How does art change once it’s placed on the body? The question as to whether fashion is art or whether there is art in fashion has long been controversial, but Yilun Li’s work seeks to reify the image of wearable art. Li’s Ethereal Convergence series is both tangible and unembodied, consisting of sculptural installations that combine reflective surfaces, translucent materials, and intricate, dynamic structures.
There is a devotional element to Li’s work, especially in the moving elements. In some sculptures, delicate florals reach to the heavens like branches while in others, biomechanical limbs swing pendulously downwards. Directional divides between the holy and perdition place the viewer in a purgation of purgatory: we are suspended, caught between the ephemeral and the eternal. Li’s approach to the question of spirituality in the digital age is semiotically rich and visually concise, sitting somewhere between the historical iconographies of churches and the chromatic icons of the early 2000s internet.
The biomorphic forms of Ethereal Convergence also speak to the tension between human and machine, natural and artificial. Li’s practice is ostensibly concerned with the space between the virtual and the real. The choice of materials — laser stickers, metallic UV gel, and mirrored acrylic — acts as a mediation between the divine and the designed. Light becomes refracted, reflections distorted, and shapes cast from shadows; these visual shifts are tempered by the viewer’s physical perception of the work in relation to their own position in physical space. The audience is asked to interact with these pieces almost ritualistically: the dialogue between physicality and abstraction forces us to confront our own boundaries and the fluid nature of self-perception in an increasingly digital world.
The pieces making up Ethereal Convergence act ultimately as vessels of intersection: materials meet and merge, but they are also sites where metaphysical ideas collide. Transhumanist values and traditional notions of artistic spirituality cut across and through each other, questioning the boundaries between the organic and the artificial, the divine and the synthetic. Li’s work suggests that the body, both as a physical entity and as a vessel for meaning, is a place where these opposing forces can coexist: it becomes both site and medium.
By embedding these materials in wearable forms, Li draws attention to how the body becomes a site of convergence for these dualities — human and machine, sacred and synthetic, natural and virtual. The body here becomes more than just a passive frame; it is a conduit for the tension between the fragmented, hyperreal version of identity of the virtual world and the corporeal, embodied experience of self in the material one.
Ethereal Convergence bridges a gap between the organic and the artificial by pulling one realm into the other: we swim between screens, watch light travel from wall to sculpture and back again, forms that shift between abstraction and representation. As reconciliatory meditation between the tangible and intangible, Li’s work formally fuses the natural world with the digital epoch.
Online car auctions have become a popular trend among buyers and sellers due to their convenience, availability of a great variety of cars, and most often competitive pricing. However, the rapid growth of online transactions increases fraud on the platforms. From fraudulent listings to phishing scams and payment fraud, where there are not stringent security measures, trust is definitely undermined, and users have to suffer huge financial losses. As the automotive industry is increasingly embracing digital, advanced cybersecurity solutions are becoming an integral part of this transformation.
To protect buyers and sellers, reputable platforms like https://sca.auction/ have embraced cutting-edge security technologies, ensuring that users can participate in online car auctions safely. By investing in cybersecurity, these platforms protect sensitive information and create greater transparency and trust in their services, making fraud prevention a core of their service offering.
SCA Auction has developed an unrivaled buying and selling experience of vehicles through online auctions, giving access to a huge inventory of cars, trucks, and specialty vehicles, including both salvage and clean-title options. The tools are friendly, the process is transparent, and the platform makes it quite easy for first-time buyers to huge dealers. With detailed vehicle descriptions, competitive pricing, and real-time bidding, this platform really puts the power of informed decision-making in the hands of its clients. Most importantly, it provides cost-effective vehicle auction opportunities and reliable options to any client seeking to research available services to assist with shipping, documentation, and global accessibility.
Understanding Common Types of Fraud in Online Car Auctions
Car-auction fraud online happens in many different manners, with fraudsters targeting several touchpoints along the transaction. Among the common frauds include scam listings by the posting of non-existing or misrepresented cars. The most common feature is unrealistic pricing to pressure potential buyers into acting impulsively.
Others are facing payment fraud in which fraudsters ask for a direct wire transfer or other kinds of payments, which are irretrievable or hard to track. Sometimes there is chargeback fraud, where buyers dispute a genuine transaction after shipment of the vehicle, and such transactions result in losses for sellers. Most phishing attacks use these to steal credentials or payment information by spoofing a legitimate auction platform.
While it has caused financial damages, it also undermined the faith of the participants in the online car auctioning ecosystem as a whole. Consequently, this has brought to attention an essential requirement of these businesses in developing advanced cybersecurity solutions to keep the cyber world secure for all stakeholders involved.
The Role of Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions
Advanced cybersecurity solutions help to prevent fraud and protect the data of users. Among the major tools used by online car auction platforms is encryption. These platforms encrypt such sensitive data as payment details and personal information so that even when intercepted, the data will not be accessed by unauthorized parties.
Another critical measure is multi-factor authentication. It provides an additional layer of security because it requires users to verify their identity through multiple channels, such as a password and a one-time code sent to their phone. MFA significantly reduces the possibility of unauthorized access, even if login credentials are compromised.
Another development in the fight against fraud is the inclusion of machine learning and AI. It analyzes user behavior for any anomaly that shows fraudulent actions. For instance, if a user’s account, from another location, all of a sudden initiates a number of high-value transactions, it flags off such behavior and keeps the account suspended until checked. This proactive fraud control method reduces the losses and stops fraudsters from committing fraud.
Ensuring Transparency and Building Trust
Transparency is in fact the most salient element in building up trust in online car auctions-and cybersecurity solutions can help ensure just that. In this sense, sites that use digital certificates and secure connections-identified by HTTPS in the browser-offer users added confidence that their interactions are secure and free from illegitimacy. Moreover, it really pays off with detailed vehicle history provided, such as ownership records, accident reports, and title status, which protects buyers from falling into fraudulent listings.
Fraud detection systems add to the transparency by detecting and removing suspicious accounts or listings. Most of the advanced platforms have real-time monitoring for fraud detection that helps block such activities before they escalate. The online car auction platforms maintain clear communication and visible security protocols that keep users informed of their safety. This fosters a sense of safety that encourages more users to confidently engage with online car auction services.
Educating Users on Fraud Prevention
While it is very critical to make the platforms secure, educating users about the potential risks and the right behaviors is critical. Most car auction platforms provide resources that will help a user to know when something suspicious is taking place, like a request to pay off-site or incomplete description of a vehicle.
Moreover, users should be nudged to check listings themselves through services such as VIN lookups to ascertain the legitimacy of the vehicle. The platforms, on the other hand, can give alerts or warnings when a user is likely to engage in a risky transaction, further reiterating safe behavior. This way, the platforms are involving users with knowledge in a collective effort toward minimizing fraud.
Future Trends in Online Auction Security
The landscape of cybersecurity is ever-changing, and online car auction platforms must be ahead of emerging threats. For example, blockchain technology is becoming increasingly popular for securely verifying transactions and maintaining an immutable record of vehicle ownership. This technology could further enhance trust by providing a tamper-proof ledger of all auction activities.
Biometric authentication, including fingerprint and face identification, could be considered a common option in the near future; these methods will represent a highly secure alternative to passwords. The development of sophisticated tactics by fraudsters means the platform needs continuously to change its system to integrate new and advanced cybersecurity methods that are able to provide protection for customers and the reputation of the website itself.
Conclusion
Online car auction fraud prevention is complex and involves multi-level cybersecurity approaches, transparency, and user education. It involves everything from encryption and multi-factor authentication to AI-driven fraud detection, all the way to assure that buyers and sellers can take part in auctions with confidence.
With the online car auction industry continuing to expand, cybersecurity will play an ever-more-important role. Vigilance and proactive action will be necessary to ensure both the platforms and the users contribute toward a secure environment, where one can trust that each transaction will go positively and without incident. Protecting both the first-time buyer and seasoned seller ensures that excitement in the realm of online car auctions remains untouched by fraudulent activity.
There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Thursday, February 6, 2025.
The Ophelias – ‘Cumulonimbus’
The Ophelias have announced a new album produced by Julien Baker, Spring Grove, with the single ‘Cumulonimbus’. “There’s so much more beyond heartbreak to write about,” vocalist Spencer Peppet said in press materials, noting that there are “zero songs about break-ups” on the record. ‘Cumulonimbus’ may not be the exception, but it’s evocative and so full of longing that you might mistake it as one. “I know that you are going to miss me more than you say you/ Will, the things that I didn’t say are always going to,” Peppet sings, “Hang above you like a cumulonimbus/ I am on your heels, I’m running like it’s nothing.”
Panda Bear – ‘Ends Meet’
Panda Bear has shared ‘Ends Meet’, the final single from his forthcoming LP Sinister Grift, and it’s another great preview. This one features his Animal Collective bandmates Avey Tare and Geologist, as well as backing vocals by Maria Reis and Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede.
Lucius – ‘Gold Rush’
Lucius’ self-titled album was announced today with the groovy, infectious new single ‘Gold Rush’. The song “is that addictive sweetness to love,” the band explained. “The roller coaster highs and lows. The sugary can’t get enough of you, can’t live with you feeling that keeps you coming back for more. It’s energy and grit: guitars wailing, heavy backbeat, dynamic vocals which flip from verse to chorus – mellow to strong – playing off the band and echoing the sentiment of the lyrics.”
Nell Smith – ‘Anxious’
Bella Union has announced Nell Smith’s posthumous debut solo album, Anxious, arriving on April 11. At the time of her passing in a car accident last October, the 17-year-old artist was preparing to release the record, which she made in Brighton with Jack and Lily Wolter of Penelope Isles. The title track, which is playful yet dark, is out now. “It is still very painful when I realize Nell is gone,” the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne said. “I keep thinking I’ll check my text messages from her. I’m sure she has a new drawing or new piece of a song or a new photo of her cat… and then I remember she is gone. Now when I’m listening to her singing these songs there is a brief fantastical joy. Her voice hits the ear, the ear tells brain this is the sound of love, the brain lets the mind fly through the billions of connections it has with Nell’s life… but as it flies it also flies to her death… there is something holy that happens now.”
Darkside – ‘Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)’
“I refuse to live on western time/ Its investors need to heal,” Nicolás Jaar sings on Darkside’s latest seven-minute single, and the band’s refuge is simple: “Singing! Just keep on singing!” Their new album, Nothing, comes out at the end of the month.
Ichiko Aoba – ‘SONAR’
Ichiko Aoba has offered another preview of her upcoming album Luminescent Creatures with ‘SONAR’, a delicate piano ballad. Here’s a translation of some of the lyrics: “Beyond the darkness, a glimmer of/ Somebody’s voice/ I am here, although/ I know not where, and yet/ I hear it.”
Jarvis Cocker with Kim Sion – ‘California Dreamin” (The Mamas And The Papas Cover)
Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus and producer Nick Launay have teamed up for a wildfire relief compilation titled Los Angeles Rising, which is out today (get it here) and features Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more. The lead single is Jarvis Cocker’s haunting rendition of ‘California Dreamin”, which features backing vocals from his girlfriend Kim Sion. It’s definitely darker than the version we heard Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars sing at last Sunday’s Grammys.
Heaven – ‘The Fire You Know’
NYC-based power-pop band Heaven have shared a new single from their upcoming album, Dream Aloud. ‘The Fire You Know’ is a brooding track that features Megan LaMarca on cello recorded by her husband, Anthony LaMarca of The War on Drugs.
Deb Never – This Alive
Deb Never, whose debut album will be out this year via GIANT, has released a somber yet propulsive track called ‘This Alive’. It coincides with the singer joining Wallows on tour.
serpentwithfeet – ‘Wanderer’
‘Writing in the Wind’, which accompanied the announcement of serpenwithfeet’s Grip Sequel, was a rather brief single. His new single, ‘Wanderer’, though, stretches the dreamy, intimate atmosphere out to four minutes. According to the singer-songwriter, it’s “about a man who lives in isolation and his new passionate paramour.”
Cloakroom – ‘Story of the Egg’
Indiana’s Cloakroom have dropped a new single, ‘Story of the Egg’, which will appear on the band’s upcoming full-length Last Leg of the Human Table. The track injects an unusual amount of nerve into an otherwise ethereal arrangement, which is in line with its subject matter. According to drummer Tim Remis, the track is about “the newfound anxiety and stress from the alertness that comes with finally feeling the otherwise positive effects of a full night’s rest. There was a phenomenon of feeling anxious after working with a sleep doctor, realizing I spent most of my adult life without getting rest, had dulled my human sensations. Upon getting some deep sleep and rest, my new, heightened senses were overwhelming, and I was left with a different feeling of anxiety.”
Dean Wareham – ‘That’s the Price of Loving Me’
Dean Wareham has shared the title track off his forthcoming album, the softly ambling ‘That’s The Price of Loving Me’. “‘That’s the Price of Loving Me’ is about our life on the road but also a dream I had about our tour manager and dear friend Kiko, who passed away a couple years ago; he drove us around Europe in his Mercedes Sprinter with red zebra upholstery,” Wareham explained.
Bambara – ‘Letters From Sing Sing’
There’s an urgent intensity driving ‘Letters From Sing Sing’, the latest single from Bambara’s first album in five years, Birthmarks. “This song is a series of letters from the narrator to another character in the album’s story, Elena, whose boyfriend he murdered,” Reid Bateh explained. “He’s telling her about his attempts to persuade the court to reinstate the practice of execution—specifically for him. He believes that if he can persuade them, he will be able to see her one last time, convinced that her intense anger and thirst for vengeance will drive her to attend his execution. We were lucky to finally collaborate with visionary director and fellow Athens, GA expat, Jason Miller. The central character, Elena, is portrayed by Wife Erath in a captivating performance.”
Lucius have announced their self-titled fourth album, which will land on May 2 via Fantasy Records. It includes the previously unveiled song ‘Old Tape’, as well as the groovy new track ‘Gold Rush’. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.
The band’s Dan Molad produced the new album, which features contributions from The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, Madison Cunningham, Luke Temple, Rob Moose, and more. In a statement, Lucius said:
Our fourth studio album is the four of us, just as we first started recording together as a band. It’s raw and honest and feels like coming home; something that resonates deeply in this moment of our lives. We are home in so many senses of the word; in the last couple of years we’ve started setting roots, finding life partners, building families, growing gardens. We got dogs, (you can hear them in the background if you listen close). We wrote songs about life and relationships. We recorded them in our home studios. We saw the beginnings and endings of life cycles while making this record, the beauty and fragility of the human experience. So it’s only fitting that this album is self-titled, it’s our story, who we are now and how we got here. Welcome to our living room.
Commenting on the lead single, the band explained: “‘Gold Rush’ is that addictive sweetness to love. The roller coaster highs and lows. The sugary can’t get enough of you, can’t live with you feeling that keeps you coming back for more. It’s energy and grit: guitars wailing, heavy backbeat, dynamic vocals which flip from verse to chorus – mellow to strong – playing off the band and echoing the sentiment of the lyrics.”
Lucius Cover Artwork:
Lucius Tracklist:
1. Final Days
2. Gold Rush
3. Do It All For You
4. Mad Love
5. Stranger Danger
6. Hallways
7. Old Tape [feat. Adam Granduciel]
8. Impressions [feat. Madison Cunningham]
9. Borderline
10. Orange Blossoms
11. At the End of the Day
The Ophelias have announced a new album, Spring Grove, which will be out April 4 via Get Better Records. It follows 2021’s Crocus, which included the Julien Baker collaboration ‘Neil Young on High’, and Baker produced the band’s new album in its entirety. Check out a video for the viscerally emotive new single ‘Cumulonimbus’ below, and scroll down for the album cover and tracklist.
Spring Grove marked the first time Baker took on the role of producer for an album by another artist. (With the rest of boygenius, she also produced jasmine.4.t’s recent debut album.) Baker, who also sings harmonies and plays on a number of songs, and the band spent ten days recording at Young Avenue Sound in Memphis, TN, in 2021.
Spring Grove Cover Artwork:
Spring Grove Tracklist:
1. Open Sky
2. Spring Grove
3. Cumulonimbus
4. Vulture Tree
5. Salome
6. Parade
7. Cicada
8. Forcefed
9. Crow
10. Gardenia
11. Sharpshooter
12. Say to You
13. Shapes
The Ophelias 2025 Tour Dates:
Fri April 4 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy
Sat April 5 – Brooklyn, NY – The Broadway – record release show
Sun April 6 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
Tue April 8 – Boston, MA – The Rockwell
Wed April 9 – Portsmouth, NH – Press Room
Thu May 8 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
Fri May 9 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
Sat May 10 – Lansing, MI – Stoopfest
Sun May 11 – Toronto, ON – The Baby G
Tue May 13 – Montréal, QC – Casa Del Popolo
Wed May 14 – Burlington, VT – Radio Bean
In this segment, we round up the best songs of each month. Here, in alphabetical order, are the 10 best songs of January 2025.
Black Country, New Road – ‘Besties’
Jaunty, playful, wholesome – if you haven’t tuned into Black Country, New Road in a while, you may be surprised these words confidently describe ‘Besties’, the lead single from their new album Forever Howlong. Then again, fans who have kept up with the band since Isaac Wood’s sudden departure in 2020 will recognize it as a sequel of sorts to ‘Up Song’ from the live album Live at Bush Hall, which spun around the refrain, “Look what we did together/ BCNR friends forever!” But while Georgia Ellery doesn’t sing on any of the Bush Hall tracks, her endearing and emotive vocals take center stage on ‘Besties’. In a statement about the song’s music video, director Rianne White said: “Knee-high in January’s jacket of mud, darkness, fields, street corners and a pack of hounds we found the beating heart of a world made better by chasing love and connection.” ‘Besties’ definitely felt like that this past month.
Destroyer – ‘Bologna’
I urge you to listen to ‘Bologna’, the lead single from Destroyer’s upcoming LP Dan’s Boogie, on a late night walk – not just because Dan Bejar’s smoky synthpop provides the perfect company, but because of the song’s hypnotic personification of the city after midnight. “Night comes in on wings,” Bejar warns, “Wearing your rings/ Parading her furs/ Pressing its luck.” There are many things about the ethereal arrangement that instantly strike as classic Destroyer, but Bejar keeps the implicit threat of the song elusive, enlisting Fiver’s Simone Schmidt to help it rise above the surface. “That explains things,” they repeat, but I doubt even the whole of Dan’s Boogie will neatly wrap things up.
Jane Remover – ‘JRJRJR’
Jane Remover blows up the whole idea of “new year, new me” on ‘JRJRJR’, a song that literally dropped on New Year’s Day to preview their forthcoming album Revengeseekerz. “2025, I got none left to shake, but mine still do,” they declare, “I don’t believe a single soul no more, not even you.” Over a corroded, abrasive hip-hop beat that barely lets them stop for breath, suspicion morphs into self-doubt, which balloons against the terrifying ordeal of being known. They contemplate changing their name – “hate the way it rolls off the tongue, full circle” – but the frustration runs deeper. The artist is sticking to the name for now, even describing their side project venturing as a fictional band created by Jane Remover. Maybe there’ll be a new moniker in the future, or maybe they just needed to vent about the perils of this one for four and a half minutes. That’s more time than I’d like to spend listening to anyone’s New Year’s resolutions, but ‘JRJRJR’ is a song I can’t help but go back to.
Japanese Breakfast – ‘Orlando in Love’
At just over two minutes, ‘Orlando in Love’ might be too delicate and dreamy of a ballad to pull listeners in the way ‘Be Sweet’ did four years ago, but it’s as vividly rendered and enchanting as Japanese Breakfast’s best songs. Inspired by Renaissance poet Matteo Maria Boiardo’s ‘Orlando Innamorato’, the song introduces us to the archetype of a male poet writing “for melancholy brunettes and sad women” (which is also, winkingly, the title of the new JB album), only to be lured in by a siren with no distinct features beyond her mysterious origin and the way she sings his name (“like a mother,” of course). Like another great Japanese Breakfast song, Michelle Zauner is fascinated by the dual workings of seduction and foolishness, and she does a great job of teasing out both perspectives in the song and its accompanying video. Elusive as both figures may be, Orlando’s fate is revealed just in the way his name echoes out in the end. This is how the story goes, but it’s only the start of For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).
jasmine.4.t – ‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’
‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’ is a different song from the one jasmine.4.t wrote and recorded years ago. The Manchester-based singer-songwriter was living at her best friend’s house and – having come out as trans to her closest people in her hometown of Bristol and ended her marriage – experiencing extreme PTSD symptoms. The song is about losing your mind at Tesco while there are fireworks outside; it’s also about suicidal ideation, and the friend who grounds you in your own body, that makes you promise not to go through with it. jasmine.4.t’s description is literal, until it isn’t: “When I push harder something stops me like a forcefield like a membrane/ Like two north poles like two train doors closing freezer food inside.” It’s a vital part of a song that, aided by all three members of boygenius on production and Phoebe Bridgers on vocals, has changed significantly since the demo Jasmine Cruickshank tracked originally, which had one guitar and vocal panned on the left and one guitar and vocal on the right. But the tidal shift is contextual, as the next chapter she imagines in the second verse – where she finds “connection next to true self something larger than my life” – has now caught up to her. Wherever it finds you, ‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’ is a shot of hope moulded out of despair.
Lucy Dacus – ‘Ankles’
Maybe it’s the proximity of their release dates, but with billowing strings and softly strummed guitars, the bed of instrumentation on ‘Ankles’ mirrors the one that carries forth Japanese Breakfast’s latest story of yearning. (Lucy Dacus and Michelle Zauner have been in conversation at least once.) ‘Ankles’ is faster than ‘Orlando in Love’, because it’s hornier, hooked on the endorphin rush of two people finally surrendering their inhibitions, or maybe just one – except this time it’s not a poet and a siren but lovers with no symbolic occupation beyond, perhaps, “Agent of chaos/ Angel of death.” Dacus can’t help that typically poetic bit of wordplay, but she keeps her language direct and explicit while remaining tender with each burst of desire. Unrestrained intimacy and domestic bliss entwine on ‘Ankles’ – “I want you to show me what you mean/ Then help me with the crossword in the morning” – but Dacus doesn’t make it sound like a fantasy. Though it very well may be, it’s worth divulging every detail.
Momma – ‘I Want You (Fever)’
The word in parenthesis makes all the difference. Yes, “Pick up and leave her/ I want you, fever” makes for one hell of a catchy chorus, but fever – beyond encapsulating the feeling of the song, which is about the kind of unrequited love that makes your blood boil with longing because it’s more about knowing the other person wants you – also feels like a switch, allowing all pent-up desire to swirl up the surface over one of Momma’s most irresistible riffs yet. The duo said the song is “about wanting to be with someone who has a girlfriend, or someone who isn’t over their ex,” but the “or someone” is open to projection. Really, it’s about the fever, and we all want it.
Perfume Genius – ‘It’s a Mirror’
In past Perfume Genius singles, the chorus has served as an avenue for salvation and even transcendence, the possibility of which leaves Mike Hadreas toiling through the verses. But on ‘It’s a Mirror’, the lead single from his new album Glory, the chorus is a locust of fear, a hive of irrepressible memories; a siren, like the one in the Japanese Breakfast song, “breaking me down soft and slow.” It wouldn’t be a proper first track if Hadreas didn’t open the door to all of them, transforming twangy wistfulness into swarming cacophony. His language shifts, too, his questioning plainly communicated. “What do I get out of being established?” Hadreas sings. “I still run and hide when a man’s at the door.” Rather than muffling the sound of each knock, though, he renders them inescapable.
SPELLLING – Portrait of My Heart
You can hear the cinematic whimsy of SPELLLING’s 2021 LP The Turning Wheel embedded in ‘Portait of My Heart’, but the first single off her upcoming album of the same name comes charged with a different kind of energy. Chrystia Cabral diagnoses her mental state instantly: “Lost,” she sings, “shattered in the dark.” The dark begins to illuminate a deep sense of regret, even mystical hubris: a spell cast entirely in hte wrong direction. “I don’t belong here,” she exclaims, more directly cathartic than SPELLLING’s music has sounded in the past. She makes a pact with herself to remake her image, and you’re convinced, if only because the song itself sounds like an act of reinvention. It’s what the entirety of the SPELLLING project is about.
Samia – ‘Bovine Excision’
”I was drawn to the phenomenon of bloodless cattle mutilation as a metaphor for self-extraction – this clinical pursuit of emptiness,” Samia curiously said in a press statement about ‘Bovine Excision’, the lead single from her third LP. Synonyms she finds for being empty in the song: “untouchable,” “impossible,” and Bloodless, the title of the album. But the blood that runs through ‘Bovine Excision’ burns bright and hot: the twangy guitars fried with grit, her own voice exploding in the mirror as she sings of being drained. But the need for self-effacement, though ambiguous, reveals itself to be but a symptom of an unattainable ideal, or simply a desire for warmth – to be warmth, “cup of tea in your cold hand.” Hide yourself as you might, you can’t deny the beating of your own heart, and Samia cuts through the metaphor for something palpably human.
Obsessed with the Netflix anime Sakamoto Days? You’re not alone. The Japanese series, which premiered in January 2025, quickly built a following thanks to its captivating storyline and gorgeous animation.
Revolving around a retired hitman who has to juggle family life with new threats, the show is a fun blend of action and comedy. So much so that fans are clamoring for it to go on for a long, long time. Will that be the case?
Sakamoto Days Season 2 Release Date
First off, the good news: the first season of the anime is still ongoing as of February, with episodes arriving weekly on Netflix. If you haven’t caught up with Taro Sakamoto yet, there’s no time like the present to give the show a stream.
That said, the first season of the anime will be broken up into two parts. For the second part, viewers will have to wait until July 2025. In other words, only around three months. Unfortunately, there’s no news about a potential season 2 just yet.
Sakamoto Days Japanese Cast
Tomokazu Sugita as Taro Sakamoto
Nobunaga Shimazaki as Shin Asakura
Ayane Sakura as Lu Shaotang
Nao Toyama as Aoi Sakamoto
Hina Kino as Hana Sakamoto
Ryōta Suzuki as Heisuke Mashimo
Natsuki Hanae as Nagumo
Taku Yashiro as Shishiba
Saori Hayami as Osaragi
What Will Happen in Sakamoto Days Season 2?
The anime centres on Taro Sakamoto, who used to be a prolific hitman back in the day. He is a legend in the underworld, with many fearing the sheer sight of him. Taro gives up his criminal tendencies, however, when he falls in love with Aoi, who doesn’t approve of his way of life. He retires, and they soon start a family and run a convenience store.
Years later, his now peaceful existence is threatened when his past comes knocking. Out of both shape and practice, Sakamoto has to keep his loved one safe. Preferably without angering his wife or, worse, dying. He also has to keep his promise of not killing anyone, so he relies on his wits and the help of a few friends.
Sakamoto Days excels thanks to engaging action scenes and a healthy dose of humour. With enough source material to draw inspiration from, fans can rest assured that, as long as they keep watching, new episodes are just around the corner. But with season 1 currently ongoing, it’s tricky to speculate about what might happen next.
For now, we’re glued to the screen, eager to find out whether Sakamoto can maintain the façade of a quiet existence.
Is Sakamoto Days Based on a Book?
The anime is based on a popular manga series with the same name. Written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki, it launched in 2020 and is still ongoing. If you want to give it a read, Sakamoto Days is published in English on the Manga Plus online platform.
If you were a Scrubs fan back in the day, you already know that a medical comedy can work brilliantly. Netflix doubles down on that point with The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, a K-drama with comedic and thriller elements.
The show dropped on the streaming platform in January 2025 and quickly became a worldwide hit. With only eight episodes to binge, however, fans are now eagerly demanding more. Hopefully, they’ll get their wish.
The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Season 2 Release Date
While The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Season 2 hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, the show’s popularity increases the chances of a renewal. Moreover, the show’s director is optimistic.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, so I don’t know if I will do it or who will take charge of season 2, but I have prepared my own devices just in case,” Lee Do-Yoon recently said.
Actor Choo Young-woo also expressed enthusiasm for new episodes and confirmed he would definitely return. “If you love this work and want a next story, I won’t turn it down,” he stated.
Even if the show is picked up, though, fans will have to wait a bit for a new installment. Season 2 could arrive in early 2026.
The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Cast
Ju Ji-hoon as Baek Kang-hyuk
Choo Young-woo as Yang Jae-won
Ha Young as Cheon Jang-mi
Yoon Kyung-ho as Han Yu-rim
Jung Jae-kwang as Park Gyeong-won
What Will Happen in The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Season 2?
The series revolves around Baek Kang-hyuk, a brilliant trauma surgeon whose methods are a bit unorthodox. He joins a university hospital, shaking things up in the process. While some are reluctant to follow his ways, he gradually earns the respect of his new colleagues.
Season 2 will likely continue to follow the trauma team’s efforts to save lives with limited resources, even as they clash with the hospital’s administration. They now have a helicopter, which will help them reach patients faster.
Unfortunately, that addition is likely not enough to change the system. Still, it will be interesting to see these dedicated doctors try. We can hardly wait.
Is The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Based on a Book?
The series is based on web novel Trauma Center: Golden Hour by Hansanleega and Hongbichira. You can check it out online.
Netflix’s Spanish series Alpha Males is on a roll. With the third season dropping on the platform in January 2025, it quickly reminded audiences what makes it so special: an irresistible blend of heart and laughs.
In fact, the only bad thing about the series is that seasons are way too short. At only 10 episodes, dedicated fans can binge their way through a new installment in only a couple of days. It leaves them wanting more – and, this time, we can confirm they’re getting it.
Alpha Males Season 4 Release Date
Netflix has already renewed Alpha Males for season 4, so it’s definitely coming.
The show premiered in December 2022, with subsequent seasons arriving in February 2024 and January 2025, respectively. If the series follows this release schedule, new episodes should come to Netflix sometime in early 2026.
In more exiting news, the streaming service will release a German version of the series. Alpha Males is also being adapted in France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Given its popularity, we hope to see it run for years to come.
Alpha Males Cast
Gorka Otxoa as Santi
Fele Martínez as Luis Bravo
Fernando Gil as Pedro Aguilar
Raúl Tejón as Raúl Camacho
Paula Gallego as Álex
Raquel Guerrero as Esther
María Hervás as Daniela Galván
Kira Miró as Luz
What Will Happen in Alpha Males Season 4?
Alpha Males follows four 40-something men who slowly but surely notice that their male privilege is starting to falter. Forced to adapt to this new reality, they strive to learn what masculinity truly means in the modern age.
While the show’s title might put off some viewers, rest assured – Alpha Males is just as sweet as it is hilarious. By showing how patriarchy can damage those it’s meant to uplift, the series is definitely worth your time.
In season 3, for instance, the group discovers antifeminist concepts like the manosphere while going through a series of crises that will likely make viewers laugh out loud. We expect this trend to continue in future installments, and for the show to keep balancing humour with heart.
Is Alpha Males Based on a Book?
No. The series was created by a brother-and-sister team, Alberto and Laura Caballero. If you’re eager to find out what happens next, you’ll have to wait for the new season to hit streaming.
Action drama Incognito wasted no time infiltrating TV fans’ watchlists. Shortly after its Netflix premiere on January 17, it climbed to the top spot in the platform’s Top 10 list in the Philippines, proving that a strong ensemble and a gripping story are enough to build a devoted fanbase in record time.
Now, however, all those viewers are wondering what comes next. With no word yet on renewal, it looks like we’ll have to wait and see whether new episodes of Incognito will be coming our way anytime soon.
Incognito Season 2 Release Date
With the first season of Incognito barely in the rearview mirror, it’s a little soon to speculate on the show’s future. Even so, its popularity in the Philippines suggests that we might see more from this band of misfits.
The show was actually created by a local company, and it premiered on the streaming service before making its pay TV debut. As long as new episodes get the green light, there’s a chance season 2 of Incognito will land on Netflix sometime in early 2026.
Incognito Cast
Richard Gutierrez as Jose “JB” Bonifacio
Daniel Padilla as Andres Malvar
Ian Veneracion as Col. Gregorio “Greg” Paterno
Baron Geisler as Miguel “Migs” Tecson
Kaila Estrada as Max Alvero
Anthony Jennings as Tomas “Tom” Guerrero
Maris Racal as Gabriela “Gab” Rivera / Scarlett
What Will Happen in Incognito Season 2?
Incognito revolves around seven people who join a private military company in search of redemption. They have complicated pasts and various (deadly) skills. Together, they go on dangerous missions, which make the show a riveting watch.
If the series gets a season 2, fans can expect more character development and, likely, even more spectacular action sequences. Director Lester Pimentel Ong was clear about selecting a cast that could deal with the physical challenges involved with filming the series. The actors had to undergo a serious training program that included martial arts and tactical combat.
Watching the series feels like watching a movie, with well-choreographed fights that keep you on the edge of the seat. As a result, we expect Incognito to go bigger and bolder in future episodes.
Is Incognito Based on a Book?
No, Incognito is an original series. In other words, if you want to know what happens next, you have to wait for season 2 to make its way to Netflix or pay TV. Thankfully, given the show’s early success, the wait shouldn’t be particularly gruesome.
