today’s pop picks turn the mirror around: satirical dance-pop comparison culture, tape warmed indie charm, a soul-disco reimagining and hard won self-acceptance. four tracks that know exactly what they’re saying and say it well.
i want what they have – lianzi
lianzi turns comparison culture into a biting dance-pop banger
i want what they have is a dark electro-pop track that turns comparison culture inside out, satirizing the delusion that someone else’s life would fix your own. it’s a great concept, and the song delivers the message incredibly well. the production is club ready and biting, house infused and sharp, with lyrics that flip the mirror back on the listener before they see it coming. big fan of holding up a mirror to this, and the song feels like it enjoys sharing it.
lianzi is a san francisco-based artist, songwriter and producer who grew up steeped in traditional chinese music, with both parents performing in china’s national orchestra. she’s since picked up recognition in the john lennon songwriting contest twice over, including the 2025 grand prize and lennon award for “big gulp.” i want what they have keeps building on that melancholic, diaristic art-pop world she’s been shaping all along. it’s a banger, and you need to get this in your ears.
thank u for making this lianzi 🪞
ellipsis – tiebreak
tiebreak brings analogue tape warmth into a proper indie ripper
ellipsis is the latest single off tiebreak’s album 16-23, recorded analogue to tape at tilehouse studios, the same room that’s hosted bands like the blossoms. that choice shows: the track has a warm, lived in quality that digital indie pop rarely bothers with anymore, all chiming guitars and unforced melody.
tiebreak are a northampton, milton keynes-based band who make proper indie tunes for people who still care about how a record is made, not just how it streams. there’s no pretense here, just a band chasing an authentic sound and finding like minded listeners along the way. ellipsis is a solid introduction. keep it analogue, tiebreak.
thank u for making this tiebreak 📼
feed the feeling – ada morghe
ada morghe serves up a wonderful blend of acid jazz nostalgia in this euphoric soul-disco moment
feed the feeling is a soulful reimagining of a 1990s acid jazz classic, wrapped in infectious disco grooves and warm summer energy. morghe’s vocals turn it into an invitation to let go and move, staying true to the original’s joy while giving it a fresh, contemporary soul-disco pulse.
ada morghe is a london-based jazz and soul singer of real distinction, also known as alexandre helmig, an actress and award-winning author in her native germany. her fourth album, pure good vibes, grew out of a january 2024 trip to jamaica with longtime collaborators, grammy nominated bassist livingstone brown among them, and it’s her most rhythmically alive record yet. feed the feeling is a perfect entry point into that world.
thank u for making this ada morghe 🕺
unbeatable – ruut
ruut brings hard won self-acceptance into an unbeatable pop triumph for 2026
unbeatable is a polished commercial pop single marking ruut’s first release since signing an exclusive catalog deal with meridian and being named finlandia foundation 2026 performer of the year. co-produced with grant cornish, it trades old ideas of constant strength for something more honest: real warriors, as ruut puts it, make room for vulnerability.
ruut is a finnish-born, baltimore-based pop artist, the third of four daughters to sibelius academy students, who wrote her first songs by the age of seven. after a childhood move to budapest and later baltimore, she left the church in her early twenties to pursue music entirely on her own terms, turning down a berklee scholarship along the way because it wasn’t hers to take. unbeatable finds her exactly where she’s earned the right to be.
thank u for making this ruut 👑
follow pop bangers 26 for more of the most exciting, up and coming artists
Leave a comment