This summer, several music artists cooked up exciting new releases for their fans to enjoy while photosynthesizing in the sun, swimming or planning their Halloween costumes months in advance. In particular, there have been plenty of thrilling projects born from the female alternative rock and electropop realm.
“brand new chanel$” and “crank 2”
Electropop singer-songwriter Slayyyter has been on a roll recently, including her well-received single “brand new chanel$,” which came out on July 31 as a sequel to 2025’s “BEAT UP CHANEL$.”
“brand new chanel$” has an upbeat yet mournful tone, with its combination of conventional pop chord progressions and lyrics about a cheating partner. The combination of an anthem-like beat with cinematic prose of heartbreak and betrayal makes the song incredibly addictive. Topped off with an edge and style that only Slayyyter can pull off, listeners itch to play it one more time.
Additionally, she released the sequel to her song “CRANK,” “crank 2,” on Sept. 10. This song has a much more aggressive and club-like sound compared to “brand new chanel$” — harnessing a condescending, angry tone towards an ex. Leading up to the chorus, there are sounds like the revving of an engine that devolve into something reminiscent of techno. While the former track draws upon feelings of heartbreak, “crank 2” utilizes disdain.
“Product of Profit (P.O.P)”
Daine is another electropop artist that people should keep their eyes on, releasing her song “Product of Profit (P. O. P)” on Sept. 9.
This song is deeply compelling, hooking listeners with an opening sound that emulates the clanking of toy piano keys — externally blithe and unassuming. However, the angsty bassline that runs as an undercurrent beneath this, as well as Daine’s dark tone, creates a juxtaposition between innocence and apathy.
The song is about losing one’s sense of humanity to fame and recognition, and Daine’s raw, confessional singing sends this message home.
“I’m not really a friend (I’m not) / I’m not like the others, I’ll have your head (I’ll have it, I’ll have it),” Daine sings in the chorus. “I’m not really a person / I’m a product of profit, and I’ll eat you for it (Run away, run away).”
Distorted screaming is interspersed throughout this chorus in a call-and-response manner, illustrating how something is askew, and how, because of fame, the speaker’s humanity has corrupted into monstrosity.
“So sw33t”
DJ Suzy, in collaboration with Nourished By Time, released her single “So sw33t” on Sept. 10. This song is a rework of her previous single, “sw33t.”
The original song itself is a bubbly love tune about the high of a new relationship’s honeymoon phase. However, Nourished By Time’s accompaniment deepens the song by adding what is seemingly the other perspective to the romance. While DJ Suzy’s voice is light and airy, Nourished By Time’s voice is melodic and sweet — enhancing the song.
Nourished By Time’s music genre is more alternative R&B or variations of pop, and DJ Suzy falls into these genres, albeit leaning more electronic. However, both of their production styles have a flourishing, rhythmic nature that complements the other nicely.
“City Kid”
Sabrina Fuentes of the band Pretty Sick released her new album “Anarchy” on Sept. 11. This album marks her departure from the more acoustic, shoegaze-style sound of Fuentes’ previous work, entering something purely electronic.
In an interview with Glamcult, Fuentes explains more about the genre shift from shoegaze to electronic, as well as the meaning of the album’s title — “Anarchy.” While her shoegaze-adjacent sound was tried and true for the past decade, she wanted to take a creative leap and explore something new. At the same time, the title signifies her general beliefs and ethos as an artist and reaction to the world around her.
A notable track is “City Kid,” which is reminiscent of something Frost Children or MGNA Crrrta would produce, with chanting, near-rap style vocals and explosive synths. While “Anarchy” can be seen as riding the electronic music trend wave, Fuentes remains true to the youthful angst and grungy singing style of her discography. Clearly, Fuentes has a good understanding of the current electronic wave and has the musical capability to translate it into her own signature style.
“Sweet Daydream”
On the more alt-rock side of things, Misfire SD — a band whose members met at San Diego State University — dropped their single “Sweet Daydream” on Aug. 28.
The crash and fall of guitar contrasted against lead vocalist Emilie Wizbowski’s resonant voice is satisfying to listen to. This song is distinctly sweeping and grand while also being as heavy, grounded and gritty as any rock song.
“Fall into the patterns you know / Holding on enough to let go,” Wizbowski sings. “When moon and me reflecting her change / Rival / Rival / rival to the same”
While the lyrics are ambiguous, the general theme of the song seems to draw from some sort of triangulation between two lovers and the singer. The lyrics, however, contain a satisfying end-rhyme scheme.
In the end, this is merely a small window into this summer’s copious amounts of notable musical releases. Every artist here has something in common: they all have distinct voices that resonate with the hearts of their fans and listeners, making any and all of them worthy of the “song of the summer” title. It seems that in the era of the current alternative rock and electropop universe, people tend to enjoy a decisively modern style of production, as well as classic love-and-heartbreak lyricism.
Tessa Kang is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at tokang@uci.edu.
Edited by Travis Foley and Tracy Sandoval.
