You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love

Olivia Rodrigo — You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love
Released June 12

It’s an efficient, slightly updated distillation of Lorde, Taylor Swift and others. A little eye-roll-inducing at times, but the sound was good enough, and the delivery heartfelt enough, that it never became hateable. The lyrics are full of zoomer romantics, referencing Zodiac signs, cyberstalking and the obligatory verse about “my friends are doing drugs in the bathroom at the party.” Songs reflexively go for big, extended crescendos full of pumping synths and soaring vocals, which are effective individually, but the trick wears thin after a few times. There’s a tenderness in Rodrigo’s voice that contrasts these big moments in a kind of interesting way. A good listen, overall, but one that becomes increasingly predictable as it goes along.

Little Miss Twain

Shania Twain — Little Miss Twain
Released July 24

I found little to like here. The production is super polished, Twain’s voice overly compressed and claustrophobic in my ears. Songs occasionally repulse me, for example the dreary and repetitive “Little Miss Twain” (“…according to my mother/I’m the next Tanya Tucker…”) or the sugary nonsense of “Down the Middle” rendered off-putting by the gravel in Twain’s voice (“Good love’ll do it to you/right down the middle every time”). Two refreshing anomalies were “Take It To The River,” which has an open and natural sound and backing vocals from the War and Treaty, and “Northern Town," which has pretty good lyrics, convincing delivery and was the only track that got stuck in my head.

Bliss

Temples — BLISS
Released June 26

I’ll admit I went into this one carrying some prejudice. I was a big fan of Temples’ debut at the height of 2010s neo-psychedelia and was always disappointed with their increasingly electronic, dancey direction. I dropped off to the point that I completely missed their previous album. At first, this one felt like another step further away from what I liked about Temples in the first place. My first impression was: too many effects, too much distortion, just a sort of throbbing feeling in my head. But the more I listen to it, the more I come to appreciate this album for what it is. If one of these songs played while I was returning an Amazon item at Kohl’s or sitting at some brewery, it would be one of the better songs I heard while I was there. They recede easily as background music, but when you pay closer attention you realize they might actually be playlist-worthy. The main attraction is the synths, which are pretty nice sounding and distinctive from song to song. The lyrics are mostly unintelligible and the vocals unremarkable, leaving the listening experience shallower than I’d like, especially from a band that’s done better. But it wasn’t that bad.