Despite the advent of the year 2026 being upon us, the sounds and feelings of the recession pop movement of 2008 feels more relevant now than it’s been in a very long time. In an era where music is more varied than ever and there’s a niche for any sound you could possibly want, the resurgence of this era is a no brainer. I mean, who doesn’t want to forget how much they can’t afford a house by listening to some glistening synth textures, club-inspired beats, and vocals drenched in autotune?

That is exactly the world that wenszy’s new debut album girl2004 tosses itself into. Acting as a bridge between modern internet-music and the recession pop of old, girl2004 is simultaneously a portal back in time as well as an escape from the present. The album immediately brings us into the fold with 2 remixes of 2NIGHT, a song which was admittedly a huge oversight from our top 7 songs of 2025 list. I love the original 2NIGHT, and these remixes take the previously hyper-polished bells and synths of the original and give it 2 distinctly different club spins, acting almost as a transition into this albums overall sound. The first remix by aftrrr! transforms the track into a thumping dance track with a clipped four on the floor kick and heaps of mix grime, while the second remix by doug suh takes a wildly different approach far more comparable to modern complextro tracks than the y2k approach of the former. Despite being an unconventional choice to start an album with 2 remixes, the choice lands well as these acting like an introduction to the range of things we’ll be hearing throughout the 22 minute runtime of the album.

From here the meat of the project begins as we launch into the new originals of the album, starting with obsession. Per the title, obsession is an analog synthpop piece about that obsessive kind of love. Through retro-feeling synth patches, the song tells a story about the feeling of “one touch addiction” not just through words, but through the palpable pulse provided through the driving kicks juxtaposed against the chorus vocals. It paints vivid snippets of lived experience, painting its details through words and its feelings through lush chords and a pitch alternating lead, all culminating into visuals of evenings out on the town falling in love.

a summer without you is easily my favourite track off the album. It starts simple with nothing but plucked guitar and a sample from Toradora!, but quickly swaps into a gorgeously melancholic track walking a line balancing it’s synthpop and recession influences. In contrast to obsession, a summer without you is a different side of the same coin, where instead of pre-emptively chasing love, we’re left running after it when it’s too late. The lead plucks paired with the phenomenally longing vocal performance caters an atmosphere of regret and bargaining relatable to anyone who’s ever missed their shot at love. Pairing that with the semi-nostalgic soundscape has this incredibly unique effect of not just painting a picture of a missed connection, but going further and creating a feeling akin to looking back months, maybe even years on and still feeling that regret. While likely not an intentional choice, it’s a fascinating end result that elevates what is already an amazing song into a work of art.

While I could go on and gush about the album from front to back for a very long time, I know you (the reader) only have so much attention span for the endless ramblings of a chronically sleep deprived 23 year old music journalist (in fact I’m pretty sure tiktok was invented so you didn’t have to read things like that). With that said I will leave you with the sentiment that this album absolutely deserves a front to back listen. I’ve been following wenszy since her 2023 release #devious777, which at the time blew me away as feeling like it was straight out of the prime era of eurodance despite being brand new, and now 3 years on from there I’m continuously impressed by her output and the way it balances influences from the past with the modern capabilities of a DAW and a great idea. So give girl2004 a shot, and then after you love it give the rest of her catalogue a dive, because I guarantee there’s something in there you didn’t know you needed.