Written by Kristin Corry and Sydney Salk of Third Bridge Creative
This is the latest installment of our monthly column that looks back at key new releases from artists across the spectrum, from superstars to upstarts. We’ll break down what happened and why it mattered. In this edition, we look at indie pop veterans and rookies alike, from Clairo to Chenayder, and explain the differences between Remi Wolf and Rema.
Remi Wolf shares her Big Ideas with the world
The upbeat pop artist known for making “ADHD anthem[s]” has found that her sophomore album Big Ideas makes for big numbers as well. Wolf is best known for quippy lyricism, but uses this release to expand her musical repertoire, from funky soul grooves to mellow reggae beats. The album is led by the bouncing single “Cinderella,” a track that mimics “the ups and downs and mood swings” of her fast-paced life, reaching nearly 20 million streams on Spotify since its March release with a bump of 4.3 million in the past month. The California-born Wolf also has international appeal (a third of her Spotify audience is non-American), likely as a result of opening for Olivia Rodrigo during the European leg of her Guts World Tour. According to Wolf, touring “is a beast and really unlike any human experience,” but it appears to have paid off in expanding her reach.
Clairo just wants to be “Sexy to Someone”
If the third time’s a charm, then Clairo knows exactly what she’s doing. The 25-year-old’s third studio album, Charm, is a diaristic offering of the intricacies of adoration. Following Immunity’s bedroom pop in 2019, and the folksy quality of Sling two years later, Clairo finds herself trying on new sounds with her latest effort. Produced by Leon Michels, the 70s folk-pop makes the desirability Clairo sings about feel particularly sunny. The lead single, “Sexy to Someone,” captures what many are afraid to admit aloud: “I want to be sexy to someone (Is that too much to ask?).”
Yet, while Clairo is far from the young girl uploading lo-fi tracks to her YouTube, she is reaping the benefits from retreating to her old digital spaces. Her YouTube channel has grown by 12 million views in the past month (“Sexy to Someone” has garnered 2 million views even without an official music video). Clairo told Apple Music that she revisited some of her old SoundCloud tracks in the process of writing Charm, and her streams on the platform have grown 406K in the past month.
Chenayder is your average teenager, except SZA loves her music
At 17 years old, most teens are reminiscing about their sophomore year in high school but Chenayder already has a sophomore project in her rearview. Her tender songwriting paired with her whimsical visuals have the saccharine quality of a bowl of Lucky Charms. The indie pop princess is adept at capturing the melodrama of adolescence, and can even count left-of-center veterans like SZA and Tyler, the Creator fans. Where the majority of her peers are regurgitating the sounds of Y2K, Chenayder is reaching much further back for her source material. Inspired by 60s cover groups like The Four Freshmen, she douses the Gen Z experience in the soundscapes from yesteryear as she does on songs like “Teen Heartbreak.” Elsewhere, “Levels” feels like a track poised for an appearance from PinkPantheress: in other words, it sounds like might have a chance at being the next hit on TikTok. In the past month, Chenayder has seen a boost in likes on the platform (100k), a surprising number for her otherwise homegrown page. Surely, she is well on her way.
Cigarettes After Sex are still in love with their X’s — and so is the internet
Best known for their 2017 single “Apocalypse,” Cigarettes After Sex became one of TikTok’s favorite slowcore bands when the track was given new life in 2022: the audio of choice for a childhood photo trend. Their new album, X’s, strengthens their connection to the young and wistful, filled with ballads primed for soundtracking poetry slideshows and sepia-toned film edits. Selections from the LP have been added to over 11.3k Spotify playlists since its July 12th release, and 36 of those are editorial. With the help of popular singles like “Tejano Blue” and “Baby Blue Movie,” it’s the band’s YouTube channel that’s getting the biggest boost, garnering 40 million new views in the past month. As the 29th highest-ranked alternative act and 385th highest-ranked artist overall on Chartmetric by their Chartmetric artist score, it won’t be long before we hear Cigarettes After Sex grace our TikTok “For You” pages once more.
Rema is making whatever kind of music he wants
While rap was busy debating who was (or wasn’t) in the Big 3, Afrobeats has been having its own discourse about its Holy Trinity. While some might consider the Nigerian juggernauts dominating the continent’s global scene to be WizKid, Davido, and Burna Boy, Rema is the rambunctious youngster forcing his way into that conversation. In 2022, Rema’s “Calm Down,” an infectious earworm featuring Selena Gomez, certainly proved that Afrobeats was evolving. It could be Afropop, Afrodrill, and everything in between. It could even be a style that Rema has coined himself: Afrorave. His latest album, HEIS, extends what he envisions as Afrorave, with “BENIN BOYS” featuring Shallipopi leading the charge. As of now, the music video (released June 21) has over 7 million views. The result is a soundscape that feels more suited to score a Dracula film, than the lush production of 2022’s Rave & Roses.
Considering all eyes — and ears — are on the evolution of African artists, Rema is careful not to cater to mainstream pressure. “Everyone is chasing something that the whole world can enjoy… we’re listening to the voices of the world too much,” he told Apple Music. “We gotta listen to the voices back home to keep our roots.” His tactic isn’t stopping his numbers from climbing: in the past month, his Spotify monthly listeners have increased by 918k, and his TikTok likes have grown by 2.7 million.
Visualizations by Nicki Camberg and Crasianne Tirado and cover image by Crasianne Tirado; data as of July 30, 2024.
