New Music Reviews: Nirosta Steel and Ariana Grande

Eccentric New York art-rock and slick adult R&B. I’d be impressed if any reader enjoys both of these new releases.

Nirosta Steel

My Skyscraper

2026, 9/10
My favourite album of 2026 so far is a compilation of recordings from 1984 to 2025. Steel was born in Glasgow, but after his father died, his mother posted a personal ad in the International Herald Tribune. Her children helped her choose a suitor, and the family moved to Delaware. Steel connected with artistic types like Allen Ginsberg and Richard Hell. He frequently worked with experimental cellist Arthur Russell – Russell passed away tragically young in 1992, but he features on some of these tracks.

Steel’s released two previous records, but they went largely under the radar. But they reached Ulyssa Records, who reached out to ask Steel if he’d recorded anything else, allowing him to trawl through his archives.

I feel like Rip Van Winkle! Like I suddenly walked out of a cave and I’m blinking my eyes and there’s all this bright light shining on me.
Nirosta Steel (reflecting on his newfound fame), The Guardian

My Skyscraper is a sprawling double album, clocking in at seventeen tracks and eighty-three minutes. But the length is a strength, allowing Steel to stretch out and explore different areas. ‘YHEMA’ is the most polarising track, but I find Steel’s rough vocal performance refreshing in an often airbrushed world.

There’s a ton of great material, like the aqueous ‘Thaitanum’. It’s fun when he steps into dance-pop, like on ‘Boss Trix’ and the slinky ‘My Name is Night’. And sometimes he leaves his music unadorned, like on ‘Jovi Song’ and the weirdness of ‘Mohan’.

We’re fortunate we got to hear Steel’s stockpile of songs, and it’s one of the year’s best records.

Ariana Grande

Petal

2026, 7.5/10
Petal has topped charts worldwide, but it still feels like a graceful exit from the mainstream for Grande. She’s only released a couple of albums since 2020’s Positions, and she’s enjoyed a higher profile from her acting ventures. Petal is tuneful and beautifully sung, but it doesn’t hit as hard as her earlier work.

The music’s fine, with a woozy late-night R&B vibe from producers Ilya and Max Martin. Grande is credited with drums on the lead single ‘Hate That I Made You Love Me’. But Grande insisted on writing all the lyrics herself, and they’re diaristic and unpolished. Sometimes it helps, making the album feel intimate, but most of the time the lyrics could have used some honing – “this sex is ’bout to make a grown man cry” is one of many examples.

There’s plenty to like musically, like the classy prelude to ‘Kiss Me’, and strong pop tunes like ‘Hate That I Made You Love Me’ and ‘Like I Do’. But it’s less than the sum of its parts, with little variation in mood – Grande is often defensive and subdued.

Petal features excellent singing and pretty tunes, but it’s merely a good pop album.