Melodic Magazine // LØLØ, Matt Hansen, Lø Spirit, Nora Mae
is done being a robot on sophomore album, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!
Cinematic heartbreak and bold artistry define the debut album, Fin, from Nora Mae Turning music into his personal coping mechanism, Lø Spirit releases Isn’t Life Beautiful Matt Hansen puts down the pen and turns his emotion into his debut album, Orchid
DESIGN + EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Victoria Goodwin
COVER PHOTO
Whitney Otte @whitneyotte
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Avery Heeringa
ASSISTANT DESIGNER
Ashlyn Siples
Ayanna Fata
FIND US melodicmag.com @melodicmag
APR/MAY 2026 ISSUE 022
THANK YOU
A big thank you to Matt Hansen, LØLØ, Lø Spirit, and Nora Mae for taking time out of their schedules between album releases and touring to talk to Melodic Magazine.
Also a big thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue: Ally Franzo, Amber Bintliff, Ann Korwan, Ann Storlie, Cassilyn Anderson, Chester Marc, Clare Gehlich, Emily Ann, Emily McCormack, Gavin Case, hi! hello! pr, Image PR, Jaden Russell, Joseph Ine, Justice Petersen, Lauren Carsley, Liam Maxwell, Listen Up, Rae Bozeman, Reagan Denning, Riley Basile, Sarah Elizabeth Carpenter, Shauna Hilferty, Stephanie Saias, Whitney Otte
C N T E N T S
ON YOUR RADAR - 6
5 artists that you should know. No, really.
LØ SPIRIT - 8
Turning his most difficult moments into something meaningful, Lø Spirit channels chronic illness, mental health struggles, and radical honesty into his debut release, Isn’t Life Beautiful.
NORA MAE - 14
Blending Old Hollywood glamour with theatrical storytelling, Nora Mae transforms love and heartbreak into a cinematic two-act experience on Fin, out May 1.
VENUE HIGHLIGHT: THE FILLMORE NOLA - 21
Blending the city’s signature flair with the iconic nationwide Fillmore brand, The Fillmore New Orleans delivers a theatrical concert experience in the heart of downtown.
LØLØ - 22
Fusing catchy sharp wit with unfiltered honesty, LØLØ turns messy emotions into punchy poppunk anthems that hit just as hard as they heal.
MATT HANSEN - 30
Blending reflective songwriting with a fiercely independent mindset, Matt Hansen turns four years of personal growth into his debut Orchid. His vulnerable debut captures the coexistence of heartbreak and healing.
OFF THE SHELF - 36
Hot off the press, we’ve picked out some albums you should check out next.
ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Best known as “the redhead Latina” on social media, content creator Ana Saia has spent the last few years amassing over 7 million social media followers. Known for her comedic videos that use humor to comment on the challenges she faces as a Mexican-American woman, Saia has defined herself as an iconic social media personality. However, with the release of her debut single “The Reason (La Razón)” in 2024, Saia entered a new chapter in her creative journey as an emerging pop artist. Known for her unique Spanglish approach to her artistry, as well as her exciting blend of pop and reggaeton influences, Saia uses catchy beats and charming lyricism to explore themes of love and identity. These themes are further explored on her debut EP, Besos & Despedidas, released April 24. Across five tracks, including singles “Spanish Love” and “Canelo,” Saia explores the highs and lows of a romantic relationship and expresses this concept flawlessly through a balance of immense selfreflection and upbeat compositions. With the release of her debut EP, Saia proves she is the ultimate creative.
ANA SAIA
Combining the bratty, high-speed energy of Y2K pop icons with the heavy sonic rage of hard rock, it’s no mystery why English outfit South Arcade have become viral trailblazers in the modern pop punk circuit. Following their 2021 formation, South Arcade gained serious traction on social media, and the release of their debut EP 2005 in 2024 certified them as one of alternative rock’s most exciting new acts. Currently, the band is on tour with 5 Seconds of Summer, has been compared to the likes of Pale Waves and Avril Lavigne, and amassed millions of streams across streaming platforms. Last year, South Arcade released their sophomore EP, Play!, and this year will continue to bring the band new milestones. This summer, South Arcade will make their way across North America as one of the headlining acts for Idobi Radio’s third annual Summer School Tour. Performing alongside Winona Fighter, Chase Petra, Games We Play, and Honey Revenge, South Arcade will bring their signature pop rock artistry across the U.S. this summer.
SOUTH ARCADE
FFO: Magnolia Park, Honey Revenge, The Haunt LISTEN: “2005,” “stone cold summer,” “HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER”
FFO: Shakira, Bad Bunny, Kali Uchis
LISTEN: “The Reason (La Razón),” “Norte a Sur,” “Canelo”
Ever since landing a spot on season 18 of American Idol, Sophia James has continued to establish herself as a dynamic and poignant singer-songwriter. Not long after her appearance on the show, where she finished in eleventh place, James released her debut EP Stand Beneath The Sky in 2021. She released two more EPs—Lines on the Freeway (2022) and Clockwork (2024)—before becoming an Internet sensation. Last year, James was behind the “Group 7” social experiment—something that started as a mundane internet trick and soon became a huge viral moment. James posted seven videos on social media, assigning people to groups one through seven, and included her song “So Unfair” as the audio. For reasons known only to the algorithm, the seventh and final video blew up, earning over 85 million views. In it, James told viewers, “If you’re watching this video, you’re in Group 7.” The viral video marked a great transitional moment in James’ musical career and gave her a devoted fanbase, but the singer hasn’t stopped there. Soon to release her new EP The Wrong Shoe Theory on May 1, James is continuing to build upon her artistry, defining herself as not just an Internet genius, but a deeply intentional musical act.
Known for their surf-inspired alt-rock artistry, the music of Salt Lake City rock group The Moss shimmers like sunshine on burning sand. Initially taking shape in 2015 when the band members were all teenagers in Hawaii, the band became a more solidified outfit in 2018, and by 2019 they released their debut LP, Bryology. Two years later they released their sophomore album Kentucky Derby, which continued to expand upon their ethereal yet grounded sonic identity. With a sound as dynamic and vast as the ocean, The Moss are always in rhythm with the wave of their craft. Following 2023’s Insomnia EP, the group have continued to steadily release new singles, showing signs of something greater yet to come. Currently, the band are on their spring tour across the U.S., bringing their emotive musicality on the road this April and May. Known for their highly energetic live shows and connection with their fans, The Moss are a group that you won’t want to miss if they’re riding through a city near you.
FFO: Gracie Abrams, Katie Tupper, Annika Bennett
LISTEN: “Somebody New,” “Clockwork,” “So Unfair”
AGRESLEY
FFO: Ben Ellis, Men I Trust, Holly Humberstone
LISTEN: “How?,” “Babyface,” “Think of You”
fter making a name for himself as one-third of British pop trio New Hope Club, singersongwriter George Smith now reinvents himself as a new project under the name GRESLEY. Following the news of New Hope Club going on an indefinite hiatus last year, GRESLEY began his career as a solo act, entering a new artistic era with the release of his debut single “How?” at the start of 2026. In March, he announced that his debut album Songs I Wrote Since She Left, would arrive April 24. An exciting announcement for fans, the news even earned praise from Sabrina Carpenter herself. Featuring songs written during an uncertain period of his life, GRESLEY’s introductory album is fueled by deep emotion, honesty, and an undying love for songwriting. Following the album’s release, GRESLEY will play a run of select album release shows across Ireland and the U.K. this May. In the midst of a thrilling new musical chapter, there’s no doubt GRESLEY will continue to define himself as an indie pop genius.
Article: Amber Bintliff
Photos: Lauren Carsley
proves life is more than its worst moments on debut album, Isn’t Life Beautiful
Lø Spirit is living proof that sometimes the worst moments in life can unexpectedly lead to something bigger. An outspoken advocate for OCD, PTSD, MCAS, and anxiety, the Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer turned to music as a personal coping mechanism five years ago.
JoshuaLandry—the man behind Lø Spirit—first gained attention on TikTok under the name SadSongsOnly through reimagined covers of massive scene hits like My Chemical Romance’s “Helena” and Highly Suspect’s “My Name is Human.” He has since shifted to releasing original music as Lø Spirit with his first EP Mind Of Mine in 2022. In sharing his most vulnerable moments with the world, his art became more than a sanctuary for himself. It began to resonate with others experiencing similar struggles, cultivating a strong global community built on reflection, connection and support in the face of darkness.
His debut album, Isn’t Life Beautiful —released April 17—turns the daily struggles of chronic illness and mental health conditions into a beautiful reminder that everything happens for a reason. “Everything that I have now was born out of all of the worst moments of my life,” Landry tells Melodic Magazine. “The title [of the album] is more or less ironic. I never expected that by getting sick and trying to heal and understand myself and do the work by writing songs that I would’ve ended up walking into my best life.”
In addition to his growing catalog, Landry has written and produced for some notable artists in alternative music, such as Motionless in White, Catch Your Breath, and The Devil Wears Prada and reached the #1 spot as a songwriter and producer for artists like Papa Roach and The Funeral Portrait. These collaborations allow him to encourage others to dig into themselves and write from a place of authenticity.
“I love the conversations that are born out of these sessions,” he says. “They might not even know what’s actually important to them because they’re not conscious of it, but I’ve spent the past several years of my life in therapy, so I’m very conscious of what’s important to me. When somebody says something and it holds weight, it hits me heavy.”
“Everything that I have now was born out of all of the worst moments of my life.”
Those conversations, however, don’t end when the sessions do, but instead they follow Landry back into his own artistry, allowing him to push the limits of his identity as a musician and person. “There is a piece of ego with everyone that makes
music, whether you want to admit it or not,” he says. “I have to allow [those I collaborate with] to actually dig into me as a person rather than me being in the seat of digging into somebody else.”
That shift in perspective ultimately lays the groundwork for Isn’t Life Beautiful. Across its 13 tracks, the album digs into the real, defining moments that often surface during these deeply personal creative exchanges. While this honest vulnerability fuels his creative flow, it’s not always the simplest task. “The most difficult part of the [writing] process was making sure that the entire album was actually based on truth for me and that the entire album was a true reflection of who I am rather than an attempt to bait and pander to an audience,” he says.
The willingness to examine his inner world doesn’t stop when the writing and music is finished, but instead it extends into how he shows up publicly, too. Though a prominent advocate for mental health online, navigating which pieces of himself to put on public display never stops being scary for Landry. The artificial nature of social media generates constant pressure to maintain a happy facade while fighting an unforgiving algorithm and mind at the same time. “It’s important for people to be more vocal about the cracks and the things that they deal with,” he says. “Even though I’m embarrassed about a lot of things that I deal with and about not being perfect all the time, it still feels like a calling in a weird way.”
With this mindset, Landry took to social media last November to open up about the uncomfortable reality he’s faced behind closed doors. His Instagram statement detailed his fears of perception, explaining that sharing content and promoting his music felt heavier than normal in this mental state of isolation, loneliness, and defeat. “I still feel like, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t talk about this today because it doesn’t look very rockstar of me,’” he says. “That sounds really stupid and cheesy, but at the same time, it’s such a real internal conflict.”
In moments like that, Landry says he often forces himself out of his own headspace rather than staying stuck in it. “I’ll almost rebel against myself and do something stupid for the sake of breaking that ice with myself,” he continues. Even in moments of embarrassment and instability Landry tries his best to not lose sight of the real reason this project began: people. “You could influence the way that other people continue to carry on with their own struggles by just voicing yours and being real and transparent.”
With that mindset, Landry also helps by advice he now gives to others navigating the same digital pressures. “Don’t curate your feed. Go talk about this thing that made you sad. Talk about this relationship or this person that put you through hell, that taught you a lot, that changed you and shaped you into a better person,” he urges. “At the end of the day, we’re all just a bunch of walking highlight reels and that’s not real.”
“It feels like I matter.”
Thatsame honesty has helped build a community around Landry that feels inherently healing, and while embarking on his first ever headline tour in the United States two years ago, Landry had a sense of normalcy that previously felt foreign. “I was walking into a room full of people that got it,” he shares. “I met people in every single city that had the same conditions as me and that felt incredibly cathartic.”
These shows turned into a safe haven for Landry. With new stories waiting to be heard across the country, the support and well-wishes he’d received online increasingly began to feel tangible. “It feels like I matter. It feels like a place where I just get to be myself and not worry about whether what I post is going to reach people. Whatever I say is gonna hit the ears in front of me,” he explains.
Isn’t Life Beautiful seeks to deepen that sense of stability and solidarity while exploring the emotion Landry experiences. The entire record authentically unpacks the different layers to his story and pours out a piece of his heart for the listener to witness. “My whole message to everyone with this album is that regardless of how far down you feel when you’re at the bottom, there really is nowhere to go but up,” he says. “I want to be living proof for anybody with these chronic conditions
or mental health disorders that things really can turn around and you could create something really impactful and meaningful.”
All 13 tracks on Isn’t Life Beautiful offer a glimpse into pivotal moments of Landry’s formative experiences. Songs like “Leeches” and “Free” break away from people-pleasing tendencies of the past while “See Me Now” and “Worst Days of My Life” reflect on self-discovery despite internal doubt and external issues. The most intense track on the record, however, centers on the most important part of his life: fatherhood.
“XO to the Grave” serves as an open letter to Landry’s almost four-year-old son, and details the extent of his love in the event his health conditions worsen. After coming across a TikTok video of a girl talking about her late father, he became worried about how his son would view their relationship once he grows old enough to understand the severity of his conditions. “I just want him to know how much I love him, way more than I hated what I dealt with,” he says. “I don’t want him to remember me, if anything happens to me, as that chronically unhappy dad. It would absolutely wreck me if that were the most memorable part of his father.”
This anticipatory grief led Landry straight into the
studio. With the help of singer-songwriter Curtis Peoples (Pierce the Veil, Grayscale, Broadside), he spent two hours piecing together the most tender tribute to his son. “For me, the most powerful and precious thing that I could do for my kid is speak to him in a song,” he says. “XO to the Grave” is meant to be a keepsake for Landry’s son to hold as a constant reminder of the unconditional love his father carries for him in this life and the next. “Songs are like photos for me in a way,” he explains. “It’s like photographing a thought or a feeling in a moment and you’re immortalizing that.”
With every deeply personal confession, Isn’t Life Beautiful offers a raw look into the true nature of resilience. The album profoundly transforms pain, suffering and weakness into a resounding lesson to keep moving forward. In making peace with the good and bad moments of life, Landry finds a deep appreciation for the hardships that have brought him to this point in his journey. “Hope isn’t cheesy or cliche,” he shares. “The worst moments of your life can lead you to the best place that you never expected to be.”
Article: Justice Petersen
Photos: Courtesy of Listen Up
Nora Mae turns
pain into power on debut album Fin
For singer-songwriter Nora Mae, music isn’t a sonic expression of hurt and desire, it’s a cinematic exploration of the human experience. Set to release her debut full-length album Fin May 1, Mae has crafted a body of work that turns love songs into a multi-layered theatrical event.
INTERVIEW: NORA MAE
Pulling inspiration from Broadway, 1960s cinema, and a wide array of musical influences ranging from jazz to pop to rock, Mae’s artistry is equally timeless and poignant. Following the release of her inaugural EP Mad Woman in 2024, her upcoming full-length was introduced by singles “Don’t Wake Me Up” and “Change For Her,” which display Mae’s flawless ability to convey magnetic dichotomy. Throughout 13 tracks, sensuality and vulnerability dance across the stage through acts of love, loss, heartbreak, and healing.
Ahead of the album’s release, Mae has also recorded her own rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” for Apple TV’s new series Imperfect Women. Adopting a strippeddown, piano-led take on Sinatra’s hit, Mae’s cover continues to showcase her wide-ranging musical prowess.
While carving her own identity as a thrilling alternative jazz talent, Mae is continuously honoring the legacy she stands upon. The granddaughter of the legendary Eartha Kitt, Mae grew up singing, acting, and watching her grandmother perform on Broadway. Now, she carries the playful ferocity of her grandmother while establishing a strong, irreplaceable artistic identity of her own.
Arriving this May, Fin fearlessly explores every stage of a relationship through a theatrical lens. In the album’s first act, the passion of a new love is expressed. At its climax, the tone makes a shift from joy to heartbreak, with the latter act of the record exploring the relationship’s bittersweet end and the personal growth that follows.
“I think the beautiful thing about music is that you have this awareness about the fact that this hurts so much and it sucks, but the fact that I have this outlet where I can transpose this pain into something that becomes powerful and relatable was such a beautiful escape,” Mae tells Melodic Magazine ahead of the album’s release. “It’s so therapeutic and cathartic to write that way. The healing of the heartbreak informs the music, and the music informs the healing. I always say I’m trying to turn pain into passion and passion into power.”
Through both its message and its structure, Fin is an extremely intentional body of work. From its two-act delivery, as well as an intermission at the album’s midpoint that brings listeners out of the musical experience, Fin breaks the fourth wall in terms of just a simple album playthrough. Overall, Mae performs each song on the album as though she’s playing the lead role in a one-woman Broadway show.
“I’m not reinventing the wheel by writing love songs and then writing heartbreak songs,” Mae says. “So [I thought,] how can I do this in a way that feels
cinematic and voyeuristic? I want the listener to be able to come on the journey with me and sort of escape as if you are in the protagonist’s shoes…I wanted moments of levity where there’s some humor to break through the heartache, and then moments of real enduring vulnerability. To me, it felt like theater is the ultimate way to show both of those things. I’m such a theatrical person that I was experiencing the heartache in a very theatrical way, too. I was like, ‘Why not just make it into a musical?’”
Most everyone experiences a breakup at some point, but by turning the mundane into something truly sensational, Mae has crafted an artistic product that makes every listener feel like a star. “I feel like I have this experience all the time where I listen to songs, and I’m just so grateful to the artists,” Mae says. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, these are feelings that I’ve had a million times that I’ve never been able to put into words.’ Hopefully, this album and these songs will give somebody else that experience.”
“I‘m trying to turn pain into passion and passion into power.”
Both theatrically and cinematically inspired, Mae’s music sounds like the lost soundtrack to a James Bond film. Hopelessly romantic and daring in its edginess, her musicality captures the indescribable beauty of unattainable nostalgia.
“Obviously, I love modern pop, pop culture, and cinema as well, but there’s something that feels so regal [about the past],” she says. “Maybe because it is this nostalgia for a time that I wasn’t even here for, and it’s the sense of the fact that I can’t touch it right now. So there’s a mystique around it. There’s a mystery to it and a longing for something that you’ve never had or can’t experience. So you almost have to put it on like a costume and see if it fits. And to me, it fits.”
When it comes to this Old Hollywood-meets-femme fatale aesthetic, its sharp confidence is what draws people in, according to Mae.
“I love the nuance and the simplicity in it and how much it really does command attention and demand respect, but without screaming for it,” she says. “We’re so overstimulated by how much access we have to everything, and I think in order to fight through all the noise, you sort of have to be loud and dramatic and in your face. There’s a beauty to what doesn’t demand attention. It just gets it from being effortless. It puts you in a trance, almost, and you can’t look away. And to me, that’s what I think this retro style and a lot of retro music has.”
“I really do love the person that I am and that I’m becoming.”
“I’m really proud of myself and proud of how I am able to turn that into music.”
A lover of the old and the new, Mae credits modern artists she looks up to—like Olivia Dean, Adele, and Raye—as perfectly balancing vintage influences with a contemporary twist. What these artists have in common, and what Mae strives for in her own work, is conveying a retro artistry while emphasizing authenticity.
“I think you can mess it up if you don’t do it with respect and education about the time and about the key players,” she says. “I’ve really tried to make sure that I am always a student of this art. I love to keep learning. I do not pretend to know everything, like I’m an encyclopedia of music. I certainly am not. But I’m always open to learning about what basically opened the door for me to be able to do this, and all those who came before and the way that this outlet—music, film, theater—all came to be, and having the utmost respect for what laid the path for all of us to get to do this now. It’s a privilege.”
Through her delivery of adoration, hurt, and healing on Fin, Mae maintains authenticity through it all. A deeply personal journey to share with the world, the making of the record—and the relationship that preceded it—was a lesson in balancing romanticism with reality.
“I’m just such a hopeless romantic,” she admits. “I wanted things to be something in my mind. So I created it in my mind, even though it wasn’t there on paper. I think the biggest thing I learned is that I need to slow down and meet people, the world, experiences, and opportunities where they’re at instead of trying to do mental gymnastics in order to create something into what I want it to be. That actually gave me a lot of relief because it gave me a sense of releasing control over situations, which is hard to do.”
While Fin embodies this ultimate journey of a relationship, navigating the initial passion followed by the hurt and the aftermath, the throughline of the entire record is a divine feminine power. Whether it’s within the album’s romantic first act or the sorrowful latter half, female empowerment and self-love are what lie underneath. “I do think that it all came back to the fact that I really do love the person that I am and that I’m becoming,” Mae says. “I’m really proud of myself and proud of how I am able to turn that into music.”
Of course, when it comes to role models and inspirations for feminine energy, what better role model than the icon that is Eartha Kitt?
The feminist icon who refused to dull her light or suppress her energy, Kitt has—quite literally— laughed in the face of those who dared question whether she would compromise for any man.
Embodying a fierce persona and a radiant confidence, Mae says that her grandmother plays a pivotal role when it comes to her own artistry.
“She was this force of nature, but again, not because she was commanding attention,” Mae reflects. “She wasn’t yelling or loud. She carried herself in a very confident and commanding presence. Especially as a woman of color in that time, who, even when she was touring, there were times when she experienced insane racism and was told she couldn’t stay at the same places that my mom, who was a child, could stay because my mom was white-presenting. But watching how she turned all of that pain into power informed me as a woman and as a person in relationships and in my music.”
While her grandmother’s presence in her life is everlasting, Mae is building an artistic foundation that is completely her own. Fueled by romance, mystery, and a deep knowledge of herself, there’s no denying that Mae is a dazzling spectacle all on her own.
“It would be easy just to try and emulate her,” she says. “But instead, I like to use the essence of her presence as my way of paying homage. Her almost animalistic, feline sensuality, as well as her strength, power, confidence, and elegance, is what I try to infuse in as best I can. But my taste in music, as well as how music has changed, is also different from hers was, and [was different] than it was at the time. So it’s honoring the grander, more overarching elements—her power, her integrity, her activism, her presence—and maintaining my sense of self in my life and in my art, that I feel is what honors her legacy above all.”
THE FILLMORE
NEW ORLEANS, LA
The Fillmore brings modern edge to New Orleans’ music
In a city where the French Quarter, live music, and street-corner tradition define its identity, The Fillmore inside Harrah’s New Orleans has built a reputation for blending the city’s signature flair and theatrical energy with the national reach of the Fillmore brand. Since opening in February 2019, it has become a key stop for touring acts passing through the city.
Its downtown location sits near the Mississippi River and within walking distance of the French Quarter, making it convenient for touring acts, tourists, and locals catching shows.
The venue draws inspiration from the original Fillmore Auditorium, featuring twostory crystal chandeliers, velvet drapery, and collage-style murals referencing Louisiana music history.
The interior includes a wide, open generaladmission floor that stretches from the stage to the back bar. The venue also
features an elevated balcony, multiple bars along the perimeter, and an acclaimed sound system.
With a capacity of about 2,200 people, it brings in a notable list of touring acts, such as Shinedown, Hozier, The Disco Biscuits, and jazz artist Gerald Albright.
Beyond its concerts, the venue is known for elevating the live music experience with premium amenities, like access to B’s Lounge for pre-show food and specialty cocktails, functioning as a high-end night-out destination rather than just a concert hall.
While it may not carry the historic weight of New Orleans’ legacy venues, The Fillmore has quickly established itself as a steady presence in the city’s contemporary live music scene. By pairing national touring acts with a distinctly local aesthetic, it embodies a new and exciting layer of New Orleans’ musical identity.
VENUE HIGHLIGHT
Photo courtesy of Live Nation Article by Clare Gehlich
is done being a robot
Once the pop-rock powerhouse stopped running from her emotions, her fans began to run toward them.
Article: Ann Storlie
Photos: Whitney Otte
For years, pop-rock powerhouse LØLØ tried to outrun her emotions. Her 2024 debut album falling for robots & wishing i was one was built on the fantasy of shutting down completely—no feelings, no vulnerability, no chance of getting hurt. “My debut album had me wishing I could be a robot,” she says over a call with Melodic Magazine “[ god forbid a girl spits out her feelings! ], however, is what happens when I start embracing every messy, scary, and inconvenient feeling of being human.”
That shift became god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!, out April 17 via Fearless Records. The record is a stripped-back unraveling of everything she once tried to hide. “Every song is diaristic, ripped straight from the pages of my journal, chronicling every intrusive or delusional thought, every downward spiral that goes on in the labyrinth I call my mind,” she says. “It’s me, spilling my guts in real time to cope.”
But LØLØ didn’t get to this era of emotional honesty easily. For most of her life, she kept her thoughts locked away in journals, convinced they were never meant for anyone else. When her guitar teacher first told her to try writing a song, she flat- out refused. “My diary entries, the public? No thank you,” she says. “The thought of someone else knowing my deepest inner thoughts made me want to die.” But her teacher pushed her, playfully threatening not to come back unless she tried. So she sat on her bed with a notepad, wrote one song, and then six more. “I was obsessed,” she says. The practice made her realize, “this is what I want to do.”
“I realized that we do feel things, but at least we get to feel them together. And that’s what makes us human.”
Before she ever became LØLØ, she was just Lauren Mandel—until a boss at her first job casually started calling her “Lolo” and the nickname stuck. She tried to use her real name as her artistic identity, but another Lauren Mandel (a writer on Saturday Night Live) already owned the Instagram handle and website address. Fans who saw the credits for Sabrina Carpenter’s episode of SNL even briefly thought she’d helped Sabrina write a sketch. “I fucking wish,” she laughs. Then, she discovered another artist already performing as Lolo. “She’s the most awesome, sweetest girl,” LØLØ says. “But she already was a Lolo and I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t wanna get sued.’ So, I added those slashes.”
LØLØ’s new album grew out of the realizations she had while touring her first one. Throughout that process, she slowly realized that shutting down wasn’t actually protecting her. “As I wrote that album, and then especially as I toured it, I realized that we do feel things, but at least we get to feel them together,” she says. “And that’s what makes
us human.” She still loves the tin-foil covered robot prop she brought on her past tours—he’s even coming back this year, maybe with a tiara—but her desire to shut down has softened.
LØLØ spent years building awareness as an opening act for other artists—grinding through supporting slots for bands like Simple Plan, New Found Glory, and other pop-punk heavyweights. It was safe there. Comfortable. Low pressure. “I got so lucky that I got to open for so many different people and amazing bands,” she says. So when her team told her it was time to headline, she panicked. “I didn’t know if I had fans,” she confesses. “There’s no way to really know if people are actually gonna buy your tickets until you try.” She kept asking for “just one more opening tour,” but it was time to take a leap. Thankfully, her first headline run sold out and relief hit her like a wave. “It was the best time ever,” she says. “I was like, wow…I like doing a headline tour so much more than being an opener.” The pressure was heavier, but so was the payoff.
“It’s your show, so it’s all the pressure in the world,” she says. “But it’s also all of the reward.” The fear that once kept her from stepping into the spotlight became the exact thing that made it worth it.
It wasn’t until opening night of her tour in Leeds, England that everything snapped into focus. LØLØ could hear the crowd screaming as her intro rolled, and all she could think was, “Oh my God, this is crazy.” She imagined her younger self, the shy kid dancing in the basement to Green Day’s Hilary Duff practicing for this moment. “I’d picture her looking up at me, being like ‘We can’t go out there. I can’t do this,’ and me being like, ‘Nah, we got this,’” she says. “I got on stage and it just made me so emotional because I thought about how I never imagined myself doing that, being able to do this.
“But now I am able to do this and it’s like a sold-out crowd out there,” she says. “It just made every night really special when I would hype myself up with that thought.”
As the tour went on,
she realized how differently each place connected to her music. American fans screamed her song “hurt less,” while “poser” hit harder across the U.K. and Europe. The songs she’d mentally labeled as “flops” (the ones that didn’t rack up big streaming numbers) were often the ones fans screamed the loudest. “Sometimes the less-streamed ones are people’s fucking favorites,” she says.
Last summer, she played multiple dates of Van’s Warped Tour, which was a milestone that came with its own anxiety. “I was constantly asking myself if I was cool enough to play Warped Tour,” she says. “I was scared the audience wouldn’t think so or no one would come to my set.” Instead, she walked out to a sea of people and realized she belonged. She’ll return this year for even more Warped Tour dates, and this time she’s not scared. “I’m so excited to be back,” she says. “I’m excited to go into it now, not being scared for my life now that I’ve already done it… I know it’s gonna be great, and I think I’m gonna be able to relax a little bit more and just have fun.”
ØLØ’s new album’s production is stripped back, but still has the heartfelt lyrics and catchy pop-rock melodies LØLØ is known for. The new tracks are often just guitar and voice, a choice her producer, Andrew Goldstein, pushed for after hearing how the songs lived in their rawest form.
“When there’s no crazy production to hide behind, everyone hears the lyrics,” she says. “It hits a little harder.” LØLØ hadn’t expected to make a more minimal album, but once she started writing that way, it opened something up.
The songs came straight from her journal and she didn’t think about what was “too personal.” “I write first, panic later,” she says. “At 11:59pm before a song comes out, I’m like, ‘Huh, My parents are gonna hear this.’” Still, she doesn’t hold back.
“Me with no shirt on” was written while she was literally waiting for a response, laughing at her own spiraling to keep from sinking into it. “I put a lot of humor in my writing, I think to make myself feel better,” she says. “You have to laugh at your life at a certain point.” “lobotomy & u” came out fast— almost too fast—and left her staring at the page thinking, “Oh, this is really sad.”
“The dumbest girl in the world” felt like yelling at herself in a way that somehow made her feel lighter. “It’s almost like making fun of yourself,” she says. “How could you be this dumb?” And “the punisher,” which began as a single note in her phone, spiraled into a full-blown anthem about stalking an expartner and their new life on social media. “You know it’ll ruin your day, but you keep doing it.”
“When there’s no crazy production to hide behind, everyone hears the lyric. It hits a little harder.”
Her current tour, god forbid a girl goes on tour!, kicked off on April 25 in Vienna, Austria, and reflects her new album’s rawness. She’s not interested in recreating the songs exactly as they sound on the record, but instead wants the show to feel alive, unpredictable, a little chaotic, and full of the tiny moments that only happen when you’re in a room with people who know every word. While planning for the tour, she planned for guitar solos, extended intros and outros, and anything that lets the songs breathe differently onstage.
The track she’s most excited to play live is the title track. “There’s a line that says, ‘You messed up now everybody’s singing,’ and I really want there to be a moment where I say that and the crowd literally is singing,” she says. If there’s one place she knows that moment will hit, it’s London. The city has become her favorite city to play, not because of the skyline or the food or the history, but because
London shows up. Last time she played a London show, she went from a 150 - cap room to selling out a 550 - cap venue twice. This year, the venue capacity jumps again, with 1,500 people filling the room. LØLØ says she still can’t quite wrap her head around it. “It’s my favorite because it has the most tickets sold,” she says, laughing. “It’s so much fun to be in front of such a big crowd, all singing and screaming.”
Touring comes with its own rituals, the kind that keep her sane when everything else around feels loud and fast. Her favorite ritual happens after the show, when the adrenaline finally drains out. She wipes off her makeup, changes into pajamas, makes a cup of warm tea, and sits with her content creator Kelsey as the two of them scroll through photos from the night. For a while, they were both so addicted to a farming game that LØLØ had to block the app on show days just to function.
“Township—don’t download it unless you wanna ruin your life,” she warns.
If LØLØ could talk to the kid dancing in the basement, the one who didn’t think she could walk onstage, she’d tell her to start sooner, to practice guitar more, to trust the spark when it shows up. But she wouldn’t touch the stubbornness that kept her going. “I was told ‘no’ so many times, and the ‘delulu’ was strong,” she jokes. “I kept going.” Though she jokes, there’s a truth under calling herself “delulu”: LØLØ wouldn’t be here without that delusion, without the belief that something was waiting for her even when she couldn’t see it yet.
One of the biggest rewards for all of the hard work has been connecting with listeners. “Honestly, I think seeing how my music affects people in real life,” she says. She sees the numbers on her phone
every day—the playlists, the streams, the stats— but none of it compares to standing onstage and watching someone cry, scream, dance, or breathe easier because of something she wrote in her bedroom. Meeting fans before or after the show, hearing how a song changed their life, is the part she carries with her. “That’s the goal,” she says. “So to get to see it in real life, how music affects people, I think is just so cool.”
Maybe that’s the real shift of this era. She spent years wishing she could be a robot, wishing she could shut it all off. But now, standing in front of rooms full of people who feel everything with her, she’s learned that the feelings were never the problem. Now she lets herself feel it, the mess, the fear, the joy, the connection, and she lets everyone else feel it with her. That’s the whole point. That’s what makes her human.
turns his emotion to a fully bloomed Orchid
Article: Shauna Hilferty
Photos: Jaden Russell
“When you share more about yourself… the more you get to know yourself.”
Matt Hansen usually begins his mornings at home in Los Angeles. He goes outside and enjoys nature (he loves to surf), and he might even try his luck at a puzzle. Maybe he’ll think about journaling but decide against it. “I tried to do the journal thing,” he reveals to Melodic Magazine over a Zoom call. “But the problem was, I couldn’t read my own handwriting.”
Calling in from home, Hansen has had plenty on his mind these days with his debut album Orchid set to release May 15. Lately, he’s been splitting time between the studio and gearing up for his Summerfest performance this spring.
Revisiting journaling seems like the logical step to try and slow things down, but for Hansen, it’s hardly a priority. Instead, he’s spent the past four years spilling moments of his life experience into his music, steadily and slowly, and a bit of lyrical vulnerability calling the journey “weirdly therapeutic.”
That exact vulnerability of documenting his everyday life is part of what’s made his music resonate so widely. He has surpassed the billion stream mark on Spotify, with his album’s lead single “SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN” sitting comfortably at 5.5 million streams. Not to mention his Instagram or TikTok, which is frequently home to videos of Hansen showcasing his powerful vocals while outdoors. An avid lover of the wilderness and
national parks, his song “yellowstone (holding you)” has earned 43.9 million streams on Spotify alone.
Hansen has always had a passion and appreciation for music. His musical endeavors began as covers of his favorite songs, and has turned into something he can call his very own. Using a record-label internship experience to help him further his independent career, the transition from being known for his cover artistry to independent musician took a year and a half.
His desire to be known for his own music, rather than just covers, is something that has motivated him to keep going. “[While interning at a record label,] I basically learned how they work. What the label’s looking for and what they’re trying to do. I got to see ‘how the sausage was made,’” Hansen shares. “At the end of the day, what I kind of noticed early on in all the label conversations was they want me to do the same thing that I want to do for myself.”
This pushed Hansen to double down on his independence. “The hardest part about this has been being able to go outside of my creative brain,” he explains. “Go outside of ‘Matt Hansen the artist’ and the creative part and the songwriting…and be like an A & R of the Matt Hanson label, right? ‘How do we promote this?’ ‘How do we do that?’ That is a part of the job now.”
“You are never going to be able to forget it…”
Still, it’s a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly. “You have to know your project in and out. And you have to be the marketing specialist. Otherwise, no one’s gonna understand what you’re trying to say,” he says.
In the same way his journal once felt unusable because he couldn’t read it back, if the message isn’t accessible, the story won’t land. “I know my project very well, and I know how to make my music, and I know how to market it,” Hansen says.
When writing music, Matt Hansen is often drawn to sounds before lyrics (with a little help from his morning time habit of spinning ambient Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins records), he starts with a feeling first. But his sonic world is shaped by a wide range of influences. Bon Iver’s sonic atmosphere, Fleetwood Mac and Coldplay’s melodies, the lyrical intimacy of Lizzy McAlpine and Holly Humberstone all serve as reference points. “A lot of my emotion comes from sound, rather than lyrics. I have always been drawn to sounds more than words,” he shares. “I’m always making the chords and making the vibe and making how it feels first. And then, based off of that, I get a very specific feeling, and I’m like, ‘I know what this song is about.’”
“I don’t tend to write poetry first or have that story ready,” he adds. “I can recognize those feelings a little bit better through the music.” Being able to name these feelings is something he has gotten better at as the years progress, and there
“It’s just going to live with you forever. And that’s okay.”
is a recognition that this clarity did not happen overnight, nor did it happen alone.
“I think when you share more about yourself with people in general, the more you get to know yourself. I feel like I’ve started to get to know myself pretty well,” Hansen shares. “Having that perspective has helped my lyricism grow more. I understand more about what’s going on in my head and how I’m feeling better.”
“As a man, it opened up a lot of things for me, understanding my emotions better, how to communicate and feel them correctly,” he adds.
“It’s been a massive emotional shift. I’ve grown in almost every way emotionally, and that’s helped me write more emotional songs.”
Comparing his album to the five stages of grief, Hansen shares that Orchid begins with the introductory track “Love is like a garden,” which is written about a relationship’s end. He deliberately begins the record this way, sharing, “the reason I did that is because that’s how I am as a person,” he says.“[Orchid ] follows grief and healing. The ending is intentionally not a happy ending because that’s not real life.”
With the knowledge the tracklist follows him postheartbreak, he says. “Not everything is a happy ending, and the only thing that you hold onto is that hope. You understand that you can hold the pain and the hope at the same time.”
The ebb and flow of the album, sonically and lyrically, mimics that of Hansen’s life. It is built upon a solid foundation with sweeping instrumentals, soft piano moments, soaring vocals that rise into crescendos. “I think some people may get a little confused at the end [of the album] because it does get sad again,” he shares.
That push and pull shows up across an impressive 18 song tracklist. “VERSIONS OF FOREVER” is a recognition that even when forever doesn’t last, the memory does. The song mentions a “someone else,” likely calling back to “chasing somebody else’s love” in “THINKIN’ BOUT ME,” addressing the curiosity that naturally occurs post-relationship. Despite some of Orchid ’s melancholic lyrical nature, the song remains uptempo. “FOUND” marks the halfway point of the project, “I block you out, you draw the curtains / How come you always seem to stay?”
Hansen talks about the sixteenth track “FIRST TIME”. He says it “is a happy/sad song where you’re remembering the good parts of a relationship and you’re remembering ‘I can still hold on to the good parts. It’s okay.’ He then pauses, “I know that there were good moments, and that’s fine. I can keep them. I don’t have to forget everything.”
“That ending song, ‘ORCHID’ just dives into that feeling of [the relationship] is over. This is it,” Hansen shares. “You are never going to be able to forget it. You’re never gonna be able to get it back again. It’s just going to live with you forever. And that’s okay.”
Even if Hansen can’t keep up with a physical journal of his own, Orchid still functions as one, with each track a scribbled and brutally honest entry. He leaves behind illegible pages in favor of sounds or sights he can make sense of, through the music he makes and the feelings it allows him to finally understand. “I’m definitely antsy about [Orchid ] coming out, but more than anything I’m just excited and ready. It’s been such a long time coming—basically four years of my life—so I’m just happy for it to finally be out in the world and for people to hear it.”
OFF THE SHELF
Wishbone (Deluxe)
Conan Gray
Review by: Gavin Case
Conan Gray’s Wishbone never really felt like the end of the story. With the addition of Wishbone (Deluxe), the album takes us back into his world to reveal more of the unknown, and the heartbreak that comes with it. Gray expands on a journey we thought was finished, filling in emotional gaps that didn’t feel resolved the first time around. Each added track builds onto the story in a way that makes the original album feel more complete, while still leaving space for unanswered questions.
Grab your record player
These fresh releases deserve a top spot in your rotation.
god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!
LØLØ
Review
by: Ally Franzo
LØLØ has officially released her new album, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!, and from start to finish the entire album felt like she was actually using these songs to spit out her feelings. The project is powered by the energy of chaos, and LØLØ expresses it in her music in such a telling way. She turns the power of emotions into a forceful expression of her emotions. The strength of the album lies in its ability to perfectly balance sarcasm and sincerity, finding it’s own way through that delicate middle ground.
Joy Next Door
The Maine
Review
by: Emily Ann
Between their studio albums and headlining shows, one thing The Maine has become known for is maintaining consistent themes with their albums. Their latest, Joy
Next Door, is another example of that approach. Each song shows listeners another thing The Maine is known for: fast love songs that you can dance to from start to finish. From beginning to end, Joy Next Door has many emotions of acceptance that tie together the album: the acceptance of falling, the acceptance of not letting fate decide the choices that come, and the acceptance of the future.
Dandelion
Ella Langley
Review by: Reagan Denning
The future of women in country music looks brighter than ever after the release of Ella Langley’s sophomore LP Dandelion. With production credits from Miranda Lambert and Ben West, and backing vocals from Carter Faith, the record captures the full breadth of Langley’s unique sound. Her determination feels more selfassured on Dandelion, as she steps into her identity as both an artist and a storyteller. It’s refreshing to see a country artist honor those who came before her, while still weaving in subtle pop elements that give the project a sound that’s unique to Langley.
Isn’t
Life Beautiful
Lø Spirit
Review by: Emily
McCormack
The creative project of American singer, songwriter, and producer, Joshua Landry, Lø Spirit dedicates his debut record, Isn’t Life Beautiful, to showcasing both his lyrical vulnerability and musical capabilities, exploring his personal relationship with mental health, and advocating for those who also face anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and MCAS. Tracks like “It’s You” and “XO To The Grave” hit hard with both their lyrics and masterful instrumental backings. Isn’t Life Beautiful lives up to its name, uncovering the lows and highs of the human experience, while it explores loneliness, heartbreak, and self-doubt to their fullest extent. It reminds us that the ability to feel so deeply is remarkable and unique. It confronts life in its honest, most overwhelming, most fluctuating, and most confusing manner. With a standout sound that feels authentic to the human behind Lø Spirit, it is beautiful in its own right.
KINDA HARD
Bilmuri
Review by: Joseph Ine
The creative project of Johnny Franck, Bilmuri returns with KINDA HARD, a record that feels just as chaotic as it does intentional. Blending heavy metalcore moments with pop-punk hooks and unexpected country influence, the album leans fully into Bilmuri’s offbeat identity. The opening track kicks things off with a burst of energy before the record settles into a mix of humor, honesty, and self-awareness. Lyrically, it touches on relationships, frustration, and personal struggles without ever feeling too heavy. While some critics point out its familiar formula, KINDA HARD still stands out for its personality and unpredictability.
At Last, out now via Thriller Records. Taking inspiration from the surreal 1950s classic The Twilight Zone, the Virginia-based band blend their love for science fiction and their signature poprock style throughout this fully immersive effort. Standout tracks like “I Think They Know” and “Nowhere At Last” explore the dark and existential themes, while songs like “Cherry Red Ego Death” wrestle with emotional turmoil. With soul-searching lyricism and an elevated soundscape, Nowhere, At Last proves that Broadside has crossed over into their most mature dimension yet.
Chasing Crowns
The Cab
Review
by:
Gavin Case
Something is a shell (EP) Sofia Isella
Review
by: Ann Korwan
The third EP from industrial rockstar Sofia Isella has arrived with Something is a shell . Expanding on her signature blend of abrasive textures and haunting melodies, this release feels both refined and even more daring. Each track leans into a darker emotional core, pairing distorted production with vulnerable lyricism that lingers long after the music stops. There’s a palpable sense of evolution here, as Isella experiments with structure and atmosphere without losing the raw intensity that defines her sound. It’s a compact yet striking project that rewards repeat listens.
Review by: Amber
Bintliff
Broadside isn’t afraid to ask if there’s more to life on their highly anticipated fifth album, Nowhere,
After a 15-year hiatus from releasing a full-length record, The Cab returns with Chasing Crowns, bringing renewed energy and a sense of nostalgia, while introducing a refreshed sound to both longtime fans and new listeners. The album feels like a full-circle moment for The Cab— one that reflect their growth, resilience, and deeper sense of emotional maturity. Rather than simply revisiting what made them successful in the past, the band pushes forward with purpose, leaving listeners with a sense of closure and growth from start to finish.
Hades Melanie Martinez
Review by: Rae Bozeman
Leaving behind the persona of “Cry Baby,” the prominent character across Melanie Martinez‘s last three albums, we now emerge into
the depths of an ethereally complex and eerie Pandora’s box of presentday problems on HADES. Following a new character named Circle, this album sonically personifies the phrase “End Times,” being politically-driven and critiquing society with lyricism hitting close to home for many listeners and longtime fans. A handful of tracks within the album touch upon the female experience and topics of forced perfection (“POSSESSION”), the societal pressure to be physically attractive (“WEIGHT WATCHERS,” “UNCANNY VALLEY”), and harassment and death threats from people on social media (“CHATROOM”).
Deo Gratias Holywatr
Review by: Riley Basile
Holywatr is quickly becoming one of the most exciting acts to watch in the modern metal scene. Originally starting in 2020 as a solo project, Holywatr later evolved into a full band. The up-and-coming group has just released their third album, Deo Gratias, leaning heavily into religious themes while showcasing their incredible ability to blend heavy emotional weight with forceful metal production. With Deo Gratias, Holywatr are proving themselves as one of the most exciting acts in the genre, signaling that this is only the beginning.
UPCOMING RELEASES:
Middle of Nowhere
Kacey Musgraves Release Date: May 1
Dancing On The Wall MUNA
Release Date: May 8 brutalist sace6
Emptiness Is Godly Royal & The Serpent Release Date: May 8 everyone for ten minutes Bleachers Release Date: May 22 dinner party Niall Horan Release Date: June 5
