Life Listens: New music from Sabrina Carpenter, Turnstile, Katseye and more

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

Stream This Song: Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Trust Sabrina Carpenter to come up with a break-up song that is as sassy as it is fun.

A cheeky takedown of an emotionally immature ex, Manchild is the first single off the American singer’s upcoming seventh album, Man’s Best Friend, set to be released on Aug 29.

“Said he needed space, now he’s posting thirst traps, and quoting Freud like he knows where his hurt’s at,” she croons on the song’s bridge, taking aim at a former lover.

Co-written by Carpenter and her two frequent collaborators – songwriter Amy Allen and pop savant Jack Antonoff – the immensely catchy tune deftly melds synth-pop and disco beats with country music-style fiddles and banjos.

Like the ultra-catchy singles off her critically and commercially successful previous album Short n’ Sweet (2024), Manchild is shaping up to be a global hit. It made its debut at the top of the United States and British singles charts, and at No. 7 on the local Recording Industry Association Singapore (Rias) charts.

With its playful and upbeat vibes, this is one tune that is definitely in the running for this year’s Song of the Summer.

Ace Album: Turnstile – Never Enough

American band Turnstile’s new album Never Enough is a watershed moment for hardcore music, an aggressive offshoot of punk music that first emerged in the late 1970s.

While purists might decry the distillation of the genre, the Baltimore quintet’s Technicolor amalgamation of blistering intensity with pop and electronic music elements has widened hardcore’s mass appeal.

The songs on Never Enough are more experimental and accessible than those on their previous album Glow On (2021), a breakthrough release.

I Care, for example, is a straight-up indie-pop track with 1980s-style rhythms and jangly guitars, while the cinematic title track is bookended by ambient synthesizers.

Dreaming melds heavy riffs with Latin-inspired syncopated grooves and a horn section that includes saxophones by Leland Whitty of Canadian post-bop/nu jazz outfit BadBadNotGood.

Another track with jazz flourishes is Sunshower, which features flutes by British jazz/avant-garde musician Shabaka Hutchings.

Chock-full of hummable melodies by Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates, the album has become the former underground band’s most commercially successful to date, and is their first to crack the Top 10 of Billboard’s album charts.

Never Enough is also the first album to feature guitarist Meg Mills, who replaced founding member Brady Ebert, who left in 2022.

Must-see MV: Katseye – Gabriela

Global girl group Katseye, whose line-up includes half-Singaporean member Megan, have enlisted a bit of Hollywood star power in the riotous new music video for the single Gabriela.

The video stars American actress Jessica Alba, who plays the chief executive of a fictional company called Gabriela Enterprises. It starts off at a boardroom meeting where Alba announces that she is looking for a successor among the members of Katseye.

The video then cuts into several frenzied scenes as each of the sextet – which also comprise Daniela, Lara, Manon, Sophia and Yoonchae – fight to clinch the top job.

Styled like an over-the-top, overdramatic telenovela, the campy video features daytime soap opera-like drama and retro-television aesthetics.

A wedding scene devolves into chaos and the members slug it out on the set of a trashy talk show.

Watch out for the twist at the end when Alba reveals who replaces her as CEO.

The Latin pop/K-pop hybrid tune is the second single from the group’s upcoming EP, Beautiful Chaos, set to be released on June 27.

Chart Champ: Enhypen – Desire : Unleash

K-pop boy band Enhypen scored their third No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with their sixth EP, Desire : Unleash.

The South Korean outfit also hit pole position with their last two EPs – Romance : Untold in 2024 and Manifesto : Day 1 (EP) in 2022.

The Top Album Sales chart tracks top-selling albums of the week based on traditional album and EP sales.

Desire : Unleash features songs that explore the darker and more complicated aspects of love.

Sonically, the songs are multifaceted. Opening track Flashover, with its modulated synths and crashing drops, flirts with future bass; Outside is a punchy hip-hop track; while Helium is driven by pop-rock rhythms.

Bad Desire (With Or Without You), an R&B/synth-pop hybrid, and funk number Loose come in two versions, one sung in English and the other in Korean.

Singapore Scene: Music Lab podcast – Evan Low

The latest episode of The Straits Times’ Music Lab podcast features an interview with award-winning Singaporean musician and composer Evan Low.

A recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award in 2024, Low has worked on more than 200 songs, including National Day Parade (NDP) themes We Are Singapore (2018), The Road Ahead (2021) and Not Alone (2024).

In recent years, he has also supported Mandopop superstar A-mei as one of her live musicians on her world tour, a jaunt that has seen him perform in major venues such as Beijing’s National Stadium.

Low, who also makes music under the stage name Evanturetime, discusses how he handles the pressure of taking on high-profile projects.

He also talks about how his emotional connection to music at a young age led him to a career path as a full-time musician.

This podcast is the first Music Lab episode to be recorded live in front of an audience. Held at Raffles Place hangout Rasa on June 3, the event was part of the ST Podcast Live! Sessions celebrating 180 years of The Straits Times in 2025.

Listen to the Music Lab podcast at

str.sg/pNYi