Listen: Our Love by Rosk, Lea Shico

Inspired by, well, fucking everything right now, Our Love is a passionate and determined song about rising above the increase in bullshit hate speech and discrimination we are currently experiencing in the world. It follows rollbacks in the rights and equality extended to the LGBTQ+ community, including the removal of the ability to discuss gender identity in schools in the US, and legal efforts to restrict passports to showing gender assigned at birth.

Our Love is the result of a collaboration between Lea Shico, a Colombian artist who combines queer pop, electronic music, and Latin rhythms, and Mexico City’s Rosk, the pop and electronic rock project of Roman Sashida. Having already been partners in life, the pair came together out of a painful need to be heard at a time when many are attempting to quiet voices like theirs. In sharing the song, the duo said, ‘This song is not just a response. It’s a promise: we’re going to win this war by loving.’

Despite the dark and depressing nature of the subject matter, Our Love is an uplifting and optimistic song. The eclectic, colourful and layered sound reminds me a little of the rise of Day-Glo indie in the 00s from the likes of I’m From Barcelona and Architecture In Helsinki. Layered vocals create the rousing, inclusive and inspiring experience of pride protest marches.

When Rosk sings the line, ‘You dirty patriarchs don’t you try to erase, you know that we know how to slay’ you could almost feel sorry for the people whose worldviews are so inevitably going to be cast aside. If they weren’t so toxic, of course. Rosk is bold and forthright as the song hits its Star Wars referencing chorus, ‘Our love will outrun your dumb, glum hate speech’. Despite the deeply painful political reality of our moment, it’s hard not to believe her. Those that love and include and embrace will win.

Listen: Says I’m Home by Théa Marie, Kiriku

On her new song, Says I’m Home, Théa Marie combines a wistful guitar melody with pulse quickening bass guitar to create something beautiful and haunting. Her vocal takes centre stage, however, acting as a cooling balm against the baking sun and the creeping sense of alienation that can come from extended time away from home.

Hailing from France but finding herself floating aboard a narrowboat on London’s canals, it is perhaps unsurprising to hear Théa create this ode to home. Having collaborated with producers from around the world to release 52 songs in a single year, the singer, songwriter, and vocal producer is now focused on creating her own sound and space. Here on Says I’m Home, Théa is collaborating with Kiriku, who lives between London and Ibiza. Both homes influence Kiriku’s sound, which spans from groove-led downtempo to clubby, organic house.

With Kiriku’s production work, Says I’m Home shimmers with the warm heat of a Balearic sunset. Centred on the sense of calm and belonging that ‘comes with returning home, especially to the Mediterranean’, the sun-baked aesthetic and feeling of relief that comes from Marie’s vocal are clearly both purposeful and striking. The song reaches a climax with a bridge that kicks in during its third minute, Théa’s vocal cut loose against a backdrop of scratchy instrumentation and shuffling percussion. It is a moment that begs to be extended, and with the EP, Shades Of Longing, featuring a remix from French musicians dOP, we have something akin to just that. For the moment, I’ll slowly click back to the song’s beginning, as I endure the UK’s current heatwave.

Listen: Costumes by Bonbonfire

Opening with a reverb heavy intro, Bonbonfire’s new single, Costumes, is centred around piano keys that sound as though they are being scattered across bare floorboards. A vocal duet picks its way through an environment of emotional detritus, as layers of percussion and instrumentation gradually come together to create an increasingly resonant experience.

Bonbonfire are a US-based male-female duo. He is an electronic music producer, and she used to dream of being a country music star. Having both become certified music therapists, they work together to create a combination of electronic and acoustic sounds as a musical outlet.

Costumes was originally a single from 2020, but is a focus again as part of Bonbonfire’s 2025 album, This Wasn’t The Plan. The costumes in the title reflect the song’s exploration of imposter syndrome and identity crisis, themselves triggered by some of the world events through which we have all lived in the past few years.

Listen: Uppercut by Idarose

American musician Idarose positions herself as ‘the cross between brat summer and a theatre kid’ and, having previously produced and written for major artists including Joji, Suki Waterhouse, Two Feet and Lydia Night, she is now releasing her own self-written and produced music.

New single Uppercut is the exception that proves a particular rule of mine… One of my most frequent complaints about music that gets sent to me is a reliance on heavily processed vocals, but here on Uppercut, they lend the song a sense of urgent drama.

Opening with deadpan vocals performed on top of cinematic synths and propulsive drums, Uppercut channels an energy that is equal parts John Hughes and brat punk delivered with an attitude not dissimilar to Olivia Rodrigo. Idarose’s hushed vocals establish the context of a friendship turned sour, quietly seething, before she jumps into a chorus that gives the feeling of being in emotional free fall, buried grievances suddenly given the space and oxygen to ignite. As things proceed through the song’s duration, the whole thing burns bright like lithium.

Describing her inspiration, Idarose says:

‘Over the past few years, through my work with different artists as well as through the creation of an original musical, I’ve really started to figure out what I wanted my artist project to sound like again. After separately exploring both worlds, I began to realize, what if my artist project actually is a mix of the theater kid in me with so many stories to tell and the electronic pop producer in me who loves aggressively loud synthesizers and harmonizers? This song was the first one I had made in a long time that felt so innately Idarose — lyrics where I get to overshare and process emotions about a friendship breakup over production that is loud, dramatic and in your face. Uppercut felt like the perfect way to bring people back into my world as an artist.’

Listen: Stitch by Snake Orange Cake

Snake Orange Cake is the new musical project from Berlin-based artist Julia Carlsson. Blending electronic soundscapes, she creates a shoe-gaze, drone-like aesthetic, meshing loops, samples, and synthesisers together with her spoken-word poetry.

On her latest single, Stitch, Snake Orange Cake creates a deep, transcendental piece of music. Shuffling rhythms rub against low bass tones, guitar sounds and slow synth melodies. The result is cinematic and consuming, encouraging the listener to give themselves over to the sound, with the deadpan vocal delivery blending into the collage of noise, an instrument in itself. I found the experience of listening to Stitch meditative and cleansing, pulling me into the moment and creating a sense of presence.

Carlsson took her inspiration for the song and its lyrics from her experience of taking more risks and exploring the world, embracing a sense of adventure. Her work as Snake Orange Cake builds on her prior work as Leoblu, featured on BlackPlastic last year, which saw her gain international recognition and placement on a Netflix soundtrack.