Megan Bülow’s second project of 2019 arrives six months after the release of her Crystalline EP, a brisk showcase of the German-Canadian singer’s proficiency at delivering sonically diverse songs that maintain a cohesive narrative. Across The Contender’s five tracks, bülow captures the perplexing emotions of coming into adulthood. Whether she’s taking full ownership of her identity (“Own Me”) or sharing her frustrations about a past love (“Upside Down”), the singer continues her evolution as an artist by adding sharp trap beats to smooth acoustics that culminate in a blend of trippy pop that approaches R&B. She partners with the Norwegian artist Jimi Somewhere on “Puppy Love”, a song that at first seems like it could be a ballad, but is actually a forthright exhibition of bülow as an artist on the brink of a breakthrough, as she declares, “The underdog gets a bulldog/I don’t feel like one anymore.”