Music

Singer-songwriter Andrea Silva is enormously adept at dreamy, languid balladry. Even when crisp, gorgeous guitars dominate the mix, it's hard not to hang on her every word.

Joy and aggression coexist in this band from Glasgow, Scotland.

The four women in Pillow Queens write queer punk and pop songs with sharp, anxious edges — imagine a gnarlier Cranberries, maybe? — and endearingly thick Irish accents.

Rema is an Afropop superstar with a distinctive sound mixing pop and trap, a Barack Obama endorsement and a prominent magazine cover — and he still hasn't yet released his full-length debut album.

Affection pours out of the Welsh indie-pop band The School — affection for classic '60s girl-group pop, sunny springtime harmonies and lyrics that yearn with maximum sweetness.

Some bands deepen their impact with abstract examinations of the human psyche, but Vistas' sweet and shiny songs are just irresistible, high-wattage joy dispensers.

Rasmus Littauer calls himself School of X as a tribute to the experimental 1960s Copenhagen art collective of the same name, but his arty aspirations don't drown out his pop sensibilities.

L.A. singer-rapper Steven G finds more or less the exact midpoint between sleekly stylish R&B and slyly playful hip-hop.

This year's pure pop find from the great city of Austin is Sydney Wright, whose "You Can Stay" exudes dynamism and drama.