Lav's Music Corner

Each of these artists fit the "hyperpop" label to VERY different degrees. But I want to cover all of them before the year is out so lets get to it.  Perfect Picture  - Hannah Diamond Hannah Diamond is perhaps the member of PC Music's inner circle that feels the most equipped to transcend hyperpop to something resembling genuine stardom. While she's flirted with it in the past, it also feels like she's never had her definitive moment. That's not to say I didn't enjoy her 2019 album Reflections , it just felt like it came late to the party to capitalize on the legitimate hype swirling around the distinct hyperpop sound it dabbles in. With the label itself now formally coming to an end, this feels like a potential swan song for one of the definitive acts to shine the brightest. It got off to a pretty great start too. I absolutely love the lead single Affirmations  which sees Hannah at her peak pop instincts crafting a song that is both bubbly and fun but subt...

Caroline Polachek is the former frontwoman for indie pop band Chairlift who changed her sights on a more synthetic style of pop music as a solo artist which featured a number of collaborations with artists from around the PC Music landscape. Desire  is Polachek's fourth solo album thought technically only her second under her own name in this phase of her career, following 2019's critical darling Pang . PC Music affiliate Danny L Harle, who worked on much of that album, returns on production for most of the songs on Desire . Review by Lav: Not reviewing Pang  was one of my biggest mistakes as a budding music critic the year it came out. The reasons I ultimately didn't cover it is that I thought it was just okay and in a sea of similarly monotonous coverage I felt like I didn't have much to add. In the years since Polachek has become a massive critical darling and frequent collaborator of a number of other artists whose music I really enjoy. So after liking some of the s...

A.G. Cook is a British songwriter and producer as well of the head of influential Hyper Pop label PC Music and frequent collaborator with Charli XCX. After years of producing for other artists he released the monster album 7G  last month with years of works compiled into 7 discs and he is here with a much slimmer and more conventional quick follow-up. Review By Lavender: 7G  wasn't personal but I did enjoy the record.  The highlights from the album were just as good as much of the music Cook has worked on over the years which had me excited for this album which felt like a more complete and personal statement from Cook as an artist. While he is certainly the star of the show this time around many of the deep cuts on Apple  don't quit elive up to the hype.  That hype was generated from a pretty good lead single in Oh Yeah . The song is a glistening pop ballad with heavy vocal processing that makes for a sweet and catchy way to dip your toes into the album. It doe...

A.G. Cook is a British songwriter, producer, and head of the highly influential PC Music label. Alongside influential PC Music acts like Hannah Diamond, GFOTY and umru as well as close collaborations with artists like SOPHIE, Charli XCX and 100 Gecs, Cook and his collaborators have been the driving force behind the meteoric rise of Hyperpop in the 2010's. Despite this 7G  is the first true solo album from Cook and is delivered in the form of a versatile 7 disc record.  Review By Lavender: If you've been reading my reviews for any significant length of time you'll know that I am a big fan of PC Music and pretty much all the artists listed in the bio above. I was excited for this record but also cautious as we had never heard much true solo music from him, and a nearly 3 hour record is a bold way to introduce yourself as a primary solo artist. As it turns out the quality of 7G  depends a lot on which section of the record you're in, as it is split into 7 discs each with a...

GFOTY is a British pop singer who emerged the last decade as part of the PC Music collective making heavily thematic and character driven hyper pop music. Since she left the label she has dropped a spree of outside the box style projects, but on Ham Chunks And Wine  she not only returns to her classic aesthetic but is also writing longer songs than is typical of the project.  Review By Lavender: I can't say I've ever been the biggest fan of GFOTY even while she was attached to PC Music. She had a number of good ideas and the character of the performances was unique but I was never as into her work as some of her label contemporaries and I even skipped out on reviewing her last two projects under her own label. Given how quick this EP was being released after her GFOTV  album and that it appeared that at least aesthetically she was returning to some of her PC Music days. But while Ham Chunks  is more than willing to experiment with all kinds of different sounds, the h...

Updated with new music every weekend through September check out the official summer playlist at the link below along with playlists from all the various lists we have made over the years and some thematic song sets for specific vibes all below! Summer Fun  

Charli XCX is a British pop singer who has been one of the loudest and most critically acclaimed voices in the world of hyper pop. Alongside frequent producer A.G. Cook Charli has transitioned into a groundbreaking and experimental pop music artist who released her most acclaimed album to date just last year. How I'm Feeling Now  is a record assembled as a result of the Covid-19 quarantine and deals thematically in that subject matter after Charli marketed the album as her "quarantine record". Review By Lavender: I'm no stranger to dishing out tons of praise towards Charli, I have given out great reviews to her music like clockwork over the years and after a handful of killer singles I was anticipating this would be no different. Now that the record is here it was not exactly what I expected, instead of a set of bangers to dance to in your living room the album is just as much an exploration of the emotional state that being in quarantine has left so many in. Aside fr...