Tag: pop

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, New Albums

AOTM | Olivia Rodrigo | ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’.

Posted on by misterstory

Is there anything left to say about Olivia Rodrigo in 2026?

Probably not. The internet has broken down every single word of her lyrics, debated who her songs are about, and tracked her relationship timelines in real time. But at This Is Not Happening, we want our say, too, when a pop savant raises the bar this high, you have to talk about it.

Personally, I’ve been hooked for years, a fact that has become a joke with my 15 year-old daughters friendship group. ‘Drivers License” is genuinely one of my absolute favorite songs ever written, a perfect encapsulation of teenage suburban heartbreak. But it was actually “deja vu” that acted as my gateway drug. The witty, sharp, acerbic lyrics were matched only by the melodic brilliance.

For a quick primer if you’ve been living under a rock, or more likely, you’ve pretended to be too cool to care: Olivia Rodrigo exploded into the industry as a three-time Grammy winner, shifting the entire expectations of mainstream music with her multi-platinum records SOUR and GUTS. She took the raw vulnerability of modern teen life and smashed it into 90s alternative rock and pop-punk sensibilities. She’s completely rewritten and is continuing to rewrite the playbook for global pop superstardom. She. Is. A. Force.

Before this new record dropped on June 12, she teased us with two brilliant singles that gave us hints about where she was heading:

  • Drop Dead (Released April 17): A shimmery, infectious synth-pop track, an intentional homage to classic new wave, and more specifically The Cure. “You know all the words to ‘Just Like Heaven’ / And I know why he wrote them now that you’re standing right here.” As we’ve come to expext it’s smart, it’s sharp, its bold and it’s catchy AF.
  • The Cure (Released May 22): A slow-to-loud alternative anthem built around massive, driving guitars … and a very literal 2nd reference to the band The Cure … but listen again. There are 2 other references to alternative pop rock that I think have been missed by others – The Introduction and verse 1 owes a massive debt to ‘Everlong’ by the Foo Fighters and there are motifs in the bridge and chorus that are massively reminiscent of ‘Disarm’ by Smashing Pumpkins. I think the former is more obvious but the latter is definitely there fore me. This track is a magnificent example of Olvia’s ability to magpie ideas from less obvious places and weave them into her pop magic.

The album itself, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is a masterfully executed 13-track ‘concept record’. It functions as a classic vinyl album of two halves. The first part, “Girl So In Love,” tracks the intoxicating, all-consuming rush of a relationship. The second half, “You Seem Pretty Sad,” documents the slow, painful unraveling and the bitter recriminations that follow when the illusion shatters.

But if it is an album of two halves … then there is a track in the middle that you can’t tell if it belongs on Side A or Side B – that track is Purple. Credit where’s it’d due – the brilliant Switched on Pop has a theory about this. Side A is the ‘Red Side’ – A Girl So In Love, red is the colour of love and Romance. Side B is the ‘Blue Side’ – You Seem Pretty Sad, blue is the colour of sadness. The song in the middle is ‘Purple’ which is created from mixing Red and Blue. Mind. Blown.

Side A: Girl So In Love

1. “drop dead” The opener, the lead single, the absolute masterclass in ’80s new wave inspired pop. It sets the scene with shimmering, glossy synths and a bouncy beat that hides the underlying obsession of stalking someone online.

2. “stupid song” My daughters favourite. It’s got this incredible, glossy precision, it’s perfect punchy pop-rock. And. it’s Olivia so it’s also super intelligence self referential song-writing all about that exact moment you realize you’re writing cliché love songs about someone.

3. “honeybee” A massive highlight here that I think has been overlooked somewhat? Olivia brings in her real-life best friend Conan Gray for some gorgeous backing vocals. It’s an acoustic, warm indie-pop track about pure optimism and hoping a relationship lasts forever.

4. “maggots for brains” The title says it all, after the sweetness of Honeybee, things start to change. The guitars get a bit fuzzier here, leaning into a more playful … so playful I can hear Avril Lavigne-esque pop-punk energy? It’s an affectionate but witty roast of a partner’s lovable flaws.

5. “u + me = <3” A brilliant nod to early 2000s minimalist pop. Think Britney-level vocal confidence layered over a robotic, Gary Numan-style synth beat. It’s hyper-confident in every way and perhaps even slightly self mocking?

6. “my way” Is this the turning point on Side A? The track captures the moment where you realize you’re changing ‘you’ to fit into someone else’s world. The music is smooth, but the lyrics are quietly tense. I think it’s easy to overlook this tracks brilliance.

7. “purple” The closer of the first half .. or the opener of the 2nd half? Given the next track is ‘The Cure’ its probably the former. It’s a lush, dream-pop track heavily influenced by British shoegaze?

Side B: You Seem Pretty Sad

8. “the cure” The transition is jarring in the best way possible. It starts with a heavy, driving guitar riff that pays direct homage to Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” before exploding into massive, Mellon Collie-era Smashing Pumpkins strings. A towering alternative rock anthem about realizing love can’t fix your personal baggage.

9. “begged” First debuted on SNL, this one is raw and angry. The pop-punk spark is back, but it’s darker this time. It’s a heavy, aggressive track about the absolute humiliation of having to beg someone to treat you right. It’s the grown up version of the pop-punk influences we heard on her debut?

10. “what’s wrong with me” (feat. Robert Smith) I could not believe it when I realised this was Robert Smith. I literally laughed out loud. It’s such a flex. A flex that would not have flexed if the track was not as brilliant as it is. I never knew I was missing this from my life!

11. “less” Olivia strips it all back and returns to the piano alone. It’s a devastating, intimate ballad in the vein of Phoebe Bridgers. The killer line says it all: “If loving me means letting go and wishing me the best / Then I guess I wish, I wish, I wish you loved me less.” Ouch. This song proves her songwriting chops. Piano ballads are 10 a penny, how many hit this hard on first listen? Literally none.

12. “expectations” One for Guy. Synth Pop to the max. An oh my god is it pop. It’s so infectious.

13. “cigarette smoke” The 5-minute epic closer. It delivers (in my humble opinion) the strongest vocal performance of the album (her career?). We get a swelling, cinematic indie-rock backdrop. It closes the book on the album (and the relationship?) with a brutal, parting-shot one-liner: “I thought that we played the perfect couple / Until you didn’t want the part.” Who has the right to be that good a song writer this early in their career”?

We’re going to have a lot to talk about?

Posted in Album of the Month, New Albums, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty

Posted on by GuyHornsby

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. 

In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li’s new record: ‘The Afterparty’.

In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music. 

           —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——

Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month’s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she’s the artist you never knew you loved. 

The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. 

The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the ‘hyper-on’ world of the music industry in 2026. 

Have a listen, tell us what you think.

                —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- 

For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. 

The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more ‘spins’ than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question ‘Spin It Or Bin It’?

What new music would you have chosen? What’s missing from our playlist?

We’ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/

Posted in Album of the Month, New Albums

Oct. ’25 | Blood Orange | Essex Honey

Posted on by misterstory

This is ‘This Is Not Happening’ and it’s time for ‘Album of the Month’. The album is Essex Honey by Blood Orange and the Month is Oct. 2025. Some months we have obvious choices for AOTM, some months we have few options and some months it’s impossible to choose an album as there is an embarrassment of riches to pick from. This month we struggled with the latter but settled on Essex Honey. I am VERY glad we did but others are less so!

Devonté Hynes, AKA Blood Orange, is a Grammy-nominated English singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, and director based in New York City. I forgot all about the fact that he was in Test Icicles and was previously known as Lightspeed Champion before transitioning into Blood Orange. Devonté is a talented human being, playing multiple instruments to a standard where he plays for other artists; I think he is a consummate songwriter and an incredible producer. He also directs film work, composes scores and soundtracks… the list probably goes on.

But let’s focus on Blood Orange. This is the 5th album from Blood Orange released over an extended period since 2011. The albums that I am most familiar with are Cupid Deluxe from 2013 and Negro Swan from 2018. Both of these were consdidered for AOTM’s back in the TINH blog days. I think my decision to not pick them was that they would be considered to ‘noodley R&B’ by some on the blog? And I think this will be the deciding factor in the reaction to Essex Honey … but it’s also 14 years later, music has changed, the world has changed and we’ve all changed too.

So what does this album ‘sound like’? By this I mean, can we easily describe its sound, genre and similarity to other music so we can help build a picture of this for people?

The quick answer to this is … no. But I will have a go. I think the first thing people will hear is ‘R&B’ but I think that is massively reductive and will actually put some people off who might really enjoy this. I think this is fundamentally a pop album, it is a pop album about grief, loss, time and home … so it’s not disco-bangers-pop. This is key. The abum was written after the loss of his mother and the exploration of this in his mind. How it made him think about time, home and loss. It’s contemplative, calm, reflective, artful and soulful, experimental-pop. It’s an album of melodic fragments collected and presented across 14 songs and nearly 47 minutes. Yes, it uses some of the melodic and stylistic tropes of R&B … but no more than it uses the structure and approaches of classical music.

Here are some hot-takes on what I can hear on this album (interestingly, only one of these is an ‘R&B’ artists);

  • Big Sufjan energy – ‘Carrie and Lowell’ (another album about loss which Dev listened to a lot after he lost his mother) but also ‘The Ascension’ and ‘Javelin’.
  • There are also big jazz vibes that occur in the transitions and the odd fragment that reminds of Andre 3000 in experimental but also The Love Below modes.
  • There are tracks that almost feel pure dream-pop guitar band a la early Deerhunter.
  • I’d add Andorra-mode Caribou in this thought too.
  • The tell-tale melodic style of Tuung pop up every now and then.
  • The use of guitar (and how and where it is important) reminds of Blonde by Frank Ocean

The album is predominantly instrumented by guitar, piano, synths and a wealth of woodwind, brass and strings. Guitars are very important to this album. But for me the most important instrument is the human voice, Dev’s and his fellow contributors. There are so many vocal sounds and energies that wash over you at moments and pull you in at others.

Pretty much ever ‘track’ has a transition into the next ‘track’. These transitions are often fragments of other melodies, abstract sound experiments with acoustic instruments or a bit of everything. These transitions will be make or break or break for some in my opinion. Do these transitions create an angular energy in an otherwise very calm, lower-energy album or do they represent an interruption in the flow of energy from one amazing pop melody to the next.

As with any album, there are layers to the listening experience with this album. It is beautiful music to accompany you through life – working, cooking etc. But there is way more to this than it being beautiful background music. The next layer down is to listen in headphones on a calm walk, I found this to be a hypnotic and pseudo-therapeutic experience, thank you Dev. Sitting down and listening with lyrics reveals another layer and is massively rewarding.

This is what YouTuber ‘Deli’ did in his live reaction video – he predominately talks about hip hop so I was interested to watch this which is loads of fun and really interesting watch.

There are moments of pure lyrical beauty that are always accompanied by pure melodic beauty. With some artists, it feels like they think of a clever lyric and shoe horn it into the melody or the other way round – on this album it feels like this cmbinned beauty just flows out of Mr. Orange. A perfect example of this is on ‘Somewhere in Between’ where the lyric ‘Light was just for hope and it keeps flickering, and I just want to see again’ is paired perfectly with the songs melodic hook.

For me, there is a classical, symphonic approach to the strucure of this album. It feels like an overture, with repeated phrases, themes and motifs appearing throughout. These motifs reference themselves across and throughout the album. This coupled with Devonte’s skill as a writer of melody, lyrics, his experimental approach to instrumentation and accompaniment makes this at the very least, a very clever, fascinating album created by a very clever, fascinating artist.

If you like it or not might be a different matter. I love it.

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, New Albums, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast EP.60 | Wet Leg | Moisturizer

Posted on by misterstory

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

TINH happening is officially 60 episodes old. Happy 60th to us.

We’re missing a team member again this month. David is back and in the hot seat, Guy is off making beautiful memories with his family. 

In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month it’s Davide’s choice and he’s picked Moisturizer, the sophomore release from Wet Leg, British Post-Punk, Post-Pop band that were previously catapulted to fame by their break out single Chaise Longue. Tune in to find out what we all thought.

In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month the theme is ‘English With An Accent’. 

                                   —– Part 1 | Wet Leg | Moisturizer  —–

Wet Leg, AKA ‘that Chaise Longue band’ started their career with a bang. Their first single Chaise Longue became a global hit and created a massive amount of attention. Could they ever break the curse of being a novelty, one hit wonder band …? Well, yes is the simple answer. Their first album proved that (partially) but this second album smashes that idea out the park. Listen to the episode for more detail but there’s a lot of positivity about this one.

Listen to the album, listen to the pod, tell us what you think. Here are some links that we mention on the pod or think could be useful to explore;

  • Listen to the album … HERE
  • Watch some great videos … HERE
  • Buy some stuff … HERE

                     —– Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | ‘English With An Accent —–

The theme this month is English With An Accent. Simple. Artists singing in English but with an acent.

We all chose 4 tracks as a shortlist which we combine into a belter of a 16 track playlist, listen to that bad boy HERE.

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, New Albums, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast Episode 56 | Saya Gray | ‘Saya’

Posted on by misterstory

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

We dispense with the niceties this month and discuss an album where we have quite differing opinions. Welcome to Episode 56 of This is Not Happening (TINH), an Album of the Month (AOTM) Podcast. 

In Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’.  We pick a theme and each pick a song that represents that theme. We judge the selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?

In Part 1, David, resident ‘Pop Being’, has the pleasure of presenting an album from one of his genuine musical obsessions. ‘Saya’ the latest release by Saya Gray.

In Part 2, following the theme of ‘Saya’, break-up and heart-break, we play Spin It or Bin It with the simple theme of ‘Heart Break’ with no additional rules!

                                     —– Part 1 | Saya Gray | ‘Saya’ —–

To say David is a Saya Gray fan is something of an understatement. He has been championing the strange sounds of Saya for nearly 3 years. Nobody’s really sure if this is her debut album or not but that’s not important. It is an album and an artist that has divided opinion on the pod. 2 of us love this album, 1 of us doesn’t, and 1 of us has had such a busy month at work that we have no idea what they think pre-recording.

Regardless of how we feel about this album individually, we all think it’s an album that deserves a listen. Listen to the album, listen to the pod, tell us what you think.

  • Listen to the album … HERE.
  • Watch the World Cafe Podcast / Interview … HERE.
  • Watch the AMAZING Tiny Desk Performance … HERE.
  • Watch some ‘Visualisers’ (music videos!?!) … HERE.
  • Buy some stuff … HERE.             

                             —– Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | ‘Heart-Break —–

Was music originally created to express heart-break? Probably not but it definitely feels like it when you start looking for your favourite tracks that embrace the subject. We’ve chosen a track each that may not be what you expect.

Here is a link to our 16 track playlist of religion-inspired tracks – with the first 4 tracks being our picks for this month.

We’ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/

Posted in Album of the Month, New Albums, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast Episode 47 | Charli XC | Brat

Posted on by misterstory

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

Welcome to Episode 47 of This is Not Happening.  An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?

This month, in Part 1, Joey has picked the most obvious choice for 4 middle aged dads, Brat by Charli XCX. It is impossible to ignore the critical response for this album so we all dive headfirst into the first Charli album that any of us has experienced. And it’s a belter … but I am pretty sure it will also divide opinion. 

In Part 2, Spin It or Bin It, the theme is simple … ‘New Music’ (tracks released since 01.05.24. However, one of us picked a 49 year old track. Take a listen to hear him justify this decision.

Part 1 | Charli XCX | Brat

With a whopping 95% score on Metacritic, this album has had a massive impact from critics right across the music press’s broad spectrum of publications. It’s 15 tracks with an average length well under 3 minutes. And it has some serious weight behind a savage combo of pure pop punches. But there is WAY WAY more to it that sugar-coated pop prettiness as we get stuck right into.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks

Every 3 months (or so) we pick to do ‘New Tracks’ which we define as being released 2-3 months before our podcast record date (01.05.24). We’ve got 4 interesting tracks this month. We’ve got two very different female sole artist indie tracks, one undeniable piece of piano driven, laid back housey, post-club loveliness and of course something French from David.

See you on Episode 47 … 

Posted in Album of the Month, New Albums

Album of the Month | Charli XCX | Brat

Posted on by misterstory

The general narrative of mainstream pop-mega-stars and pop-mega-stardom has changed massively since the perfect, pre-packaged, plastic pop Princes and Princesses of the ’90s and early ’00s. With the rise of the internet, the blogosphere and then social media we were given a (faux) proximity to our pop stars that we never had before. This changed our relationship with them and them with us. Instead of pop stars being portrayed as untouchable, unknowable mega-beings. They were portrayed to us as ‘just like us’ normal everyday beings that happened to be some of the best known people in the world. Likeableness and nicessness became a commodity that they traded in, regardless of its authenticity. If they are (were?) ‘just like us’ then this mirror reflection of ourselves should be a nice, likeable reflection.

Charlie XCX has just chucked a grenade into the middle of all of this shit.

We start every review of an Album of the Month with the question ‘what did you expect and what did you get?’. Never has the cover art of an AOTM helped us answer the first part of the question so much. The album cover very clearly tells you what to expect; expect luminous green, expect brash, expect brat-ishness, expect green-with-envy, expect bitchiness and expect bold, brave honesty’. You do get all of this, but I’d argue, not as unlike-ably bratish as I was expecting.

It’s impossible to ignore the critical reaction to this album. It is currently sitting as Metacritic’s no.1 ranked album of the year with a 95/100 score from 24 reviews – take a look. The first 7 reviews are 100%. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. This is Charlie’s 6th album, the culmination of 15 years of making music and 10 years and 5 previous albums of recording music. She’s managed to create a cult, niche status and persona despite massive commercial success. Charlie’s rise to stardom started with making music in her bedroom, sharing on social media, playing at raves and parties … the club is strong in her past and her present. This is pop record for the clubs. You can feel, smell and taste the sweat on your skin if you let yourself. There’s always been something of an edge to her that seems to cut deeper than the record company’s desired facade.

So what is this album? It’s 16 tracks. It’s 41 minutes. That means the average track length is comfortably under 3 mins. The longest track is only 3 mins 23. The shortest 1 min 49. But none of them are interludes. It must be said, if you don’t like a specific track, it’s gone before you know. I genuinely wouldn’t lose a single track. And I would not change the sequence of tracks at all. There are some that resonate more than others of course, but even the most brash, the most brat-ish tracks do something for me that I really like. Yeah get scuzzy, sleazy, bleary eyed nights out but you also get anxiety, envy, self-conciousness, self-awareness and moments of pure self confidence and agency all wrapped in a perfect pop sheen.

Let’s talk about envy, many of the tracks on this album are about Charli’s status as a pop star and how this compares to her contemporary mega-stars. But there are two that stand out ‘Girl, So Confusing’ (clearly about Lorde) and ‘Sympathy is a Knife’ (clearly about old Swifty). There are a lot of emotions to talk about here. None of them are emotions that most people are proud of and far fewer willing to write songs about. In a recent podcast (listen here) she talks about this in majestic honesty and with great impact …

‘This is my favourite part of the high-art-ness of music and the low-art-ness of popstar, pop-culture, this brings the three dimensional world to songs’ i.e. it’s the real, the honest, the real-life and real-emotions of human existence that make things relatable and real. She also goes on to say ‘I don’t think you’re a bad feminist just cause you don’t see eye to eye with every woman.’

I think this album is massively strong lyrically speaking, it’s the secret sauce. She is not a poet. She is not trying to be. She’s talked about writing lyrics differently for this album, which is something I’d noticed before hearing that interview. She writes lyrics like she’s texting or updating the group chat. I chose these examples carefully as the lyrics feel like intimate messages to people close to her conveyed on digital media … but not public facing digital media. It’s personal, real and raw. Its everyday language. She references people by their first names, her fiance, her producer and friends and collaborators that she’s lost. You feel like she’s sharing, letting you in … but again, with no or minimal facade. She is self conscious and self-deprecating in a very similar way to Amy Winehouse, I find this fascinating, and if I’m honest, a little spooky. Given that I’ve never heard a Charli XCX album before this, I feel like she’s let me know her. An almost identical feeling to hearing ‘Frank’ for this first time.

Let’s end on production. This album could have been recorded WAY WAY scuzzier than it was. The songs are strong enough to carry some major imperfections. There are imperfections, perfectly placed and curated to generate maximum impact. But this a pristine, piece of pop music with the production you would expect from something that will take Charli to the next level of stardom (and is certainly doing that). So, there is plenty of auto-tune, plenty of voice modulation and filters. I’m ok with this. It’s pop music. It’s ‘hyper-pop’, it fits. When discussing Auto Tune on the Tape Notes podcast (listen here) she basically says that she swaps vocal perfection for immediacy, for ‘real’ and that she’s lazy, smokes and drinks so … you know, auto-tune. Fair play Charlie.

Love it or hate it, you’ve got admire it.

I love it. It’s taken some research, some understanding, some exploration of a world I knew very little about to come to that opinion. But this is my kind of pop music. It bangs.

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, New Albums, New Tunes, podcast, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast Episode 41 | Lana Del Rey | … Ocean Blvd.

Posted on by misterstory

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

Welcome to Episode 41 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?

This month, in Part 1, we go deep with Lana Del Ray for the first time on TINH. LDR is one of the industry major players, few move units or split opinions like her. Find out what we think. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is ‘A Song for January’ where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others ‘Spin It or Bin It’.

Part 1 | Lana Del Rey | Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.

This is album no.9 for LDR and its a whopper. It’s got a lot to say and says it across 16 tracks. There are common LDR tropes and new twists on what you might expect. We think it contains some of the best music released in 2023 but is it all good? Can a 78 minute be brilliant from start to finish?

  • Listen to the album here.
  • Watch some videos here.
  • Buy some stuff here.
  • A really interesting interview on Billboard can be found here.

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | ‘A song for January’

Well, that was an odd Episode of Spin It or Bin It! The usual structure goes to the wall this month and it all gets a bit loose. Nolan get’s the hump, Joey gets all serious but thankfully David and Guy clean up the mess and no blood was spilled.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

We’ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, New Albums, Spin it or Bin It

Podcast Episode 38 | Artists: Noname | Album: Sundial

Posted on by misterstory

EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 69 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Nolan serves up Lykke Li&apos;s new record: &apos;The Afterparty&apos;.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, we pick our favourite new music.            —— Part 1 | Album of the Month | Lykke Li |  The Afterparty ——Lykke Li is an adored and fascinating artist, having been releasing music since 2008. The Swedish artist has ploughed her own furrow of pop distinctly different to last month&apos;s Robyn, heavy on melancholy and referencing the 60s as much as the modern world and is a real pod favourite. Breaking out in the late 2000s with I Follow Rivers, she&apos;s the artist you never knew you loved. The Afterparty is the sixth studio album for Li, and reflects the uncertainty of the modern, chaotic work in its svelte 24-minute running time, packing so much emotion and dynamics into that short running time. The chat takes in her legacy, asks if this truly is her last album, and whether a famously reclusive artist can easily exist in the &apos;hyper-on&apos; world of the music industry in 2026. Have a listen, tell us what you think.Listen to the original album here.Watch some of her videos here , particularly the singles from this album.Buy this album or some merch here. And listen to her talk about the album here.                 —————- Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Sad Bangers —————- For Spin It or Bin It this month, we return to new music, picking our favourite new tracks from May and June. The task is simple: pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more &apos;spins&apos; than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question &apos;Spin It Or Bin It&apos;?David chose &apos;the cure&apos; by Olivia RodrigoGuy chose &apos;THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE&apos; by Genesis Owusu.Nolan chose &apos;Electric Revival&apos; by Deante&apos; Hitchcock.What new music would you have chosen? What&apos;s missing from our playlist?We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/We&apos;ve been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  2. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential
  3. EP.67 | Eliza | The Darkening Green
  4. EP.66 | Jill Scott | To Whom This May Concern
  5. EP. 65 | Zach Bryan | With Heaven On Top

Welcome to Episode 38 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’.  This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’? 

This month, we get stuck in Noname’s latest release  ‘Sundial’ in Part 1. It’s a short album but there’s a lot to talk about. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is ‘New Music’ where we all chose a track released since 1st August 2023 and present it for judgement.

Part 1 | Noname | Sundial

It’s Nolan’s choice this month and he’s chosen the new album from Noname, ‘Sundial’. It’s an interesting, uncompromising album with a challenging cover from an unapologetic, controversial artist.  It’s only 30 mins long but packs a big punch and brings a lot to the party! 

Here are some links to check out if you want a little more background

  • Check out the album’s metacritic page here 
  • Check out a few opinions on some Noname controversy here 

Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks

It’s a simple theme this month. New Music. We all chose tracks that have been released since August 1st 2023. We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question ‘spin it or bin it?’

We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here.

  • Guy chose ‘More’ by Pale Blue Eyes – listen here.
  • Nolan chose ‘Glory Glory’  by Little Brother – listen here.
  • David chose ‘Annie Pick a Flower’ by Saya Grey – listen here.
  • Joey chose ‘Mindful Solutionism’ by Aesop Rock – listen here.

*** Enjoy the Episode ***

Posted in Music chat, New Tunes

Jessie’s BACK!

Posted on by GuyHornsby

It seems mad that we last saw a Jessie Ware album back in Episode 2 but here we are and it is well worth the wait. Disco / pop / house venn diagram goodness and this, Begin Again, is right up the top of the best tracks on the new album. We missed you!