Take Pride in Your Favorite Music! - June 2026 Staff Picks
Malcolm Todd - Do That Again (2026)
Editor-in-Chief Cece Faulkner - Malcolm Todd is truly reviving what I missed about the 2017-2020 indie-pop blended with R&B type sound. This album has been on REPEATTTT all month long! I adore "Obsessica" and "Difficult Love," but they're all bangers!
Bad Bunny - Un Verano Sin Ti (2022)
Staff Writer AnnaGrace Machado - It’s summer and you know what I want to shake my ass! “El Apagòn” has been my favorite and I think it’ll end up on my Spotify Wrapped.
Olivia Rodrigo - you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love (2026)
Staff Writer Jules Johnson- My little sister is a die hard Olivia Rodrigo fan, and we share a wall, so it’s all I’ve been hearing 24/7 for the past week. I’ve been so impressed by how much she’s matured as a writer, and how many little departures she took on this album from past works to truly honor her influences from the 80s and 90s. My favorite is “maggots 4 brains”- I thought it would be the song with Robert Smith, but it genuinely sounds like more of a song from The Cure than the one he’s featured on.
Senior Staff Writer & Editor Alyssa Bushman - Olivia has been at the top for a while for a reason. My favorites off of this newest album have been “my way”, “less”, and “cigarette smoke”. She is able to capture such niche feelings in every song. Olivia knows exactly what you’re going through and will write the most gut wrenchingly beautiful song about it.
MisterWives - SUPERBLOOM (2020)
Staff Photographer Mari Garcia - It's been many years since I've hyperfixated on this album. It got me through the end of my freshman year of college (Spring of 2021). This album gives such bittersweet, hopeful energy to me. It's a breakup album for sure, but not the kind you would sob to in the shower at 2am (or maybe you do, I won't judge). While some tracks are a bit more melancholic, the energy of the album is mostly upbeat and hopeful, reminiscing on the relationship while welcoming new discoveries of self and love. The album's intro track "the end" serves as the album's thesis, with the bridge echoing "all good things come to an end, to make room for new beginnings". Personal favorite tracks include the heavier rock sound of "ghost", the invitation to new love in "muse" and the aforementioned "the end", which I consider the all-time best Summertime-Driving-with-the-Windows-Down song to exist.
Chanel Beads- Your Day Will Come (2026)
Staff Writer Akilah Davis - I think this is easily one of the best albums to come out this year. It’s filled with beautiful sounds and lyricism, my favorite song is “Dust in the Wind.”
Ninajirachi- I Love My Computer (2025)
Senior Writer & Live Coverage Editor Kaitlyn Serafin - This June I had the chance to go see Harry Styles at Wembley in London and while I was there I saw a billboard for something called Harry Styles’ Meltdown, a music festival curated by Mr. Styles himself. As a certified concert addict, I took a look at the lineup while sitting across from my partner at dinner. In the middle of saying “I’m not sure any of these interest us,” I cut myself off at the name Ninajirachi and slowly looked up to my partner, who was clad in a white t-shirt that read “I Love My Computer.” That is how we ended up leaving the opening night of Together, Together London after the encore and going immediately to the Southbank Centre for a show that started thirty minutes after Styles left the stage. My feet hurt, I felt like the least cool girl there with my rolled up Harry Styles poster, and we walked in thirty minutes after doors opened. Ninajirachi was insane as she went through her set and despite not being super familiar with her music before entering, “London Song” and “Delete” have been on repeat since then. The album is a dream for the chronically online and so, so well made.
Mitski - “Fireproof” (2026)
Senior Writer & Entertainment Editor Megan Lorich- It's 2016. Zayn has left One Direction. Pokemon Go has just come out. Hillary and Donald are duking it out. But most importantly, Mitski has just released Puberty 2, the followup to her star-making third album Bury Me At Makeout Creek. Ten years later, Mitski will release a cover that she recorded while making Puberty 2 in celebration of it turning a decade old.
Yeah this is a cover of "Fireproof" by One Direction. Mitski's known to pick some wild curveballs when it comes to cover, whether that be "Nightcall" by Kavinsky or "Glide" by Lily Chou-Chou or "I'm a Fool to Want You" as popularized by Frank Sinatra. Mitski's cover of "Fireproof" prior to its studio release on this new edition of Puberty 2 was an "in the know" track for dedicated Mitski fans. Now, everyone can hear it and it's one of the best covers I have ever heard. Hearing Mitski sing "I roll and I roll till I change my luck" has fundamentally changed my brain chemistry. Why yes Mitski. I do in fact "roll and I roll till I change my luck." At least that's my new philosophy now.
Lael Neale - Acquainted with Night (2021)
Staff Writer Jill Nuelle - Sometimes you hear a voice for the first time that you know will help soundtrack your life moving forward. That’s how I felt hearing Lael Neale’s dulcet tones this month. Her latest album was released in May, but it’s her 2021 record Acquainted with Night that captured my heart. It’s melancholic and a little off kilter and very, very beautiful. My favorite track is "Every Star Shivers in the Dark." Perfect for a dreamy, humid summertime evening stroll.
