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POP LIFE.

f@ ct

When it comes to legendary musicians, critics love to talk about their

phases. Massive discographies get split up over time, cataloged into

sections that are defined by sound, style, and era, each segment

parceled out neatly for listeners to engage with. And though it's only

her second album, on Happier Than Ever. Billie Eilish has already

ushered in a completely new phase - one that manages to sound

absolutely pitch-perfect without negating her prior work. Shifting away

from the eerie trap beats and ASMR pop that completely defined

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, this rising star cemented

herself as the important element, everything else can be swapped out

with apparent ease. Billie remains.

Happier Than Ever is a jazzy, sometimes too-slow, incredibly self­

serious project, one that repurposes her righteous viral monologues

and Hindu poems with equal dexterity, Finneas' golden touch

mitigating the potential clunkiness of either. It's hard to imagine another

teenage pop star releasing a record that cites influences like Frank

Sinatra and Peggy Lee as major touchstones, let alone turning a slew

of songs with the sonic palette of a jazz standards songbook into a

commercially successful pop project, but she's done just that. As

different as her new blonde hair and doe-eyed promo photos are from

her previous green locks and blank stares, the songs on this second

album delve into sex, physical intimacy, trauma, lust, and

abandonment in a way that's leaps and bounds beyond the lyrics on

her debut. It's only been two years, but in Billie's world, everything has

changed.

- Caitlin White, Uproxx pop critic on Billie Eilish's unexpected shift on

her second album, Happier Than Ever.

NUMBER ONE STUNNERS

BTS

BTS might've replaced themselves at No. 1 with the brand new single

"Permission To Dance" (yes, Ed Sheeran was involved with the song,

what of it??), but it's still "Butter" that's melting hearts around the globe.

Their silky smooth single from earlier in the year returned to the No. 1

spot this week again, officially surpassing the impact of Olivia Rodrigo's

"Drivers License" with a nine-week run that overcomes her debut

song's eight-week streak. "Permission To Dance" stuck around in the

top 10 at No. g, but the song of the summer mantle seems destined for

their most golden bop.

LISTEN

LISTEN

CHECKOUT

BRUNO MARS - 'DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS'

(BLACK VINYL)

If you're anything Like us, you haven't been able to get enough of the

Silk Sonic songs that Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have been

dropping sporadically over the last several months. This week, we

wanted to go back to the beginning and revisit Bruno's debut studio

album Doo-Woops & Hooligans, which would set the stage for the

songwriter's massive career. Nearly eleven years after its initial release,

the album has sold more than 15.5 million copies, due in part to the

success of a handful of mega-singles that topped the charts all over

the world. Now, you can own Bruno's massive debut on black vinyl.

PICK IT UP

REMEMBER WHEN

TAYLOR SWIFT - AUGUST

a g u s t

Even if Folklore technically came out in July of 2020, not August, the

Swiftian acolytes who have forever devoted themselves to the track

that shares its name with this month are claiming August as their own.

Even for those who took a while to fall into the world of Swift's pivot to

melodic folk-pop, "August" was always an easy entry point, sounding

like it could've fit on Red, 1989, or even Lover- probably because it's

one of the few tracks Taylor made with Jack Antonotf, and not Aaron

Dessner. Regardless, the nostalgia and lovesick memories that make

"August" a fan-favorite are the perfect pairing for the humid vacation

days that stretch before us this month. Celebrate by remembering how

it felt to listen to Folklore last year, when it was just a week old! Time

flies when there's a new album from Taylor every few months, doesn't

I 't?.

LISTEN

LOVE LETTERS

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