Bold ambition meets heartfelt emotion in the songs of Sydney-born Jessica Alyssa Cerro, who records and performs as Montaigne. Released when they were still a teenager, their 2014 debut single “I Am Not an End” introduced their knack for layered art pop that took flight via soaring vocals and strings alike. Equally parts snappy and swaggering, 2016’s platinum-selling “Because I Love You” evoked enough classic Talking Heads to foreshadow Montaigne’s later collaboration with David Byrne. Built on hypnotic finger snaps and sloshing rhythms, 2019’s “Ready” rivaled Sia herself (whom Montaigne had previously covered) for dizzying vocal heights. That made the artist a logical choice to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, nailing all the savvy structural twists of “Technicolour.” Besides their pair of teamups with Byrne, Montaigne has also slotted in naturally with Australian hip-hop royalty Hilltop Hoods on “A Whole Day’s Night” and musical comedian Tom Cardy’s “Red Flags,” both from 2022. And on 2024’s “talking shit,” they pair rap-worthy samples and snippets of heavy metal with witheringly funny lyrics and a vocal delivery that changes shape as readily as the free-flowing arrangements.