Published with Sound Stage Magazine on October 5, 2026. Even as a die-hard Swiftie of fourteen years, I can admit when Taylor Swift misses. Granted, that didn’t happen until The Life of a Showgirl dropped last year, but I felt insane telling people Taylor Swift had released a new album I didn’t love. I wasn’t expecting much when the deluxe edition of the album, cleverly dubbed “The Encore,” was announced on Wednesday. The four new songs don’t align splendidly with the standar

Published with Sound Stage Magazine on September 25, 2026. Lizzy McAlpine’s fourth studio album, Angel, combines sonic elements of earlier albums with her classic cutting lyricism to make a new high-quality, but not necessarily innovative record. McAlpine is a sentimental lyricist of the sad-girl-pop realm with a comforting sound, well-recognized in the songwriting world. She’s journeyed from the bright guitar-led Give Me A Minute (2020) to the often flat-falling five seconds

Released tonight, ahead of her Americana Fest set at Nashville’s Blue Room, Katie Pruitt’s third album, Fools for the Fleeting, displays Pruitt falling in love and analyzing the corrupt political state of America. As Pruitt told the Belmont Vision in an article published earlier this week, these facets combine a political intention to communicate her views in a way that would “make her conservative parents proud” with a goal to “showcase her queer identity in a more subtle wa

Aubory Bugg’s debut album i think i had something once perfectly encapsulates how it feels to have terrible judgment in romantic relationships. The album title is the most concise meaning of the common Gen-Z term “situationship” I’ve ever seen. Most young adults will describe this meaningless label as “We did relationship stuff but weren’t officially in a romantic relationship”, but if you want to add some pathos to that description, “I think I had something once” suffices. T

The worlds of all three of Lexi Jayde’s projects collide for me upon the release of her debut album LOVER GIRL. My first memory of Jayde’s music was looping her breakthrough single “Hate To Be You” (2022) while angry about long-forgotten problems in my freshman year of high school. Not long after, I discovered her debut EP a teenage diary, and added its songs, chronicling the end of her teenage years, to my playlist. Now, LOVER GIRL is there for me as I leave my teenage years

I was naïve to think it would be a while before I’d find a true exception to the sentence, “It’s hard to become a successful nepo baby if you don’t have a lot of raw talent already”. Unfortunately, Stella Lefty is an exception. Imagine editing an album the way you might edit a photo on your iPhone. You turn up the “surface level lyricism” level to the max, and you tone down the “mainstream country production” level halfway. Just enough that it could be Americana but sounds li

Petal, Ariana Grande’s album of “unfiltered rage”, is not so unfiltered. Ariana Grande is already an anomaly on my list of favorite artists, considering that I’m a lyrics girl and she’s best known for her vocal work. I was curious, going into my first listen of petal, to hear the “unfiltered rage” Grande has spoken of throughout its rollout. I was disappointed when I finished it. Where was the anger? The album cover for petal by Ariana Grande It’s not entirely that the concep

Alina's fourth EP, better left behind, released on July 24th, is more polished than ever. After signing with Columbia Records last year, the singer/songwriter has kept herself very busy, and it shows in the quality of her ever improving work. The better left behind album cover, design by Alina Adams “Waiting On Me”, a lax but contemplative song, has the perfect feel for an opening track. It’s quick to hook you – new sounds enter throughout the song, ensuring you’re never bore

This past Friday, Alyssa Grace, a rising Gen-Z indie-folk-pop artist, released her debut EP, spilling my guts. Grace blew up this year for her devastating breakup songs riddled with explicit, blunt lyrics and controversial vocal flips. A vocal flip is essentially a mini-yodel: a rough sounding quick transition between head and chest voice. Depending on the listener, this technique is hit-or-miss, but I'd argue that "devastated" is exactly the mood for which vocal flips are me

I love Suki Waterhouse the same way I love a good metaphor; I love her lacy lyrics, blurry voice, and the liquid state of her energy. In other words, she executes things in ways they can’t physically be executed. She’s there for the vibes, hence no matter what a song is about, it’s almost guaranteed to completely electrify the moment. Loveland opens with total Old Hollywood flamboyance. The marching band sound opening on “Back in Love” is an incredible way to foreshadow the r

Maybe Gracie Abrams isn’t being self-deprecating labelling herself “daughter from hell”. I, too, have historically felt bad for my parents when everything in my life was going well, but my relentless anxiety was preventing me from enjoying life to its full capacity. “My nightmare actualized: got what I wanted, it doesn’t sit right”, a lyric from “Look At My Life”, summarizes being an anxious-avoidant workaholic with imposter syndrome. Abrams yearns, ruminates, and eulogizes h

Bebe Stockwell in the Volume 1 photoshoot – photo by Katherine Goguen The most shocking thing about Bebe Stockwell’s second album Volume 1 might not be her bold claim that when love is right, you just know it, or her preference for the more temperate New England climate over the always warm Los Angeles climate. Rather, your biggest surprise might be learning that Stockwell is 24 years old. Stockwell’s voice provided great company as I sewed while listening to the album for th

Ella Jane's first EP as an independent artist, Sparkwheel, is her best work yet. The record can be summarized by bubbly production, snappy presentation, and golden imagery. Emphasis on the imagery – the album cover is incredibly on point to the sonic and lyrical visuals. A partly cloudy spring evening in LA is Ella’s backdrop. She wears black, her tattoos are vivid, and the sun shines perfectly on a chunk of her hair, showcasing red dye. This is exactly the woman and setting

Olivia Rodrigo’s third album and latest release, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is innately confusing. Olivia teased the record in a TikTok insinuating that she’d “scrapped her whole album” following a breakup, hence side A, “girl so in love” and side B, “you seem pretty sad”. I rate you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love an 8.5/10. The album cover for you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love My favorite thing, when listening to an album, is the story it tells

Teenage music journalist Louise Geri reviews pop artist Maisie Peters' third album "Florescence".

Since I first heard Holly Humberstone’s “Scarlett” in 2022, I’ve admired the sharpness and electricity of the British pop singer’s music. Her third studio album, Cruel World, is wise, witty and sensual. Through searching for friends when in doubt, being a friend to those in doubt, and struggling with societal pressures related to aging, Holly finds light in a cruel world. I rate Cruel World an 8.5/10. The album cover for Cruel World The most captivating songs on the album com

One of the most interesting musical developments I’ve made over the last few months has been exploration of the bluegrass subgenre of country. A good friend of mine, Lilly Martin, is a bluegrass fiddler, and has opened my eyes to what I’ve found to be a satisfyingly formulaic type of music. While flying from my hometown back to Nashville after winter break, I listened to Sierra Hull’s latest album, A Tip Toe High Wire. Here are my thoughts! The album cover for A Tip Toe High