October 1, 2025 — Weekly Bullet Reviews
New week, new tunes. Check it out!
As always, some ground rules:
- These songs are listed in no particular order.
- Basically these blurbs are our rough first impressions of these tracks, so our reviews will be a lot more relaxed!
- Anything released from the past 3 weeks/month is eligible for a bullet review.
- Songs with new, recent music video releases will also be considered for a weekly bullet review.
DACEY – “POV”
C: “POV” encapsulates the feeling of having an ex you can’t really let go of; when they have the final word and you’re running scenarios over and over about what you could’ve said. It’s sensual and confident but inseparable from yearning, similar to Meg Myers’ “Desire”, wanting to be whatever their partner needs. The latter half is repetitious, DACEY bemoans how she could never “get [her] lick back” or left “stuck tongue-tied” looping the same lines till exhaustion.
In many ways I find parallels to “DICTATOR” by Rei Ami. The second half is very similar but “DICTATOR” gives the vibe that Ami’s confidence is a facade and her true emotions are revealed by the end. “POV”, however, ends with a reprise of the hook positioned with DACEY confident about the power she has over the other person. I’m not sure how to interpret it — is the last hook hollow or are both halves of the song true at once? It leaves the message a bit muddled.
Mya: “POV” has some good, descriptive language. Like this bit here: “My favorite cup of tea. T-t-two sugars and some cream. Come hit me with the bass drum, bass drum. I wanna feel it deeper in my lungs. On my tongue. Make you feel what you do to me.” I can feel that bass drum in my chest!
Li-Wei: DACEY’s been making some big moves as of late, one of which is working on Jackson Wang’s “One Time” off his recent MAGICMAN 2. “POV” is kind of in that same downtrodden realm with a gnarly bassline that drives the whole thing. The second half of the song is where it really hits its stride, though there doesn’t seem to be a massive payoff for such a long build-up. Maybe I’m just biased – I’ll admit that I’m still more of a fan of their wackier, upbeat stuff that I still have on repeat. But hey, I love how much that production has evolved over the years.
Devyn Moon, Reef the Rabbit – “Radio”
Mya: An amulet of smooth pavement for roller skaters everywhere. AKA goes down smooooth.
Li-Wei: Devyn Moon coolly vibes out on this minimalist jammer. Perfect for midnight drives and stargazing. Reef the Rabbit suddenly appears a few minutes in like a proper radio DJ and transports you back to the 80s for a hot second too.
Luke Chiang – “terrible4u”
C: The MV is tinged with mercury green, especially in the shots framed outside of the red bedroom the video has a Wong Kar Wai quality to it. Very nice! It’s called “terrible4u” but it barely seems wracked by guilt, not even fully giving in to a looming sense of doom. The song does a bad job of convincing us that the narrator and his partner shouldn’t be together — if anything it seems sappy with how much the narrator seems to genuinely care for the other person in this relationship. I do enjoy how quietly piano-led this track is though.
Mya: The title led me to believe this would be one of those moody, self-destructive relationship songs. Maybe the narrator believes that too. But from the outside POV, “terrible4u” is terribly sweet. I want the relationship to work out. “Is it being reckless, if I’m a little selfish?” No! Be selfish!
Li-Wei: I’ve always known Luke Chiang to be the singer that’s known for being one of those hopelessly-in-love crooners, and while I’ve never actually sat down and seriously given his stuff a listen, “terrible4u” makes me get why he’s so popular. He has a very deep voice that gives his brand of R&B-pop a really unique timbre that makes this song (and I’m sure many others) a really lovely listen. Though… I could probably do without the “You’re so lovely, I wanna steal your eyes” line, which feels like it’s plucked from a gothic horror story? Scratch that, this is perfect for the upcoming spooky season.
BADVILLAIN – “THRILLER”
C: “THRILLER” leans extremely bassy, it almost reminds me of if “SEXY NUKIM” went down smoother. With such a threadbare beat, the track relies heavily on a harmonic vocal arrangement and juggling the different textures of BADVILLAIN’s members — also that one rising synth arpeggio they do a billion times. I might even describe it as anti-pop, the baseline is wicked funky but the hook barely moves: it feels like immense effort leading to a moot point. Somehow, I really like it though.
Mya: Sonically, I expected “THRILLER” to have more going on in the background. But it’s like the song has been set against a stark, white background. I can’t decide if I like that or not.
Li-Wei: It’s been a while since I came across a song just begging to go viral via dance challenges, so choreographers, make it happen? “THRILLER” is frankly infectious thanks to SUMIN’s recognizable fingerprints all over the track (see: drum, bass, synths, keyboards, sound effects, background vocals were all by her), so hats off to her and the ladies of BADVILLAIN. As a SUMIN fan, I’m hoping this is just one of many more superstar collabs to come.
Ramya Pothuri – “forget your name”
Mya: “forget your name” makes the cold, California rain feel warm as bathwater. “Go somewhere better. Then lay out in the pouring rain.” Such a comforting fantasy.
Li-Wei: This one feels classic indie pop! Ramya Pothuri honestly feels like she’s one viral hit away from making it big, and “forget your name” is wonderfully sweet. I don’t know, I get some early Sunset Rollercoaster vibes from this one, probably due to the horns.
Lola Young – “F**K EVERYONE”
C: It’s distractingly funny how much Lola Young’s eyelashes flutter in the air. Also whatever the fuck she’s doing with her tongue at 2:27.
I love the punkish electronic loops that fade the song in and out. Despite her confidence, the shoegaze-esque breakdown of the chorus has a tinge of irony to it. Something about the downturned chords makes it seem as though the melancholic aspects of the song — the negative bits, how they “don’t like [her]” and “don’t love [her]” — stick out more than the rest.
Mya: I loved this song the minute the cut up laughter started. I’m reminded of the garbage truck that used to wake me up in the morning with its deep rumble rumble CRASH. “F**K EVERYONE” is an absolute, bisexual train wreck—in the best way. The screaming whistles towards the end takes me back to driveway fireworks. WHEEEEEEE.
Li-Wei: I kind of really dig this garbled vocal sample that leads into this song? Like most everyone else, I’m only familiar with Lola Young’s viral hit “Messy,” and “F**K EVERYONE” is a slice of off-kilter pop that just feels so Bri’ish in a way I wasn’t expecting? Is that wrong to say? This one’s anthemic – I can already half-hear the crowd chanting along to the chorus. Fun!
Yaeji, underscores, Aliyah’s Interlude – “booboo2”
C: I have no clue what I just listened to. The beat is eurobeat(?), it’s a club track with rap verses, a third act switchup and ambient horror elements. I listened to the first “booboo” and it gave me no clues what to make of its sequel.
Mya: Feels a little haunted, like a house version of Bloody Mary… If I sing “booboo don’t touch me” three times at the club will I summon booboo2? Ok joking aside, the outro is so, so good.
Li-Wei: As a fan of the already iconic “booboo,” “booboo2” somehow slaps even harder. This song feels built for endless guest verses. Can’t wait for “booboo3.”
No Buses – “Hope Nope Hope”
C: “Hope Nope Hope” made me think of “Harness Your Hopes” by Pavement, but somehow too jaded for irony and passing back into hopelessly pained earnestness. It’s slow and slacker-ish but effortlessly so, like staring into the wall for a few minutes after getting up. I find it hard not to enjoy this genre of music, especially when “Hope Nope Hope” collapses at the end into guitars hammering and wailing only to recompose itself completely, like the band is full of frustration that can only be taken out on their instruments.
Mya: I really enjoy No Buses’ vocals. To my ears, it almost lends a kind of sepia tone to the song. I don’t know. “Hope Nope Hope” is the kind of song that shakes up all the old dust of high school, when I’d watch the MV to “Airy Me” by Cuushe and feel utterly, aimlessly lonely.
Li-Wei: I haven’t heard from No Buses for so long so I was pretty taken aback when I heard that this song was in Japanese? From the multiple times we’ve covered them, I think they’ve pretty much been writing English songs! “Hope Nope Hope” is what I’ve come to expect from the band, and it feels pretty relaxing and calm until it doesn’t. I would’ve loved a little more from that unraveling in the end, but it’s a good indie rock jam nonetheless.
LUSS – “So Sticky”
C: As a barely disguised sex anthem, “So Sticky” reminds me a lot of BIBI. Rhyming “cinnamon” with “condominium” lowkey broke my brain. LUSS’ vocals really shine, running up and down across the track effortlessly.
Mya: “So Sticky” is sugar overload. It evokes stickiness a little too well… I actually hate the feeling of my hands tacky with sugar. But licking all that sugar off would be sweet, sweet relief.
Li-Wei: So stickyyyyyyyyyy. Thai musician LUSS has that kawaii sugar-pop aesthetic completely down, and it brings to mind songs from LIA LIA, pami, or that one song from Stephanie Poetri/PIAO that honestly felt like a bit too much. “So Sticky” is girlypop cutesiness to the max, so you can let that decide if this one is your kind of thing.
Vincemp3 – “I’m Glad You’re Well.”
C: The type of track that’s dangerous to me if I’m high and sad enough. “I’m glad you’re well” is so unapologetically emo, and drenched in a post-relationship self loathing distilled to 190 U.S. Proof. The lyric itself, “I’m glad your well” is a pained lie; an action before its intention, hoping that by saying it, it becomes true. Vincemp3 runs through the motions of closure without finding it.
Mya: Now here’s a moody, self-destructive relationship song! Such self-pity! Such a pit in my stomach! “What’s wrong with me!” Really feels like I’m in a shitty car in a parking lot, scream crying, legs pressed to the chest, kicking at the dashboard.
Li-Wei: I just love how unapologetically emo this is? Vincemp3 isn’t afraid to really wail out on this song. Teenage me feels the pain and is punching the air right now.
Header photo taken from BADVILLAIN – “THRILLER.”
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