Evann McIntosh mixes dark alt-pop and dreamy R&B with streaks of hip-hop, jazz, and funk, calling to mind everything from Prince to Billie Eilish as it grapples with growth and evolution, gender identity and sexuality, freedom and self-expression. Their writing is as insightful as it is unpredictable, alternating between earnest poeticism and playful acrobatics, and the production is similarly adventurous, wrapping their performances in lush, magnetic arrangements. Even at its most densely layered, though, the music remains a work of pure intimacy, a poignant and revealing portrait of modern adolescence from an artist unraveling the mysteries of their psyche one song at a time.

New music follows McIntosh’s acclaimed EP, MOJO, which racked up more than 36 million streams in part due to the viral TikTok success of lead single “What Dreams Are Made Of.” Ones To Watch hailed the music’s “self-awareness and vulnerability,” while WWD praised McIntosh’s “maturity and vision,” and Vogue HK declared that they were “ready to conquer the world.”

(Photo credit: Shervin Lainez)