Life Listens: New music from Lisa, Laufey, Deftones, Babymetal and Blush

SINGAPORE – In this monthly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music released in the past month.

Must-see MV: Lisa – Dream

K-pop star Lisa navigates love and loss in the cinematic music video for Dream, a track from her solo album Alter Ego that was released in February.

The visuals are lush, with wide shots of a verdant landscape. Towards the end, the Blackpink singer is in a boat and cruising along a river, looking forlorn as she holds an urn.

The five-minute “short film” starts with a black-clad Lisa at what appears to be her lover’s funeral.

There are flashbacks to happier times with her beau, played by Japanese actor-model Kentaro Sakaguchi (The Last 10 Years, 2022; What Comes After Love, 2024).

There is certainly chemistry between the pair, but what is most striking is how different the tone is from Lisa’s usual high-energy, effervescent image.

She appears pensive and broken-hearted, and her famous megawatt smile makes only a few brief appearances.

After her acting debut in the third season of the popular HBO series The White Lotus earlier in 2025, it looks like she is ready to showcase more of her chops. Will Hollywood be next?

Stream This Song: Laufey – Sabotage

If your only impression of Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey’s music is 1940s and 1950s-style jazz repackaged for Gen Z, then this tune might just prompt a rethink.

The haunting closing song from her third album A Matter Of Time reflects the broad musical elements and genre shifts that occur throughout the recent release.

The 3½-minute track starts out innocuously enough with soft pianos. But be warned, there are jump scares, and the first of many eerie strings appears within the first six seconds.

The instrumentation gets more layered, and her voice more expressive and dramatic as Sabotage progresses. By the time it barrels towards its conclusion, it has become a dissonant post-rock tune.

About insecurities and undermining oneself (“I’m my worst enemy”), the lyrics see the Grammy-winning vocalist confront inner turmoil head-on. There is no neat resolution either, as the tune builds up to a cacophonous climax before ending abruptly.

Ace Album: Deftones – Private Music

With their 10th album, Grammy-winning American quintet Deftones double down on what they do best – balancing pummelling intensity with dreamlike grace.

Private Music, with its elegant amalgamation of avant-metal, shoegaze and ambient music, cements their status as alternative metal luminaries.

Frontman Chino Moreno’s voice traverses seamlessly between seductive and moody croons to harrowing screams that offer catharsis.

Songs like Milk Of The Madonna and cXz play around with dynamic tonal shifts, while I Think About You All The Time is a modern power ballad that is tender, textured and otherworldly.

While not the most adventurous album in their discography, Private Music sees them occasionally venturing outside their comfort zone – the synth-heavy intro of Ecdysis, for example, flirts with industrial music. Later, in expansive album closer Departing The Body, Moreno sings in a broody baritone.

Their follow-up to 2020’s Ohms is also their first with bass player Fred Sablan, who joined after bassist Sergio Vega left in 2021.

Chart Champ: Babymetal – Metal Forth

Babymetal – the trio of Japanese women famous for melding metal with J-pop idol music – have scored their biggest win yet with their fifth and latest album.

The 10-track release earned the group their first top 10 on the US Billboard album chart after making its debut at No. 9.

On Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, which tracks only traditional album sales and not streams or single song sales, Metal Forth ranks No. 2.

It is No. 1 on two other Billboard charts – Top Hard Rock Albums and World Albums.

In Metal Forth, Babymetal stray further from their “kawaii metal” beginnings as they explore contemporary metal sounds through collaborations with other hard-edged acts, such as Russian deathcore band Slaughter To Prevail and US outfit Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello.

While the song From Me To U with American singer-YouTuber Poppy is close to Babymetal’s pop-metal oeuvre, the team-up with American band Polyphia on Sunset Kiss crosses into progressive and math rock territory.

On Ratatata, featuring German band Electric Callboy, the trio embrace electronicore, while Kon! Kon!, a track with New Delhi band Bloodywood, merges Indian folk music with crushing rap metal aggression.

Babymetal are performing at the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2025 and will take the stage at Zone 4 Downtown on Oct 4 at 8.50pm.

Singapore Scene: Blush – Beauty Fades, Pain Lasts Forever

Home-grown indie-pop band Blush take a leap forward with sophomore album Beauty Fades, Pain Lasts Forever, their first full-length release since signing with American independent record label Kanine Records.

A follow-up to 2023 album Supercrush – which earned them a spot on US music outlet Stereogum’s best new bands list – the release also features the group’s revamped line-up. Joining singer Soffi Peters and bass player Daniel Pei are guitarist Darell Laser, best known as a member of emo mainstay Forests, and Jared Lim from indie outfit Sobs on guitars and production.

The songs ramp up Blush’s interplay between ethereal melodies and layered, guitar-driven noise, but the album also throws up a few pleasant surprises.

Ultrablue!’s 1980s indie-style chorus has unexpected gang-vocal chants, while closing track Swallowing 999999 Needles features screamo vocals and speedy blast beats.

Lead single X My Heart, with its yearning and earworm-inducing melody, has a music video directed by home-grown film-maker Goh Koon How (Tiong Bahru Social Club, 2020). Inspired by Mediacorp dramas, the mini-film tells a love story with a plot twist, as bittersweet as the band’s music.

Blush are on a US tour, playing shows in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Washington, DC.