Super Sunset

Did we dream up Allie X? The avant-garde Canadian pop star has it all: Robyn pipes (“Little Things”), Lana Del Rey theatricality (“Not so Bad in La”), and Charli XCX’s knack for warped bubblegum pop that’s as mature as it is playful (“Girl of the Year”). Like these women—along with Lady Gaga, to whom she’s also occasionally compared—Allie X is a well-known LGBTQ ally who’s inspired by drag culture, club kids, and the duality of Hollywood–at once glamorous and seedy. All are at play on Super Sunset, a surrealistic picture of her years in Los Angeles that left her conflicted. With each song, she retraces her steps–from escaping reality (“Science”) to craving human connection (“Focus”) to eye-rolling the city from a disenchanted distance (“Not so Bad in La”). The vocal effects and hyper-synthetic textures make the experience feel like fantasy, but any Angeleno will tell you it’s all too real.