5. Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj ★★★☆☆

Thirteen years after its original release, Minaj followed her ‘Pinktroduction’ with a sample-strung collection of bops. There’s a verse to captivate many audiences, building on her chameleonic legacy as the ‘pinkprint’ of rap. At times, she banks a bit too much on nostalgia, with “Just Wanna Have Fun” and “My Life”, sometimes wavering in confidence. Still, she both valiantly raps and provides hot girl hits with “Cowgirl” (featuring Lourdiz) and “Red Ruby da Sleeze”, which contains a sample of “Never Leave You” by Lumidee.

4. Red Moon in Venus, Kali Uchis ★★★★☆

In this lush and otherworldly production, Uchis harnesses her lyrics and honeydew voice to embody divine femininity, as she serenades Venus and casts her siren call onto the moon. Opening with the soulfully bittersweet “I Wish you Roses”, she gifts “pretty flowers” with one hand, but with the other crosses her fingers for “the bee sting”. She calls the album a “timeless, burning expression of desire, heartbreak, faith, and honesty” that “represents all levels of love—releasing people with love, drawing love into your life and self-love.” Characterising herself as the ultimate rose “among weeds”, dancing under the moonlight, and purring in her native Spanish tongue, Uchis simply makes you love being a woman – or worshipping one. Either way, light some candles, draw a rose petal bath bath, smoke some cali and spread out your tarot cards, this listen is worthy of a spiritual experience (and maybe some voodoo).

3. Guts, Olivia Rodrigo ★★★★☆

One thing we did require was some angsty girl rock, and the Filipino-American singer Olivia Rodrigo proved she can deliver more than one groundbreaking record. Her mix of delicate, sober vocals paired with nineties grunge punk riot grrrl sounds work even better than expected. Often, she combines these two tones into a single song, like in “vampire” or “all american bitch”, and always she injects her work with an effortlessly raw authenticity. With 2023 hailed as the year of both girlhood and indie sleaze, this album really was the moment that revived the “lacy” little hearts of pale grunge tumblr survivors who always preferred Bratz over Barbie. The “bad idea right?” music video, directed by her long time collaborator Petra Collins, is a highlight of this era and perfectly exemplifies how she manages to tie together talent, humour and soul with a little satin bow.

2. Fountain Baby, Amaarae ★★★★☆

The Ghanaian-American alté pop princess is one of our most played artists of 2023 because of the elegant way she fuses Afrobeats, dancehall, hip hop, electronic music, R&B, flamenco, melodic rap, g-funk, punk, soft rock and even more with her silky vocals. We’re immediately transported into a sociopathic dance party that is proudly pleasurable. Tracks like the dreamy “Aquamarine Loves Ecstacy” repeatedly beg for “touch touch touch” and appeal to the moon a la Kali Uchis, and “Co-Star” personifies astrological signs as sexual archetypes. “Come Home To God” even tells the listener “Shawty say she love me like she love the Lord / When I’m in that pussy, I’m above the law.” The range is impressive – “Sex, Violence, Suicides” levitates into a punchy punk transition, while “Reckless and Sweet” begs us to sway our hips (preferably under the covers).

1. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del rey ★★★★★