new (and old) music friday #41: zara larsson, 100 gecs, eden xo, tove lo

though i talked about the new found nostalgic direction i have for this blog in my last post, there's still a plethora of new music that needs my urgent attention. but if you just can't wait any longer for the inevitable barrage of mid-2000s albums coming your way, might i recommend this narrative i wrote for vibbidi about my favourite my chemical romance album danger days a few weeks ago to tide you over. 

1. zara larsson

when i first heard all the time, i didn't think much of it if i'm honest. i've never been a massive fan of zara, which is why i'm amazed and also slightly concerned at how many times i've listened to this song since it came out last month. as far as pop songs go, it's not particularly groundbreaking but there's something so irresistibly infectious about it, and i'm living for the fabulously tacky outfits she's sporting in the video. i might even go as far as to say it's the ~song of the summer~ even though we've still got another full month of potential poolside anthems ahead of us.

2. tove lo

another artist who i've never been hugely invested in, tove lo's back catalogue is a bit hit and miss, but i'd recommend habits (stay high), true disaster, shivering gold and gay club anthem, disco tits. when her latest single glad he's gone was released not long ago i was genuinely excited, but found it slightly underwhelming and forgot about it after the first listen. 

then troye sivan tweeted a link to the video, calling it "the best video i've seen in years" and i couldn't agree more. it's not often that i'm still thinking about a music video weeks after i've watched it, but this one is truly unique in a sea of neon-lit backdrops and drag queen cameos. it also gave me a new found love for the song, which though a slightly more subdued affair compared to what i usually listen to, has something alarmingly catchy about it and i can't get enough. 

3. kylie minogue

anyone with a heart will have felt the joy radiating from the pop princess during her set for glastonbury's legends slot last month, and she treated fans to a range of her best loved hits (my favourite kylie song is a toss-up between hand on your heart and better the devil you know, if you were curious). luckily she decided to leave out the majority of her country-themed album golden but make no mistake, dancing still Fucking Slaps. 

clearly i'm not the only one feeling nostalgic lately, because kylie recently released step back in time: the definitive collection, her fourth greatest hits album. i was delighted to see the inclusion of a previously unreleased song, new york city, which is apparently left over from the writing sessions for golden. this disco-tinged bop samples doctor pressure - a mash-up of mylo's drop the pressure and miami sound machine's iconic banger dr. beat - and is as far away from country as it's possible to get. hopefully this marks the end of the golden era and kylie will pack away her cowboy boots to bless us with more pop perfection. 

4. eden xo

it's been a long time coming, but eden xo has finally released her first EP, the question. i still can't get enough of previous single have it all, which appears on the EP alongside title track the question and so lucky, which serves as her latest single. after a career that's seen many twists and turns, i'm delighted she's fully embracing pop and i'm hoping a full length release will soon follow. 

5. 100 gecs 

back when charli xcx blessed us with the legendary pop 2 in 2017, i had a feeling it was the start of something new, and (as always) i was correct. since then, the artists she featured on the mixtape have developed fan bases of their own, and none more so than dorian electra, whose vocals appeared on femmebot. thanks to dorian, i've been introduced to socialchair, moodkiller and more recently, 100 gecs. it all started when dorian posted a link to their song money machine on instagram. comprised of dylan brady - who just released an excellent remix of blame it on your love - and laura les, i'd seen a few people online professing their love for the duo but never bothered to listen to them myself. 

but that all changed when i heard this song. sounding like a cross between danny harle, tommy cash, charli xcx herself and every single clubland CD that's ever existed, i was obsessed with its autotuned vocals and ridiculous sound effects. naturally i had to check out the rest of their newest EP and was instantly hooked on their blend of weird and wonderful pop that could have been pulled from someone's myspace ten (!) years ago. 

800db cloud wouldn't look out of place on an early 3OH!3 mixtape, while hand crushed by a mallet and bloodstains - from their self-titled 2017 EP - sound like a stranger version of the millionaires' first release bling bling bling!, another band i recently discovered thanks to paper magazine. gec 2 Ü and dog food - also from 2017 - are much more in line with pop 2 and the slightly more hip-hop sound kim petras has been favouring on her latest EP clarity, just with more distortion. this is by no means easy listening, but it's incredibly exciting to see that charli has made her mark on the world and i can't wait for Weird Pop - a sub-genre i outlined here - to take over the charts in another ten years' time.