This Valentine’s Day I received a ton of emails featuring new songs or videos specifically for this special occasion. Lots of stuff about carefree, passionless romance that all sounds the same. Then I happened upon this video for a song called “Dead 2 Me” by Emily Vaughn. I’d never heard of her before today, but in the publicity email they referred to her as the HBIC, and I gotta respect that.

The music featured here isn’t breaking any kind of mold, in fact it feels very much of the moment. At the same time, it feels genuine and the underlying anger is palpable. The foundation of the song is built on a feeling of betrayal, which is offset by the Chainsmokers-style dance beat.

Vaughn announced a new EP coming out soon called Bitch Bops, which, based on the name alone I am looking forward to hearing. While current pop stars like Ariana Grande and Camilla Cabello are getting all the accolades and fame, it’s artists like Vaughn (and Terror jr) that are doing their best to keep pop music interesting.