Artists

Click here to add to Spotify playlist!Controversy magnet Ronnie Radke and his bandmates in Falling In Reverse (who seem to change every few months) have made some of the densest, most outrageous, and devastatingly clever modern rock and art pop of the last decade—yet nobody outside of kids who attend the Warped Tour year in and year out pay them any mind.Some of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Radke. On top of boasting serious pop smarts, he’s cocky, moody, confrontational—let’s not forget he was fired from Escape the Fate in 2008—and at times misogynistic. As he sings in “Just Like You”: “I am aware that I am an asshole / I really dont care about all of that though / I got nothing to prove / But honestly Im just like you.” There’s also the fact that modern post-hardcore and metalcore bands aren’t given much space in outlets like Pitchfork,Rolling Stone, and Spin; it’s a black sheep subculture forever consigned to Alternative Press and Blabbermouth.Net.Falling In Reverse believe a rock album should be nothing less than an epic sonic experience, promoting a bigger-is-better philosophy preached by heroes like Queen, My Chemical Romance, and Andrew W.K. (Though, truth be told, Radke’s just as likely to name-check Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani, or Lady Gaga.) Their latest album, Coming Home, is no exception. Where 2015’s Just like You was a manic fusion of blink-182-style snot, glam pomp, chart pop, metallic crunch, and Eminem-influenced attitude, the more carefully paced Home clears room for post-dubstep spaciness and chilly, atmospheric synthesizers. For instance, the title track sounds like a cosmic collision between Muse’s “Madness,” Daft Punk’s “Give Life Back to Music,” and the ZAYN/Taylor Swift collab “I Dont Wanna Live Forever.”Of course, Falling In Reverse aren’t the only Warped cats suffusing their jams with electronic ether. Issues and I See Stars—with whom Radke has feuded—incorporate flickering EDM programming, while The Word Alive drench their brooding anthems in ambient-like textures and acts like Pvris and Tonight Alive incorporate electro-pop touches. Yet none of them can quite match Falling In Reverse when it comes to packing songs full of hook-laden brilliance. Radke, for all his faults and failings, is a tunesmith operating on a whole ’nother level.

Although Paramore’s new album, After Laughter, marks the return of founding drummer Zac Farro, frontwoman Hayley Williams remains the only permanent member of the Tennessee pop-punk group since the band began, five albums ago. But even as Paramore have diversified their sound, Williams’ side work as a guest vocalist has cast an even wider net, as she’s played with acts who are heavier or more poppy than anything in Paramore’s catalog.Williams has experienced some of her greatest chart success as a hook singer, crooning the gentle melodies on Atlanta rapper B.o.B’s blockbuster single “Airplanes” and German producer Zedd’s EDM crossover hit “Stay The Night.” Her affection for indie and electronic music came out in a collaboration with Scottish synth-pop band CHVRCHES, and she’s embraced family-friendly pop stardom with high-profile collaborations, as on the cover of “Rainbow Connection” with Weezer for a Muppets tribute album.But most of Hayley Williams’ guest work has been with the kinds of punk and emo bands that Paramore came up with in their Warped Tour days. She’s added a much needed feminine perspective to songs by Say Anything and has dueted on multiple occasions with husband Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory. But most impressively, Williams has been able to hang with metalcore bands like The Chariot and Set Your Goals on blistering uptempo collaborations, and Zac Farro’s recent return to Paramore was foreshadowed by her appearance on “As U Wave” by Farro’s long running solo project HalfNoise.Click here to follow this playlist on Spotify.

Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusses classic composition was originally recorded by Cy Grant in 1964, and, a year later, was covered by Nina Simone, whose version became one of the iconic tracks of that decade. Since then, its been covered, sampled and remixed dozens of times, including recently by Lauryn Hill.

Whether working on her own recordings or with friends like Peaches, Chilly Gonzales, or Broken Social Scene, Leslie Feist has always been more of a serial collaborator than a solo artist who likes to keep it solo. That’s one reason why the stripped-down sound of her fifth album, Pleasure—the Canadian chanteuse’s first in six years—is so striking.Recorded in rooms in Paris, California, and upstate New York, her performances are as raw and unadorned as any she’s recorded, with her usual crew of helpers pruned down to producer Renaud Letang and longtime musical foil Mocky. That said, some friends did stop by to add a few touches, like the sprinkling of keys from Gonzales and horns from Arcade Fire collaborator Colin Stetson. She also enlisted Jarvis Cocker to deliver a cameo at the close of “Century”—reminiscent of Vincent Price’s voice-over in “Thriller”—one of the most unbridled songs on the new album, after the libidinous, PJ Harvey-channeling title track.So maybe Pleasure isn’t such a lonesome experience after all, though its starkness still marks a bold shift from the chic sheen of 2007’s The Reminder and the stormy swells of 2011’s Metals. More intimate recordings from her early days, both with and without pals, point the way to Pleasure, as do other pieces by singers she loves and by equally gifted peers who’ve left their traces on her work.And lest Pleasure seem like “one of those endless dark nights of the soul,” as Cocker quips in “Century,” the new album still contains many cheeky gestures, including her occasional dives into Pulp-worthy theatrics and her use of a Mastodon sample at the end of “A Man Is Not His Song” (after the release of Metals, she formed a mutual admiration with the Atlanta band and covered their “Black Tongue” on a split single for Record Store Day). Thanks to Feist’s ability to seamlessly integrate these many elements while maintaining a spare aesthetic, the pleasures of Pleasure are nothing if not the sophisticated kind we’ve come to expect.Click here to follow this playlist on Spotify.

Rising Sydney, Australia-based singer CXLOE only has a couple singles out to date, but is making some pretty big waves in the pop world nonetheless. Her latest offering “Show You” (produced by Max Farrar and Sam Farrar of Maroon 5)- is part one of a two-part release series following up her previous hits, “Monster” and “Tough Love,” which right out of the gate garnered her millions of streams and radio play. And if youre based in AU, you might already recognize her face from Spotifys New Music Friday cover. Not bad for a newcomer! We asked CXLOE to throw together a playlist for us as shes about to embark on tour with Marian Hill in Australia, and shes celebrating other new/ up-and-coming female singers like H.E.R. and heroes like Charli XCX with her mix.Says CXLOE about her playlist, its "An all female vocaled playlist filled with pop bangers and lyrical content that every male and female can get down/cry to." Enjoy above or go here. And maybe keep some tissues close by?

Anna Nordeen and Reni Lane make up the spunky Brooklyn indie-pop duo Fever High, whose recently released full-length debut, FHNY, not only includes production by Fountains of Wayne mastermind Adam Schlesinger, but also a vocal cameo from Jeff Goldblum. (Yes, that Jeff Goldblum.) Here, they take a thematic cue from their album’s lead single, “Spy,” and curate a Dowsers playlist of songs that make a virtue of voyeurism. “Our new song Spy explores the age-old topic of surveillance through the perspective of a paranoid lover. There are so many incredible takes on this theme—whether its on-the-nose like Secret Agent Man or more tangential like Suzanne Vegas Toms Diner—so we gathered together our favorites just for you. Given current world events, we believe this is a theme that will continue to give inspiration for new songs about the James Bond in all of us. Were just happy to be part of the lineage!”—Reni Lane

"I just wanna feel everything," Fiona Apple softly quivers on "Every Single Night." She repeats this line with just the slightest bit of hesitation, as if it were her biggest confession yet. And it is—those simple words boil down her entire existence: In moments when many of us would rather escape our skin, Fiona wants to soak up every granular sensation within it, even when, in her most brilliant poetry, "the pain comes in, like a second skeleton."There are few artists that can express such visceral emotion with such vivid eloquence—and even fewer who can deliver it all with a voice that carries the weight of every word as if it were the world. Because of this, we can forgive Fiona for only releasing four albums in the past 20 years. Still, that too-small catalog is overflowing with some of musics boldest, bloodiest imagery and rawest, most ruthless lyrics. Here, we highlight 10 of her fiercest lines—lines that could come from no one other than Fiona, a woman who knows the infinite beauty in feeling everything.1. "This mind, this body, and this voice cannot be stifled by your deviant ways / So dont forget what I told you / Dont come around / I got my own hell to raise"—"Sleep to Dream"The precocious teenagers introduction to the world is the best kiss-off ever.2. You fondle my trigger, then you blame my gun"—"Limp"In which she follows with another killer jab: "It wont be long til youll be lying limp in your own hands."3. "Nothing wrong when a song ends in a minor key"—"Werewolf"Perhaps the most important lesson, in music and in life.4. "Youll never see the courage I know / Its colors richness wont appear within your view."—"Never is a Promise"For every man who insists he understands.5. "How many times do I have to say / To get away / Get gone / Flip your shit past another lass humble dwelling"—"Get Gone"The second best kiss-off ever.6. "I think he let me down when he didnt disappoint me / He didnt always guess right, but he usually got my gist"—"Get Him Back"Every girl can perfectly understand this one…7. "All that loving mustve been lacking something / If I got bored trying to figure you out"—"Periphery"…and this one.8. "Do you just deal it out, or can you deal with all that I lay down?"—"To Your Love"The ultimate comeback.9. "My feel for you, boy / Is decaying in front of me / Like the carrion of a murdered prey"—"Carrion"Being dead to Fiona is worse than being actually dead.10. "My pretty mouth will frame the phrases that will disprove your faith in man"—"Fast As You Can"Dont ever underestimate the power of a woman and her words.

“We got London on the track” is the famous drop, spoken by Skooly of the Atlanta rap group Rich Kidz, that helped turn producer London Holmes into a brand name. But it was one of the group’s contemporaries, Young Thug, that brought London On Da Track’s beats to the Hot 100 with a series of hit collaborations with Rich Gang, Tyga, T.I. and others. And over the course of Thug’s solo releases, particularly the Slime Season series, London On Da Track has emerged as the rapper’s most indispensable producer. His rich piano chords, swirling synth lines, and crisp, swinging percussion provide the musical heft for Young Thug’s best songs, allowing the iconoclastic rapper to experiment with his elastic voice over a solid foundation.

Despite parting ways with his long-time collaborator Josh Young (a.k.a. YehMe2) in 2016, Flosstradamus Curt Cameruci continues to rally the HDYNATION—a.k.a. Hoodie Nation—as a one-man festival-rockin machine. For this playlist he created specially for The Dowsers, the Chicago trap-master selects the tracks that best reflect the Floss philosophy. "The overall theme is HDYNATION and its roots. I tried to incorporate some early Floss influences—90s Chicago rappers, drill music, NY hip hop from 411 skate videos, and even a punk track!"—Curt Cameruci, a.k.a. Flosstradamus

The electropop of Australian producer/DJ Flume certainly moves—the tracks on his latest album are full of dizzying drops, deep, tough rhythms, and gorgeous, sky-climbing pop hooks—but there’s a sludgy textural element that adds weight and helps him stand apart from the pack of superstar DJs. His latest album, 2016’s Skin, is a perfect piece of post-everything pop maximalism, and his hand-curated Spotify playlist serves as a virtual index to his influences. Jeremih bumps up against MF DOOM, while Boyz Noize share airtime with Sigur Rós. The assortment would make no sense unless you’re familiar with Flume, but, for the initiated, it’s damn near perfect.