Capturing the spirit of summer 2019 in our collective hearts; photographed by Kerri O’Malley.

Amid the inescapable hype of international trade war debacles, the Amazon rain forest fire, and a tropical storm afoot — Week in Pop presents a quick look at some of the developing buzz from the pop culture circuits. Our top news story is that DIY pop's most innovative and enlightened star Jay Som just dropped the highly anticipated third album Anak Ko; Lady Lazarus returned with the incredible new single "I Know What It Feels Like" and the sentimental reflective single "Driving the Streets of Your Town" and visual featured off the new album Impossible Journey of My Soul Tonight; Missy Elliott is once again poised to takeover the entire world; Esther Rose released You Made it This Far via the independent contemporary vanguard imprint Father/Daughter; Fat Tony and Brady Watt delivered the bass thumping and kinetic new cut "Runnin'"; San Francisco band Nobody's Baby released their self-titled debut EP; Montreal's own Pascale Project graced us with the club-cut wall to wall jammer "Let Us Go" off the Orange Milk album Be Urself; Under Violet, the new outfit from Sara Bischoff previously from Web of Sunsets, presented a look at the haunted and bewitching landscape visuals that comprise the video for "Blame Me" featured off the previously released debut album; Mechanimal presented us with a look at the John Karabelas tech art visual for the synth-studded "Red Mirror" from their Inner Ear Records EP; Peaer announced the Tiny Engines album A Healthy Earth; ESS SEE arrived on the scene with the aptly titled breakout single "No. 1" that strives to be the one and only (with no time for second place); Oakland's pop wonders Parentz dropped the sensational synth soaked single "Dead Mall"; Micah E. Wood wowed the world with the elaborate Samantha Mitchell performance visual for "Ghost" ft. fellow local Bmore legend Bobbi Rush; Oakland's rising act Shutups rocked our world and the entire world at large with the monumental anticipated full-length Everyday I'm Less Zen; IDK launched the imprint Clue with a look at the hyper-real visual for the mind-opening "Digital" off of Is He Real; Mike Sempert released the moving album Reunion of Sparks via the artist's imprint Infinity Maps; Mustardmind delivered the experimental and exotic dulcets of "Docent"; American Football delivered a look at the intimate David M. Helman-directed visual for the candid and expressive "I Can't Feel You" ft. Rachel Goswell; Detroit's own Two Cheers shared the galactic coordinates of "Future Constellations"; Blossoms delivered a look at their monster-masked visuals for "Your Girlfriend"; Newcast dropped the ultimate summer road trip anthem with "Winona, Come On"; Cones present a look at the DIY moon pop visual for "Moonstone" from the Dangerbird album Pictures of Pictures; Twen presented a look at the sweet summer biking visual for "Damsel" off of Awestruck; City and Clour spilled their guts on the emotive energy of "Strangers"; Sheer Mag made everything wonderful in the world again with the radical jam "The Killer" off A Distant Call; Beak> shared a look at the surreal montage of masks video for "Life Goes On" from Alfredo Lopez from the Temporary Residence/Invada Records EP Life Goes On; Richard Spitzer delivered the holistic acoustic strummer "Synthesizer"; Sanctuary Lakes (members of Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts) delivered the their self-titled debut album via Cutters Records; Clipping announced the new Sub Pop album There Existed an Addiction to Blood with a listen to the throwback horror flick styles of "Nothing is Safe"; Lil Tecca delivered the statement of status with "Ransom"; Drake dropped the Theo Skudra video for "Money in the Grave" ft. Rick Ross;

Kleptokrat expanded our collective minds with the big fiery roars and visions of consciousness expanding towers of sound on Momentarily, To Grace; GRAACE delivered the opulent Gabriel Gasparinatos visual for the smoky new single "Have Fun At Your Party"; Ummagma announced the new release Compass with a listen to the elevated electronic essences of "High Day"; DMZ artist Maryjo Mattea delivered some earnest pop for the broken hearted and down trodden lovers with "Candlelight and Roses"; Chris Jamison dropped the ultra radio pop pomp of "Go"; Wylder delivered the summertime dreaming, sun worshipping single "The Lake"; Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello's steamy "Señorita" video; Friendly Fires returned with the shadow play glow of "Silhouettes" from the album Inflorescent; Kim Gordon presented a look at the Loretta Fahrenholz video for "Sketch Artist" off the Matador Records album No Home Record; GRLwood delivered the anthem of angst and rebellion with "I Hate My Mom"; Tennis System delivered a look at the surreal dream-world style visual for the electric and emotively charged single "Turn" from the Graveface album Lovesick; Luxury offered a listen to the shimmering and sentimental prizes of Trophies; Manchester's Cleargreen delivered the working class anthem for the masses "People" along with the everyday people visual from Tarnish Vision; Frauds delivered the eccentric visual for "Putin's Day Off"; Oh Sees presented us with a look at the throwback video game style visual from Eaten Alive Illustrations for "Poisoned Stones" off the Castle Face album Face Stabber; Jess Clinton delivered the wondrous single of perseverance and purpose titled "Make It"; States & Capitals delivered a look at the minimalist visual for the ultra feels/ultra pop single "Feelings"; Devon Welsh delivered a listen about the clashes, contras and confrontations of "War"; Phebe Starr presented a look at the introspective animated visual for the reflective and melancholy "Bad News" from Helena Papageorgiou; Tess Henley presented a look at the inspiring Rosanna Peng-directed visual for "Same Girl"; Stand Up and Say No aired the amplified sentiments of "Electrified"; Chickn delivered the frenetic, kinectic and electric fun of their new single "Infrared Panda Club" off the upcoming Inner Ear Records album Bel Espirit; dedicated to the life of the iconic Sadie Roberts-Joseph, Seratones deliver the apt visual for the equally aptly titled "Power"; Tony Harrah delivered a cycle of heart penned hymns with Unicorns; Gallery 47 delivered an an epic anthem for the weekdays and weekends with "Weeklong"; mxmtoon delivered the ode to the shifts that occur with each new solstice with the visual for "Seasonal Depression"; Joseph delivered the fight song/rallying call of "Fighter"; UMMAGMA delivered the hummingbird flutter and meditative/levitative single & visual for "High Day" from the album Compass; Shakespears Sister returned with the mighty "C U Next Tuesday"; Tei Shi shared the illuminations of "Red Light"; Oakland's Billie Gale shared the atmospheric majesty of "The Rules"; Geena Fontanella took the audience on a transportive "Trip"; Lil Pump dropped the shoulder shrugging "Pose to Do" ft. French Montana & Quavo; Haim debuted the new song "Summer Girl"; Charli XCX & Christine and the Queens delivered the visual for "Gone"; Twin Peaks presented the Ariel & Leo visual for "Dance Through It"; SOPHIE announced the OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES non-stop remix collection; Vivian Girls are back with the single "Sick" and a look at the awesome and exciting visual for "Something to Do" off the new Polyvinyl album Memory;

Eli Raybon released the epic album Supertoys; Nnena shared the JD Dillard visual for the bossy and earnest anthem "Lovesick"; Final Child presented a look at the throwback styles that comprise the "Afterlife" visual; LOVING delivered the lovely and loverly single "Visions" via Last Gang Records; Miss Eaves presented the commentary on modern romance with the Shanthony Exum visual for the Rich Matthew-produced "Left Swipe Left"; Color Palette dropped the chill road and world tripping track "Marrakech to Bombay"; West / Step mesmerized our collective senses with the post-post-tech-modernist shimmering single "Hackurwayhome"; Kacy Hill delivered the earnest and sentimentally expressive single and synchronized swimming visual for "To Somebody Else"; Starcrawler presented the visceral and rocking Jellyclaw visual for "Bet My Brains" off the Rough Trade album Devour You; Field Mouse shared the shimmering and shining new single "Black Hole, Son" off their new Topshelf album Meaning; pop icons Nudity delivered a ripping cover of The Creation's timeless "Making Time"; Young Mister presented the sweet, sincere and intimate single "What If I?"; Whitney Fenimore presented the endearing and earnest expressions of "Feel it Too"; introducing the new Brooklyn label Whatever's Clever with word of the new Field Guides album This is Just a Place who shared their lovely new duet single "Guessing at Animals"; Sui Zhen presented the world with a slice of urban ecstasy via "Matsudo City Life"; Final Child presented a look at the sci-fi war style b/w visual for "Ruthless Liar" courtesy of Wild Type Productions; WESLEE delivered the spark of sentimentality and earnest expressions in abundance via "Something Bout You"; City and Colour presented the moving number of life and illumination via "Living in Lightning" via A Pill For Loneliness; San Francisco's Bear Call arrived to "Harsh" your mellow with a whole new type of Bay Area mellow off the Resurrection Records album Fancy Acid; The Bobby Lees spilled the skronk-fest of "GutterMilk"; Girl Ray presented the expressive and introspective Crusoe Weston visual for "Show Me More"; Chromatics covered Jackson C. Frank's "Dialogue (I Want to Be Alone)" with "I Want to Be Alone"; Julien Chang dropped a slice of pensive pop via "Butterflies from Monaco"; Rose Dorn shared the sun-kissed cherished shine of "Collar"; frogi cast the reflective evening time sultry glow of "moonlight"; One High Five delivered the caloric indulgences of "Fast Food"; Iggy Pop delivered the visual for "James Bond" off the album Free; Vince Staples dropped "So What?" in conjunction with The Vince Staples Show; Blackbear helped close out the sunny solstice season with "Hot Girl Bummer"; ESS SEE delivered Waiting for the Sky to Fall; WaterPenny shared the visual for "Rules"; Vagabon re-releasing the The Women in Me as a self-titled for Nonesuch https://www.nonesuch.com/ and delivered the wonderful “Water Me Down”; Charli XCS dropped the track "Miss U" https://youtu.be/DSQEKEegiH0 GRAACE gave the world their take on modern romance with "21st Century Love"; Pusha-T dropped the Kanye West-produced track "Sociopath" ft. Kash Doll; Yo Gotti delivered the posture pop of "Pose" ft. Lil Uzi Vert; Taylor Swift-mania in full swing over the new album Lover; Dia De Los Deftones returns November 2 in San Diego at Petco Park; Tay-K's guilty verdict; Ryan Adams attempting a comeback; we remember David Berman, Bob Frank, Johnny Clegg, Neal Casal and Prince Rama called it a day with the release of the Rage in Peace EP as Taraka Larson plots a solo album.

Keep up with all the breaking buzz via Week in Pop’s news department.

Coastal escapes into the great wide yonder of Big Sur; photograph captured by Kerri O’Malley.