Listen Up

A spin on '90s boy bands, haunting electronics, live performances and more music from the week

NIKI: Split Jakarta-born, LA-based artist NIKI (aka Nicole Zefanya) has released her gorgeously languid, retro-tinged “Split” on 88rising. With soft percussion and a bluesy energy, the song chronicles the feeling of living away from home—splitting time and life between two places. “I wrote it about having to split myself between Indonesia and LA and feeling like I have to constantly ‘split the difference,’ adapt, assimilate …

Miles Francis: The Call

With their brand new two-track EP, B.O.Y., recording artist Miles Francis offers two upturned, unexpected renditions of famous boy band hits. Francis reworked *NSYNC’s “I Want You Back” from 1996 along with (our personal favorite) Backstreet Boys’ “The Call” from 2000. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s gripping take brings new dimension to the tracks. “Boy band music dominated my life when I was young,” they …

Ama Lou: Talk Quiet

British artist Ama Lou puts a Drill-inspired spin on her latest four-track EP, AT LEAST WE HAVE THIS, from which the last song “Talk Quiet” stands out. Across strong 808s and creeping keys, the singer and songwriter flexes her varied vocal tones, flowing to effortless rhythm. In her live performance, the track gets an acoustic, stripped-back rendition where her potent voice and instrumentals are even more …