Hearing Things

Five Songs is a weekly series for paid Hearing Things subscribers in which we each choose a new song we like—or don't!—and write about why it has our attention. This week, we've got the Spinal Tap of UK Garage, an ’80s pop throwback that still feels future-looking, a song made with (the help of) AI that's actually interesting, and more.

The HT Questionnaire is where our favorite artists reveal their true selves by answering a series of searching, thoughtful, and sometimes random questions. Beth Orton taught me how to be heartbroken. I was 17, with a tendency to fall for girls who didn’t feel the same way. Like so many high school kids learning how to articulate their inner life, I turned to music. The Smashing Pumpkins helped me air out some angst, and U2 turned my little dramas into grand operas of emotion.

Welcome to the latest installment of Five Albums, the weekly feature for paid Hearing Things subscribers in which we review a handful of new records catching our attention. As music journalists, the question we get most often from friends is how to stay on top of what’s happening now. This is our attempt to provide a practical answer.

Rosalía in Dior angel wings on the Lux Tour in Boston, June 11, 2026. (Photo by @baeth.) Last November, I stepped foot in a Catholic church for the first time in two decades. A cathedral by my apartment named after Saint Mary—just like the one I attended growing up—was hosting a sacred music concert by its in-house chamber group, the Theotokos Ensemble.

Wiki in New York City, June 2026. Photos by Edwina Hay for Hearing Things. Near the end of a day spent being swept up in classic New York City activities, Wiki tells me about a movie he recently watched that immediately became a personal favorite. I’m Not Rappaportis a solemn buddy comedy from 1996 about two octogenarians who bond after meeting on a bench in Central Park.

Five Songs is a weekly series for paid Hearing Things subscribers in which we each choose a new song we like—or don't!—and write about why it has our attention. This week, we've got a weirdly banging song about grief from a rapper who's poised to take over, an power-pop anthem that mixes deep feeling with sly political protest, a colossal misstep from a once-great West Coast MC, and more.

Welcome to the latest installment of Five Albums, the weekly feature for paid Hearing Things subscribers in which we review a handful of new records catching our attention. As music journalists, the question we get most often from friends is how to stay on top of what’s happening now. This is our attempt to provide a practical answer. To quote one of our reviews this week, “If you’re allergic to fretless bass, keep it moving.” Otherwise, come on in, the water’s warm.

L'Rain photo by Mackai Sharp, Weezer photo by Brendan Walter The concept behind our podcast Waste or Taste is simple: Every episode, a group of Hearing Things founders gets together, with each person bringing a new song to the table. Then we debate whether those songs are “waste” or “taste.” Sometimes we reach a critical consensus; other times there’s fisticuffs, absurdity, or both.

Photo: Lawrence Sumulong/Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts I arrived on the first day of rehearsal for Glenn Branca’s Symphony No. 13, Hallucination City, carrying my bass guitar on my back and a heavy amplifier borrowed from a bandmate by its top-mounted handle. The dinky practice amp I keep in my apartment wouldn’t do.

Welcome to the latest installment of Five Albums, the weekly feature for paid Hearing Things subscribers in which we review a handful of new records catching our attention. As music journalists, the question we get most often from friends is how to stay on top of what’s happening now. This is our attempt to provide a practical answer.