Look, concerts are great. I would love to see my entire Spotify Wrapped lineup live. And I’ve spent thousands of dollars on Harry Styles' events alone — judge me if you want, I don’t plan on stopping. But my wallet isn’t as enthusiastic.

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Video and Photos by Jordan Edwards

Lewis OfMan starts a series of UK shows with Carly Rae Jepsen on Feb. 7. Fans can look forward to the French singer-songwriter's viral hit "Attitude," as well as "Move Me," his duet with the pop star.

Before the tour, we met up with him at Rosen Sound in Burbank, Calif. The shop specializes in rare synthesizers, and allowed Lewis to play some of their most prized instruments. As a passionate fan of vintage synths, he enjoyed every minute.

Lewis OfMan by Jordan Edwards at Rosen Sound

Watch him try out some of pop music's most iconic electronic instruments below, and check out his latest album Sonic Poems. Fans in America will have the opportunity to see him live soon. In addition to the shows with Jepsen, Lewis is set to play Coachella on April 14 and 21.

For more from Lewis OfMan, follow him on Instagram and TikTok. New music is on the way.

MUSIC

Carly Rae Jepsen's Album "Dedicated" Is a Mature Pop Masterpiece

The singer's follow-up to the hit Emotion dives into the mess of love and heartbreak, making the most of Jepsen's shimmering pop sensibility.

Four years ago, Carly Rae Jepsen reminded us of everything pop music could be.

Jepsen's third studio album EMOTION was a revelation, even though it's cliche to say it now. Jepsen crafted a pop record that understands the authentic human joy pop is meant to celebrate, without the industrial hollowness that's often associated with the term "pop music." Its synth-pop-nostalgia grounds her lyrics and expressive voice in a vibrant and effortless sound that addresses romance and longing with effusive theatricality. In the years since the album's release, EMOTION has become an authority on how to make the most of the pop template, a testament to the genre's potential without losing the universal power that pop can communicate.

That's how E•MO•TION helped shape the music world that we live in now, and it's the one that Dedicated, Jepsen's newest album, has come into. The follow-up to her hit album is far more interior, even painful, in its scope, but its ardent pop is just as expressive as its predecessor. "Julien," the album's opener and one of the first singles released, has a jaunty disco vibe, filled out with a familiar '80s-style electropop. But "Julien" is an ode to a lover who left her behind and whose absence has colored her world a lonelier shade of blue. "You must believe / Julien, it was more than a fantasy," Jepsen pleads with synths simmering behind her voice. It's the first of many tracks that don't shy away from exploring times when love isn't enough and what's left after love leaves. There's still buoyant energy to the album, and Jepsen's vocals are still impressively versatile yet soothing, but Dedicated breaks new ground for Jepsen in that it confronts love's imperfection and embraces the fear and insecurities that come with intimacy.

The first half of the album is powered by this search, by a willingness, even desperation, to hold onto the feeling of falling in love. Early on, Dedication shows fascination with the way love can suddenly take up space in one's life, with its breathless sound delighting with its unpredictability. "No Drug Like Me" captures head-over-heels infatuation above a methodical beat, as Jepsen promises the world to someone who makes her feel seen. "I think I'm coming alive with you," she realizes on "Now That I've Found You." Jepsen's desire is also more frank than ever before, especially on "Want You In My Room," a coquettish and sultry invitation sung from an open bedroom window: "Baby, don't you want me, too?" It's a sweet plea for human touch, focused on making the most of a new relationship, seizing the present for everything it can offer.

The album's first twist comes on "Happy Not Knowing": "I don't have the energy to risk a broken heart / When you're already killing me," she confesses. The song magnifies the album's preoccupation with the possibility of new love by mourning that love can fall apart as abruptly as it begins. Dedication wants to measure the pain of heartbreak alongside the rush of new love, as well as celebrate its captivating power while remaining fearful of its double-edged emotions. For Jepsen, love can take as much as it can give.

From there, Jepsen reflects on how love can fall short and the ways she's forced to make up for it. "I'll Be Your Girl" becomes a lovelorn anthem, as Jepsen tries to shape herself to fit someone else's wants, while in "Too Much" she demands recognition for how worthy she is of love. The album's pace slows around this point, transforming Jepsen's moments of pain into feverishly potent dance tracks. "The Sound" does this the best: It's a perfect dance-pop ballad, but it carries the message of the album. "Love is more than telling me you want it / I don't need the words, I want the sound," she sings, and the building instrumentation breaks briefly around her voice to let the last word echo. On Dedication, Jepsen argues that, for all its exhilaration, love is something that has to be sustained and cultivated. This space, between love's euphoria and its hard work, comes to a head on "Right Words Wrong Time," which is already one of the most heart-wrenching songs of 2019. It's a slow, percolating break-up song, a mournful send-off of someone who's taken her for granted: "Only want me when I'm leaving you," she sings. She will no longer shape herself into who and what he wants her to be, as painful as it might be for her to let go.

When the album closes on "Real Love," it feels like a cautious new beginning in the same way "No Drug Like Me" was. With a greater understanding of herself and what she needs, even after all the hurt, she's still willing to try something new. "I don't know a thing about it / All I want is real, real love," she sings. Dedication is clear-eyed look at what love does, what happens when it absorbs you, and what happens when it leaves you. EMOTION was a celebration of how love can feel, but Dedication is a reminder of what can be learned from it. It's an invigorating step forward for a talented artist, and Carly Rae Jepsen more than proves she can handle its implications. Jepsen is someone who's made a career out of deep respect for what stories pop music can tell, and Dedication is the latest, greatest example of this: something beautiful, something heartbreaking, something endlessly and unabashedly fun.

Dedicated

MUSIC

Rosie Carney Talks Life After "Bare," And The Death of Her Rat Matilda

The singer sat down with Popdust before her show at Mominette Bistro

When 22-year-old Rosie Carney released her album Bare in January, BBC referred to the singers haunting debut as "quietly powerful," and compared Carney's aching voice to Joni Mitchell. But the Irish singer-songwriter didn't take time off to rest on her laurels and is already back in the studio.

"It's funny cause everyone is saying to me, 'so you released your first album how does it feel?' The truth is I'm already over it," Carney told Popdust. An industry veteran in her own right, Carney was signed to London-based Polydor records when she was just 15-years-old. "When I was signed there was a lot of pressure to come up with commercial music," Carney said, "I was told that I was signed for my voice and not for my lyrics." Polydor dropped her a year later. "I couldn't write anymore. I didn't know who I was writing for or what I was writing for."

Carney became depressed and struggled to rekindle her inspiration. She became ill and was physically unable to attend school. She dropped out when she was 16. As she recovered physically and emotionally, she forced herself to practice writing and loving her art for what it was, and tailored each work to her interests, rather than to the approval of others. "Kids can be so mean," she said. "I lost all my friends when I got signed. You couldn't give me enough money to go back to school and experience that again." By the time Carney was signed again to Color Study, she had learned how to tap into her creativity in a different way. "I tend to not go back and listen to my work and dip into my past, cause I learned you wouldn't wanna do that generally. I'm just trying to move forward." Carney spoke more on her life after Bare, and how she handles the stress of being back in the spotlight.

So what happened after Polydor dropped you? How did you find your way back to yourself?

I already wasn't very well when I got signed, and being dropped was literally my worst fear. So everything I did in the studio was born out of this fear. I was constantly thinking of what everyone else would want to listen to when I should have just been listening to myself. Then when my worst fear was realized I just completely lost sight of who I was writing for, especially since they told me I was signed for my voice and not my lyrics. So I had to learn how to write and create for myself.

In that year before you were signed again, how did you hone in on your sound?

I just really gave myself the creative space to experiment and figure out what was better for me. My early sound was never something I was really happy with, and being dropped I feel gave me the space I needed to figure out what I wanted to say.

I imagine being a 15-year-old signed musician caused a lot of backlash with your friends at the time.

I lost my friends. Being a teenager is such a hard time, and I became incredibly ill so I ended up dropping out of school anyway just because I physically couldn't go. I was also just away all the time writing and working.

Do you feel fans connect more to your lyrics now?

It's still crazy for me to think that I even have fans, but yes. They really do. A lot of them I connected with when I shared my story, and I just got so many messages about connecting and relating to my music. I feel a very nice sense of unity with them.

But you said that you don't go back and listen to Bare, I'm curious why that is?

I'd never be embarrassed by my work, but Bare was written about very specific experiences, and I just feel like I'm so past that now. I'll always be proud of it, but I don't want to necessarily dwell on it or relive it. I've already got five demos for my second album, I'm working on a demo with Thomas Bartlett tomorrow. I'm just really eager to get back in the studio.

When you were signed a second time did you feel like you had a better head on your shoulders?

I did. I produce my own music now, and I know now exactly what I want down to the smallest texture. I was given so much more control than I was the first go round.

When you go back to Ireland what inspires new material?

The moon. I always end up writing something about the moon. Trees. My god – did I really just say trees? *laughs* but the landscape of my hometown is just so beautiful.

Why the moon?

Well, some people feel that when there is a full moon they go crazy, and I've always just felt myself being pulled by the energy of the moon. It's just so lonely up in the sky.

Now that you're older and wiser, how have you changed the way you manage stress and expectations?

I just am honest with myself when I'm having a bad mental health day. Today I was actually feeling quite anxious.

New York will do that to you.

Seriously, it's so loud! I'm constantly on edge. So I pinpointed it in my head, marked it, and recognize that it'll pass and I'm not going to go crazy. Having pets around also helps.

I have four dogs at home, along with a chicken, a pig, and a horse. I can actually feel myself struggling a bit on this tour cause I haven't been around any animals. My beautiful dog Hemingway has pulled me out of so many dark times.

What makes him your dog?

We've always had 3 dogs, but I asked for one for my birthday that was just mine. So I went to the pet rescue center that was actually in the process of shutting down and this litter had just been delivered, and Hemingway has these big golden eyes. There is an old Irish superstition that golden eyes signify when a creature is possessed by the devil, which is ridiculous.

Is he possessed by the devil?

Absolutely not, but my other dog Murphy did kill my pet rat.

You had a pet rat?

We had two. Mine was named Matilda, and Murphy snuck upstairs and bit right into him and presented him to me. He's a Jack Russell Terrier so it's in his nature, but I was pissed. I couldn't exactly be like "fuck you!" though could I?

Be sure to catch Rosie Carney on her European tour. Tickets can be purchased here.


Mackenzie Cummings-Grady is a creative writer who resides in the Brooklyn area. Mackenzie's work has previously appeared in The Boston Globe, Billboard, and Metropolis Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @mjcummingsgrady.


POP⚡DUST | Read More...

Lydia Ainsworth Enchants On Her New Album 'Phantom Forest'

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Kacey Musgraves Transforms Into Hallucinogenic Centaur in her new video for "Oh, What a World"

RELEASE RADAR is here to give you the breakdown of the top singles, albums, and videos of the week so you can head into your weekend with a new list of killer tunes.

Singles

Charli XCX - "Blame It On Your Love" (Feat. Lizzo)

Few things are more blessed than a Charli XCX/Lizzo collaboration. The new song is an un-remixed version of Charli XCX'S "track 10" which was featured on her acclaimed album Pop. "Blame It On Your Love" is out now via Atlantic.

The Habits – "Love You"

Alt-pop duo The Habits shared an infectious new single this week called "Love You." This is the first single off of the duo's new EP, out June 14.


Juan Wauters – "Dos"

This week Juan Wauters shared a playful new song called "Dos," sung in his native Spanish via Captured Tracks. Wauters said of the song "On this particular version of 'Dos,' I hear the sound of music that describes Montevideo, the city where I was born. The harmonium solo was done in a way to emulate the sound of a bandoneon in the way Astor Piazzolla would play it. The song talks about the complexities of a love story." Juan Wauters will release his latest, Introducing Juan Pablo, on May 31 via Captured Tracks.


Hatchie – "Obsessed"

Hatchie reveals yet another fuzzy gem of dream pop with her new single, "Obsessed," from her forthcoming debut album, Keepsake, which is shaping up to be one of the most exciting releases. Keepsake is due June 21st via Double Double Whammy.


whenyoung – "The Others"

London's whenyoung are gearing up to release their debut album Reasons to Dream, through Virgin EMI on May 24th. They continued to show off their deft songwriting this week in their evocative new single "The Others," inspired by the Grenfell Tower fire in London.


EPs

The Beaches - "The Professional" EP

Toronto alt-rock outfit The Beaches are back with a new EP called The Professional out May 16 on Island Records, their first release since 2017's Late Show. The new collection of jams features fan favorites "Snake Tongue" and "Fascination."


Inner Wave – "wya" EP

The L.A.-based Latinx psych-rock band just dropped a wavey new EP titled wya, the followup from their previous LP Underwater Pipe Dreams.


Albums

Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated

Pop princess and purveyor of glossy bops, Carly Rae Jepsen returns to navigate love and loss on her fourth studio album, the follow-up to 2015's cult favorite E•MO•TION.


Tyler the Creator - Igor

Igor is Tyler the Creator's fifth album, but it feels like he's been at the forefront of our cultural purviews for much longer, considering his impact on the popular rap landscape. 2017's Flower Boy presented a much more eclectic and well-rounded version of the artist, and now, we see him grow even more on Igor.


Sara is a music and culture writer. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER magazine and Stereogum.


POP⚡DUST | Read More...

Lydia Ainsworth Enchants On Her New Album 'Phantom Forest'

Call It a Comeback: New Music From All Your Nostalgic Favorites

Kacey Musgraves Transforms Into Hallucinogenic Centaur in her new video for "Oh, What a World"