Reads & Readings
A running journal of the songs we've been thinking about — what they mean, why they linger, where they come from.
Cover Story · HAN
HAN's 'back to life': the crowd as the point
A cover of Opus's 1985 stadium anthem that treats collective euphoria, the moment a crowd and a band lock into the same feeling, as the definition of being alive
In this issue
Also worth reading
Jerri
Jerri's 'The JAWN' and the Language of Wanting
A short, hook-driven appreciation track built around Philadelphia slang, where 'the jawn' becomes shorthand for a specific type of woman the narrator wants
Heavy Pulp
Heavy Pulp's 'Sweet Land': A Prisoner's Chorus
A captive's plea to be released from a controlling figure whose grip feels closer to torture than affection
SYSTEM SEOUL & ycs
Designer Eyes and African Waists: Inside 'Summer Time : D'
A summer flex track that swings between designer-brand seduction and homesick ambition, dressing Afrobeats swagger in luxury and codeine haze
Five Finger Death Punch
Rest in Pieces: Inside Five Finger Death Punch's 'Eye of the Storm'
A defiant confession record that treats collective guilt as a religious reckoning, finding calm only at the dead center of the destruction
Also in this issue
The Reading Room
- 06 westwashere more than enough
- 07 In This Moment Sleeping with the Enemy
- 08 Fuerza Regida No Es Pa Presumir
- 09 Kings of Leon Sex On Fire
- 10 NELL The Time of Walking On Remembrance
- 11 Blake Whiten Barely Gettin' By
- 12 BTS Come Over
- 13 THE 8 & Vernon singasong
- 14 Lauren Alaina & Kane Brown Never Been In Love
- 15 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club
- 16 The Ronettes Be My Baby
- 17 Rylo Rodriguez Endless Cups