Monthly Picks | July 2025
Sining Shelter
TONCHI'S PICKS
black british music (2025)
ALBUM | Jim Legxacy
More unrestrained, abrasive, and confident than his 2023 outing "homeless n*gga pop music", Jim Legxacy creates a patchwork tapestry of pop, dance, and hip-hop that benefits uniquely from the jagged edges apparent from the crashing together of their elements. Easily summed up by one of the whole album's most quotable lines: "On the block, I was listening to Mitski". I especially love the ambiguous catchiness of his verse and hook-craft, with song sections bleeding into each other in a way that makes you feel like the Whole Song Is Hooks.
K1
ALBUM | kmoe
kmoe throws everything at the wall and everything sticks. Blown-out and enveloping, yet polished and restrained; the fusion of virutoso producer electronic sensibilities with slow-shuffly guitar music is more fully realized on "K1" than any other project from the pandemic "hyperpop" cohort. Grappling with aimlessness and various types of emotional ennui, kmoe's lyrics are disarming in their uncanny framing: "And I woke up in a landfill, decided to stay / And lay down for old times' sake".
Constant Companions (Deluxe)
ALBUM | Jamie Paige
I've been singularly obsessed with Jamie Paige's "Constant Companions" for the entirety of this year so far. Easily my favorite English-language vocal synth music, Jamie expands upon the laser-sharp love song-craft of the original album with more ambitious, unabashed, and melodically self-referential material on the deluxe. I really am still a theatre kid at heart, and songs like "BIRDBRAIN" and "Clouddrop" made me realize that there's truly nothing that smashes its way into my heart more than brazen and audacious earnestness.
AZE'S PICKS
Blue Screen Life
ALBUM | Pinback
got this recc form stella when they queued it in inigo’s car. came for the album art, stayed for the first half of the album. very fun listen ^^ mix of indiemo w/ borderline math tendencies. call me #inspired mhm might reference this band to my friends countless more times in the near future
Sweet Disposition
SINGLE | The Temper Trap
ive been looking for this song sobrang tagal na. I thought this was a TDCC b-side at first because of the chorus (I remember one afternoon where I just kept looking in their discography and found nothing). then one day, I was in a youtube mix and THERE IT WAS. listened to the rest of their discography and nothing resonated as much as this. I LOVE FIFACORE. SEAsia represent- soundtrack of my early july.
AJ'S PICKS
Rose Main Reading Room
ALBUM | Peel Dream Magazine
just a really comfy listen. it kind of tries to do a lot all at once without trying to reinvent the wheel or do something new but, honestly, that's okay. very minimalist and loungey indie pop that just comfortably slips right into your rotation as you go about your days. pure bliss.
Nowhere
ALBUM | Ride
gave this album a proper relisten a few days ago. ride's still definitely my favorite among the "big three" shoegaze bands. everything about this seminal album still hits all the right spots for me. some of the most ethereal and euphoric soundscapes i've ever heard.
STELLA'S PICKS
Radio Transmission
SINGLE | Your #1 Fan
Ang lapit ng kanta na to sa puso ko simula nung narinig ko to live. Earworm! Heartworm! Sobrang saya ko na mapakikinggan ko na siya at will dahil nasa spotify na to ngayon. I love songs about grief and this was beautifully written… Thank you Nica dahil sa kanta mo, naaalala ko na hindi nga pala ako mag-isa sa aking pag-iisa.
This song also makes me think about Laika, the first ever space dog cruelly launched into orbit by the USSR in 1957. I know you’re out there, Laika. You’re still our favorite girl.
Phonetics On and On
ALBUM | Horsegirl
This has been the perfect soundtrack to every bad day I’ve had in 2025 so far. Especially for days I find myself caught in the thinking pattern of a 4 year old experiencing inconvenience for the first time. Songs in this album feel like nursery rhymes to me… like those instructional songs that can help you hold your feelings and let them go.
Julie is baby shark for depressed adults. In Twos is perfect for marching through the worst rainy commute of your life. Well I Know You’re Shy is for recognizing the envy you feel when looking out into the window that is your phone screen. Switch Over is for moving the fuck on. I love this cozy album… . . . mmmmm ….. Da da da da da da. . .