Written by: Oliver Heffron
Pop music is not known to be exceptionally authentic, but the days of formulaic smash radio hits have mostly, thankfully, fallen to the wayside. What has taken its place is an emphasis on boundary-pushing and genre-blending production, as well as lyrics that stress introspection and emotional transparency.
Here are 10 albums that are pushing the Pop genre forward and into the rest of the 20s:
Rosalía – MOTOMAMI
Spanish singer Rosalía's third album MOTOMAMI is a triumphant success that redefines expectations for a mainstream pop album. Centered in experimental pop and alternative reggaeton that samples aspects of bachata, hip-hop, flamenco, art pop, and bolero into one brilliant project. Its avant-garde production takes the genreless trend to a whole new degree, coloring with so many different sounds that it creates its unique hue.
Within the colorful Latin musical fabric of MOTOMAMI's innovative production, Rosalía executes stunning vocal melodies that display her talent. The experimental musical accompaniment contrasts the vulnerable tone of the lyrics, which dive into themes of transformation, sexuality, spirituality, self-respect, and isolation. Like how MIA's Kala started an entirely new wave of pop, Motomami's bold vision paves the way for Rosalía and countless future projects via its influence.
Highlights include: "SAOKO," "LA FAMA" (with The Weeknd), "BIZCOCHITO," and "CHICKEN TERIYAKI."
Ethel Cain – Preacher's Daughter
Tallahassee singer-songwriter Ethel Cain delivers a dark and cinematic concept with Preacher's Daughter. The album tells the story of a runaway who meets a brutal end as Cain shows off an uncanny ability to drag her listener into the depths of an enchanting world. The album weaves a moving story confronting familial trauma, violence, and a universal desire for rebirth through songs that display her songwriting mastery.
Incorporating aspects of classic rock, Americana, ethereal darkwave, and folk, Preacher's Daughter builds its dystopian American Dream within a gothic heartland. Cain's drive to escape oppression and find salvation plays out in vivid depictions of love and religion, creating a story that's more than a good album but more like an American epic.
Highlights include: "American Teenager," "Thoroughfare," "Gibson Girl," and "Ptolemaea."
Brakence – hypochondriac
21-year-old Ohio singer/producer Brakence puts forth the most intense and impressive hyper-pop project in his young career with hypochondriac. The album's hyperactive production jam packs hyperspeed synth melodies, blistering percussion grooves, and acoustic relief. Throughout head-spinning beat switches and ventures into different genres, Brakence's edgy falsetto slices through with neurotic outpourings of egoism.
Born and raised in the Ableton age, Brakence's mastery of beat craft is evident. hypochondriac pushes its sound to the limits, compressing massive 808s, shimmering piano interludes, distorted guitar riffs, acoustic rhythms, and well-mixed vocal melodies, all into the space of one song. However, while the beats are dazzling, the glue of the project is the compelling pop songwriting, which wraps all those qualities into one cohesive structure.
Highlights include: "bugging!" "caffeine," "teeth," and "5g.:
Harry Styles – Harry's House
Harry Styles sheds his teen pop sound with a mature, dynamic indie sound with Harry's House. On his third LP, the UK superstar offers more of a reflective and intimate vision than on his previous records, playing on its central theme of being vulnerable with the listener, as if they were guests being offered comfort in his home.
Musically blending city pop and indie influences reminiscent of Vampire Weekend or The Strokes, the album marks a turning point in Styles's career, trading in the hype of smash summer hits to create a deeper body of work. It takes a step out of the blinding limelight to create something that feels less catchy but much more rewarding.
Highlights: "Music For a Sushi Restaurant," "Late Night Talking," "Grapejuice," and "Love of My Life."
Rina Sawayama – Hold The Girl
UK singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama leans into her Y2K nostalgia and pop star potential on Hold The Girl. Stepping away from her previous alternative tendencies, Sawayama shoots for the moon on her second album with massive songs leaning into dance-pop, stadium rock, and country influences. The album sees Sawayama unleash the full potential of her songwriting power on pieces ready to hold a stadium.
The audaciousness of the songwriting, in which each song feels intended to be a hit, feels reminiscent of Gaga's albums like Born This Way but with more 90s influences. Hold The Girl presents Sawayama's potential on first listen with its catchy melodies and polished production but rewards further replays with its deeper textures and lyrical themes.
Highlights include: “Hold The Girl,” “This Hell,” “Catch Me In The Air,” and “Frankenstein.”
Anitta – Versions of Me
Brazilian singer Anitta brings Funk carioca to a worldwide pop stage, delivering an ambitious, party-starting album with Versions of Me. On her fifth studio album and second multilingual project, Anitta delivers sleek melodies in Portuguese, Spanish, and English over instrumentals that echo her country's unique musical spirit with elements of mainstream hip-hop and electropop.
After being a superstar in Brazil for nearly a decade, Anitta signed a deal in the US with Warner and teamed up with artists like Cardi B, Khalid, and Saweetie to bridge her sound to a global audience. While the production and features help, what anchors Versions of Me is Anitta's unique charisma and vocal talents.
Highlights include: "Envolver," "Gata" (feat. Chencho Corleone), "Que Rabão" (feat. Mr. Catra e YG), and "Me Gusta" (with Cardi B & Myke Towers).
Winter – What Kind of Blue Are You?
Indie dream pop artist Winter paints a bittersweet, snow-capped slice of sweet shoegaze on What Kind of Blue Are You? through its tactile feel and sentimental songwriting. Combining fuzzy guitar riffs, dusty drum machine rhythms, and tape-loop mixing, the album builds a nostalgic soundscape through its strict use of analog, draping everything with warm fuzz and surreal feedback that matches the dreaminess of Winter's melodies.
Written during the height of the lockdown, the album reflects the process of finding beauty in a world that's growing cold. The album leans into the fuzzy, imperfect sound that Winter cherishes while lyrically looking inward. Moving away from the dream-pop of her last few records, What Kind of Blue Are You? displays the power of an artist making the music they want to hear.
Highlights include: "atonement" (with Hatchie), "good" (with SASAMI), "lose you," and "kind of blue."
Mitski – Laurel Hell
On her sixth studio album, Laurel Hell, Mitski blends an 80s nostalgia of synth-pop, disco, and electronic rock with nuanced lyrics about transformation, resilience, love, and forgiveness. The stripped-back, industrial production, and severe lyrical approach present a complex portrait of a pop star with a hostile relationship to their passion, struggling to find a compromising gray area within a world of moral binaries.
While featuring some of her most mainstream, stadium-ready sounding material, Laurel Hell descends into a darker, more honest perspective on pop stardom than most records comparable. Mitski doles out tight sonnets about regret and sacrifice with the efficiency of a short fiction writer on production working with her melodies but contradicts her lyrics.
Highlights include: "Working for the Knife," "The Only Heartbreaker," "Love Me More," and "Should've Been Me."
Mccall – …to be a dream…
LA singer/songwriter McCall unleashes a gleaming hyper-pop dream on her debut …to be a dream…, pushing tracks to their sonic boundaries while displaying a knack for catchy melodies. Filled with glitzy synths, experimental percussion, acoustic orchestration, and innovative uses of distortion and feedback, the album's production weaves a dizzying digital dream in which McCall's soft voice rests like a lullaby.
Reflecting the production that bursts at the seams, McCall's lyrics strain with the difficulty of relationships, family, and self-reflection. Her bittersweet melodies fiend regret, resentment, and self-loathing in the complicated ties between people, ultimately landing on the ability to forget and forgive.
Highlights include: "Perfect Timing," "Hair Salon Gossip," "Ties," and "Alone With You."
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Taylor Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights, sees the superstar singer/songwriter turn to a stripped-back, nocturnal bedroom/dream pop sound centered with a lyrical theme of late, contemplative nights. Following fictional narratives in past albums, Folklore and Evermore, Swift offers confessions from a late-night headspace, paired with a new-age sound that shows she can still adapt to a shifting pop landscape.
While the project leaves something to want, and it's in no way her best project, Midnights displays how themes of intimacy and self-consciousness are becoming a dominant theme within the genre while also proving Swift is not eager to give up her crown.
Highlights include: "Lavender Haze," "Anti-Hero," "Snow On The Beach" (feat. Lana Del Rey), and "Bejeweled."