Just what the world needs; another exhaustive, self-aggrandizing end of year “best of”/”roundup” listicle for the masses to consume. Surely the media landscape is inundated with these comprehensive, competitive rank systems and schemes that attempt to convert the quality of international artistic works into quantified gatekeeping that are more pretentious, lazy and lousy than the pomp and circumstance of any awards programme administered by the various respective worldwide academies and outlets of discerning taste. Week in Pop proudly presents just a brief snapshot from some of our favorite releases (albums, EPs, singles, et al) that does not pretend to be complete or absolute by any means. 2022 saw artists step it up in major ways to release some of the wildest arts into the world that we have witnessed yet. As the 2020s prove to be some of the most challenging, bizarre, difficult and transformative eras that we have experienced in our lifetimes — this year reinvigorated us with a new sense of hope, a chance for a higher state of grace, happiness, humility and a vibrance that inspires and shines brighter than 10,000 suns. The future is yet unwritten and if the whirlwinds of this year are any indication — we are very much here for 2023. So without further ado we give to you:

Week in Pop’s Year in Pop: 2022

Ricky Lake, Altered (Text Me Records)

The rise of Ricky Lake; press photo courtesy of the artist / Text Me Records.

Emerging out of the harrowing throes and smoldering ashes of the global pandemic we have witnessed the dawning of pop polymath radical Ricky Lake. Featured on the pages of our media hub from local artist showcases to our debut of “Choka” — Ricky has traversed the North American trails from Los Angeles, to Southern Nashville before setting up shop in Oakland to find a creative home among contemporaries and friends from Taifa Nia (Same Girls, OCD), Steezxxz, TheMobsJEDi, Stoni, Studio Dad among the expansive Text Me team of genre defying creatives. Surrounded by some of the world’s greatest pop art luminaries, Ricky Lake shatters the conventions of style into a musical blender of sparks that lighten up a messy and cloudy planet. Ricky resists any semantic attempts of reductive containment, tackling the contemporary artistic conundrums of what aesthetics can be that draw from the textile canons of rhythms, blues, beats, rhymes, rhythms, life, trad poetics, fusing and synthesizing art into the double helix core of thesis / synthesis permutations into new terrain and new stratospheres of sensations and sentiments.

Linqua Franqa, Bellringer (Ernest Jenning Recording Co.)

Activist, artist, icon ⁠— Linqua Franca; photographed by Sean Dunn.

From the zeitgeist of the fever and fight rises the fearless genius and might of Linqua Franqa. A multi-hyphenate with talents more potent than the semantics of a polymath could ever describe; the Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, linguistics PhD candidate and grad school teaching assistant at the University of Georgia is the queer artist and activist the world desperately needs. Following on the heels of their lauded debut Model Minority (of which we had the pleasure of debuting back in 2018) ⁠— Mariah presents the next chapter with the alarm sounding call to consciousness and proactive arms with the release of Bellringer. One of the year’s most monumental albums, it is a necessary interruption from the pratfalls of apathetic complicity to awaken the masses to the systemic issues of reality that are all too self-evident.

Josh Stokes, Bobette (Internet & Weed)

Baltimore artist Josh Stokes bringing the big beat and so much more; press photo courtesy of the artist.

In the maternal tradition of infinite inspiration is the new Josh Stokes’ album Bobette, taking its name from Stokes’ mother who left the material world on December 20, 2006 but a spirit that lives on in perpetuity. Her lessons of creativity, imagination, individuality, self love and love for others shines on in one of Stokes’ most staggering works to date. Incorporating styles that span the world over and back again to the Baltimore beat — Bobette is a dedication to an inspirational figure whose influences live on in infamy; eternally. Bobette stands tall as a remarkable dedication to Josh Stokes' mother and greatest inspiration and shines as one of the most ambitious works in the Baltimore artist's catalogue.

Baseball Gregg, Pastimes (Z Tapes)

Presenting the crown princes of pop ⁠— Baseball Gregg’s Sam & Luca; photographed by Giacomo Manghi.

Developed over the course of the decade and borrowing its title from a James Joyce passage from Finnegans Wake [“Pastimes are past times.”] ⁠— Baseball Gregg have graciously blessed the whirlwind of 2022 with one of the year’s best albums with the indelible and beguiling maelstrom of holistic beauty that is Pastimes. Brought into full realization in Bologna by Italian wunderkind Luca Lovisetto and Stockton, California’s patron saint Sam Regan; the pair create a harmonious album curated by explorations of causality and the correlatives between the photo albums, diaries, picture books, old love letters, vintage social media posts and more from yesteryear and its curious relationship to the present and the premonitions that stand at the threshold of our mysterious grand tomorrow.

Zenizen, P.O.C. (Proof of Concept) (Topshelf Records)

Icon incarnate — Zenizen’s Opal Hoyt; press photo courtesy of the artist.

2022 is the year of Zenizen. The vision of NYC-based artist Opal Hoyt, the new album P.O.C. (Proof of Concept) is not only one of the year's most anticipated releases but a work of staggering genius that fans have awaited since the acclaimed debut Australia. The performer, producer, media boss, multi-hyphenate is your favorite's artist's favorite artist who has worked with everyone from Helado Negro, Suzi Analogue, Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13) and countless more, readying her biggest creative statement to date. Opal’s new album is the most ambitious Zenizen outing yet that draws inspiration from her own life events from being adopted, living in Alaska, making moves to Australia, Las Vegas, Jamaica, DC, Vermont and so forth with New York serving as a home base (one of many). A creative polymath celebrated in the independent circuits and insider circles delivers their most sprawling and spectacular work with a style, attitude and ambition destined for the biggest and brightest lit main stages.

TOPS, Empty Seats (Musique Tops)

One of the world’s greatest bands — TOPS; photographed by Samuel F. Houston.

For over a decade, Montréal, Québec’s beloved TOPS have become an artistic intuition. A group that has lived up to all the hype and more, from word of mouth buzz among their fellow artists to gaining a worldwide following ⁠— the group of Jane Penny, David Carriere, Riley Fleck, and Marta Cikojevic have delivered an EP of universal healing and hope with the lauded Empty Seats via their own imprint Musique TOPS. Through an economy of five songs, the quartet paints portraits of our fractured world in all of its turbulent transitions. TOPS with their trademark sophisto-pop of grace and signature suave elements surveys the bad, the good, the anticipation, the hopes and prayers of our universe teetering on the brink of both perdition and a bountiful beauty beyond the measurement of standard metrics.

Total Slacker, ExtraLife (self-released)

DIY legend Tucker Rountree of Total Slacker; cover art from the album ExtraLife photographed by Lauren Underwood.

From cassette collaborations, the beloved Thrashin, Slip Away, Parallels and more — an artist that understands this degree of creative growth and geographical shifts is Tucker Rountree of legendary DIY pop institution Total Slacker. Moving back home to help out family, Tucker traded Brooklyn to work alongside his dad in Utah (his father a musician in the 70s/80s group The Western Reflections) where through the process of painting homes and soaking in the surrounding small towns inspired a new course of songwriting full of new heartfelt/heartland perspectives. On the new Total Slacker album ExtraLife; Rountree presents a new sound and style singing ballads about humble places and people that stand at threshold between antiquity and uncertainty. Tucker takes us to the main streets of everytown USA, extoling its rustic charm in the emotively tinged chords while observing the droughts and economic recessions and depressions that have left them in the dust. The record is dedicated to the pursuit of a much more meaningful existence and echelon of unrelenting grace. ExtraLife is about us. Our life in a muddled time, with infinite hope for a brighter path of better directions and unlimited possibilities of limitless beauty.

Fitting, Minutes (Research Chemical)

Sac town’s own Fitting; press photo courtesy of the artists.

The culmination of veteran independent pop talents Eli Wengrin, Greta Soos and Phil Barkel; Fitting gives us their debut EP Minutes courtesy of DIY imprint Research Chemical. The three piece explodes the minutiae of the moment, the temporality of time, forging the facets of fleeting seconds that make up the hours and measurements that comprise the days, nights, weeks, months and years that can fly by us faster than we can consciously acknowledge. Fitting makes music to find the meaning behind the otherwise menial, perfunctory and procedural actions of which we pay little to no mind that are a part of our day to day. Fitting gives the world something we can feel, embracing the shadow play and gestalt of all the moving parts that are acting and operating beneath the surface when we are just going through the motions.

Past Palms, Ambient Music For Watering Plants (self-released)

Past Palms’ Sam Friedman; photographed by Nuria Rius.

The prodigy artist’s latest work shines in a damn perfect union of ambient ASMR stems and opulent, electronic orchestration. NYC by way of Richmond, VA pop polymath Sam Friedman has found a way to somehow encapsulate the sensory field sound sample in the raw, articulating it's attributes into the consciousness opening rhythm cycle and spin of expertly applied electro touches. The opening movement of Ambient Music is the breathtaking "Meditation I: Palm" that is the fulfillment of the promise that all the witch house sales people never fully delivered. Think about the trill wave makers of hip hop and buzz band production fodder from back in the 2010s, envisioning another green world where Past Palms presents a new legacy in the electro-ambient canon. Sam demonstrates a methodical approach to atmosphere expanding mixing and sequencing that has long been in the works. Following intuitively along the path from the self-titled, Vernal, When the Sun Reaches Its Highest Point in the Sky, Senescence and Empyrean — we arrive at the lush landscapes of the beauty beholding majesty of Ambient Music for Watering Plants. Friedman invites the listening audience to venture deeper into the greenhouse of growing wonders.

Van Chamberlain, In the Sun (Very Jazzed)

The Van Chamberlain brothers; press photo courtesy of Kevin W. Condon.

Brooklyn based brotherly duo Van Chamberlain lean into existential meditations on their new album In the Sun via the chic cult boutique imprint Very Jazzed. Van and Jacob cut their teeth touring in Eternal Drag, Phantom Buffalo, following up their 2019 demo “L.Y.” (known as “Light Years” on the new album) with their full length debut delayed, like everything else in the world, by the global pandemic. Hunkering down in the Williamsburg studio Strange Weather with engineer/producer Garret de Block; Van Chamberlain creatively crystalize that curious liminal place where the past and present meet like intercepts and plots on a graph of grand vision. The concepts of heart and honest reflection are expressed through a robust sound that resonates like the eternal California sun met by the endless winters of New York.

Young Prisms, Drifter (Fire Talk Records)

SF’s own legendary dream gazers Young Prisms; photographed by Jared Silbert.

We here at Week in Pop have long felt a romantic kinship with Young Prisms. From our San Francisco-based connection, having both shared nascent beginnings among media hubs of our familiar, boutique imprints and mutually adored aesthetes of notoriety — they have always remained a group of great importance in our Bay Area offices. And today the band of Stefanie Hodapp, Matthew Allen, Giovanni Betteo and Jordan Silbert return with the following insightful curation and their brand new album Drifter; released through the fellow DIY institution Fire Talk Records and produced by fellow vision beach breaker Shaun Durkan (Weekend, Soft Kill).

Guerilla Toss, Famously Alive (Sub Pop)

Royal hyperpop majesties — Guerilla Toss; photographed by Ebru Yildiz.

Guerilla Toss are on another level. A different playing field. A different stratosphere. A different dimension and yet are very much an integral part of our shared universe. As the prestigious and lauded group signs to Sub Pop with the blazing glory of Famously Alive; we boldly embark upon the latest chapter from one of the world's most fascinating hyperpop art nouveau phenomenons. Pop writers, critics, editors and fans alike continue to trip over themselves in attempts to describe and pigeonhole, exhausting their lexicon in valiant efforts to describe the group’s style and sound that refuses to take the shape of any convenient (or conventional) descriptive signifier. While we here at Week in Pop have continued to chronicle one of the most beloved and beguiling aesthetic entities over the past decade, we stand in appreciation of Kassie Carlson, Peter Negroponte, Arian Shafiee and their dedicated commitment to maximalist experimentation and artistic excellence.

Death Parade, It Was Worth It to Love, Though It Hurt So Bad (Halfshell Records)

PDX proponents of goth pop nouveau — Death Parade; photographed by Sam Gherke.

Returning to the lush, raincloud corner of the pacific northwest marches the passionate, maudlin and mesmerizing pop act Death Parade. Lead by Laura Hopkins of Blackwater Holylight, the group [formerly known as Laura Palmer's Death Parade] takes you deep into the woods of a moonless night toward a transportive zone of reckoning with shadows and mirror visage representations and tulpa semblances of the self and the soul. Alongside the talents of Eirinn Lou Riggs, Danny Metcalfe and Robert Grubaugh; Hopkins and company present their ambitious new album It Was Worth It To Love, Though it Hurt So Bad courtesy of Halfshell Records that revels, rocks and roars in songs of triumph, songs of tribulation, songs of trepidation and songs of ecstatic heights. The album pulls back the red curtains from the stage to reveal poignant portraits of pain, testaments to the darkened corridors, twisted hallways and lost highways of candid tales normally reserved for esoteric folklore and nocturnal confessionals shared beneath a coal black sky like a lacy shrouded veil.

Maita, I Just Want to Be Wild For You (Kill Rock Stars)

PNW pop orchestrated by MAITA; photographed by Tristan Paiige.

Presenting a reflective work of nostalgic affinities, Portland pop phenoms MAITA, lead by Maria Maita-Keppeler along with Matthew Zeltzer, Nevada Sowle and Cooper Trail are one of the PNW's most important and exciting groups as of late. From a trajectory spanning pastoral operas and psalms from Waterbearer, the sharp rocking debut album Best Wishes, various covers, to the advent of the new album I Just Want To Be Wild For You; MAITA deconstructs the old worlds we once knew, the worlds we currently know in anticipatory hopes and praise for all that still can be.

VRITRA, VOID (BTM Records / Mint Songs)

The volition of VRITRA, aka Hal Donell Williams Jr.

You already know the portfolio and prestige. From the legendary Atlanta collective NRK (Nobody Really Knows), The Jet Age of Tomorrow, Odd Future, Pyramid Vritra and now just VRITRA — the multidisciplinary shaman pop prodigy Hal Williams delves into the bewitched fun house frequencies in the dizzying dimensions of VOID. A delicately and diligently designed media event is self described as an ‘exploration into fan/artist connection & access to an experience beyond listening / streaming a track.” Inviting audience interaction with access to the stems and other elements, Williams and the world are invited to mine an astral realm of ethereal, lavish experiments that oscillate between elegance and experimental abandon.

Annika Zee, Bleu ( Absurd TRAX / Vain Mina)

Designing the future of pop fashions and more — Annika Zee; photographed by Anika Larsen.

Returning with the follow-up to 2019's conceptual craft of majesty Factory Pageant is NYC by way of Toronto pop art designer of future musical fashions Annika Zee with the new album Blue. A joint release by Absurd TRAX with Vain Mina Records, the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music alum continues to challenge the tropes of style and concept of superstar with an azure saturated statement of unrelenting autonomy. Akin to fellow contemporaries Agua Viva, Zenizen to Luxe / S the Supplicant conceptual provocateur Sally Horowitz; Zee works in the new emergent art spaces that redefines how we see, hear and experience aesthetics. Redefining what it means to be an artist. Breaking the antiquated and obsolete pantheon pillars of preconceived cultural prejudices and gender biases, Annika elevates art and authorship to new enlightened levels and heightened hues of colors that have yet to be assigned with a name or corresponding signifier. Picking up where Factory Pageant left off; Annika Zee once again pushes past the tired shows of pageantry and mechanical motions to paint on new canvases from new palettes to embody the presence of a new kind of iconoclast for a new era of new discoveries.

[also check out Annika Zee’s latter 2022 releases A Faith Made of Silk & LOST DEMOS 2021-2022]

Maggie Gently, Peppermint (Refresh Records)

The suave, sincere and art savvy styles of Maggie Gently; photographed by Amayah Harrison.

Maggie Gently has been generating some buzz here at home in the Bay Area and far beyond for good reasons. A queer artist that is very much involved in her local/global communities, Gently has been making modern pop meditation cycles styled as sincere vignettes crafted with a pointed velocity and sharp volition. Maggie's art concerns the journey of reconnecting us to our selves, displaying the otherwise inner monologues and psychic dialogues as odes to loving our own interpersonal idiosyncrasies. Following up the 2020 debut Good Cry with Peppermint via Refresh Records, the San Francisco-based tunesmith presents a desperately needed creative panacea for our turbulent times. Enlisting fellow local luminaries Pllush and The She’s own Eva Treadway, Sinclair Riley and Maggie's brother Joey Grabmeier; Peppermint offers assuaging anthems of love, care and a profound concern for others, ourselves, with a deep empathy for the human experience along the mercurial plane of existence.

R. E. Seraphin, Swingshift (self-released)

Cult pop icon Ray Seraphin; press photo courtesy of the artist.

It has been postulated that Bay Area artists experience the world differently. From well read understandings of record store savoir faire, the modern and new contemporary canons and other respective troves of influential knowledge and limitless talents; these aesthetes conduct crafts guided by the enchanted breeze of the Pacific offshore winds to create musical paintings of unrelenting splendor. Beholden to this time honored tradition rises the solo works of Vallejo-based beloved cult pop wonder R. E. Seraphin with the release of the Swingshift EP. The latest offering from the former Talkies bandleader distills your favorite power pop phenomena into a DIY blender, riding high into a new stratosphere of new-new romantic revelry and grace unbound.

Joel Jerome, Super Flower Blood Moon (Dangerbird Records)

The prolific Joel Jerome; photographed by Julia Brokaw.

The back to basics approach often yields some of the most raw and realized work from a multidisciplined artist. For LA polymath Joel Jerome, their new album Super Flower Blood Moon for Dangerbird Records was assembled from a rudimentary ritual of recording phone voice memos, organized by way of a four-track application. Having worked with Cherry Glazerr, La Sera, LA Witch, Dios (Malos) and more over the years; Jerome shines a light on stripped down songs from the soul, further aided by atmospheric production touches supplied by Rob Schnapf. Famous for the home studio dubbed the Psychedelic Thriftstore; Joel Jerome leads the audience to lush pastorals of the spirit that lay between the rolling metropolitan valleys and hills and the seemingly infinite spaces of the galaxies.

Loco Tranquilo, “Summer Rain” (Text Me Records)

Love, light and Loco Tranquilo, aka Julián Gervasi; press photo courtesy of the artist.

“Summer Rain” basks in the mesmerizing glow of how wonderful our reality can be (while opening the door to new realities of grandeur and bliss that you never thought were even possible). Loco Tranquilo has blessed the world with one of the most gorgeous songs to commemorate the summer of 2022. Otherwise known as Julián Gervasi, the song is a collaboration with Mackenzie Bunch that was developed during the lockdown days of quarantine that accentuates the inherent bliss that exists in the here and now of life. A song that embraces healing and a degree of self-actualization that our world desperately needs now, more than ever before. The sun-kissed, morning dew christened anthem to inspire new degrees of carpe diem and higher levels of learning and loving has valiantly arrived (and not a moment later or sooner).

Sleap-e, Pouty Lips (WWNBB Collective)

The arts of Asia Martina Morabito, aka Sleap-E; photographed by Maicol Guidetti.

Sometimes a certain stylized bouquet of sounds can sweep you away to new places, rich with feeling and collage boards of thought. Such is the art house fashion chic of Pouty Lips ⁠— the new album from Sleap-e, aka Asia Martina Morabito of the illustrious Italy by way of the Bay Area WWNBB Collective (We Were Never Being Boring). Having been over two years in development with instrumental assists from Luca Gruppioni, Francesco Bonora, Natan Dall'Aglio, Jacobopo Finelli and other assorted members from Baseball Gregg; Pouty Lips is a record that exists in a Euro café or thrift store boutique of its own. Asia expresses brass inflected exhibitions of emotively charged observations, idea fragments and other miscellaneous short stories that are sung in motions that mist like the steam from a ristretto shot of espresso or the fog from a lit cigarette ember.

Lissie, Carving Canyons (Lionboy Records)

Modern pop legend Lissie; photographed by Lili Peper.

Over the course of the past decade, Lissie has valiantly risen to the illustrious heightened prominence as one of the singular spirits of the mystic North American heartland. From the quilted farmlands, valleys and fields of the Midwest; the Iowan homestead-chic artist makes triumphant hymns that survey our whole wide world as a vast stretch of farms, peaks, rivers, ranches, townships, forests and friendly cities. An organic, ethereal, earnest and commanding presence like a Stevie Nicks-esque bohemian raised on the range — the art of Lissie’s work is in the keen ability to transform the hectic world that we know into a quaint global village surrounded by the roaring splendor of the natural realm. A delivery that awakens the weary and dormant sprite from within and strums the electric chords and strings of the heart, Lissie’s songs make a lonely roadhouse dive sound like a magnificent amphitheater or a Royal Albert Hall sound like a humble wooded cantina outpost in the middle of Nowheresville, USA. Continuing in this tradition is the new album of conflicts, care, quandaries and catharsis titled Carving Canyons. A record developed in Nashville with fellow femme luminaries such as Sarah Buxton, Madi Diaz, Natalie Hemby, Bre Kennedy, Morgan Nagler, Kate York and production by Curt Schneider; Lissie delivers a rugged, raw and righteous epic of love, loss, healing and the limitless prowess of perseverance.

Wild Arrows, Loving the Void (self-released)

Communing in nature with Mike Law of Wild Arrows; photographed by Lindsey Law.

Wild Arrows unleashed an apparition of amour with “Here’s the Ghost” from the album Loving the Void. Lead by Mike Law of EULCID and New Idea Society, the NYC-based artist works under a thesis to make some of the most incredible art never before attempted. While elements might strike notions of familiarity of previous movements and anachronistic aesthetes and such, Law alongside assists from Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) and Alan Cage (Quicksand), Gary Atturio, Grady Walker and Nick Krill collaborate together to create the tones, note sequences and progressions that have never before been heard, felt or experienced before. Far from the futile task of a re-inventing the wheel, Wild Arrows takes aim at the arrangement of moods, textures and tonal landscapes that the world has never before witnessed.

Jennifer Hall, “Belonging Forever” (self-released)

Chicago’s own star Jennifer Hall; photographed by Matthew Gregory Hollis.

Chicago artist Jennifer Hall focuses on the infinite healing powers and properties of art in the face of all obstacles. Having recently graced these pages with the debut of “Why Cut Time” — Hall returns with a simmering synth studded symphony dedicated to the power of creativity and the mesmerizing properties of music with the premiere of “Belonging Forever”. The baggage of unbearable weights beset by the world’s overwhelming tilted whirl is countered with life affirming sung shouts that ring out and resonate to places beyond the material realms that we know all too well. Jennifer edifies the importance of the aesthetics and avenues that lead us toward the precipices of the eternal, stepping through the ineffable slipstreams of vision into new arenas and dimensions of the unknown and never before embarked upon.

Ecstatic International, self-titled (Sister Polygon)

DC’s own disruptors Ecstatic International; press photo courtesy of the band.

Introducing DC’s latest upstarts Ecstatic International, interrupting our regularly scheduled programming with something that is not a technocratic application nor a reproductive health supplement (as seen on tv and on the net, hawked by toxic wannabe demagogues). A group devoted to the radicalization of new riveting rhythms, G.L. Jaguar (Priests) Laura Harris (Ex Hex), Nikhil Rao, Anno (Olivia Neutron-John) and Jacky Cougar Abok (Des Demonas) have banded together under the self-styled banner of ‘radical optimism and energies sourced from Purple Music's outer reaches.’ Collectively EI blends the inner and outer tensions in a synthesis that takes on the conflicts and paradoxes that plague the mind, body, spirit, populous and other aspects of hive consciousness into a cathartic art form.

Katie Lass, Hypnopomp (HHBTM / Remove Records)

Detroit’s rising wonder Katie Lass; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Meet Detroit-based artist Katie Lass who has pressed some of your favorite records on wax and now steps into the spotlight with the debut album Hypnopomp for HHBTM / Remove Records. The gatekeepers of the world might lavish the breakout record with superlatives alluding to subversive artistic movements past, present and future, but what becomes abundantly clear on Hypnopomp is an ambitious approach to experimental world building. A fancy free dawning springs to form on "Can You Take Me Back", to the night riding shades of midnight of "Luster", rhythm collage experiments on "Hypnopompamus", the mesmerizing twinkle and shine of "Ctan6 - !", the echoing coastal balladry that comprises "Shadow on the Shoreline", to orchestrating new takes on the construct of genre with "Nonpop". Atmospheres are created in some unusual manners that oscillate the mind like the coolness of "Claw", the waterside psychotropic escapes of "Seaweedhead", to the further transcendent splashes heard and felt on "Pin & Ripple", weaving new textiles of new wonders with "Porous Rags", producing portals to new realms through "Long Window", as "Eidolon Orbit" summons specters from the netherworlds, concluding the song cycle with the experimental candied canyon warp of "Sugar Chasm".

Tiny the Dream, “Many Selves” (self-released)

The visceral vision realms of Tiny the Dream; photographed by Jeanette Chwan.

Introducing Tiny the Dream, the latest incarnation from Buffalo, NY artist Suzanne Bonifacio that bridges heart beat pulsing beats and evocative atmospheres. Presenting the debut of “Many Selves”, Bonifacio explores the multiplicities of being that re-imagines that infinite roles and realities of everything an individual can be. The moody EDM imbued ambience of the track takes on a subterranean feeling, like adventuring into a clandestine cavern, turned discreet makeshift club by a band of stylish partygoers occupying an abandoned subway station or an ancient repurposed water utility. The serious tone implies pensive and diligent dance step motions, with chopped vocal stem utterances that contribute to an otherworldly sense of awe and elevated headspaces. Tiny the Dream is a re-imagining of the self, the transformation of the artist on their own terms, on account of their own perceptions, thoughts, feelings, visions and more that manifests a rhythmic meditation on the myriad possibilities of personal and creative re-invention. Decidedly different from the emotive chamber guitar pop of Bonifacio’s single “Condense” from last year; Tiny the Dream takes kinetic forms of aesthetic fusions and syntheses to the far out places beyond the constraints of linguistic expressions.

Teen Daze, “New Spirits” (Cascine)

Wizard of wondrous waves — Teen Daze; photograph courtesy of Faked Potatoes.

For over the course of the past 12 plus years, thus has been the creative trajectory of Teen Daze’s Jamison Isaak. The Vancouver-based artist has spanned works that have been lauded with all sorts of innovative superlatives from every corner of the blogosphere to the last bastions and vestiges of print media in praise of Isaak’s breakthroughs of ushering in new degrees and valence levels of ambient rhythmic dimensions. The latest in a catalogue of countless releases is the fresh and fantastical beauty of “New Spirits”. Drawing from the European ambient works of the 1970s to Japan’s city pop movements of the 1980s and even deeper, dustier, record bin grooves — Jamison entertains the mystery of the sensations and worlds that we cannot fully define in the structures, syntax and logic of established lexicons and polytechnical schools of associated sciences. The newest Teen Daze compositions concern themselves with the worlds that are left to the writings, paintings, discourse, et al. of vague conjecture, ethereal questions with ambiguous answers that remain open ended outside the auspices of the experiential mind’s eye [and ear] of the beholder.

2022 releases of import & note:

Beyoncé, Renaissance (Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records)

Cites Aviv, Man Plays the Horn

Denzel Curry, Melt My Eyez See Your Future (PH / Loma Vista Recordings)

Alex G, God Save the Animals (Domino)

Cam Maclean, Secret Verses (self-released)

Mitski, Laurel Hell (Dead Oceans)

PLAINS, I Walked with You a Ways (ANTI-)

Sault, Air, 11, AIIR, Earth, Today & Tomorrow, Untitiled (God) (Forever Living Originals)

Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights (RCA)

Terrace, Just Say Maybe (self-released)

Toro y Moi, Mahal (Dead Oceans)

Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow (Sub Pop)

As the summer season's sun shines onward, our world continues to get weirder, the immigration battle continues, the 2018 World Cup concluded with France's big win—Week in Pop continues to keep you up to date with all the media-mania you may have missed. The latest news is that Soccer Mommy announced a tour supporting Kacey Musgraves, with a viewing of the grand Jonny Look video for the grandiose ballad "Scorpio Rising"; pop icon Jenn Champion released the anticipated album Single Rider via Hardly Art; S the Supplicant shattered the scholastic conventions with the sensuous disco of the little death "Aphrodite's School" off the Nicey Music concept release cycle Sex in Mechanicalville (see our interview exclusive here); Sports Coach delivered a listen to the spirit lifting river-rafter "tide rider" from the forthcoming Dream Sports EP available August 3 via Manimal Records; Future's Beastmode 2 broke records on the streaming charts; New Jersey pop institution Old Smile continues his unrelenting and unyielding streak of proliferation with the Falling Feeling EP; Glasgow's Fleet shared some rustic sentiments direct from the heart and world weary soul with "From Me To You" courtesy of In Black Records; also don't miss GOSH!'s emerald shining visual from Peter Nichols for "I'll Remember You" off their Nicey Music album Odyssey; Daddy launched a Kickstarter to help make the upcoming feature film Milkshake; Minneapolis ambient earth and element progenitors IE shared the moving meditations of "Amulet" off the Moon Glyph cassette Pome; Sara Marie Barron is prepping the album Sad, But True for release August 3 sharing a heart-pouring listen to the single "Does She"; Moonbeau dazzled, dazed and amazed with their freewheeling single "Hair So Wild" off their self-titled debut available September 7 via Old Flame Records; Ólafur Arnalds shared a warm look at the Thora Hilmars visual for "unfold" ft. SOHN off the album re:member available August 24; Rob Dickson delivered the earnest, subdued yet passionate power pop expressions of "Water Rushing In" off the album Looking Through Your Window; Orlando's own The 502s delivered the heart-penned and personal album of honest musings and expressions titled Because We Had To; Yungeen Ace delivered the Jacksonville representing David G visual for the block embracing "Jungle" ft. JayDaYoungan; The Ophelias delivered a look at the sporting football-focused visual for the beautiful single "General Electric" off the Joyful Noise album Almost; Lido Beach returned with a listen to the pop punk single "You Feel Hard" available July 27; Squadda B and Badluck delivered the East Bay atmospherics via Special Edition Instrumentals courtesy of Green Ova; Smino shared a remix of Drake's "In My Feelings" and "Coupe se'yearn" via the 4sport EP; Jay Rock delivered a viewing of the video-game styled Jack Begert and Dave Free visual for "ES Tales"; Jaden Smith delivered SYRE: The Electric Album via Instagram; Azealia Banks delivered the new sensational single "Treasure Island"; Acting Strange delivered the celluloid celebrity glam anthem "Hollywood" dedicated to tinsel-town decadence; HOLYCHILD presented the desires for solace with "Wishing You Away"; Madeline Kenney presented the Robert Kolodney office-space centered visual for the personal and whimsical "Cut Me Off" off the album Perfect Shapes via October 5 via Carpark; Kacey Musgraves presented a viewing of the office life anachronisms featured in the Hannah Lux Davis video for patriarchal hierarchy kingdom crasher "High Horse"; Tatiana DeMaria presented the truths and fallacies that informed the new single "London Don't Lie"; Marquee Mayfield presented the eccentric visual for the oddball romanticism of "Feelin' So Blue"; Utkarsh Ambudkar delivered the glamorous, reflective mind expansions of "Vanity" ft. Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, and The Olympicks; FMB DZ delivered the monetary-minded and wavy new single "Fast Money" off the upcoming mixtape In My Bag; Balako delivered the expressive and earnest single "Don't Give Up" via Greco-Roman; Ariana Grande delivered the feminist notions of deity with "God Is A Woman" off the upcoming album Sweetener; Houndmouth presented the anticipatory single "Waiting For The Night" off the upcoming album Golden Age; Marlowe, aka L'Orange & Solemn Brigham, delivered their Mello Music self-titled release; Lily Moore presented the assertive and reflective "I Will Never Be"; Tinashe delivered the expressive and evocative single of nostalgic pangs via "Like I Used To"; Henry Chadwick delivered the sweet and serene single "Bag of Chips" from the upcoming album available August 31; Tash Sultana presented a live rendering of the intimate illustrations heard on "Harvest Love" off the album debut Flow State available August 31 via Mom + Pop; Cape Cub delivered the evening embracing single "Moonglow"; Summer Magic delivered the sunny rocker "Hey!" from the forthcoming album Sharks and Other Danger available August 31; Nef The Pharaoh & 03 Greedo launched the Porter2Grape EP; Westerman shared the liquid asset indulgences of "Easy Money"; Alessia Cara presented a look at the self-made visuals for the earnest ballad "A Little More"; Transviolet presented the Patricia Gloum/Braw Haus visual for "Bad Intentions" about countering the the dubious intents and deeds of others; In The Valley Below delivered the vibrant chromatic visuals for "Desperate Dance” featured off the album The Pink Chateau available October 5 via Bright Antenna Records; The Dirty Nil presented the epic anthem of anguish and ecstasy with "Pain of Infinity" from the forthcoming album Master Volume; The Dill delivered the throwback summer glow of "Stop Time" ft. Max Kerman; Olivier St. Louis shared the universe trotting anthem "Wondering Wanderer"; The Cradle delivered the beautiful acoustic illustrations of "Cell Games and Beyond" off the album Bag Of Holding available July 27 via NNA Tapes; SF based/Slept On Records co-founder Nick Andre delivered the heavy singles "Guns" ft. Lateef the Truth Speaker and Hanni El Khatib along with "LA's on Fire" ft. Rob Sonic and Hanni El Khatib; The Cuban Brothers delivered the smack-down on xenophobia with the puppet-centric visual for "I Hate Hate"; Alan Sparhawk delivered a rollicking rhythm remix for Azalia Snail's "Field Rep"; Fauvely delivered the ebb and sea rising shoreline shared sentiments of "Tides"; Paulaa delivered the evocative and intimate expressions of "Fall In"; Sigrid delivered itinerary attentive energy of "Schedules" from the Raw EP; Cubicolor delivered the electric single "Counterpart"; Princess Nokia delivered the intoxicating Travis Libin co-directed visual for "Morphine"; peep the Chandler P of 12th St Media visual for THECLECTIK single of ecstatic discovery titled "I Found You" ft. Ze Rox and Jay Tablet; Frontperson, featuring Kathryn Calder of The New Pornographers, delivered the sunny and summery visual from Rob Leickner and Ryan Sudds for "Tick - Tock (Frontrunner)" off the upcoming self-titled available September 21 via Oscar St. Records; Meg Myers delivered a song about the toxic ties that bind with "Tourniquet" off the upcoming release Take Me To The Disco; Stronger Sex delivered the continuum of life with the expressive electro single "Dead Women" off the album There Is No Stronger Sex via BLIGHT. Records; No Mono delivered a listen to the evocative illustrations of "Fever Highs"; 

Abbi Press delivered the skating and free-wheeling visual made with Brian Vu and Breaking for the breathtaking single "Deep Breath" via CSCN; Teddy Glass delivered the grandiose single "Lean On" featured off their upcoming album Nights and Weekends available August 24; Chastity brought the Captured Tracks album Death Lust into the world; Dolores Haze doesn't want to see your "Banana" via the bright and self-assertive Saga West and Ville Gobi Andersson visual; Tom Ugly delivered the evocative single about adversaries and the like with the Noel Rodriguez and Jenny Chiu visual for "Villan"; The Chairman Dances announced the album Child of My Sorrow available September 7 via Black Rd Records with a listen to the grandiose single "No One Can Hurt You (Like a Friend Can Hurt You)"; Billy Moon presented an announcement of the forthcoming album Punk Songs available September 14 via Old Flame Records delivering the thrashing and banging singles "White Shoes" and "Dingus"; Iggy Azalea delivered the tookas-twerking visual for "Kream" ft. Tyga; MOLI delivered the cut of comforts and ease with "Comfortable"; Harrison Lipton cast the visual for the beautiful "Beacon" from the album Loveliness available May 18 through Yellow K Records; Sophie Meiers delivered the summer-smoked single "Something About You"; the iconic Tony Molina gifted the world recently with the sweet electric organ coasting single "Jasper's Theme"; Sao Paulo's Das Kope provided all the breathy insinuation and intimations of pure summer sun-stroked ecstasy with the single and visual for "Ready For Summer"; The Gloomies presented the album Romance courtesy of Thrill Me Records; United Ghosts delivered the oceanic swells with "Waves" off the album Saturn Days available August 24 via Cleopatra Records; Saul Williams shared the snazzy and sick rhythms and rhymes of "The Flaw You Worship"; King Who shared the melted melodies of "Ice Cream" off the Self Group album Giant Eye; PUSHER and Anjulie delivered the consciousness-lifting single and visual for "All We Can Do"; Valley Queen presented the gigantic constellation coursing wonder "Supergiant"; Gabrielle Sterbenz delivered a look at the intimate and interpersonal Fletcher Wolfe-directed visual for the evocative single "The Laundress"; Sense announced their Taste EP available October 19 via Nettwerk and shared the affinity expressions of "I Like It"; Ferentz and the Felons delivered the personal and earnest-hearted EP Hudson County; Jonathan Wilson presented the smoky street light streaked visual and single "Sunset Blvd" off the album Rare Birds; GRLwood delivered an exhibition of real and honest desires via the visual and single "Bisexual" off the release Daddy; Lemuria released the anticipated release Companion; LT Wade presented the grand ballad "We'll Never Be Those Kids Again" featured off the album Transient available July 27 courtesy of Dopeness Records NYC; World's Fair presented the new bossy new single "Dundas Street West" ft. Nasty Nigel, Cody B. Ware and Freaky Franz with the album New Lows arriving July 20 via Fool's Gold; benny blanco presented the Jake Schreier video for the reminiscent jam "Eastside" ft. Halsey and Khalid; Toronto's CMDWN delivered the saucy new single "Hit & Run" ft. Lil Wop off the forthcoming Atlanada 2; DeVotchKa gifted the world the new single "Straight Shot" with the announcement of the new album This Night Falls Forever arriving August 24 via Concord Records; Slothrust presented the laundromat gazing Josh Forbes visual for "Double Down" from the upcoming album The Pact available September 14 via Dangerbird Records; RYVOLI delivered the ethereal acoustic strung harmonies of their EP Theories; Elle announced the album Lover's Rock arriving this September with a look at the elevated and visceral visuals for "Better"; Cyril Hahn remixed EBHONI's single "OPPS"; Mac Miller announced thee new album Swimming available August 3 with a look at the visual for "Self Care"; Future Generations dropped the bright electro pop title track from their album Landscape available September 14; Dead Soft signed to Arts & Crafts with news of the upcoming New Emotion EP available in fall, sharing the electrified earnestness of "Kill Me"; Kin Hana delivered the atmospheric "Johnny" off of Au Sable via Black Meadow; The Veldt mesmerized yet again with the Yuko sueta visual for the earth and sea shattering single "Black and Blue"; behold the city strolling Travis Gogosian for GoodBaby Films visual for the uplifting "Probably Up" featured off Lawrence's forthcoming album Living Room available September 14; Samia delivered the scenes of solitude via the Tess Lafia visual for the earnest ballad of "Milk"; Honyock delivered the sentimental ballad "Heather" found off the upcoming El Castillo album available July 27; Sofi Tukker remixed Mr Little Jeans' single "Forgetter" with added rhythm-aided echoes and ambiance; Anderson .Paak delivered the remix for the track "Bubblin" ft. Busta Rhymes; The Coup delivered the righteous and radical new single "Oyahytt" ft. Lakeith Stanfield featured in Boots Riley's film Sorry To Bother You; The War and Treaty delivered that bridge between love and hate with the passionate pop of "Are You Ready to Love Me?"; MØ's album Forever Neverland will be available October 19 and delivered the solar-saturated single "Sun In Our Eyes" ft. Diplo; Whitney Ballen shared the endearing single "Go" off the album You're A Shooting Star, I'm A Sinking Ship from Father/Daughter available August 24; Save Face delivered their Epitaph album/visual album Merci; Creature Canyon delivered the inquiries of desire with "Did You Want That"; Jane Church shared the transportive Jono Bernstein, Abram Seaman and Matt Stevenson video for "This Here City" from the This Here City 7" available July 27 via Greenway Records, with a release show happening the same night at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn; Jake Shears shared the new single "Sad Song Backwards"; Metric delivered the weekend shaded super-pop single "Dark Saturday"; Pink Martini presented the powerful and iconic feminist anthem "I Am Woman"; Bay Area's own Garren Sean dropped the EP SUNDRIP; POLO & PAN presented the luscious Bleu Garou-animated visuals for "Canopée"; Boys Noize's Alex Ridha and Virgil Abloh dropped the Orvnge EP; Cruel Diagonals, aka Megan Mitchell, unveiled the album debut Disambiguation via Drawing Room Records; Oldermost shared the expressive new album How Could You Ever Be The Same? via AntiFragile; Jealous of the Birds presented the EP The Moths of What I Want Will Eat Me In My Sleep; Sophia Black delivered the fuego, smoke and flame of "Fire"; London's own CHILDCARE presented the Luckyucker EP; D.A. Stern covered "I Don't Know" and Jacuzzi Boys covered "Song For the Man" by the Beastie Boys via the split single Nosh Lately?: A Tribute to The Beasties Boys' Hello Nasty ahead of the iconic album's twentieth anniversary; Franz Ferdinand delivered the "Always Ascending" remixes; Mini Mansions delivered the cut of consistencies with "Works Every Time"; Denzel Curry presented the sideshow circus visual from Zev Deans for "Clout Cobain" off TA13OO; Lala Lala presented the cool carnival visuals for the even cooler cut "Destroyer" off the album The Lamb available in September via Hardly Art; Brodinski presented a look at the Pavel Brenner-directed visual for the wheel-gripping, hard rolling "Split" ft. Peewee Longway; Wiki presented the Ryosuke Tanzawa video for "Litt 15" ft. Your Old Droog;

Mary J. Blige presented the new affectionate single "Only Love"; Bon Iver’s own Justin Vernon with National’s Aaron Dessner are Big Red Machine, announcing their self-titled album available August 31 via PEOPLE; Bay Area's own Ah Mer Ah Su delivered the pursuit of something that is "Perfect" via the Roger Stack-directed visual off the debut album Star available July 27 via Dero Arcade; The Eye Of Time delivered the atmospheric and cinematic single "Foldings" off the album album Myth II: A Need To Survive available August 24 via Denovali Records; Vinyl Williams gave us the 360 treatment via the world immersive visual for "Aphelion" featured off the Opal; Vacation delivered the track "Deflector Head" from the forthcoming album Mouth Sounds #2699 available July 27 through Lets Pretend Records; Steven Moses delivered the release Love Me // Leave Me; Delhia de France released the echoing electronic hymns of Moirai EP through Robot Koch label Trees & Cyborgs; Sofia Reyes and Leroy Sanchez shared a viewing of an acoustic rendering for "1, 2, 3"; Paul Woolford remixed Hayden James' "Just Friends"; Tempesst shared the slow burning title track "Doomsday" featured off the upcoming EP of the same name; Honest Iago brought a boat of enchantment "Blue Fairy" found off the new album 29 Palms available July 27; La Force, featuring Broken Social Scene's Ariel Engle, announced the debut self-titled album arriving September 7 via Arts & Crafts with a listen to the expedient art thoughts of "Ready to Run"; LFZ announced the forthcoming release Name Plus Focus arriving July 20 via Castle Face Records, sharing a view of the consciousness melting visual for "Naturalistic" created by Wes Johansen; Louisville's own Quiet Hollers delivered an ode to dependencies with "Addicted"; Ciaran Lavery presented the intimate transformative Alexander Milo Bischof visual for "Bones 4 Blood" off the album Sweet Decay; Anne-Marie shared a backstage viewing of an acoustic performance of "2002" with Ed Sheeran; Giant Peach are currently on tour, sharing a view of their coastal dreaming visual for the lush and affectionate epic "Love Your Void" off the album But You Made Me Such A Beautiful Thing from Dead Broke Rekerds; More Giraffes delivered the a spirited performance of "Basement (Live in Highland Park)"; Ottawa's own Garçons delivered the delicacy and textile indulges of "Pink Dress" via Kitsuné; RL Grime delivered the single "Pressure" off the upcoming July 27 slated album NOVA; Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign delivered "The Light" off the upcoming release Mihty; NOTHING delivered the visual for "Blue Line Baby" off Dance On The Blacktop available August 24 via Relapse; WHY? presented the jam "By Torpedo Or Crohn's (Dntel Remix)" with the Alopecia 10 Year Anniversary reissue available August 17 via Joyful Noise; Lord Huron shared the new singles "When the Night is Over" and a cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon"; Young Scooter delivered the regal remix "Jugg King" ft. Rick Ross & T.I. produced by Stack Boy Twuan; Couch Jackets presented the manic and meditative Rob Fitzgerald visual for "Don't Think Just Breathe" off the release go to bed available July 27; Moon Honey presented the stop-action creative visual of various faces and feelings from Jess Joy for "Mask Maker" from the album Mixed Media On Woman available September 4; Moon Honey presented the stop-action creative visual of various faces and feelings from Jess Joy for "Mask Maker" from the album Mixed Media On Woman available September 4; JPEGMAFIA unveiled the atmospheric and organic "Millennium Freestyle" ahead of a stateside and European tour; SAN CHA presented the rich and whimsical Graham Kolbeins visual for "Capricho del Diablo"; Kim Petras delivered the remixes for "Heart to Break"; Night Shop, Justin Sullivan from The Babies/Kevin Morby Band, announced the album debut In The Break available September 24 via Mare Records, alongside a viewing of the fun performance Kevin Gossett visual for "The One I Love"; BandGang delivered the single of solutions and solving matters with "Ain't No Problem" ft. SOB X RBE and ShredGang Mone off the upcoming tape In Too Deep; Kingdom dropped the new single "Getaway Kind" ft. Zalma Bour; The Buttertones shared a look at the performance captured Braedon Speakman visual for "Jungle"; Mirah provided a listen to the new single "Information" information featured off the upcoming album Understanding available September 7 via Absolute Magnitude; Parquet Courts announced the Wide Awake Remixes EP, sharing the Danny Krivit Re-Edit; Ian Svenonius' Escape-ism announced The Lost Record available September 7, sharing the Alexandra Cabral visual for "Nothing Personal"; Earth Girl Helen Brown presented the visual for "Set The Woods On Fire" via Four Satellites, Vol. 1 available July 20 via Empty Cellar Records / In The Red; Phantastic Ferniture delivered the single and visual for "Bad Timing" off the July 27 slated self-titled for Polyvinyl; Balloon Ride Fantasy presented a look at the mesmerizing video for "Arcadia" off the album BRF; Sean Henry shared a listen to the Double Double Whammy album Fink; Ólafur Arnalds presented a viewing of the piano-lead Matthias Maercks visual for "saman"; Champagne Superchillin' delivered the entrancing single "Gipsy Ferrari" off the Broken Circles release Beach Deep; Chris Stein of Blondie announced the upcoming photo book, POINT OF VIEW: ME, NEW YORK CITY, AND THE PUNK SCENE, slated for release in November; NNA Tapes tapes announced the NNA100 Centennial comp featuring artists like Guerrilla Toss, Tredici Bacci, Greg Fox, Olivia Block, Jefre Cantu Ledesma, Felicia Atkinson, Lea Bertucci and more available August 17; audiobooks delivered a look at the visual for "Hot Salt" via Heavenly Recordings; Holt 88 dropped the demented dance grooves via Hoo Dow EP; The Vamps delivered the visual for "Just My Type"; Astronauts, etc. shared the mind-melting beauty of "Shut My Mouth" off the Chaz Bear co-produced album Living In Symbol available July 27 via Company Records; We Were Promised Jetpacks signed to Big Scary Monsters; 2018 MTV VMA award buzz; the Deftones announced Dia de los Deftones happening November 3 at Petco Park; NYC's Les Poisson Rouge announced a one-night only concert tribute to Nico celebrating Nico, 1988 starring Marissa Nadler, U.S. Girls, Julie Byrne, Lizzi Bougatsos (of Gang Gang Dance and IUD), L'Rain and Tammy Faye Starlite; Paul Simon announced the new album In the Blue Light available September 7 via Legacy; Stephen Malkmus shared the acoustic rendering of "Solid Silk"; Bitchin Bajas announced their massive Rebajas boxset arriving in time for the holidays courtesy of Drag City; The Honey Toads changed their moniker to Akes; Suede released the new single "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You"; Lily Allen delivered the club-centric "Lost My Mind - Michael Calfan Respect Remix"; City Farm Presents announced Sequence Music Festival; YG got busted; we wish Glass Animals' percussionist Joe Seaward an expedient recovery; Offset versus his stylist; we remember Nancy Sinatra Sr.; and Pussy Riot crashed the World Cup Final party (resulting in Olga Pakhtusova's subsequent arrest, 15 days of jail and prohibited to attend sporting events for three years).

Keep up with all the latest of everything via Week in Pop's news section.

From the bait and switch antics on the international stage to the deluge of GDPR notices flooding our inboxes—Week in Pop delivers you the biggest buzz we're following at the moment. We bring news that our heroes Downtown Boys continue to inspire us with a radical and styling cover of Selena’s "Fotos Y Recuerdos" ahead of headlining tour dates running June 1-9; Pusha-T released the Kanye West produced album DAYTONA that has captured the attention of the pop world; Azealia Banks takes the audience to a warehouse for an impromptu dance session in the Matt Sukkar visual for "Anna Wintour"; Goon signed to Partisan Records with a listen to the new sensational and serene single "Choke Throat" as they prepare to embark up their first ever tour this summer that will see the physical release of the Dusk of Punk/Happen Omen EPs arriving July 13; LA's Polyplastic announced the forthcoming EP Not No available June 29 as shared a listen to the spirited new singles "Next Slide" and "Memphian Circles"; Cuban Doll presented a look at the Sara Lacombe supermarket sweeping visual for "Bankrupt Remix" ft. Lil Yachty & Lil Baby; Liza Anne brought the world a look at the inspired forest dances seen in the video for "Kid Gloves"; CHICKN delivered a look at the decadent & wildly festive Marina Danezi visual for the equally energetic single "Am I Cher?" off their album WOWSERS! courtesy of Inner Ear Records; experience the ultra-economic big pop styles of AKA George with the new single "Blazing"; Sacred Bones will release Julee Cruise demos along with the 1993 album The Voice of Love on wax August 17 via Sacred Bones & shared the goosebumps-inducing demo for "Floating"; Arp announced the new album ZEBRA available June 22 via Mexican Summer, showcasing the video for "Fluorescences" filmed in NYC on Super8 film by Shawn Brackbill, Alex Georgopoulos and starring Monica Hofstadter that celebrates the aesthetics of life and the cycles of seasons; PC Music delivered more poppy maximalism with the bouncy single "Be Your USA" from EASYFUN; Zaytoven released the debut album Trap Holizay; Litte Snake delivered the Enter EP via Brainfeeder; Hatchie released the Sugar & Spice EP via Double Double Whammy that includes the glimmering previously unreleased single "Bad Guy"; Jenny Hval released The Long Sleep EP via Sacred Bones with a viewing of the decadent and exotic Constance Tenvik visual for "Spells";

YG delivered the money in the bank single "Big Bank" ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Nicki Minaj; Rüfüs Du Sol delivered the electro paradise pop cadences of "No Place"; Norway's Pen Gutt delivered the liberating and self-celebrating single "Independent" courtesy of Terrible Records; Seattle's Mommy Long Legs just announced the new album Try Your Best available June 22 and rocked the world with the marital-mania of "Bridezilla"; Liam Gallagher delivered the Charlie Lightening mad-for-it video for "I've All I Need" off the album As You Were; LUI HILL provided a look at the evening visuals from Christoph Varga for the sentimental semantics of "Words Become Useless"; Stumptown Music Project: Workers Comp Vol. II dropped; Gurr delivered the sun & fun featured in the Maximilian Wiedenhofer-directed visual for "Hot Summer"; Moon Honey presented the lavish Jess Joy and Colleen Louise Berry art-house visual for "That Dog" from the upcoming release Mixed Media On Woman available September 4; Prefuse 73 released the new album Sacrifices; Denzel Curry delivered the rapid flow rhymes on medication and more with "Percs"; Ella Grace provided the inspiring graces of inspiration with "Run"; Oneohtrix Point Never unveiled MYRIAD; A$AP Rocky released the new album TESTING; The Mobros shared the Kelly Morris visual for the heart-felt ode "Carrie Anne"; Manchester duo Lost Under Heaven signed an international deal with Third Side Music; Pass Away, members of I Am The Avalanche and Crime In Stereo, dropped the new album The Hell I've Always Seen via Suburbia Records; Moses Sumney delivered the sensual, evocative & provocative EP Make Out In My Car: Chameleon Suite; The Flaming Lips unleashed the mighty "Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2" featured on Greatest Hits Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition available June 1 via Warner Bros. Records; Ocean Hope finally released the debut album Rolling Days available now from Hush Hush Records; Jade Bird delivered the emotive expressions with "Furious"; Peach Kelli Pop released the lauded new album Gentle Leader via Mint Records; Jake Shears announced the self-titled solo album debut available August 10 & delivered the Mac Boucher video for "Creep City"; Billy and Dolly deliver the DIY art-pop arranged single & visual for "Can't Stay Calm" from the forthcoming album Five Suns Five Suns available June 8 via Shit Krystal Records; 

Soulwax delivered the smooth, slick and silky stylings of "Essential Three" from the Essential album available June 22 via DEEWEE / [PIAS]; Anohni delivered the sincere and supernatural "Miracle Now"; Queens electro-creative Eric Benoit gave the world the anticipated new EP Black Currant; Austin's Kady Rain penned an anthem for abuse survivors that is a testament to the strength of the spirit with "It Wasn't the Rose"; Smokescreens sent us some fresh new skronk with "Someone New" from the upcoming Slumberland album Used To Yesterday available July 13 on Slumberland Records; The Love-Birds unveiled their debut album In the Lover's Corner for Trouble In Mind Records with a look at the Winston Merchan and Tsering Norbu San Francisco-strolling visual for the power pop gem "Gerrit"; MIKE delivered Black Soap via Lex Records alongside the rooftop pontificating visual from Joygill Moriah, Camden Maalik and Michael J. Bonema for "Ministry"; James Blake presented the subdued collaboration with Dominic Maker from Mount Kimbie with "Don't Miss It"; Sleep unleashed a 16-minute massive doom droning jam with "Leagues Beneath"; Brazil's Balako delivered the infectious dance-floor burner "Jungle Music" via Greco-Roman; Clearance signed to Topshelf Records with news that their new album At Your Leisure will be available July 27, sharing the stylish performance visual for "Had a Fantastic"; LA's own Cape Weather gifted the world with the lovely and lush new single "Never Say" courtesy of Future Gods; Abel Tesfaye of the Weeknd announced the creative and digital incubator HXOUSE; buzz for Oakland's Feels 6 festival; J. Cole talked to Lil Pump; Common assisted with Starbucks' training video to combat racial bias; Ariana Grande commented on breaking up with Mac Miller; Vevo restructuring to focus solely on YouTube; and we celebrate the life and innovations gifted to the world by fuzz pedal engineer/inventor Glenn Snoddy.

Follow all the buzz and more via Week in Pop's news series.