on to better things
The perma-heartbroken singer was just ahead of the curve of 2021’s Great Pop-Punk Revival; with support from mentors like Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, Dior’s early releases drew from angsty, hooky bands like Paramore as much as they did from the Juice WRLD mode of singsong rap. His second full-length, *on to better things*, wears its influences on its tracklist. The sparkly lilt of “V12” feels like an homage to Lil Uzi Vert, who contributes a verse; MGK shows up to close out “thought it was,” a riffy ode to the bummer that is fame; Barker’s rapid-fire drums feature on three tracks. “I’m a punk with a twisted brain/I’ll die a rock star like Marilyn Monroe,” he warbles on “dark angel interlude.” Pop punk is dead. Long live pop punk!
The 22-year-old singer fits into a burgeoning pop niche where angsty emo rap, frothy trap-pop, sunny Top 40 choruses, and punchy pop-punk riffs congeal.
The US star's second album is more focused and comes with a clear vision of his next sonic step
Emo trap crooner iann dior has had a meteoric rise over the past few years. From being relatively unknown to working with super producer collective