Weekly Rec: Expectations by Hayley Kiyoko

I was vaguely aware of Hayley Kiyoko as a Music Person but hadn't really paid any attention to her until I went to a Taylor Swift concert last month - which was GREAT, by the way - and Kiyoko was the surprise guest. She performed her song "Curious" with Swift and it was awesome and I made a vague mental note to look up her album, which I finally got around to doing . . . last weekend. So that took a while, but hey, the concert ploy worked.

And now that I've started listening to it, I can't stop. It's addictive summery pop with just a bit of an edge of something more in its narrative ambitious, and I love the juxtaposition of so much yearning and complicated feelings against a bright backdrop of sunshine and palm trees. "Curious" is probably still my favorite track - it's practically impossible not to sing along - but there's not a song a dislike, and the rest of the album has been growing on me steadily. Kiyoko is both a former Disney star and one of the few young out lesbian pop stars, and she's clearly still finding her footing a bit, but I'm eager to see where she goes from here.

Expectations is on Spotify and Amazon and presumably wherever else you're listening to music these days. Here's "Curious:"