When I pressed play on the latest release from Shelita, titled "Sailors", I wasn't expecting the floor to drop out from under me. You see, "pop" is often a safe word, a designation for the palatable. But this? This is something else entirely. It’s as if someone took a tender ballad and threw it into a particle accelerator to see what sub-atomic emotions would...

Bolidde's new album, Rainbow Galaxy, doesn't so much arrive as it does seep into the room, a ten-track document of flight powered by rock and roll muscle. Here is a veteran of the French scene who understands the architecture of a great pop hook, but who uses that knowledge not to build a summer villa, but a high-speed getaway vehicle. The album’s energy is...