green is music created within, and about, that demeaning adolescent newness.

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Liv Stripling
The Secret To Life by Fizz

In their debut album “The Secret To Life”, dodie, Gartland, Isaac, and Brown each bring their own style and talent to meld together in a pot of whimsical aesthetics, camp chaos, and existential fun. As a fan of each of these artists, I can confidently say they bring out the best of each other, pushing one another in new directions, and bringing together genres of pop, rock, indie, and folk.

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Laurel Sanders
Hit Parade by Róisín Murphy

2020 marked a year of renaissance in the career of the Irish electro-dance pop singer Roisin Murphy. The record she released that year, “Róisín Machine,” brought her the critical acclaim she consistently garnered, but also became her highest charting record in her home country and abroad. It is easy to see why that was.

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Evan Manley
Lemonade Mouth by Lemonade Mouth

2011 was 12 years ago. Huh. Hard to believe. Times have changed, yet one movie and its soundtrack have held strong in my head. That movie is Lemonade Mouth. The Disney Channel Original Movie, starring Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Naomi Scott, Hayley Kyoko, and Blake Michael, revolves around five high school students who meet in detention and make a band! High School Musical might have been the money maker, but Lemonade Mouth remains equally prevalent through its grounded characters and positive messages.

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Griffin Meyer
Appaloosa Bones by Gregory Alan Isakov

Gregory Alan Isakov takes his sweet time crafting his studio albums, molding them into the best they can be. Five years after the release of Evening Machines, he has returned with Appaloosa Bones, another example of the masterful minimalism he exudes through his music. Accompanied by his ethereal voice and symphony of strings, Isakov paints visuals of a sweeping, all-engulfing landscape with his lyrics, a frontier he braves with his listeners throughout the album.

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Emma Abate
10,00 gecs by 100 gecs

In their sophomore album, “10,000 gecs”, 100 gecs continues to push the boundaries of pop music with their goofy vibes, genre-spanning influences, and extravagant sound. Duo Laura Les and Dylan Brady seem to approach this album with a goal of keeping the unserious and silly feel of their first project, “1000 gecs” while incorporating more sounds beyond the Skrillex-esc drums and boiler room mayhem present throughout their previous record…

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Jack Ross
"Untergang" by Urfaust

For nearly twenty years, Urfaust has been at the forefront of avant-garde music. Although the group consists of only two members, Willem Niemarkt on guitar and vocals and Jim Dokter on drums, they were able to conjure mythical and otherworldly universes through the power of sheer simplicity.

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Conner Gebben
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is widely considered the most influential pop star of the last decade. Her carefully crafted aesthetic and persona has captivated the minds and ears of many and inspired bigger-name copycats since she burst into mainstream relevance in 2012 with her first album “Born to Die.” Since that first album, Lana Del Rey has been gently pushing her sound to new places under new influences. She has also embarked upon gradually dropping the artifice and character that is Lana Del Rey that was created by her early work.

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Evan Manley