As the curtain of 2024 descends upon the world’s stage, Week in Pop shares a brief showcase highlighting just some of our favorite acts that inspired us throughout a surreal year. Forever eschewing dubious quantified ranking metrics; this feature is (as always) a work in progress that illustrates some of the movers and shakers in the creative pop arts that made this year memorable in the most amazing of ways. And once again the following lineup is not meant to exclude the deluge of fellow talented luminaries that caught our ears, eyes, minds, spirits and hears this year, but rather a hand picked collection of upstarts presented in pseudo-chronological order. Without further ado it is now our pleasure and privilege to proudly present:

Week in Pop’s Year in Pop: 2024

zowy

Visions of zowy; press photo courtesy of Pete Madden.

Discovering these new degrees of artistic fluidity is multidisciplinary artist Zoë Wyner who presents their latest inspired endeavor titled zowy with the release beware magical thinking for Lost Sound Tapes. A singular set of visions brought to a radical realization with an assist from Brad Krieger at Big Nice, the Providence, RI tunesmith collects and condenses anecdotes, aphorisms and the expanses of intuition into a cavalcade of illustrious curiosities. Wyner pays homage to the scrappy denizens of the DIY ethos on the punchy arpeggiated synth waterfall of “underdog”, to the impassioned fury of "found" that soars through the celestial stratospheres and burns like an inextinguishable bonfire of purpose pure and true. The title track is an exercise in the alchemy of reminiscences, a sprinkling of magical realism, where charged objects and sentimental memories are delivered a in a mix of percussive woodwinds and expressively dissonant chords.

Josh Stokes

The non-stop pop frontiers fashioned by the one & only Josh Stokes; press photo courtesy of the artist.

With 2024 being the year of big time Baltimore scene buzz, local luminary Josh Stokes continues upon a path of unrelenting proliferation. Pushing the limitations of stylistic production with an invigorated sense of purpose, Stokes released Universal Josh I am You You are Me at the start of the year that delivers a message of the inner-connectiveness at work in our shared plane of humanity. Since breaking out onto the scenes around 2016, the world of Josh Stokes can be chronicled by a dizzying oeuvre from Funktion, Toons, God Jewel, countless collaborations and releases that delivers fusions like a perpetual cosmic tabernacle tent revival. Stokes makes music to stir the soul, music for re-centering, music for healing, music that springs from a limitless well of inspirations that always feels fresh and from a place of sincerity and realness.

And while the world spins in an unpredictable and anxiety inducing tilt-a-whirl; Josh Stokes amplifies ecstatic visions and continues to lift up the culture and universal consciousness even higher with Power released later in the year. Stokes ignites movements towards uplifting personal agency. Having established progressive funk rhythms with a gospel fervor, Power propels itself to realms of futuristic hip hop manifested by an inspired maestro dedicated to edifying the epistemology of all things and everyone inspirational.

Foliage

Foliage’s Manuel Joseph Walker offering expansive expressions upon the overpass; video photo still courtesy of Christopher Madrid.

With the release of Foliage’s latest EP Throwaways, Manuel Joseph Walker heralds the upcoming sixth album with some of the artist’s most dazzling and mesmerizing work to date. Boasting a creative repertoire that spans a multitude of directions from encyclopedic DIY intonations, progressive rhythms, a compendium of the contemporary and modern pop classical, to increasingly elaborate textural touches — Foliage has risen to the prominence as one of the west coast’s most treasured polymaths. Elevating the platform of what bedroom recording can be, what emotive expressions can be captured in the worlds of audio arts, what depth and dimensions the power production can encompass, extoling what can materialize within the polarities of minimalism and maximalism alike.

Get Lost Cassidy Frost

Lord of the DIY craft — Get Lost Cassidy Frost; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Presenting the debut of the new Get Lost Cassidy Frost single “C’mon C’mon C’mon C’mon” — the San Francisco artist shares an intimate anecdotal about a birthday evening spent alone on the floor whilst doing some enlightening soul searching. Following up the recent track "(Till the Flood of my Blood Makes a Moat for your Boat to) Float On", Cassidy Frost continues their own journey of embracing inherent identity, queerness, questioning the health of so-called social norms and finding that grounded center from within. Even while utilizing a catchy economy of minimalist bedroom pop production, Cassidy is able to convey concepts that are very real, serious, sentimental and ultimately life affirming in an opulent timbre and tones that will live rent free in the audience’s heads and spirits.

Joh Chase

Drafting together worlds of wonder with Joh Chase; photographed by Shervin Lainez.

The gospel according to Los Angeles by way of Seattle artist Joh Chase is the fantastic devotion to the edification of the self with the world debut of “Gone”. The ecstatic opener to the hotly anticipated new album SOLO for Kill Rock Stars, Chase follows up the recent heartland rumble of “Avalanche” with a personal ode to letting go of the trappings that no longer serve or suit you. Having been brought up in evangelical congregations where they began the development of their musical chops, Joh’s journey charts the pathways from leaving the church to find their own calling and place within the myriad clusters of cultural constellations. SOLO is the sound of a wide-eyed dreamer finding their visions manifesting in the material, terrestrial plane. Joh presents the aura of unity in a world that is broken, increasingly divided and presents songs that are fashioned to the tune of home. A place of one’s own. Joh Chase specializes in the statements of sound that are committed to building bridges, paths of friendship, roads of belonging amid a country of obstacles, barriers and prohibitive walls.

Leisure

Legend of Leisure — Jon Jurow; press photo courtesy of the artist.

In the grand tradition of these seismic solstice shifts is the return of Leisure with the haunting and hypnotic “Seasons”. We didn't mean to wait till the end to finally release this material, bandleader Jon Jurow explains, but now more than ever we feel and hope these songs can bring a sense of comfort, escape and inspiration to those who hear it. The then NYC-based pop group had been developing an album under the working title Hand In Fear after the release of Gone Again back in 2014 but was shelved as the world became consumed in chaos and instability. “Seasons” is the first listen from these sessions, recorded with Gryphon Graham, Leif Anders, and Eric Cardona to create a sound submerged in the chrysalis of creating a sound that gracefully sparkles like an embellished ornament of shimmering lead crystal.

The Fourth Wall

Pub booth meetups with The Fourth Wall; photographed by Lisa Haagen.

The Portland-based group of bandleader Stephen Agustin with Kasey Shun, Chris Lau, Kendall Sallay, and Andrew White presents Return Forever; a cycle of songs dedicated to the pursuit of perpetual jest and a transcendental level of happiness. Agustin draws from his family's own histories from Korea and the Philippines respectively, specifically a story involving a close relative that left behind her daughter when she moved to the United States. The poetry of forgetfulness concept is the groundwork for the album that strives to understand the intricate lineages and complicated challenges of assimilation and identity and all the conflicts that lie therein. Return Forever is an adventure into the eternity of the stars, entertaining the eternal return that can be found in observing the cycles of life that repeat themselves and discovering the traces of joy that connects us all.

Strange Men

From left, Ashley Clayton and Róisín Isner of San Francisco’s Strange Men; photographed by Laura Cohen.

Leading us once again into the zeitgeist of the storm is Strange Men, San Francisco’s rising duo of Róisín Isner and Ashley Clayton who present their new hard raging rocker, “Do What the Boys Do”. Complete with a video that was filmed and edited live at the SF’s studio the Complex by the iconic Panda Dulce (aka Kyle Casey Chu) and George S. Rosenthal with the aid of AI frame blending — Róisín & Ashley ferociously observe the waves of self destruction that surrounds us in hand with our own vulnerabilities. Raging against the status quo and the toxic machines of our own making; Strange Men show us a reflection of the weird, wild and out of control worlds we call home. While we are beset in an age that is obsessed with wellness, putting in the work, addictions to therapy and shopping, parasocial posturing and so forth — “Do What the Boys Do” is a dark ride romp into the malaise that consumes our communities and offers a sense of awareness and all its varying causes and effects.

FINE.

Channeling the futuristic frequencies of FINE. (photographed by Frankie Ferrari)

Experience the visceral, vulnerable and venerable album of ambition and actualization (W)HOLE [via SELF LUV] from Providence, RI band FINE. A basement pop project that began with Iz Dungan and Ly Barber, turned trio with the addition of bassist Betty Amrhein together create queer positive sonic symphonies that orchestrate exuberance and unflinching honesty through unrelenting energetic audio arts. On the immediate surface it might appear that FINE. are following the alternative rock playbooks from your favorite hedonistic heroes from the vintage terrestrial radio dials, but upon a closer listen they have made a record for our current time. Iz, Ly and Betty pour out the contents of fallen soldiers from all of yesterday’s parties, symbols of remembrance of liberties lost in the faces of our world’s acrimonious attacks on trans people, tributes to those that are no longer with us, motions to make more inclusive communities both in our front and backyards and harnessing a thunderous sound that makes melodic moves towards the infinite skies.

R.E. Seraphin

Basking in a world of natural splendor with R.E. Seraphin; photographed by Morgan Stanley.

And as the world went sideways, Ray Seraphin graced us with the sounds and styles that graced our lives whilst quarantined in our home digs. We rocked out to Tiny Shapes, we rolled on with bedroom dormitory dalliance of A Room Forever, the skint, spent & suave Swingshift and now present the debut of the grandiose long player masterpiece — Fool’s Mate via Take a Turn Records / Safe Suburban Home Records. The Vallejo artist teamed up with recording at the Crockett, CA home studio of the Papercuts' Jason Quever with the enlisted brass of Joel Cusumano, Daniel Pearce, Josh Miller and Luke Robbins to round out the full send that Seraphin had been envisioning for over half a decade. The edges of previous works can still be found, with the scrappiness traded in for a fuller sound developed with the aid of a full band to bring Ray’s visions to their brightest zenith.

Total Slacker

Rocking and a bopping in a world of blue with Total Slacker’s Tucker Rountree; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Total Slacker’s Tucker Rountree addresses conundrums of contemporary existentialism in the new single and visual for “Chlorine” from the iconic artful dodger’s fifth album. Juxtaposing the rabid road raging interstates to nowhere of our current states of disconnect by casting the specter from the end of the previous millennium, the double helix of mindless performative mindfulness is mixed with the antiquated aesthetics of the previous dial-toned decades. The everybody is a star mentality that has manifested into the living the best life ever projections of current era showboating is lampooned with a sharp and wry critique that is told through the the camp of classic lifestyles of the rich and famous types of pomp and bourgeois circumstance of yesteryear’s swells and swanky socialites.

Swiftumz

San Francisco hillside styles by Swiftumz; photographed by David Armstrong.

Through the cycles of scenes that have transpired across the Bay Area for over the past few decades, few artists have had the kind of titanic influence over everyone the way Swiftumz has. Creatives and fans alike have name checked Christopher McVicker as one of San Francisco's most beguiling and mercurial stylistic shapeshifters. On the new album Simply the Best for Empty Cellar Records, McVicker has enlisted a top tier roster of fellow icons for the occasion from The Aislers Set, The Bananas, Dirty Ghosts, Kelley Stoltz to name just a few of the shining lights that grace this fascinating new full-length. Just as semantics forever fall short to capture the prismatic pop cult of Chris, Simply the Best boasts a bouquet of musical botanicals that one would expect to hear while digging through crates at the Amoeba Records in the Upper Haight on a foggy afternoon in the spring.

shirlette ammons

Shining bright with shirlette ammons; photographed by Nika Kramer.

The spirit of shirlette ammons’ radical new album Spectacles rises high above the noise and the projections. Based out of Durham by way of Beautancus, NC — the artist meditates on the notions of her own identities of Blackness, queerness, southerness, twinness, not to mention poet, musician, art director, educator and an accomplished Emmy and Peabody awarded television producer into a married embrace of these magnificent multitudes. The follow up to 2016’s Language Barrier is an epic exercise in eschewing the perceptive connotations and nearsighted applications the world at large places on these individual spectacle points of identity and cultural presentations. Spectacles is an astounding portrait of ammons celebrating these myriad kaleidoscopic visions that comprise the beauty of the self and one another. With a production assist from Phil Cook, shirlette’s new album features a dazzling array of collaborators that includes (but is not limited to) Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso, Mavis SWAN Poole, Jessamyn Stanley, G Yamazawa, Kane Smego, the Central Park School For Children, Brevan Hampden, Daniel Chavis, Darion Alexander, DJ Harrison, Chris Boerner, Brad Cook, Nyk Baglio, Matt McCaughan, Mykki Blanco, Fred Moten, Shorlette Ammons, Anansj Stephens, DJ Doowop, Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Vivica C. Coxx, Tunde Wey and many more…

Sarah Once Was

A stroll about the great outdoors with Sarah McNamara of Sarah Once Was; photographed by Aja Dewolf Moura.

Delivering these psychic and lunar visions of heart is the debut of "Thumbnail Moon" from Sarah Once Was, accompanied with visuals of natural splendor courtesy of Aja Dewolf Moura. The musical outfit of Sarah “Mac” McNamara, known for work with the studios Wiggle World, Universal Hair Farm and countless other creatives, shares a lullaby for 2024. A song that that provides mindful pause in a world that is always going and going without stopping to appreciate the beauty that surrounds in abundance. “Thumbnail Moon” is a song to quell the pangs of anxiety, a song that assuages the stressors that weigh upon the psyche and soul that allows the serendipity of a sacred space where the entire natural realm feels like a sanctuary or a spa for the spirit from within to safely dwell in the warmth of a blissful solitude.

Zoya Zafar

Streams of sentiments, reflections, thoughts, memories and more with Zoya Zafar; photographed by Ada Chen.

Candid processes permeate the understated majesty of Some Songs from Zoya Zafar. The Orlando by way of Lahore, Pakistan artist follows up the Spaceless Craft EP with a full-length album that has been years in the making. Spanning years that have contended with the pandemic, battling an auto-immune illness and world travels; Zafar delivers music that is made with heart and the utmost care. With production and mixing assists from Max Helgemo and Gia Margaret, each mesmerizing movement on Some Songs glimmers and glows like the planetary stars that keep our humble globe company. An ineffable beauty and striking humility are found all throughout the record, as Zoya elevates the caliber and class of what chamber torch songs can be in a new era of constant kinesis, worldwide clamor and a chance to find a greater enlightenment.

The Doozers

Dilly dallying about with The Doozers; press photo courtesy of @euges.film.

Delivering the ultimate sound of spring 2024 is Detroit’s breakout act The Doozers with the debut of “5/3” that arrives not a day too late. The quartet of Sean Donnelly, Kyle Garland, Parker Grissom, and Melanie Kelley combine forces to create a sound that borrows tropes from all the big festival stage acts from the past 25 years (with trace elements of new romantic flair). Taken from their album Becoming an Entity that follows their 2019 EP, cheekily titled Full Length Album, The Doozers bring a sharp style that splashes like a carefree cannonball plunge off a hi-dive board. The cleverly blended electrified elements together bop brilliantly like the heavenly headliner you have never heard of that enamors all in attendance on the big top amphitheater bandshell. The Doozers arrive like the underdog that undercuts the hype and suddenly appears on every big showcase flier that floods your timeline feed.

S. Raekwon

Sweet, suave, serene, and sophisticated….S. Raekwon; press photo courtesy of POND Creative.

We have been anticipating the album Steven ever since we discovered S. Raekwon’s lauded debut record Where I’m at Now. The NYC-based artist Steven Raekwon Reynolds has a knack for presenting candid cantations through an array of styles that convey varying degrees of the vulnerable, the sacred and sentimental. Steven showcases this trifecta of pathos, ethos and logos like a seasoned tunesmith enjoying a residency in a suave Greenwich Village artist salon. Following up the I Like It When You Smile EP, S. Raekwon takes the creative journey further inward in an exploration of identity like a sophisti-pop therapy session.

Female Gaze

Out of the fray with Tucson’s Female Gaze; press photo courtesy of Velvet & Shadow.

Non-linear sequences abound on the new record Tender Futures from Tucson, AZ trio Female Gaze. Bandleader Nelene DeGuzman, Kevin Conklin and Nicky David Cobham-Morgese create a 5 song cycle designed to be experienced like a Möbius film loop. The band prefaces it with the following:

…[Tender Futures] is a cycle meant to be listened to on a loop, starting anywhere but listening in order until you reach your starting point again…

A record that rose out of DeGuzman’s own health struggles where days and nights blended together into the arbitrary atmospheres of ambiguity, Tender Futures offers tangible textures that enrobe the constructs of time and spaces as we embark upon them. Female Gaze gives room for how we perceive our lives, minute by minute, moment to moment. Honoring these aspects of reality, DeGuzman surveys where we are, how we feel and how we are engaging in that very instance. Tender Gaze invites you to experience time not as a simplified flat line but as a circle, where the the rises and falls of solar and lunar intervals are heard and felt according to a planetary alignment that is outside of our own immediate purview.

nicholas

Popping through the prisms of light with nicholas; photographed by Tim Nagle.

Bravery is allowing others to see our uncertainty and earnestness of heart. Bravery is opening up to your fellow folks about the guarded things you feel from inside yourself. Bravery is the new single “888-BE-BRAVE” from Chicago artist nicholas. The creative call sign of Nick McMillan, the follow up to Heat Island Effect works in minimalistic ways. In collaboration with Marcus Darling and mixing/mastering by Brok Mende; McMillan brings a subdued song of passion, humility, apprehension with a soft string strumming stroll. McMillan makes a song to hum while walking home from a difficult day at work. Self-diagnostics are sung sleepily in a hushed restrained refrain as a personal assessment of aspirations and reluctance gently echo through the brisk air of dusk.

Noelle & the Deserters

Among the flora, the wilderness, a michelada, a Mission burrito & Noelle Fiore; photographed by Doug Avery.

Noelle & the Deserters shared band made visuals filmed at Noelle Fiore’s hometown of Taos, New Mexico and all along the Rio Grande for “Canyon”. Featured off their album debut High Desert Daydream from Speakeasy Studios SF, their new record first arrived on our radar with the debut of the excellent and wonderfully exuberant “Born in the Morning” courtesy of our friends at BFF.FM. DIY pop heads will already recognize Fiore from her work in Tim Cohen’s (of the Fresh & Onlys) Magic Trick, playing with Shannon Shaw of Shannon & the Clams and the Deserters themselves starring Graham Norwood (of Bryan Scary, Graham Norwood), Alicia Vanden Heuvel (from The Aislers Set, Speakeasy Studios SF founder), David Cuetter (of Tarnation) along with Noelle’s hubby Jerry Fiore (from Sonic Love Affair). The group shines a light on what contemporary Americana can be, dusting off the records of your favorite cosmic American psychonauts who established the sounds of the southwest and far beyond that connect the otherwise disparate interstates, lonesome highways and all but abandoned trails to the goldmine portals of fuzzy memories.

Yea-Ming & the Rumours

Loitering about with Yea-Ming & the Rumours; photographed by Corey Poluk.

I Can't Have It All from Oakland’s Yea-Ming & the Rumours sparkles with the honest sentiments that mirror life itself. It is the record that despite the title gives you so much from its roster of talents. Lead by Yea-Ming Chen, the Rumour team is made up and reinforced by Sonia Hayden, Eóin Galvin, Luke Robbins, Jen Weisberg, Jeff Moller, Jasper Leach and more. It follows So Bird… from 2022 with the sound that Yea-Ming & the Rumors have wanted to make since their inception from the mid-2010s. I Can’t Have It All is the record that has it all: the hesitations, the excitement, the apprehension, the ecstasy, the agony, and everything beyond and in-between.

St. Kio

Surfing the sound streets of sueños and more with St. Kio; press photo courtesy of @dentellelamour.

Introducing St. Kio, the creative handle of LA polymath Nicole Bandoquillo who offers the uplifting and ethereal entrances of enlightenment with the debut of “Infinity Mirror”. The artist presents an eternal hymn of empowerment that cuts through the negativity of mindless chatter and manic scrolling with a joyful noise that cuts through the veil of night & day cycles with an aural rush of limitless purpose and inner peace. “Infinity Mirror” conjures up visions of elapsed photography that show the expanses of time through a sped up lens that crashes on through to the mythic other sides of our own respective worlds as we have come to understand them. The almost endless spirals we experience on account of our own programming are interrupted with the senses, sounds and sentiments of new frontiers and new realizations. A track to lift us up to where we belong and want to be that is on the other side of all the thoughts and traumas that bring us down. In Nicole’s own words:

“I wrote this song during a period of heartbreak, loneliness, and isolation. It inspired me to shift from self-pity to self-reflection, focusing on how I could improve and move forward.”

Sophie Swanson

Northeast pop visionary Sophie Swanson; photographed by Abby Clare.

Songs of heartbreak. Songs of healing. Songs of sorrow. Songs of rage. Songs of release. Songs of radical empathy. Welcome to the big surprise breakout hit of the summer, as Sophie Swanson presents the wonder work of Social Burnout. The New Jersey artist captivatingly conveys the strange social awkwardness of breakups, the bliss and burden of friendships, the performative dances we dance, the acts we act and above all the importance of restorative solitude in the face of an overwhelming world. Swanson has made the ultimate record that artists for decades have been trying to materialize and/or perfect. Its the record that you always wanted from the Breeders post-Last Splash, if Avril Lavigne transformed “Sk8ter Boi” into a fully realized subgenre, the record that Olivia Rodrigo keeps trying to make, the best song cycle not ghostwritten by Linda Perry, the solo rock record from Gwen Stefani we never got, and ultimately the sassy and snazzy sound for summer 2024.

Magic Fig

Inhabiting enchanted parks & gardens with San Francisco’s Magic Fig; photographed by Michael Cruz.

And as the technological and pop cultural fashions turn like a carousel of seasons, Magic Fig materializes with their self-titled from Silver Current Records. From the creatives behind favorites such as Almond Joy, Healing Potpourri, The Umbrellas, Whitney’s Playland, and more — Inna Showalter, Jon Chaney, Matthew Ferrara, Taylor Giffin, and Muzzy Moskowitz deliver a sun punch psych dose of pure luminescent solar beams. Levitating at the corner of tranquility and transcendent, Magic Fig journeys into the celestial places of the spirit. Completed with production and engineering supplied by Once and Future Band’s Joel Robinow, along with Paul Korte, and Tim Green — the Magic Fig self-titled sets sail along the cosmic and crystal glass glimmering seas.

Silverware

Silverware’s high rising star Ainsley Wagoner; photographed by Marisa Bazan.

Silverware’s album One True Light for Ghost Mountain Records is the vision of SF by way of Lexington artist Ainsley Wagoner, the track sparkles with a suave serenity that emanates sophisti-pop styles and sounds like the light that passes through the most illustrious gems. Working with Omar Akrouche on the follow-up to 2021’s No Plans, Ainsley casts off the cares and diversions of the world with a sense of resolve, determination, and mindfulness. Joined by a chanting chorus of fellow Bay Area luminaries like Asha Wells, Sarah Simon, Simi Sohota, Taylor Giffin, Tom Smith, and more — Silverware’s lavish creative developments that have been over two years in the making stand as some of the most beautiful and breezy music to compliment the omnipresent San Francisco summer fog.

Close Calls

Jon Bernson and Michael Zapruder seeking new projections of expressions; press photo courtesy of the artists.

With all of this and more in spirit and mind, Jon Bernson & Michael Zapruder launch their collaborative new pop synthesis Close Calls with the single and visual for “JPEGs”. It’s a contemporary sci-fi love letter to the ubiquitous format that threads our connection to others, the earth, ourselves, and any bit of physical and ephemeral matter imaginable. Prolific pioneers of the influential collective and imprint Howells Transmitter, Bernson’s works spans from Ray’s Vast Basement, Window Twins, Exray’s, Higher Lows, holder of an Emmy and Peabody awards, in conjunction with fellow award-winning luminary Zapruder whose projects and developments range from contemporary classical, opera, to current work in rrunnerrss, with a composition doctorate. Together with their talents and visions combined — Close Calls is an exercise in creative concision that works to exhibit our modern day conundrum and curiosities that cuts the 3 minute traditional popular craft by half.

Weaver Line (fka The Ways)

London loves Sally & Benjamin of Weaver Line (formerly The Ways); press photo courtesy of the artists.

The most innovative artists beyond time immemorial express themselves from the central axis of infinite flux. London by way of NYC icon and multihyphenate Sally Way (née Horowitz, fka S the Supplicant, Luxe, Secret Lover, et al.) and Benjamin Way have embraced the alchemy that the stage and the pop craft of song afford. From finding each other through the contemporary circuits of underground theatre events, experimental endeavors that straddle the abstract, the absurd, the odd, to all out eccentrically entertaining — Sally & Ben present their creative duality of Weaver Line (fka The Ways). Fusing the places where the theatrical avant-garde and pop song synergy meet in a marriage under the banner of DIY, The Weaver Line present their inaugural offering of “No Heaven”.

Trap Girl

LA’s bad bad baddies, Trap Girl; photographed by Nani Gross.

Cue Los Angeles force to be reckoned with, Trap Girl, as they unveil the debut of “Baddest Bitch” from their new album The Savage Goddess via Kill Rock Stars. Seen recently at Oakland’s Mosswood Meltdown, bandleader Drew Arriola-Sands, with Jorge Reveles, Jocelyn Aguilera, and Daniel Guzman bring their take no crap message to the whole wide world. Broadcasting a self-proclaimed passion for femme supremacy, Trap Girl brings the rage with a powder keg of queer positivity to drown out the harbingers of transphobia and the petty politicians that peddle their anemic agendas of projected insecurities and platforms of unfounded fear and indoctrinated hate.

Slumped

Between the Mission and Potrero Hill with Nathaniel from Slumped; video still courtesy of Timmy Lohdi / True Colors.

This is the sentiment and mentality of Slumped’s new album Last Day on Earth. The Oakland band have been generating buzz since 2017, increasingly elaborating upon their musical productions to create some of the most grandiose rock & roll fit for both humble dives and stadium stages alike. Guided by the vision of bandleader Nathaniel-Thomas Punty, Slumped exalts the slacker pop canons that recall your favorite 90s underdogs and manages to perfect that punchy practice space luster and catapult it to an astronomical degree. As the Bay continues to bring some of the world’s best talents and arts, Slumped contributes to what can only be described and felt as an unstoppable force of nature that is not slowing any time soon.

WUT

DIY pop wunderkinds WUT; press photo courtesy of the artists.

Engaging with our shared world that is weird, widely repugnant, with striking elements of unlimited wonder [not to mention potential prosperity] are Vancouver’s rising vanguards of egalitarian enlightenment — WUT — presenting their new album Mingling with the Thorns via the distinguished DIY institution HHBTM. The central talents of Kaity McWhinney, Tracey Vath (both from Knife Pleat, Love Cuts), and Lauren Smith (of Tough Age, Jock Tears) deliver the successor to their brilliant 2020 visual album NOW with a record that swims through the undertows and riptides toward calmer, kinder, more sane, and sensible seas. Through collaboration that carried through eras of quarantines and sheltering in place, WUT edify and exalt the underground sound scenes established by the Shop Assistants, We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Going To Use It, Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, etcetera into a full on creative platform to portray the cracked communities of our current era and the sacred, eternal search for the self, heart and soul (within a society that is turned sideways like a funhouse hallway).

Chime School

San Francisco’s new pop royalty Chime School; photographed by Kittie Krivacic.

Welcome to The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel, the much anticipated new album from Chime School. Local SF scene ambassador Andy Pastalaniec follows up the lauded 2021 self-titled with a sound and presence that is crisp and magnified to a large scale. Paisley Hotel dwells in a space where the pub circuit set makes the stylistic jump for the big top tent festival stage. Think about the time where your favorite independent idol signed with a major to create their big expensive sounding record, and that industry cliché describes only a fraction of the shimmering semiotics of the new Chime School record. Andy organizes day dream sequences into chapters of song, surfing the shifts of natural progressions with notions of human folly into a musical photo album with ineffably charged energy galore [specially designed to be enjoyed at maximum volume].

Dinowalrus

New York legends Dinowalrus keep the trade alive of dealing mammoth-sized tunes; photographed by Matty Fasano.

Never mind the Oasis reunion hype, as Dinowalrus descends from their DIY throne with the debut of the new single “Tunnel Vision”. The Brooklyn purveyors of brash bops follows up “Blackout Freakout” with a big tune that Richard Ashcroft never gifted us during the heyday of the Verve’s humble beginnings. Call it 90s revivalism, revisionism, resurrection, but don’t call it a comeback. It’s the sound of creativity operating at the speed of sound, racing against the daybreak of inevitable light that strikes at the vanishing point of the horizons that watches days arrive and depart in equal measure.

Still Ruins

From left, Cyrus VandenBerghe, Frankie Soto & Jose Chema Medina of Still Ruins live at The Knockout, SF; press photo courtesy of Week in Pop.

Oakland pop art institution Still Ruins lavished us with one of the best releases of 2024 with their self-titled EP. The combined visions of Frankie Soto, Jose Medina and Cyrus VandenBerghe — they present an in-depth look and discussion of influences and inspirations that span from the obscure to the internationally observed and renowned. A collaborative feature that has been in the works for well over a year, Still Ruins share an exclusive glimpse at the shadows that stretch from the New Romantic era that make up the mesmerizing mixes and molds of songs like “Silhouette”. The deep blue seas and oceanic dimensions that delve into the rapid waters that run from the past and into the modern day tributaries heard on “Perfect Blue”. Tracing back those radical retro radio waves and synth sequenced sensations that informed “Until Then”. The pursuit of perfection and commitment to mining the majesties and maestros of heavenly hymns that gave rise to the blissed out baths of “Of Devotion”. Scouring the scales and archives of nearly infinite ethereal underdogs as arbiters of underground pop knowledge and taste on “Left Against”.

SCHØØL

Tripping, skipping & skating with SCHØØL; press photo courtesy of the artists.

SCHØØL [Francis Mallari (of Rendez-Vous), Erica Ashleson (from Special Friend, Dog Park), Jack Moase (of Liquid Face), and Marble Arch’s Alex Battez] sends the audience to the tattered banks of the earth that are on the brink of total collapse on “The End”. The band entertains what will happen if the world explodes, what feelings remain, and what chances we have as a society to carry on toward something better. Like the previous track “N.S.M.L.Y.D.”, SCHØØL super soaks the soundwaves, the sensations and sentiments that resemble the reckless and riled up youths in rebellion — raging against the monstrous machines. Delivering declarations of defiance in the face of the sordid systems of oppression. The Paris-based band believers in a more beautiful and abundant world lament the lack of peace with projections of anxiety and dismay in the face of perdition.

Baseball Gregg

The beauty and boldness of Baseball Gregg; video still courtesy of Jess Lou.

They are a ray of light. They are a refuge when the going gets rough. They are peace. They are Baseball Gregg. Their new album Briefs from La Barberia, Baseball Gregg’s Luca Lovisetto (based out of Bologna, Italy) and Sam Regan (Oakland, California) celebrate the group’s tenth anniversary with the single and visual for the pensive & poignant “Penetration”. The trademark whistful sea swaying rock carries the weight of confronting prejudices with a vulnerable sense of pride, articulating intimacy and anger in equal measure. Sam confronts the ills and anguish at the work while turning the tables on the negative forces that seek to bring people down.

Slack Times

Having a sit-down sesh with Slack Times; photographed by Newman Evans.

Many meditations, reminiscence, and more can be found and felt throughout the new tape Gone Things from Birmingham, Alabama band Slack Times. The trio of Chris McCauley, Abby Anderson, and Stuart Norman channel the sensibilities and smarts of your favorite cult DIY jangle dreaming act of underrated import in a journey through the ephemeral scrapbooks conjured by the spirit and mind. Mixed by Les Nuby at Ol Elegante, mastered by Álvaro Lissón, featuring additional contributions from Seth Brown; Slack Times’ evolution shows the power of sentimentality when applied to succinct, punchy guitar lead ballads of the utmost sincerity.

Wish Queen

Grace Sullivan, aka Wish Queen, indulging in a cluster of delectable raisins au verts; photographed by Alison Scarpulla, styled by Courtney May.

Wish Queen’s double single Feeder/Floral Sheets is the pursuit of pensive exploration. Cleveland artist Grace Sullivan follows up the album debut Saturnalia with the next chapters that sounds like the foundational beginnings of a follow up full-length. The new duality between the new tracks offers a rewarding journey through the places of up close self-examinations and allowing/opening yourself up to the possibility of an interdependent and ineffable state of amour. Sullivan presents a pair of songs that course through the inward and outward terrain, surrendering and reconciling states of love that unlock new wonder waves of beauty and bliss.

figure eight

Oakland’s fantastic & fabulous figure eight (clockwise from left), Nick Coleman, Nicky Esparza, Nash Rood & Abby Goeser; photographed by jbsux.pdf

Delivering a sweeping and succinct record to sundown a year fraught with frustrations and a litany of grievances is the moving self-titled from one of Oakland’s most beloved bands, figure eight. One of the Bay Area’s best and most slept on acts, they are some of the shiniest and most humble stars of a scrappy—yet prolific—scene of lionhearted upstarts. The principle duo of Nash Rood and Abby Goeser have expanded to a quartet to include the talents of Nicholas Coleman from Softie and Pork Belly’s Nicky Esparza. Debuting with their lauded EP drown, figure eight turns up the tidal roar light of their sound like amplifier vacuum tube bulbs, ever expanding in their creative scope like tungsten filaments rising up n heightened degrees of temperature.

BAYEM

Coastal manifestations by BAYEM; photographed by Owen Thomas.

Delivering seasons of sun to brighten up our sullen solstice is rising Indianapolis artist BAYEM with the debut for the California dreaming coastal cool of “Malibu”. Recently bringing the torch song suave of “No Regrets”, to the retro neon pop steeped maximalism on “Avalanche”; the artist ventures into the azure oceans of deep introspection on the enchantment found with an elevated empathetic connection. BAYEM turns the creative dial to the emotive expressions found on the AM stations that our mothers and fathers and their mothers and fathers were raised on. The wave streaked beaches of romantic sentiment are dearly blended with tightly crafted production reminiscent of post-disco dilettantes with a sophisticated, windswept, and sweetened atmosphere of fantastical futurism rooted in the retro modernist of the latter twentieth century.

Discus

Chicago cult pop legends Discus; photographed by Clare Byrne of Sunroom/SUN-ROM.

Pondering thoughts on the journey driven media mainstays are Chicago brothers Jake & Paul Stolz with the new Discus single “On Tour” that postulates the perpetual inherent ennui of trail trekking. Known as the rhythm section for Pool Holograph, Varsity, Central Heat Exchange, and many other acts; they hint at future musical endeavors to arrive in 2025 with a massive electric pop mammoth of a jam. Following up the electric retro rizz of 2023’s mini disc, the crunchy key and guitar odysseys connect together even cleaner, exhibiting two sides of the same coin, communicating an acute balance of both introverted/extroverted observations and languid emotion.

Annika Zee

New York by way of Toronto multihyphenate Annika Zee; press photo courtesy of Guarionex Jr.

Opening up the mythic gates to new dimensions of light is one of 2024’s biggest records from one of the world’s most important artists Annika Zee. The esteemed NYC by way of Toronto pop icon presents the magnificent world of Magnolia via Absurd TRAX, an album of heart and soul lead rhythms that rides toward new degrees of affection and a search for understanding. The prolific artist and designer has spent over a decade redefining what dance based music can be, compounding the world of kinetic and canonical creations into new heightened forms of pop crafts that paint new poignant songs that survey our surrounding societies and the sanctuaries of the self. Magnolia is a journey that searches the reconciliation and assertion of the self in a world of hardships and heartbreaks that marks the latest in Zee’s ever expansive catalogue that counts Patience, Bleu, Factory Pageant, Aging Aesthetics, and many other works that assert how art and expressive actualization takes shape in a rapidly shifting world. A singular pivotal force that forecasted the mainstream sartorial intersection of artistic agency once again shows the entire world how it’s done.

Aan

PDX institution of creative cool, Aan; press photo courtesy of the band.

Presenting the long awaited follow-up to 2019’s Losing My Shadow, Portland’s own Aan delivers the video for “Speculum Aenigmate” from their new album Over the Mountain. The new album from Bud Wilson and company dazzles with somatic sentiments on the grooving "My Body", the density dives of "Black Hole", journeying into the unknown ether of "Laced and Lost", to the enchanted and entrancing "Dope Magic". Embracing the ennui and alchemy of "Waiting Around", to scouring the thread lines of "Searching For Seams", to scouring the broken earth on "Break the World in Two". "Neon Orange Leash" shines color saturated light on the roads and sidewalks ahead, concluding the record with the penultimate "Cold Grey Eyes" that arrives at a smoldering piano lead ballad that brings it all back home with an icy and exhausted glance, leaving room for the possibility of infinite joy and approximations of hope on “Smile”.

Parentz

Coin-op arcade hustling with Parentz (from left), Jeremy Sullivan and Jon Hall in a Bart mask; photographed by Claude Cardenas.

In this spirit of gratitude and grace we present Bay Area institution Parentz and the debut of the visuals for “Freaking Me Out” off the long-awaited mega album 1989. A pop entity that first graced our radars in 2011 with the IP obliterating wonder work Big that showcased Oakland artist Jeremy Sullivan re-envisioning/rearranging in a return to anachronistic alchemy that eschews tired revisionist warping in favor of recreation through resurrection, reconstruction, reformation, and above all re-imagining. The follow-up EP with the decidedly 2010s blogosphere-centric title FP&B<3Z1​:​FLY cast the bright lights on the patented East Bay inflected sound Parentz would pursue from that moment forward. Spending the next decade releasing a barrage of singles, 1989 rides on the wings of a Pegasus toward new future cool clouds that sport a higher degrees of consciousness whilst tech mining the criminally underutilized, underrated, and antiquated electro pop tropes.

…and so many more…

Keep up with all of our features from this past year and beyond here.

Bidding farewell to 2024 and ringing in 2025….

With news-feed tickers touting economic anxieties, scandals, cave trapped drama and World Cup upsets—Week in Pop presents a bounty of buzz from between the clamorous headlines. We present news that TRAAPS delivered the new subterranean burrowing single "Comfort Me" ; Drake released the ultra-hyped album Scorpion; Lisa Prank, Tacocat, Chastity Belt supergroup Who Is She? delivered the free-wheeling cool cruising visual for "Seattle Freeze" courtesy of Father/Daughter Records; XYLØ brought the big bright FM frequency rays with the single "Don't Panic"; Broken Bellows delivered the thrill of new discoveries on the new jam "Somebody New" courtesy of Fervor Records; Polo & Pan dropped the super snazzy summer sensations of the "Canopée (Superorganism remix)"; Gaffa Tape Sandy delivered the fist pumping hyper-balladry of "Meat Head"; SONTALK delivered the war games sporting visual for the big single "I Am A War Machine", hot of the the debut EP Act I out now; Yungeen Ace rises out of the fray with the real life rolling narratives of "Jungle" ft. JayDaYoungan, produced by Jay Bunkin and Hsvque; Vic Mensa delivered the confessional "10K Problems"; Dean Lewis delivered the comforting reassurances of "Be Alright"; Saint Sister shared the tour diary visual for the wistful and intimate dreams of shared desires via "Twin Peaks"; from Rebecca Haviland and Whiskey Heart's album Bright City Lights, behold the expressive dances to the piano keys of "You and I"; Future Thieves delivered the romance of "Prom Night" from the self-titled available September 7; ATL's own Gringo Star announced their forthcoming album Back to the City available August 24 via Nevado Music with a listen to the catchy lo-fi cadences of the peppy "Watchdog"; Sweden's own NONONO delivered the motivational electric pop momentum of "Ego"; Wild Moccasins delivered the release Look Together via New West; Moonwalker, ft. members of Reckless Serenade, delivered the progressive advances of "Level Up"; City Girls delivered the decadent saccharine rich visual for "Sweet Tooth"; The Brazen Youth delivered the stripped-down and soothing single "You Could Not Provoke Me"; SPINN delivered a song for our turbulent times with "It's Not Getting Better"; Polyplastic delivered the dance-party starter EP Not No; Rejoicer signed to Stones Throw with news that the upcoming release Energy Dreams will be available August 31, sharing the CGI-psych imageries from Jengo for "Double Astral Move"; Skeletonwitch announced live dates with a listen to the solar ray ripper "Temple of the Sun" off the upcoming album Devouring Radiant Light available July 20 via Prosthetic Records; Converge delivered the insane Tony Wolski visual for the earth scorching "Melancholia" off the Beautiful Ruin EP via Epitaph; Djrum dropped deep percussive and carnal portraits with "Sex" off the R&S release Portrait With Firewood;

Johanna Samuels is currently enjoying a July residency at LA's Bootleg Theater, presenting the exhibitions of evocative exchanges with "Supposed to Say"; Danny McGrath delivered the surprise single that entertains with a concise and clever economy via "Just Wanna Stop"; Rayland Baxter presented the gently terrain gliding single "79 Shiny Revolvers" from the forthcoming album Wide Awake available July 13 via ATO Records; Aleline delivered the extravagant Hamadou Frédéric Baldé visual for the shining natural high of "Emeralds" co-created by Morgan Wiley; The Blanks delivered an advanced listen to the album Yellow Fading Glimmer; Hosannas delivered the perspective expanding single "Visions" featured off the forthcoming album Picture Him Protecting You available July 12 through Fresh Selects; So Stressed released the album Pale Lemon via Ghost Ramp; Didirri delivered the earnest and intimate single "Worth the Wait" off the Measurements EP; Tolliver delivered the Sean Webley Chinatown, LA visual for the heart-penned pop of "I Gotchu"; Luke James Shaffer doted upon the moments of intimacy that transformed his life forever with "Last First Kiss"; Baby Ariel delivered the lyric video for the material spendings of "Gucci On My Body"; Beezewax delivered the illustrious expressions of "Rainbows" courtesy of Sellout! Music; San Carol presented the sophisticated Nathan Houée visual for the powerful ballad "Cancer" off the album Houdini available October 19; felicita announced the new album hej! available August 3 via PC Music with a look at the stunning Matt Copson visual for the creative coral economy of "Marzipan" ft. Caroline Polachek; Major Murphy delivered a cover of the Kinks' "Strangers" with all proceeds of purchasing being donated to the Fianza Fund; dot Vom delivered the grandiose and gorgeous single "Maddie Mori" featured off the Melatonin EP; Young Thug delivered the Twin Peaks-inspired video for "Up" ft. Lil Uzi Vert; Kamasi Washington released The Choice EP; Charli XCX delivered the new singles "Focus" and "No Angel"; Ella Mai dropped the remix for “Boo’d Up" ft. Nicki Minaj and Quavo; Hannah Scott delivered the nocturnal notes that comprise the album Piece of the Night; peep the Diplo doc Florida to California; The Ophelias offered a view to the enchanted tunnel visual adventure for "Lunar Rover" from Joe Shaffer and Spencer Peppet off the Joyful Noise album Almost; get tripped out by the DIY visuals for the even trippier track "Treadmill" from George Hadfield off the album Brenda; Tatiana Heuman delivered the mind and body moving single "Quemó Tu Curuyú" via Astro Nautico; SAN CHA delivered the pointed passions of "Desesperada" off Capricho Del Diablo via Outside Insight; Michael Price delivered the expansive orchestral work "Shade of Dreams" off Tender Symmetry courtesy of Erased Tapes;

Alice Phoebe Lou presented the transfixing astral odyssey via the Natalia Bazina video for "She"; Zarina Nares delivered the earnest and endearing lullaby of "Sweet Dreams"; Gossamer shared the mind-meditations of "Path to Understanding" off the Innovative Leisure album Imperishable; Dentist delivered the semantics of attrition on "Upset Words" off the Night Swimming album available July 20 via Cleopatra Records; Bad Wave delivered intimate details of candid illustrations on "Good Son"; Leland and the Silver Wells announced the self-titled album available September with a listen to the ethereal earth eviscerating single "We Dissolve"; Yialmelic Frequencies's "Angel Garden" got an uplifting spirit-soaring remix treatment from Seiho courtesy of LEAVING Records; David Darrko delivered the fevered summer night indulgences of "Suffer Suburbia"; Sonny Falls shared the DIY and laid-back visuals for "Easy to Lose" off the album Some Kind of Spectre via Sooper Records; Lost Chocolate Lab delivered the electric earth arena crashers with "Squall" off the album Lost Landscapes; Hologram Teen presented the eccentric Jason Smith-animated visual for the bubbly pop of "Bleecker Street! Chase Me!" off the Between the Funk and Fear album; Psychedelic Porn Crumpets blew our minds with a viewing of the Mike Wyatt (for Attack Animation) adventure video for "Cornflake" that breaks through to narratives of new worlds and new intergalactic challenges; Garcia Peoples shares some cool rocking singles off their debut album Cosmic Cash available August 3 via Beyond Beyond is Beyond; ATL's own OBB presented the snazzy evocative pop single "Is This A Thing" off the EP of the same name from Curb Records; Christine and the Queens announced the new album Chris available September 21 and delivered the parking lot sparring/dancing visual for "Doesn't Matter" from Colin SOLAL CARDO; Boy Pablo delivered a earnest DIY look at the visual for the sentimentally spun "Sick Feeling" off the upcoming EP arriving this September with a global tour in toe; Pusha-T's epic talk with Julie Adenuga; Stormzy started a Penguin Random House publishing imprint titled #MerkyBooks, announcing his upcoming November 1 slated book Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far; NZ cult icons The Chills return with the new album Snow Bound available September 14 via Fire delivering the singles "Complex and "Lord of All I Survey"; Joe Strummer 001 boxet buzz; experience The Cult of the Aphex Twin; "Shiros's Story (Part 2)" dropped starring Michael Dapaah, Joivan Wade, Percelle Ascott & Rapman; Fyre Festival attendees win a cool $5 mil in lawsuit; Morrissey's UK/EU tour has been postponed; Oakland's Ghost Ship operators took a plea deal; and we celebrate the life and works of cinematographer Robby Müller and Richard Swift.

Keep up with the latest pop-aesthetic developments via Week in Pop's news beat.

Beyond the headlines of telecom standoffs, sports sweeps, political primary dramatics and a whole lot more—Week in Pop presents the latest media medleys that you have may have missed. Now with the latest top stories, big news as Denton, Texas DIY pop icon Claire Morales announced the upcoming album with a listen to the title track, "All That Want" that is guaranteed to expand your consciousness and arriving September 29; Baltimore's Tierra Whack astounded the world with the 15-minute visual release Whack World; Free Cake For Every Creature announced the new album The Bluest Star available August 3 via Double Double Whammy and graced us with one of the most inspiring singles you're gonna hear all year with "Around You"; Tomberlin mesmerized the world with the Laura-Lynn Petrick-directed video for the spellbinding song "Self-Help" from the upcoming Saddle Creek album At Weddings; Grimes shared snippets of new songs; Half Waif presents the ambient, universe-expanding Gigi Masin remix of "Back In Brooklyn" from the Cascine album Lavender; new Chicago upstarts Glass Famine delivered the beguiling and bewitching fun new single "Grumbling Bellies" from the group's upcoming 7" available at the end of July; Bergen/Oslo quartet Softcore untd. presented the astounding new single "Sjansespill" courtesy of Cascine with news of an album in progress; PBSM presented their own electric take on Lana Del Rey's "Blue Jeans"; NADINE announced a summer tour with Remember Sports with a viewing of the Emily Cross & Jimmy Magliozzi video for "Pews" involving cool choreographed calisthenics from the Father/Daughter / Memphis Industries debut album Oh My; Chromatics released the vinyl exclusive Camera 12"; Helena Deland delivered a look at the intimate and artistic Mégane Voghell visual for "Take It All"; Toronto's Freedom Baby dropped the 14-minute plus wonder "I Want To Give"; El Ten Eleven dropped their massive and moving new single "Phenomenal Problems" featured off their album Banker’s Hill available August 10 through Topshelf Records; Kim Gordon and Bill Nace, aka Body/Head announced the new album The Switch available July 13 through Matador and shared the delightfully distorted new single "You Don't Need"; 070 Shake delivered the Mustang coast cruising visuals for "Mirrors"; Matt Costa delivered the traveling and strolling reflections and sentiments displayed on the Pamela Littky and Jordan Lovelis visuals for "I Remember It Well #2" from the Dangerbird Records album Santa Rosa Fangs; Heathered Pearls jump-started our party with the "Under The Bridge (Matrixxman 8am Mix)" off of Detroit, MI 1997 - 2001 Remixes EP available July 13 via Ghostly; Toronto's Wes Allen offered the invitation for earnest inquiry with "Ask Me Now" featured off the debut EP; Echo Courts announced their upcoming Room With A View album arriving July 13 via Refresh Records, providing a listen to the swept-away and striking single "Take Away"; Jenn Champion's anticipated album Single Rider arrives July 13 via Hardly Art; buzz for JAY-Z's "Made In America Festival" and the "On the Run II Tour" with Beyoncé; Jeff Rona released Projector Remixed; Rome's Sweat just released their retro-riding Peach Gloss EP available now via WWNBB Collective; Saweetie delivered the ultra-posh Bae Mix and equally fancy visual for "ICY GRL" ft. Kehlani; The Frights presented the creature-comforts visual for "Crutch" directed by Jason Link and Richard Dotson, starring Christopher Candy; Discus presented the world with the passionate pop single "One Step"; Portland's The Fourth Wall delivered the mega-ton single "Circular Ruins" featured off the forthcoming album available this summer via Bug Hunt, before a tour with Typhoon; Nick Brewer returned with a listen to The Incredibles produced wavy and atmospheric new track "Headphones"; Max Richter is releasing The Blue Notebooks via Deutsche Grammophon on May 11 (standard edition) and June 29 (super deluxe edition); Jack Tatum announced the new Wild Nothing album Indigo arriving August 31 via Captured Tracks and shared the serenity-inducing single "Letting Go"; 

Tiny Fighter delivered the dramatic and expressive visual for the expansive anthem of human exchanges "Hollow Talk" directed by Alexandra & Silja-Marie Kentsdottir; Yialmelic Frequencies exploded our consciousnesses with the attention enrapturing "Clay" visual from Jules Guérin off the album Yililok courtesy of LEAVING Records; The Internet delivered the sentimental and smooth r&b with the Syd-directed visual for "Come Over"; Zackey Force Funk announced the new album Bodyrock Shotgun available July 20 via MoFunk Records and delivered the snazzy XL Middleton-produced title track; Seeb delivered the indulgent weekender single "Drink About" ft. Dagny; Miguel & Chicano Batman performed https://youtu.be/1TmaO8wjCDM "Sky Walker" and "Black Lipstick"; Liverpool's own St. Jude the Obscure delivered the wild roaming electro-ultra-pop of "I’m the Wolves"; Welles rocked the world with the bold & blistering guitar chords of "Rock N Roll" off the upcoming album Red Trees and White Trees available June 15 via 300 Entertainment; Manchester's New Luna offered an introspective listen to the new emotive-edged single "Knew Too"; Saltwater Sun shared the sunshine-crashing summer anthem "Hot Mess"; Suede delivered the viaduct swinging visual for "The Invisibles"; Sun June presented the kind and endearing expressions heard and felt on the single "Records" off the upcoming album Years available June 15 from Keeled Scales; De'Anza delivered the cosmic dub of conflicts and confrontations with "War" from the upcoming concept EP Cosmic Dream available June 29; Future Generations delivered a listen to the ultra-bright electric single "All the Same" off the upcoming album Landscape available September 14 via Frenchkiss; Radiant Children presented the wild adventure video for "Life's a Bitch" with word that their debut EP Tryin' will be available later this year; Lenny Zenith shared the bright lit pop art of "Trouble" featured off the new album What If The Sun available June 22; Strange Relations shared the "For Sure"; Sakima dropped the new electronic essences of bold pop on the track "Show Me"; Isaac Grace presented the lavish performance/analog recording visual for the big new single "Running On Empty"; Power Trip unleashed the pure fury and ferocity with "Hornet's Nest"; So Stressed helped us decompress with the therapeutic epic "Very Long Cloth"; L'FREAQ dropped the pop-cosmica visuals for "Moonlight"; Femdot delivered the autobiographically inspired album debut Delacreme 2 courtesy of Closed Sessions; Anna Calvi announced the new album Hunter available August 31 via Domino with a look at the William Kennedy visual for the anthemic ode to identity pluralism "Don't Beat the Girl out of My Boy"; The Buttertones shared a look at the suspenseful, fancy-lit Zack Bernstein video for "You and Your Knife" (complete with a sax solo) from the new album Midnight In A Moonless Dream courtesy of Innovative Leisure; Ward shared a look at the dramatic performance visual for the equally theatric single "Soothe the Soul"; off the new album TESTING, A$AP Rocky presented the visual for the Harlem-hometown ode/testimonial "Praise The Lord (Da Shine)" ft. Skepta; Tennyson presented a live look at "Uh Oh!" ft. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson performed/recorded live at Valentine Studios in LA; AVANT! Records announced Ritual Veil's Wolf In The Night 12" arriving June 8; Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) delivered the body shaking Matias Aguayo remix for "Beautiful Thing"; Clyde Guevara presented the desert DeLorean-rolling visual for the level elevating "Higher Vibration" off the upcoming freeJAH release available July 20; Rizzla turned up the stripped-down percussion with the ballroom beat-em-up "Black Eye" off of Adepta available July 6 via Fade To Mind; Ross From Friends presented the cool club-catering single "Project Cybersyn" off the upcoming debut album Family Portrait available July 27 via Brainfeeder; Honyock unveiled their debut cosmic pop single "Patron" from their upcoming album El Castillo available July 27 via Friendship Fever;

San Cha shared the inspired, spirited and festive title track from the forthcoming debut EP Capricho Del Diablo available July 13 via Outside Insight; CMDWN delivered the minimalist woozy awakening of "Strong"; hype for Jeremi and Ty Dolla $ign's collaborative cut "The Light"; Late Bloomer presented the new summer-sun-soaking track "Listen" from their upcoming album Waiting available July 29 via 6131 Records; Julian (Julia Leiby) flipped our consciousness focuses with the single "Asleep" from the upcoming Real Distance EP available June 15 via Fire Talk; Jane Church signed to Greenway Records with the single "Rocket To The Kremlin" that catapults the audience to the former-USSR off the 7" available July, debut album slated for fall 2018; Jade Bird brought the rage with the Toby Ross-Southall video for "Furious"; Twin Shadow shared a look at the Aaron Hymes co-directed visual for the nostalgic longing for chill weekends with "Saturdays" ft. HAIM; Caroline Says delivered the conscious reflections that oscillate between the mind, sun and sea in the video for "Mea Culpa" off the new album No Fool Like An Old Fool courtesy of Western Vinyl; A.R.Kane celebrated 30 years of their album 69 with a listen from Jübl EP Thinking Sweet (available June 20), with the reflective mediations of "Thinking About You";  Gang Gang Dance graced the world with the new inverted dance-floor destroyer "Young Boy (Marika in Amerika)"; Hartlepool's Para Alta delivered the performance presentation visual for "Dusk" courtesy of Big Indie; the TURN IT AROUND: THE STORY OF EAST BAY PUNK documentary available June 22 courtesy of 1-2-3-4 Go! Records; BOYO announced a stateside tour with a listen to the new smooth and cool single "Take Me Away" ft. Dent May; La Force, Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene, presented the honest and spirit searching single "Lucky One" courtesy of Arts & Crafts; SOPHIE announced the debut album OIL OF EVERY PEARL's UN-INSIDES available June 15 via Future Classic; Gorillaz dropped the new jam "Sorcererz"; Swamp Dogg, aka Jerry Williams, Jr., delivered a look at the video for "I'll Pretend" ft. Justin Vernon directed by Poliça’s Ryan Olson and Isaac Gale from the album Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune available September 7 from Joyful Noise Recordings; Mourn delivered another arrangement of organized dissonance with "Doing It Right"; Phish announced The Baker's Dozen Box Set, Live at Madison Square Garden November 30; Rita Ora dropped the Helmi video for the controversy stirring single "Girls" ft. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX; Die Antwoord presented a look at the surreal/extra-terrestrial Ron Castellano co-directed video for "Alien" ft. The Black Goat; PEOPLE Project buzz; Mating Ritual play San Francisco's Brick & Mortar on June 23; the Byrds' Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman to celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo with a special tour; The Prince estate announced the upcoming release Piano & A Microphone: 1983 available September 21, sharing the passionate piano pop of "Mary Don't You Weep"; rare copy of Prince's The Black Album emerged; Eric André and Derrick Beckles' "Mostly 4 Millennials" hype; Thom Yorke's score to the Suspiria remake can be heard in the trailer; Bonnaroo offering a complimentary laundry service; Dave Grohl's stunt double stage antics, with further news that the artist's mom Virginia Hanlon Grohl is producing a doc about rock stars' moms titled "From Cradle to Stage"; Talib Kweli sparring with former collaborator Res over claims of sexual harassment; the Ticketfly data breach situation; BBC's historic Maida Vale Studios are apparently closing down; Lil Wayne's recent settlements; Low End Theory announced the night's last 10 shows; and we celebrate the life and works of designer Kate Spade, Clarence Fountain of the Blind Boys of Alabama and Last Poets co-founder Jalal Mansur Nuriddin.

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

With everything from politics to playoffs playing with our collective emotions—Week in Pop brings a cornucopia of media buzz obfuscated by all the latest panic-inducing headlines. The latest top stories we're following is news that GABI signed to Double Double Whammy announcing that the anticipated upcoming album will arrive this fall, performing at Roulette (under given name Gabrielle Herbst) as part of an opera residence May 31 at 8pm; Tyler, the Creator presented a look at the Louis "Panch" Perez studio chilling visual for "435"; George Clinton released the anticipated new hotly anticipated Parliament record Medicaid Fraud Dogg; Oh Sees announced the new album Smote Reverser available August 17 via Castle Face & delivered a listen to the world-ripping new single "Overthrown"; CupcakKe delivered a look at the arcade-action packed video for "Quiz" directed by Logan Fields; Princess Nokia presented a look at the Milah Libin video for "Look Up Kid" off the A Girl Cried Red mixtape via Rough Trade; Death Grips released the new electric-insect buzzing single "Flies" from the forthcoming album Year of the Snitch; Tancred brought the grand ballroom burner "Something Else" off the new album Nightstand available June 1 via Polyvinyl, touring this fall with Joy Formidable; Jay Rock announced the new album Redemption available June 15 via TDE; Johnny Jewel released Themes For Television via Italians Do It Better with a look at the Radka Leitmeritz video for haunting suspenseful celluloid of "Red Door"; Montreal based Lou Phelps unveiled a flashy look at the Pique visual for the explanatory ode to impulsive instincts of "Want To (For The Youth)" produced by KAYTRANADA; Blushh delivered the power pop anthem "Do I Look Tired?" from the upcoming EP Thx 4 Asking courtesy of Yellow K Records available June 15; 5 Toronto's Witch Prophet released the bewitched & bewildering album wonder The Golden Octive via 88 Days of Fortune & shared a listen to the world altering lounge future psych single "Stars" produced by Old Smile; Jerry Paper, aka Lucas Nathan, has signed to Stones Throw with news of a new album arriving later this year & dropped the cool pop chrysalis of "Your Cocoon" co-produced by Badbadnotgood's own Matty Tavares; Lykke Li brought the world a look at the evening adventures seen through an iPhone for the "deep end" visual; The Myrrors announced the forthcoming album Borderlands available August 17 via Beyond Beyond is Beyond & delivered the wild ear & mind opening single "Awakening"; Skogebrandt delivered the new emotive & expressive single "Been You"; Brett Dennen delivered a look at the life affirming Craig Allen video for the joyful abandon of "Already Gone" from the EP Let's; Sevdaliza bridged parallel worlds via the Emmanuel Adjei visual for "DUALITY"; Omar Apollo delivered a listen to the smooth & sensational funk pop with "Ignorin" off the forthcoming Stereo EP available May 30; Silk City, comprised of Diplo and Mark Ronson, dropped the club-beat banger "Only Can Get Better" ft. Daniel Merriweather;

Rubblebucket announced the new album Sun Machine available August 24 via Grand Jury Music with a look at the pop-art styled Julia Barrett-Mitchell visual for "Fruity"; Guts Club delivered the jangly & twangy single "Pansy From the Hills" from the forthcoming third album Trench Foot available July 6; Henrik Appel announced the upcoming album Burning Bodies available June 29 via PNKSLM Recordings with a listen to the wind-tunnel tuned toward the future single "Tomorrow"; Mutual Benefit announced the new album Thunder Follows the Light available September 21 via Transgressive & shared the beautiful new singles "Storm Cellar Heart" and "New History"; Alynda Segarra and Hurray for the Riff Raff delivered the Puerto Rico filmed video from Kristian Mercado Figueroa for the passionate and human "Pa'lante"; Angel Olsen and My Morning Jacket's Jim James covered Sonny & Cher's "Baby Don't Go"; Goldfrapp delivered a listen to the electro-shining single "Ocean" ft. Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan; Cardi B delivered the Jora Frantzis visual of dubious romances for "Be Careful"; ASAP Rocky's elaborate album artwork reveal for the forthcoming third LP Testing; Golden Dawn Arkestra presented us a with a listen and look at the gaudy & mystic Ben Blanchard & Vanessa Pla video "Wings of Ra"; The Cool Kids shared the cool new summer cruising singles "OILBASS" ft. Boldy James "Ripple"; tour this summer with MOURN, Chastity delivered the live visual for "Chains" featured off the album Death Lust comes available July 13 via Captured Tracks; Hosannas provided a listen to the dance-floor shuffling single "Guitar Cop" from the upcoming album Picture Him Protecting You available July 12 from Fresh Selects; Gabriella Cohen delivered a look at the glamorous visual for "Music Machine" off the upcoming album Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love available June 1 via Captured Tracks; Gassamer, aka LA artist Evan Reiner, shared the ambient worm "Encounter" off the upcoming album Imperishable available in July via Innovative Leisure; Stuart McLamb's The Love Language announced the upcoming album Baby Grand arriving August 3 via Merge and shared travelogue lyric video from Daniel Murphy for "Southern Doldrums" along with the night riding visual for "Castle in the Sky" from Daniel Murphy & Kevin Norris; The Gloomies offered the innovative summer sun steaming & dreaming single "Palms" from the upcoming album Romance available July 13 via Thrill Me; Lusitanian Ghosts delivered the canonical reflections on the rocker "Past Laurel" off their June 8 slated self-titled album; Denmark's own PBSM delivered the flashy bold & bright stormy single "Struck By Lightning"; Crystal Fighters brought the big bouncing summer dreaming visuals for "Boomin' In Your Jeep" courtesy of Warner Bros. Records; Maps & Atlases shared a listen to the smartly stitched single "Violet Threaded" from the upcoming Lightlessness Is Nothing New album available June 1 via Barsuk Records;

embrace the earnest & electric single "Big Train" taken off Pllush's upcoming debut album Stranger to the Pain available June 8 via Father/Daughter; currently on tour with WET, Samson, fka Samson The Truest, delivered the sweet jangle pop single "King Kong" ft. WET's Kelly Zutrau; Ovlov announced the new album TRU available July 20 via Exploding in Sound & shared the sweet scuzz studded jam "Spright"; Shy Layers delivered a look at the entrancing JD Walsh visual for "No Road" from the new album Midnight Marker available May 25 via Beats In Space; Jamie Isaac delivered a therapeutic listen to the title track off the upcoming album (4:30) Idler available June 1 via Marathon Artists; Barrie delivered infinite worlds of wonder with the single "Tal Uno" courtesy of Winspear; MNNQNS dropped a look at the fancy Rod Maurice performance visual for "Tiger On A Leash" found off their Advertisement EP available now via FatCat Records; Baloji instantly ignited the impromptu dance party with the Shingai remix of "Soleil De Volt" originally off 137 Avenue Kaniama courtesy of Bella Union; RDTK presented the electro-aesthetic visuals for "Affective Forecasting" off the forthcoming Human Resources available June 29 via Denovali Records; Talitha Rise shared a look at the reflective and intimate visual for "Chapel Bell" off the upcoming album An Abandoned Orchid House available June 1; ATL rising emcee Skooly offered a look at the HDotRoss visuals for the boy band stunting & styling "Baccstreet Boy" ft. production by The Honorable C-N.O.T.E.; LIARS announced their first original soundtrack 1/1 available July 20 via Mute & offered a preview via the visual for "Liquorice"; A Boogie wit da Hoodie announced The International Artist available June 20 via High Bridge / Atlantic Records delivering a listen to the sky-high soaring "Way Too Fly" ft. Davido; Minneapolis' Bad Bad Hats presented the covenants of hearts & spirits on the new single "Write It On Your Heart" from the forthcoming Lightning Round album available August 3 via Afternoon Records; Jakarta, Indonesia artist NIKI delivered the debut Zephyr EP along with the lavish and opulent Saint & Miles Trahan visual for "Newsflash!"; LA radical Broken Baby snubbed the current state of the bloated patriarchy with the sharp striking "Year of the Fat Man"; Nickodemus presented a look at the Emanuele Kabu animated seahorse sailing visuals for the rich rhythm rider "Caballito De Mar" ft. La Yegros off the album A Long Engagement from Wonderwheel Recordings; Billboard Music Awards buzz; POP Montreal buzz; Robyn dropped some demos; Meek Mill canceled his White House meeting; A$AP Bari arrested for sexual assault; Rich the Kid accused of domestic violence; R. Kelly sued for sexual battery; Glasgow mural tribute for Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit; we said goodbye to Andy Warhol's iconic Interview Magazine; and we remember the life and works of author Philip Roth and influential musician/producer Reggie Lucas.

Keep up with all the latest breaking media developments via Week in Pop's news section.

Beyond the chaos, clamor & royal wedding hype-headaches that have consumed the week's headlines—Week in Pop is here to bring you all the buzz you may have missed. Today's top news is that pop icon Lil B released the new 28-track strong mixtape Platinum Flame; Alex Zhang Huntai announced the new album Divine Weight available June 29 via NON Worldwide & shared the Kevin Luna and Brian Echon video for "Pierrot"; SZA unveiled the life affirming/embracing inspiring video for "Garden" starring her mother Audrey Rowe & Donald Glover, directed by Karena Evans; Anderson .Paak presented a look at the fancy & flashing video for "Bubblin" ; Pat Moon released the anticipated and ethereal new album Romantic Era; Macajey delivered the latest lovely new single "Journeys" off the upcoming album Surfing the Air available July 20; Atlanta artist Eldorado Red delivered the neighborhood strolling visual for "Chapo Freestyle" from Omar The Director off the forthcoming album The Return of Shawty Guzman 2 produced by Zaytoven available June 15; Yip Deceiver, Of Montreal's Davey Pierce and Nicholas Dobbratz, are back with the new sensational single of intimate endearments with "Local Business" featuring a keyboard solo courtesy of JoJo Glidewell; Moon Duo drummer John Jeffrey shared the hypnotizing and adventurous single "Hypnowhine"; Dancehall, featuring members of Kill Kenada and Spoilers, announced their debut album The Band available June 15 via Vibe/Anti-Vibe, presenting a look at the bleary performance video for "Droners" from William Keeler & Craig Sharp filmed at Kluster Rooms; Frankie Simone paid a tribute to their wife in the epic video for "Blow My Mind" directed by Josh Brine; Sigrid shared the upbeat and supernatural visuals for "High Five"; Atlanta rising star Juto delivered the sweet & sunny chill day serenity of "Summa" available via Atlantic imprint Nice Life; Sam Spiegel returned with the new smooth and atmospheric cut "20 Below" ft. Anderson .Paak & Doja Cat; Beach Skulls announced their second album Las Dunas! arriving June 1 via PNKSLM Recordings & delivered a listen to the scuzz-searing single "Sacred Citrus" & more; Von K released Vi gör stan via PNKSLM; Phillip-Michael Scales shared the passionate single & visual for the heart-wrought "Lover, Let Me Be" off the upcoming Sinner-Songwriter EP available June 8; Philly's Remember Sports wowed the world with the release of their awesome new album Slow Buzz available now via Father/Daughter Records; gobbinjr delivered the heart-spinning single "november 163" from the upcoming album ocala wick available June 8 via Topshelf Records with news of tour dates; Christine and the Queens delivered the anticipated new illustrious r&b single "Girlfriend" ft. Dâm-Funk; Juliana Daugherty delivered the endearing song of heart and reflections with "Baby Teeth" featured off the debut album Light available June 1 via Western Vinyl; Nice Knees delivered the inquiring "U Would Do" that emerges out of the fog of the ether, featured off the Blue Mirror EP available June 29 via Broken Circles;

LA Girlfriend possessed the world with the latest brilliant new single "Possession" featured off the forthcoming Regina EP available June 15; Roanoke, Virginia's Eternal Summers shared the art pop visual from Japhy Riddle for "Forever Mine" off the album Every Day it Feels Like I’m Dying… available via Nevado Music; Quiet Slang delivered a dramatic look at the Jason Lester video for the anthemic "Future Mixtape For The Art Kids" from the just released album Everything Matters But No One Is Listening available through Polyvinyl Record Co.; Sydney artist Leroy Francis shared a look at the elaborate evening embracing video for "Intoxicated Drams" featured off the just-released EP S.O.R.E. available now via World State Recordings; Uniform & The Body rattled us out of our comfort zones with the new single "Come and See" featured off the upcoming Sacred Bones release Mental Wounds Not Healing available June 8; 88 Palms, Morgan Wiley of Midnight Magic, ex Hercules & Love Affair and Ria Bouttier delivered the tinsel town dalliances of "Hollywood Son" featured off the upcoming Love Safari EP available May 25; HANSSØN delivered the glamorous party-life pop visual for "Always High" from Olivier Kay and Aramie Payton; Brandon Wardell delivered a sensory look & listen to the visual for "Rideshare Roleplay" off the upcoming An ASMR Album release available June 1 via Nice Life; Tiny Deaths presented a look at the Catherine Orchard video for "Always" dedicated to survivors, featuring Lydia Kantor and Emilie Plauché Flink from the upcoming album available this fall; Drama delivered the Lies After Love EP along with the Shomi Patwary video for "Majid"; White Cliffs have recently signed to Foreign Family Collective and present the floral pop fancy of "Daisy" ahead of their show at Baby's All Right May 21; CLARA-NOVA shared a listen to the electro brilliance of the single "Electric" featured off the upcoming EP THE GOLDEN AGE available July 27 via Kobalt Music Recordings; Jim Jones presented a look at the Shula The Don co-directed opulent visual for "Gotta Play the Game" ft. YFN Lucci off Wasted Talent; Well Well Well delivered a look at the Bernabé Bolaños lyric video for the sensory inducing single "Me" ahead of the POPTIMISM & SHIPS EPs available July 13; Pharrell and Camila Cabello collaborated on the new single "Sangria Wine"; Lord Huron shared the anthem of burning evening embers “The Night We Met” featuring Phoebe Bridgers; wifisfuneral dropped the youthful tales of "Juveniles" ft. YBN Nahmir & produced by Jahlil Beats; GRLwood shared the exciting new singles "I'm Yer Dad" & "Wet"; BRIDGE shared a viewing of the visual for the night wandering "Lost My Mind"; the Internet announced the new album Hive Mind available July 20; Diana Gordon delivered the new sentimental summer sipping single "Kool Aid"; Jessie Reyez delivered the Peter Huang-directed video about judgments and histories delivered in a Salem witch trials style for "Body Count" ; Phantogram covered Sparklehorse's "Saturday"; Disclosure delivered the new nine minute single "Ultimatum" ft. Fatoumata Diawara;

Killer Mike and 2 Chainz delivered the new bossy collaborative track "White Powder/Black Power"; Big Shaq is back with the "Man's Not Hot" follow-up track "Man Don't Dance"; Jennifer Lopez delivered the new saucy single "Dinero" ft. Cardi B & DJ Khaled; behold the animated video from Robin Velghe for the smooth & soaring styles of "Lyk Dis" from NxWorries (aka Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge); JOYNER presented the Brad Besser visual for the affectionate azure motif "Blue Love"; Yukon Blonde delivered a listen to the approximations of amour on the new single "Too Close To Love" from the upcoming Critical Hit album available June 22 via Dine Alone Records; Mishlawi delivered the anticipated debut self-titled EP; Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest along with Adrian Younge announced the collaborative album The Midnight Hour available June 8 via Linear Labs & delivered the inquiring essences of "Questions"; Fischerspooner shared remixes for "TopBrazil"; Mija delivered the drum & bass banner single "Talk"; Aesop Rock delivered the Jim Birkett Director & Rob Shaw visuals for "Klutz"; SLOWTRIP delivered the album Blur today courtesy of Anchor Eighty-Four; Jim Andralis & The Syntonics delivered the Jimmy Gribbin Big Apple visuals for "Don't Blame New York"; Xavier Dunn delivered the Isic Tutor EP; Tatiana DeMaria & LEFTI delivered the dance deluxe of "A Different Kind" via Future House Music; Treya Lam dropped the reflective strumming single "Sapphire Skies" ft. Kaki King off the upcoming Good News release available June 8 via Short Stuff Records; Decreek delivered the spirit liberating single "Free" off the forthcoming album My Story available June 7; CATLOW announced the album Main Of Nowhere available June 8 via File Under Music, delivering a look at the adventurous visuals for "Scrapes"; Dita Von Teese shared a look at the visual for "Sparkling Rain"; Toronto's own Bulkhead announced the debut album Aft Pressure available June 15 via 2MR & delivered the big electro banger "Route Sixteen" ft. Joel Eel; Nine Inch Nails delivered the new single "God Break Down the Door"; Jamie xx provided the score for the new Romain Gavras film The World is Yours; La Louma penned an op-ed on mental health; YouTube's latest music streaming platform; Mountain Goats-inspired burlesque gig happening June 1 in NYC; FYF Fest announced rescheduled shows; Anticon announced 20 Years of Anticon benefit show for Alias; Preoccupations' tour from hell; Tidal investigating a potential data breach; we wish Offset an expedient recovery; Mac Miller busted for DUI; Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band sued for alleged misconduct; Secret Circle broke up, most likely pertaining to accounts of sexual misconduct allegations surrounding member Antwon (who posted a subsequent statement); and we celebrate the life and contributions of Young King David.

Stay tuned for more headline items via Week in Pop's news section.