“Burnout” – The Warning
The Mexico-native Villarreal sisters released the latest single from their upcoming album on May 17, rounding out an impressive collection of lead tracks. The track list for the album was announced on social media and features twelve songs, a strategy that I find incredibly interesting, considering that six songs have been released as singles already. The Warning just passed 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is definitely a band to keep an eye on for fans of guitar-heavy, textured rock sounds. My favorite tracks so far have been “S!CK” and “Automatic Sun.” The full album, “Keep Me Fed” comes out June 28.
“Conversation Starter” – Odie Leigh
The third single from Odie Leigh’s upcoming debut full-length album dropped on May 2. Leigh described “Conversation Starter” on TikTok as a song “for the “say everything thats on ur mind at all times no filter” girlies.” These tracks exemplify the upgraded, but still folksy and down-to-earth sound that Leigh is known for, and the first three tracks are anthems of eager crushes and budding new relationships. I had the pleasure of seeing Leigh at Hamden’s own Space Ballroom, and I can confidently say that she is the full singer-songwriter package. The full album, “Carrier Pigeon” drops on July 12, and the next single “My Name On A T-Shirt” is out on June 6.
“Little Chaos” – Orla Gartland
“Little Chaos” is a song about being loudly and uncompromisingly yourself in a relationship, according to Orla Gartland on Instagram. The promotion for this song promises an upcoming unnamed sophomore album, and this is the first solo track she’s released since August of 2023. Gartland is involved in FIZZ, a music passion project between her and friends dodie, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown. The visuals and aesthetics accompanying this track feel much bolder and more outlandish- in the best way possible. Fans are expecting OG2 soon given her promotion as of late, and my fingers are crossed for a following tour that graces the United States for the first time. There’s some speculation about upcoming releases and potential tracks on the album, but nothing has been officially announced yet.
“Toro / Alone in Miami” – Remi Wolf
The double release from Remi Wolf features two new tracks from her upcoming album, “Big Ideas.” She described both tracks in an interview with HypeBeast; “To be frank, ‘Toro’ is a song about having sex in a hotel, and ‘Alone in Miami’ is a song about the week I spent alone in Miami during Art Basel – and is quite literally a detailed and accurate description of what happened while I was there.” Wolf is known for her unapologetically unique style, both aesthetically and musically, and these tracks don’t fall short. They join the first single, “Cinderella,” in setting the bar quite high for Wolf’s sophomore album which comes out on July 12.
“HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” – Billie Eilish
It would be impossible to talk about May’s releases without covering the third full-length album by Eilish. For fans since the “Ocean Eyes” era (including myself), this album is a beautiful step forward in growth, both in vocals and in production. The ten-track album was released on May 17 and features an especially notable track for early fans, “Blue.” The album closer is a combination of two previously unreleased tracks and features melodies that fans have been waiting years to hear as an official release. My personal favorites from the album include “Lunch,” “CHIHIRO,” “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE.”
Honorary Mentions (AKA a fully curated release radar, by yours truly)
- “Atavista” – Childish Gambino
- “Airplane Window” – Peach Tree Rascals
- “Asking 4 A Friend” – Bermuda Search Party
- “Clancy” – Twenty One Pilots
- “Colorful State” – Kishi Bashi
- “Once In A Lifetime” – Kevin Abstract
- “Sexy To Someone” – Clairo
- “We Made It” – Sammy Rae & The Friends (ft. Celisse)
- “14 minutes” – Dominic Fike
- “12 Notes” – Alec Benjamin
