An Open Mind, New Discoveries, and Lasting Favorites
From artists she thought she knew to albums that changed her perspective, Cerissa’s picks reflect a listener who believes there’s always more to discover.
Cerissa (@vinylcrush) approaches the July 4 to 8 prompts with the kind of curiosity that keeps music feeling endless. Her answers show a listener who is interested in diving deeper to learn about the album behind the single, the artist beyond the music, and the story that connects it all together.
The prompts offer a glimpse into the different ways Cerissa does just that, diving deeper into familiar favorites and new discoveries. A favorite album and song from this year so far explore what happens when you look beyond the songs that first introduce you to an artist. On other prompts, she looks back on a Canadian artist who opened the door to music in another language, reconsiders an album cover that took time to appreciate, and returns to a Swedish band whose music has followed her through years of listening and live memories.
What’s your favorite album from 2026 so far?
Initially I thought this might be down to recency bias but in the end I had to give this one to Olivia. Her highly anticipated third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is full of pop bangers and I knew I was probably destined to love it ever since I heard the first single “drop dead.” I love when an artist does something unexpected and that’s the vibe I got right off the bat with the intro on drop dead. It starts with a synth heavy slow vocal but by the end of the song we have this fun, energetic, guitar driven pop song, all about being lovestruck in the Limerence phase. To then balance that out with a single like “the cure” we knew we’d be on an emotional rollercoaster with this album. Each listen to the record had me falling in deeper. I know I truly love an album if I’m singing along to multiple songs in my head even when I’m not listening to music and this is definitely one of those albums.
I’d honestly been more of a casual fan of Olivia Rodrigo’s music up until now but this release changed that. I appreciate how she delves into 90s style and sound—it sounds contemporary and nostalgic at the same time. As a person who grew up in the 90s, a lot of the songs made me think back to that time I was discovering music at a young age. The song “u + me = <3” also had me thinking of contemporary indie singer songwriter artists like Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail (some other favorites in my collection). Doing a collaboration with the icon Robert Smith on “what’s wrong with me” wasn’t a total surprise, but I didn’t know if a duet would work as they have such different vocal styles. But I think it totally does! And fits in with the rest of the album well. I guess you could say in the end, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love met all my “expectations.”
It’s actually really hard for me to pick a definitively favorite anything, especially with so much great music coming out in 2026 so I also have to give a shout out to some of my other favorite albums of the year so far: Harry Styles’s Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, Kacey Musgraves’s Middle of Nowhere, Cannons’s Everything Glows, and Bleachers’s everyone for ten minutes.
What’s your favorite song from 2026 so far?
There have been so many great songs that have come out of 2026 but I immediately thought of “Pop” by Harry Styles. I know that Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally has been a somewhat divisive album but I was impressed from the start with “Aperture.” My first listen of the album had me really digging songs like “American Girls” and “Are You Listening Yet?” but it was “Pop” that immediately fell in love with. Sometimes it can take a listen or two (or ten or twenty!) to fully appreciate song for me but the instant draw of “Pop” was undeniable for me. I love a song that makes me want to dance, which “Pop” definitely does. It’s upbeat but has a dark, gritty feel at the same time. I can instantly imagine myself swaying to it in a dark nightclub with laser lights swirling around. A squeaky clean fantasy? Maybe, maybe not.
This was another album that changed how I felt about the artist. Prior to this, I really only knew Harry for the hits, and it took me a full year to appreciate Harry’s House but KISSCO (or is it KATTDO??) has had me in a chokehold from the jump. Not so secretly hoping “Pop” gets a quirky music video like the others he’s put out so far.
Which Canadian artist do you love?
There are so many great Canadian artists I have in my collection: Shania Twain, Carly Rae Jepsen, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Michael Bublé, and Alanis Morrisette to name a few, but I wanted to speak on my French Canadian queen, Cœur de Pirate (stage name of Beatrice Martin). I can’t remember how I stumbled across her music, but I started listening in 2008 when she released her self-titled debut album. Do I speak French?! Non! Well, very very little anyway. Not nearly enough to comprehend the lyrics without Google Translate but I was immediately drawn to Beatrice’s angelic voice and wanted to hear more.
I came to Beatrice’s music when I was first exploring the singer-songwriter genre. Armed with just a guitar or a piano, it was amazing to experience this form of storytelling on a stage in a small bar or cafe. With Cœur de Pirate, there’s an additional layer to that because I don’t speak the language. Is what she’s singing about making her feel elated? Distraught? It makes me more inquisitive, I want to know more and I’ll take the time to look up the translation and understand the meaning of the lyrics. I feel that a lot of Beatrice’s music focus on the theme of a doomed love, something we probably all have experienced in our lives. The first song I ever heard of hers, “Comme des enfants” plays on this theme—the joy of young love that she knows won’t last. It’s cheerful but also melancholy. That’s something I’ve always really enjoyed—when a sad song has an upbeat melody—that feels the most like real life to me.
I’m still working on adding more of her discography to my collection but I do have her debut album which is still my favorite, along with Impossible à aimer (Impossible to Love). I’d love to have her album of covers on vinyl someday, “Heartbeats Accelerating” is my personal favorite.
I have a few French pop albums in my collection, and I will from time to time look up the lyrics to understand the meaning of a song but I also really love not knowing sometimes. I studied world music in college and was exposed to a lot of music you’d never hear on the radio, of many languages I didn’t know. I think it’s beautiful that a song can appeal to someone just based on how it sounds. You don’t have to personally identify with it, you can just enjoy it for what it is.
Which album cover deserves more praise?
In one of my rare moments when I can claim insane bragging rights, I was at The Eras Tour show the night Taylor Swift announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version). With each new blue dress she debuted that August night, the energy in the room grew, eventually going so far off the charts that I finally understood what Beatlemania must have felt like.
Of all the Taylor’s Versions, it’s no secret that this is the most controversial—both for the cover and the music. But I think that’s totally unwarranted! While I, too, didn’t have an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the cover when it was announced, I’ve come to love it.
When she posted the album art on the big screen and I honestly was kind of like…huh, not at all what I expected! (Defying expectations seems to be a theme in my posts this week). The infamous bob and New York City visuals of the original were gone, replaced with beachy vibes and her loosely pinned-up hairstyle, disappointing to some people.
But I came to really appreciate this cover with time. Maybe someday Taylor will explain why she changed the aesthetic, but I don’t really care. What she gave us was a beautiful photoshoot with vibrant, colorful vinyl pressings that complement the standard and alternate covers so well—I have no complaints.
I felt the songs were improved upon in most places, a carbon copy of the originals would have been boring, anyway.
As far as the music, I truly didn’t understand the hate, especially from those who claimed to be fans. I felt the songs were improved upon in most places, a carbon copy of the originals would have been boring, anyway. And that growl we get on “and we run!” in “I Know Places?!” You cannot convince me that it’s not the superior version.
The vault tracks were incredible, and I can’t believe we went 10 years without hearing “Say Don’t Go” and “Is It Over Now?” If I’m going to stream or spin 1989, I’m choosing Taylor’s Version for sure.
What song comes to mind when you think of "Sweden"?
I’ve never had the privilege to visit Sweden (hopefully someday), and the obvious answer go-to would probably be “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, as it’s a band I love and my first exposure to music by Swedish artists, but my very first thought for this question? Pretty much anything from Swedish indie rock band The Sounds.
I discovered them in 2006 when they put out their sophomore album Dying to Say This To You and I instantly became a fan. The album is full of bangers but I chose the song “Ego” because, first of all, it’s amazing, and secondly, it includes the album’s title in the lyrics. Ego’s a song that appeals to me in a lot of ways, a peppy synth intro paired with rockin’ guitar riffs, gritty vocals shouting a well-placed F bomb or two.
I’ve seen The Sounds perform a few times over the years, most notably when they opened for No Doubt (and Paramore!) in 2009. At that show, I got to do a meet and greet with the band. The lead singer Maja was so sweet, and even hugged me when I told her that I mainly came to see them. To this day, the photo we took together remains the first photo I have saved in my phone!
I’m still working on collecting their discography on vinyl, and I would love some color variants to add to the collection. Fingers crossed for a 20th anniversary pressing.
Maybe that is why Cerissa’s curiosity around music feels so natural. The same listener who wants to understand the album beyond the single is also someone who remembers the moments beyond the album. The concert where an artist was still playing smaller rooms. The friendships formed through a shared love of records. The songs that arrived at the right time and somehow made a feeling easier to understand.
It is also why some artists have stayed with her for so long. Taylor Swift and Florence + The Machine are not just names in her collection, but artists whose music has been there for different versions of herself. The kind of songs that show up when you are trying to process something, and somehow say exactly what you needed to hear. Years later, those connections are still there, whether it is watching two favorite artists finally collaborate or returning to a record that still feels just as meaningful.
That same openness is what makes her collection so fun to explore. A French Canadian artist she discovered without speaking the language. A Swedish band whose songs are tied to years of listening and live memories. A new release from an artist she once only knew through singles. Different sounds, different eras, different ways into the music, but always the same willingness to stay a little longer and see what else is there.
A graphic designer and vinyl collector who moves between familiar favorites and new discoveries, building a collection shaped by curiosity, emotion, and connection.
