There is no other word to describe Clairo’s summer album, Charm, than charming. Yes, I know, you can laugh now. Here’s the story: It’s June, and you look at your Release Radar on Spotify, oh you use Apple Music and it’s called New Music Mix on there. Boo hoo. You gasp when you see Clairo’s name on there, and you listen to the album eagerly. The first track, Nomad flows into your ears like water. The reverb practically fills a pool of reflection for Claire Cotrill’s soft and introspective songwriting to break your heart. Another notable track is Juna: The interactions between a subtle but powerful percussion and her conventionally soft music make this a novel listening experience for her long-time fans. The closer to the album is called Pier 4: The sound of her fingers gliding across the guitar strings seems like a new instrument altogether. Absolutely tremendous music. Also, please check out the music video for Juna if you have the time!

Deadpool & Wolverine is the obvious choice for this summer’s top movie. From its immaculate flow to a masterclass level of mastery in humor, dialogue, and tone. This was undoubtedly the best Marvel movie of the year. Chris Evans finally returns to a comedic role after his hysterical performance in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World almost 14 years ago. Channing Tatum’s Cajun accent is so on-point that it needs to be studied. And of course, the stars of the show, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds. Their bromance in this story is a wonderful crystallization of their respective experiences with their characters over the 30 years that they have owned these two roles. Marvel has had an issue with their recent films of having their humor ruin emotional character beats in the climaxes of their movie. I’m happy to say this movie suffers from none of that whatsoever. The humor is such an integral part of the movie that the emotional beats function in tandem with the central storyline. Enough blabbering, go watch the movie.