It’s been said that having an inner monologue can help regulate your emotions, nurture self-awareness and build a healthy appreciation of the world and your place in it—all the signs of good living. But the question remains: are you really living if there’s no soundtrack to back things up?
Can you imagine what The Lord of the Rings film trilogy would be like without the expert touch of composer Howard Shore? Perish the thought.
The genre hardly matters. After all, music is art, and art is subjective. What does matter is how it makes you feel—how it inspires your daily living and pushes you to embrace creative self-expression in all the ways that are quintessentially you. That being said, there are quite a few genres out there that are floating across the technological ether. We wouldn’t blame you for not being able to keep up.
Avant-garde pop and progressive heavy metal. ‘90s hip-hop and 00’s pop-punk. Ambient, instrumental, classical and everything in between. Even more niche subgenres like shoegaze and midwest emo.
Each suite of monthly music sees new and returning artists delving into these disparate genres, and May was no exception. Get ready to hold your breath, because this month hit hard and it hit fast with numerous sucker punches to listeners’ sonic sensibilities. Here, heavy metal and hip-hop were two sides of the same coin: unlocking new stylistic horizons, as well as delivering on proudly defiant messaging.
On one hand, the gods of metal saw fit to bless us with their very best—the (relatively) old-school godfathers of djent, Periphery, as well as the new kids on the block, Karmanjakah, whose fresh take on the format is as emotionally inspiring as it is technically capable. On the other hand, the wide world of rap continued to evolve, every corner of its vast empire coming together to deliver incisive lyrics and braggadocious style: from Australia, Genesis Owusu; from England, Little Simz; and from Northern Ireland, Kneecap. There’s plenty to satisfy those with softer palettes, too, in the form of midwest emo staple American Football, jazz extraordinaire Jasmine Myra and indie-folk enigma Aldous Harding.
Read about all of this and more below, in the May edition of Vogue Singapore’s monthly music roundup.
1 / 8
Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge by Genesis Owusu
Eclectic doesn’t even begin to describe the Ghanaian-Australian alt-rapper’s creativity. Genesis Owusu is a boundary breaker and a risk taker—and on this record, it continues to pay off. Drum and bass? Check. Smooth jazz fusion? Check. Chops that throw down with his most accomplished American and UK peers? Check. Owusu has everything it takes to be your favourite MC’s favourite MC. Even though he’s only 28, he possesses a mature self-awareness and smooth delivery reminiscent of his ‘90s forebears. And in that same vein, he stands for something: his message has always been one of the people—on ‘The Worldwide Scourge’ he pleads for Gaza and imparts scathing criticism on the machinations of late-stage capitalism. For that, we are eternally grateful.
Listen to Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge here.
2 / 8
Diamond Morning by Karmanjakah
This Swedish metal band is here to help you dispense with any and all preconceived notions you might have about heavy metal music. Sure, the guitars have been sent into overdrive, figuratively and literally, and the double pedal bass drums kick like a horse, but Karmanjakah’s approach to the genre is an utterly refreshing one: sweeping in scope and cinematic in style. There are no screams to be found on the record either, only surging clean vocals that contrast wonderfully with the guitar tunings, fashioned in the unique style of progressive metal subgenre ‘thall’.
Listen to Diamond Morning here.
3 / 8
Where Light Settles by Jasmine Myra
This one is for all the worriers out there. The British saxophonist and composer’s latest is the clearest evolution of her vision to-date, a lush record that invites listeners to let go of their anxieties and bask in transcendent mysticism. A spiritual jazz stalwart, Myra channels the genre with the best of them, expertly blending minimal percussion, melodious piano arrangements and a suite of woodwind instruments with a dynamism that belies her relative youth.
Listen to Where Light Settles here.
4 / 8
LP4 by American Football
It wouldn’t be out of place to say that American Football is one of the greatest midwest emo bands of all time. Their seminal 1999 album LP1 played an enormous role in both shaping the genre’s identity and carrying forward its enduring popularity. Now, the band from Illinois are back with their first full-length studio record in seven years, dubbed LP4 (when it comes to naming conventions, they are nothing if not consistent). And they haven’t missed a beat. The production’s been updated for modern listeners—the drums are noticeably more compressed than their previous work—but the same sense of yearning by way of clean, arpeggiating guitar riffs and frontman Mike Kinsella’s angelic delivery is still here.
Listen to LP4 here.
5 / 8
Fenian by Kneecap
The hip-hop trio from Belfast are not known for pulling their punches. Now infamous for their pro-Palestine stance at Glastonbury 2025—the BBC even deemed their performance as ‘high risk’, opting not to livestream it—their anti-colonial, anti-capitalist messaging is a rallying banner for underdogs the world over. Their latest release, named after the Irish republican revolutionaries who sought independence from the British Empire, is an utterly hypnotic, lyrically explosive package of solidarity, slung with effortless swagger in their characteristic linguistic marriage of native Irish and English.
Listen to Fenian here.
6 / 8
A Pale White Dot by Periphery
Give it a chance, who knows? You might find heavy metal to your liking. Periphery are one of the scene’s most influential acts, almost single-handedly responsible for giving birth to the popular subgenre of ‘djent’—onomatopoeia in action, as the style relies on heavy syncopation and palm-muted, down-tuned guitar riffs to ‘chug’ out catchy rhythms. Their newest release is quintessential Periphery. That is to say: it straddles sonic worlds with remarkable dexterity, dancing from ribcage-rattling blast beats to soaring, uplifting melodies capable of causing even the gruffest of metalheads to shed a tear.
Listen to A Pale White Dot here.
7 / 8
Train on the Island by Aldous Harding
There’s something in the air in New Zealand, its musicians giving their Japanese peers a run for their money when it comes to doling out nostalgia and melancholy. Just look to The Beths, Fazerdaze or Aldous Harding. The latter’s work on Train on the Island is pure, unadulterated singing-songwriting. Her strain of indie folk evokes early Father John Misty—there’s not a lot going on instrumentation wise, but that’s for the better. For Harding, light, lilting percussion and the strumming of acoustic guitars is more than enough to do her earnest vocal delivery of shrewd, almost Hemingway-esque lyrics justice.
Listen to Train on the Island here.
8 / 8
Sugar Girl by Little Simz
It’s not a full album, but we’ll take it. Little Simz is a woman who contains multitudes, made evident by her latest EP, which offers a sharp departure from the introspective, gospel-forward focus of her later albums, even if it is a practice she’s indulged in the past with her Drop 6 and Drop 7 EPs. Like in those previous releases, electronic production takes centre stage, whether it’s the heavy, unrelenting undercurrent of trap, or the lively mix of dancehall and jungle—it’s all a welcome backdrop for Simbi’s lyrical bravado. There’s no guarantee the English rapper’s next record will sound like Sugar Girl, but we’re not bothered—it’s Little Simz’ world and we’re just living in it.
Listen to Sugar Girl here.
