Man's Best Friend, reali-tea with Bimini, and the Big Engagement

00:02 |

Friday 29 August 2025

Five stars for Chappell Roan at Reading Festival, in case you were wondering...

Happy Sabrina Carpenter day to all those who celebrate! The US pop star has just put out her latest album, Man's Best Friend, and I'm so excited to get stuck in - keep an eye out for Adam White's review later today, too.

For now, though, we have Ellie Muir's fantastic deepdive into how Carpenter built such an incredible brand, and what it is that makes her so alluring.

What else has been going on this week? Well, the world's most famous woman got engaged, I guess there's that. Yes - Taylor Swift announced her engagement to her 'guy on the Chiefs', Travis Kelce. I ended up doing some unpacking of my own into why it makes total sense that she ended up with the all-American who made her feel like she was starring in her own John Hughes movie.

Check out Hannah's lovely interview with gothic singer-songwriter Sofia Isella, too. Reviews-wise, Louis tuned into CMAT's new record, Euro-Country, while I was enamoured by folk-rock duo Flyte's fourth album, Between You and Me.

New music I love this week... there's the Hayley Williams solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, which she's now officially released. Irish artist David Keenan has put out "Poison Water", which I find extraordinary - from the songwriting and language used to the composition of it, that uneven, helter-skelter structure that drags you down into its depths.

Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen teamed up on "Hollow Man", a fresh take from last year's Forever album which features further collaborations with Jason Isbell, Avril Lavigne, Robbie Williams, Carin Leon and Lainey Wilson. I really like the Double A Side from Spoon, featuring the jittery rock'n'roll jaunt "Chateau Blues" and the more menacing, scuzzy jam "Guess I'm Fallin in Love".

Other stuff: New Myd - "Our Home", from his album Mydnight, and the excellent "Pain" from Belfast experimentalists Chalk.

Finally, a new podcast episode for you because it's Friday and that means a treat. My guest this week is the Drag Race star, author, DJ, musician and all-round icon Bimini! Tune in and enjoy x

Now Read This:

Jessie J cancels all US tour dates due to 'ongoing health issues'
Gothic singer-songwriter Sofia Isella: 'Men feel pressured by other men to be mean to women'
Ravyn Lenae on her viral hit Love Me Not: 'There's so much ahead of me beyond this moment'

Written by Roisin O'Connor

More features...

Taylor Swift is engaged to the all-American Travis Kelce, and it makes so much sense

Written by Roisin O'Connor

Sabrina Carpenter has built a brand on her coquette persona – what is it that makes her so alluring?

Written by Ellie Muir

ON THE RECORD

It's easier to play Wembley than it is to play a bar with two people

Sofia Isella, August 2025

She is driving an enormous ship, and she's driving it very bloody well

Rachel Chinouriri on Sabrina Carpenter, August 2025

Celebrity SAS was a challenge I needed

Bimini on Roisin O'Connor's Good Vibrations

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Tracks of the week

Subscribe to the official Now Hear This playlist on Apple Music and stay up to date with all the best new releases

1. "Poison Water" - David Keenan

2. "Tears" - Sabrina Carpenter

3. "Parachute" - Hayley Williams

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Q&A

Spotlight on... herbal tea

Hello! Tell me about yourself

Hi! I'm Helena Walker and I record music under the moniker herbal tea. I'm based in Bristol but originally from Derbyshire. I started the project in 2018, mostly as a way to process my thoughts, emotions and the world around me.

I write, record and produce using basic home equipment, capturing whatever I'm feeling in real time as the recording takes shape. I work with my longtime collaborator and childhood friend Henry C Sharpe to build expansive arrangements and layered textures, always leaving the original demo as the foundation.

The project has grown slowly since it began, through DIY self-releases, homemade CDs and cassette tapes and word of mouth. Getting involved in the grassroots Bristol music scene early on helped to build my confidence and push the project further. My music floats between genres such as ambient folk, dream pop, shoegaze and slowcore.

What are your inspirations and influences?

I was always creative but I didn't make the jump to songwriting until I discovered powerful yet beautiful and intimate female songwriters, artists such as: Feist, Sharon Van Etten, Cat Power, Land of Talk and Low. I love songwriting that is personal as it is honest, poetic as it is a matter of fact, and tragic as it is freeing.

I'm drawn to music that balances beauty with unease, songs that are melodic and intimate but carry eerie textures or noisy edges. I'm very inspired by artists that intertwine home recordings with expansive arrangements, such as: Sparklehorse, Sufjan Stevens, Grouper and Oliver Wilde. I am especially inspired by interesting vocal textures and love layered melodic harmonies.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year and beyond?

My debut album, Hear as the Mirror Echoes, is being released on the 29th August on LP/cassette/digital via Orindal Records (US) and Gold Day (UK/EU). These songs have been with me for many years, so it feels like the end of a long chapter but also a new beginning. There will also be some intimate live shows happening towards the end of the year.