Watch: Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night by Avery Cochrane

‘She drinks gin martinis, wears ping thong bikinis,’ must be one of the most striking opening lines I’ve heard this year. Punctuated with sassy 80s synths and crisp electronic production, Avery Cochrane’s Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night is a firework of a record.

Throughout its three-and-a-half-minute duration, Shapeshifting… sees Cochrane depicting the manic behaviour of someone determined to keep their real self hidden, as she describes:

‘This song is about not having a strong or prideful sense of self, so you instead morph into whatever you think people want from you, especially in the context of a night out with friends who you suspect don’t truly understand the real you (because you’ve never let them see it!!)’

Hailing from Seattle, Avery’s talent is in her ability to leverage unfiltered human experience and emotion within classic pop format. The result, as heard on Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night, sees big catchy hooks meet a depth of storytelling in a way that is cinematic and infectious. This is the rare example of a song where the verse is just as strong as the chorus, but the song’s biggest moments still see Cochrane shift things up a gear, creating something anthemic. All that glitzy energy is difficult to resist, and yet you can’t help but notice it is analogous to the shapeshifting Avery sings about, and she is just giving us what she knows we want. It is what Avery is singing about that is ultimately revealing, and gives the song its enduring energy.

Listen: Skyline by Kabrio & Billy Otto

Sometimes songs take a little while to worm their way into your mind, but just occasionally they hit you face on, and you instantly just feel them. Skyline is very much the latter — a song that basks in instant v.i.b.e.s., its wonderful synth chords hitting your gut with a beautiful sloppiness, as vocals playfully circle. The result is a sense of being transported somewhere warm and welcoming.

The instantaneous feeling of Skyline reflects its creation, which was organic and seemed to happen of its own accord. The song started as a collaboration between French producer Vantage and Australian artist Billy Otto, with the core melody established in a Tokyo studio. The song then evolved in Switzerland, with Kabrio taking over production duties, giving the song its sense of warmth and movement. Production duo Kabrio are made up of Patrick (formerly known as Aerotiqué) and Peter, who, inspired by 80s disco, house and electronic music, started working together in 2019. Otto then proceeded to contribute additional components whilst travelling the world, between shows and time in the studio. The result is the tropical feeling track we get here.

The result is just the kind of gorgeously breathless electronic music I can’t resist. It’s beach cocktails, poolside afternoons, and nights spent watching the sunset. The layered vocals give the whole piece a lovely dreamlike quality, and the spoken bridge creates a heady dose of nostalgia. My only criticism is of its brevity. Skyline leaves us, after an all too brief two-minutes-and-forty-five seconds, wishing the night could go on.

Listen: Paradigm by Heron

Opening with rapid-fire crunchy drum patterns, the latest single from Heron hits the ground running, basking in a joyous lo-fi pop aesthetic. Having previously been signed to Virgin Records, Heron took an extended break from music due to health issues, and difficulties with his voice. Now back, Paradigm is the latest and fourth single to be taken from Heron’s forthcoming album, Underground Sky, which is being released through Heron’s own label, Cracked Analogue, one song at a time.

Paradigm itself is a psychedelic synth-pop track that leverages the angular aesthetic of post-punk, landing in a space not dissimilar to Metronomy or Hot Chip. At the same time, Heron’s inspiration is personal, rather than drawn from specific musicians, and the ambition is for each song on Underground Sky to explore a different sound and genre, whilst weaving them together into a cohesive whole.

As a song, Paradigm is notably modern, whilst channeling a retro stylings. Falsetto vocals, a Hammond organ and a 60s aesthetic meeting contemporary production techniques. Combined with lyrics that deal with notions of introspection and progress, the result is a bright retro-futurist slice of music that gradually builds momentum as it progresses. The result is disorienting, fast, and playful.

Check out Paradigm below:

Listen: Just Wanna Be Yours by Lynz

Buffalo-born songwriter and producer Lynz started making music at the young age of 12, performing at local festivals, venues, and charity events. She then went on to produce her debut album, Dusk At Dawn, at the age of 16, before winning the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame songwriting competition. Following the win, Lynz was awarded a full scholarship from the GRAMMY Camp to study Audio Engineering at the University of Southern California, all whilst she was still in high school.

Having since moved to Los Angeles, Lynz has been further enhancing her production capabilities at Westlake Studios whilst building a standing as a sought after collaborator on the LA indie-pop scene. Just Wanna Be Yours is Lynz’s second release in 2025, following on from the playful Fallin’.

Where Fallin’ taps the fizzy excitement of new-found attraction, Lynz’s follow up represents a darker side to love. The playfulness is gone, and in its place, a gently strummed guitar channels the naked vulnerability of someone yearning to have their affection reciprocated. As the song progresses, however, the guitar is consumed by synths, creating a cool yet somewhat aloof feeling.

The instrumental pairing reflects the central tension of the song. Whilst the song’s title and chorus could be mistaken as those of a conventional love song, a closer listen to the lyrics reveals that Just Wanna Be Yours is really about the push and pull of love. Lynz’s vocal reflects a need to pull away, even while knowing she is hurting her partner. The music builds to a dramatic crescendo before fading away, leaving the song’s central plea front and centre, presumably alone, with Lynz having already left.

Lynz’s latest single is one of several set for release this year, ahead of a planned sophomore album. The sophisticated production and emotive vocal performance of Just Wanna Be Yours mark her as one to watch.

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.