Wondering what to listen to this summer as you're soaking up the rays on holiday or maybe you're looking for something to listen to as you're having a mega chill out session? Never fear, for cliché Music Bloggery is here!Delivering emergency services to music, we've lined up a few brilliant singles and albums for you to listen to this summer.
1. Ghost Beach
Ghost Beach are my personal summer favourites and when I recently come across them, they shortly released their début album Blonde. This New York based electronic duo might be a fairly obscure band, but they have performed with the likes of David Guetta, Imagine Dragons and Vampire Weekend. Being quintessentially beach-pop, I think the marriage of powerful vocals, the synthesiser and encouraging use of slap bass make for a perfect summer album! Check out the video for Been There Before, and tell us what you think! Quirky and original, or are they singing the same old tune?
2. Foster the People
We at Music Bloggeryare massive fans of Foster the People, so when they released their second album Supermodel, we were jumping for joy! For those of you who don't know, this band received fame with their début single Pumped Up Kicks which eventually landed them a record deal.However, upon listening to their new album, we're not sure how to feel. Of course there are a few songs that really stand out (Coming of Age, Best Friend, Goats In Trees) but the rest of it seems a bit lacklustre and disjointed compared to their first album, Torches. The tracks we think stand out are great summer tracks nonetheless as they allow you to chill and unwind. Check out the video Coming of Age on the right hand side.
3. Charli XCX
Most of you may know her from her amazing 90s dress sense and her hit single Fancy with rapper Iggy Azalea, but Charli XCX A.K.A. Charlotte Aichison is a brilliant artist in her own right. Having experimented with synthesizers from the age of 16, she has made a name for herself on the pop scene (although she's more synthpop). She's gained even more recognition for her single Boom Clap for the film The Fault in our Stars, but we don't recommend this song as it's not even her best work. We love her 2013 single, SuperLove - it's got everything a good song needs, catchy beat and a stellar sing-along hook. The only thing I would say about this song is that the lyrics are a bit generic ('You're the bullet and you're making me draw/please save me') but nonetheless, it's a addictive song. Check the song on the right and tell us what you think!
4. HAIM
Brilliantly embracing that classic 80s sound, any single from Haim's Days are Gonealbum is a perfect chill-out song. My favourite has to be My Song 5 purely because of the energy and fierce rhythm of the drums alongside the overarching tone. Oh and that bridge! The guitar riff is INTENSE! Haim are a band named after the surname of three sisters from California, USA who grew up listening to their parents' 70s record collections. Having worked together and performed around the country for years, the sisters eventually got signed and released their début album, Days are Gone. We personally recommend Forever, The Wire, Honey & I and If I Could Change Your Mind for summer listening, check it out and tell us what you think!
5. St. Vincent
My goodness, I LOVE this woman! Thanks to the handy last.fm app (follow xAnthonyKiedis if you've got it), I've broadened my musical horizons and listened to some new music. Last.fm recommended St. Vincent for me, and after buying her most recent self-titled album (released this February) I have to admit, I'm instantly hooked. Her music can only be described as a creative pop rock/synth explosion. I first fell in love while listening to Rattlesnake because the intro is so goddamn catchy and her guitar solo, is quite frankly groundbreaking. Anyway, enough praise from me, listen to her yourself!
Keep checking this page as I'll be adding more songs throughout summer!
Weezer released the official audio for their single Back to the Shack from the upcoming album Everything Will Be Alright in the End (releasing 30 September 2014)! The band said in Entertainment Weekly that the 'record sounds like it’s going to have the tight structure of the Blue Album with a little bit more abandon like Pinkerton', which sounds great considering Raditude was pretty shoddy for a Weezer album....
Check it out and tell us what you think! What do you guys think? Yay or nay?!
THE DRUMS ARE BACK! That's right, you're reading this correctly! After a three year absence in which guitarist Adam Kessler and drummer Connor Hanwick decided they wanted out, the original line-up are back (Jonny Pierce and Jacob Graham) with their new single Magic Mountain. Excuse my French, but this song kicks ass!
The song delves away from their sedated sound as it is much heavier on the guitar. Could this be the start of a more punk-rock angle from The Drums? Frontman Jonny Pierce stated that Magic Mountain 'is a sparkling reflection of our last three years. It's
about shedding off what binds you and protecting what's good, finding a
safe place away from everyone and everything that wants to destroy you' and it feels like it with this track. I like that the band aren't sticking to the same rigid style; they enjoy experimenting and venturing to new territories, which is what all great bands do. The single is a unique marriage of the guttural guitar alongside Jonny's unique vocals and Music Bloggery wants to see more of this! What do you think? Yay or nay? Check out the song below.
For those of you who have been living in a cave, Lana Del Rey is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her distinctive vocal style. She found fame when her single Video Games went viral and followed this up with her 2012 album Born to Die. Now, in 2014, she has already released a short film (Tropico, which is just about the most pretentious thing I have seen) and a number one album Ultraviolence. I'm not going to mince words here, I strongly dislike Lana Del Rey. I think she's fake, overrated and just plain depressing, so here's my top 3 reasons for hate of this 'singer'.
Fakery
Let's face it, Lana is a fake. Her name, her collagen laden lips and her voice are all an act just because she couldn't make a career for herself without the use of cheap gimmicks. Listen to her stripped back, early performance when she was still Lizzy Grant and you'll see she doesn't actually need the bravado that Lana
Del Rey holds. I guess the music industry doesn't
want to see just another average performer so OBVIOUSLY that calls for selling out. Obviously.
I can't help but feel that her singing voice is completely put on. Again, in this old footage of her, the vocals seem much more natural and relaxed which makes for a pleasing sound. Songs like National Anthem and Ride sound so exaggerated and vexatious. The drawling notes of Ride sound like a drunken karaoke catastrophe. Her voice has become almost as annoying as Lights, and that's saying something.
2. The same old repeated themes
Yes Lana, you're 'depressed', we get it, can we move on now? In actuality, she gives off the impression that her music will deal with deep, philosophical ideas of life and death yet below the surface she sings about her seemingly mundane relationships. In her recent article for British newspaper The Guardian, she says: 'I
wish I was dead already' (read the article here) yet shortly after the article was published, she tweeted that the interviewer's questions were 'cold and calculated'. The moment she delves into these dark, somewhat interesting questions, she panics and wants out. Rather than addressing this in her music, she leaves it lurking behind and nothing is worse than bottling something up (trust me, I know). The only thing that comes close to this issue is Dark Paradise ('every-time I close my eyes, it's like a dark paradise') but even this illusion is ruined with the next line: 'no-one compares to you'. Same old love song. Depth please. Next!
3. Self-pitying
All of her songs force the listener to feel some sense of pity for this woman because she's lost the love(s) of her life and her heart is broken. Poor you, can we PLEASE move on to something else now? Nothing she actually offers is original and after the first album, it all gets a bit tedious.
Finally Music Bloggery is back, and we're kicking it off with our song of the week! This week we've chosen the single Mecca, taken from Wild Beasts' recent album release, Present Tense. The band originally formed in 2002, under the name Fauve (which means 'wild beast' in French - classy lads!). Eventually they were signed on Domino Records which was timed perfectly because following this, they achieved commercial success with their 2011 album Smother. Present Tense is their 2014 follow-up album, also received with acclaim (NME giving them 9/10 and Line of Best Fit 10/10!).
Mecca is a personal favourite - the untamed falsetto of front-man Hayden Thorpe, the timely drums and balanced sounds of the synthesiser work together in harmony to create a truly ethereal track that is genuinely a pleasure to hear. I have no idea whether this was the intention, but I like to think of the progression of the song as symbolic of the journey to Mecca. The chorus provides a culmination of emotion, while the sedate, dulcet tones of the bridge act as a representation of the end of the journey, almost if a feeling of enlightenment is reached (yes, we're mixing religions here).
The only problem with this song is that it takes a while to get used to. By this I mean that the chorus is catchy but the music is so sedate throughout, that might be hard for someone used to alternative rock to get into. Alongside this single, the band released the music video which is too weird for my liking. The psychedelic video is way out of line with the song itself - I just feel as if it is the music video for another song, not this one. Do you agree? Comment below! Check out the song below and share your thoughts, we'll tweet the best one at @musicbloggery.
Sorry, this review is about a week or two late! Anyway, my friends and I had a chance to see the Birmingham indie rockers Swim Deep on the last day of their tour in London. Getting there at half four in the afternoon, we were surprised to see we were the first in the queue! (bearing in mind the doors opened at 7pm) After waiting almost three hours to see this band (and stopping off for some KFC while we waited), the doors had finally opened right in-front of us and we ran to the front of the barriers. After being delayed for a few seconds because the venue didn't let me take in my own water (so you have to buy their overpriced water instead), I ran, and ended up right at the front!
So after waiting an hour, at 8pm the first warm-up band came on. Sundara Karma was their name, and drinking a can of Fosters in-between songs was their game. If you like bands like The Drums, you'll love this band. Having a hint of Kings of Leon in them, they rocked the stage for the first hour. The crowd was jumping, the beats were thumping (wow, that sounded really bad). Although almost no-one from the audience had a clue who they were, they performed quite well, playing songs like 'Freshbloom', one of their most popular recent releases.
After Sundara Karma played their set, we were expected to wait even more for the SECOND warm-up band to come on which frankly was a little annoying. This was the much loved Wolf Alice, a more well-known band amongst the audience. This was when some considerate geniuses in the audience decided to try and crush everyone who was standing in order to try and push to the front. Not today, matey! Anyway, after high expectations, I was kind of let down because while the acoustics were good, the lead singer's (Ellie Rowsell) vocals were weak sounding. So weak that I could barely tell what she was saying. Her voice is quite calm and sedated and it was just being overpowered by the sound of the instruments. Nevertheless, the band had a cool sound and played songs such as 'She' and 'Fluffy' which are crowd favourites to those who have heard them. When I first listened to the band's music it reminded me of The XX, so if you like that kinda sound, give this indie band a listen to!
After Wolf Alice performed, the crowd got a little restless as they started chanting 'Swim Deep, Swim Deep!', but we waited patiently at the front. Swim Deep came on and a massive roar of cheering was heard from the audience. Austin's (plays lead vocals and guitar for the band) signature guitar looking colourful in the fluorescent lighting, Cavan (bass player) and his golden locks glimmering in the shine of the disco ball above, all was right in the world. Moving on from my melodrama, they played their set, all songs from the début album 'Where the Heaven Are We' (which you should give a listen to, by the way!) and a bouncy cover of 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'. Towards the end all the warm up bands came on stage and Ellie and Austin broke into 'Tassle Man', a song created by the two (photo of the performance on the right). The mood was happy, chilled and crazy at the same time. It was a great night with lots of singing and awkward dancing on my part.
To make it even better, good 'ol Fred Macpherson (lead singer of Spector) was there supporting his mates at the show, and some of us even got a cheeky selfie with the lad. All in all, it was a great night! Would definitely recommend giving this band a listen!
So I'm finally writing again as you have so smartly noticed! Quite a few albums as well as singles, have been released by a few of my favourite bands so I thought I would share them with you guys!
Okay, so first up is Swim Deep's 'Where the Heaven Are We?' released 5th August 2013. This album is rapidly becoming my top summer album simply because of the sedating tunes and Nirvana-esque appeal of the band. The Birmingham based indie band, having first formed in 2011 and releasing their first single 'King City', went on to perform with up-and-coming band from London who go by the name of Spector (we love 'em) and are now performing in festivals all across the UK. The album features sombre tones such as 'Soul Tripping', which is a perfect song to lie on a sandy beach and just click repeat. Swim Deep are great, but if you were like me a year ago and hadn't heard of them before, I would recommend listening to 'Honey', simply because it's a fun, bouncy tune to have a bit of a jive to. (I apologise for the use of the word 'jive') Their debut album is already set for a top 10 album in the Official Albums Chart. Bearing in mind, this is risky territory with the likes of Miley Cyrus and other mainstream artists. If this band reaches an influx in popularity, their old fans could drift away.
Music Bloggery Recommends: 'King City', 'Honey', 'Soul Trippin'
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Next up, it's another British band, White Lies and their third studio album, 'Big TV', releasing just today in the UK! (12th August 2013) This band is one of my favourites and has been since the release of their first single 'To Lose My Life' (if you haven't listened to it, do so now!). White Lies have always reminded me of Joy Division, as they've got that depressing, eerie mood about them. After releasing their first single from the album via SoundCloud for a free download ('Getting Even), they released short clips of various songs being played by different members of the band on YouTube in order to promote the album. We can only wait and see if this will be as successful as the last. So far it has received mixed reviews. Ben Beaumont-Thomas says 'First Time Caller' uses 'overwrought metaphors' and that 'dumb lyrics can be mitigated by robust anthems' If you're interested in the band, have a listen to the album and tell us what you think!
Music Bloggery Recommends: 'Big TV', 'First Time Caller', 'There Goes Our Love Again' (if you want to listen to their older stuff, we recommend listening to 'To Lose My Life' and 'Farewell to the Fairground')
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Next up is Panic! At
The Disco! This quirky band led by frontman Brendon Urie is back with a
fierce single called 'Miss Jackson'. I don't know if this is the same
Miss Jackson as Outcast sing about, but it's pretty good nonetheless.
When I first heard this track I was a bit confused as to what style the
band is now as they raked in the fans with their unique style but now they're becoming a little generic. If you have a look at most of the comments on their new videos (their newest release being 'This Is Gospel'), you'll see most people agree that they're sounding more like Fall Out Boy, and I'm afraid I have to agree. For me, Miss Jackson lacks the witty lyricism and fun style that I've come to love of the band.I think the fact that the other two band members left, they've become a little different. We've posted the video below, have a look and tell us what you think!
This page will be frequently updated throughout the summer to give you more updates so as much as I hate saying it, watch this space!
So, if anyone actually reads these posts you'll have realised I had stopped writing for a lonnnngggg time! Actually, looking at my last post, it has been exactly a year! This year has been pretty hectic with studies, but now summer is here I will be giving you guys more updates on all things music!
So while I get everything on the blog together, have a listen to the new Vaccines track and let us know what you think in the comments! Quite Nirvana-esque I think.
Now I don't usually blog about things that aren't really to do with music, but the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony had tributes to amazing things such as the National Health Service, the digital age, and music. now you've got to have music! The tribute was led by some dancers in some quite 'original' outfits and as the music played in the background and the music videos of various different artists were shown on the screen behind, it was showing the music of the different eras. For example, you had music spanning from the 60's straight to the present age. Songs such as 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'My Generation' and 'Tainted Love' were among some of the great chart-toppers. When the present age had arrived, the artist Dizzee Rascal popped up on stage and began to be clearly miming the lyrics to his hit song 'Bonkers'. Not something that really excited me, but the crowd seemed to be amused. However, the Queen did not. Have a look at the image above. While this great spectacle is going around her, she seems to be checking her nails!
The Opening Ceremony had performances from Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal, and even the frontman for the popular indie band Two Door Cinema Club, Alex Trimble. (right) who performed a good song really well! Overall, music was quite a big focus of the ceremony, as they had quite a long tribute for it and the digital age together.
The beginning of the ceremony was filled with a brief history of England, showing how the country turned from marshland to an industrial country and from there, how the war changed everything and a moment of silence was held. I found it quite interesting, however there was too many little things going on at once and not one big overall 'wow' factor that I found was at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It forced too much history on the viewer and not enough entertainment. After this, there was a small tribute to children's literature with many characters coming to life such as Voldemort and Mary Poppins which was pleasantly surprising to see.
Overall, the whole thing was a pretty quaint spectacle, but it had something lacking, some sort of 'wow' factor, to make them stand out, rather than fireworks. We've seen fireworks a squillion times, please give up something new! Now have a look at this video of Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean at the Olympics! A great little clip.
I have two great songs from two pretty cool indie bands that have released this week. Firstly, the indie pop group 'The xx' announced that they're releasing their long awaited second studio album, 'Coexist' on 10th September 2012. They've released a new single 'Angels' in aid of this, and it has already got over a million views in four days. The band formed in 2008, and their debut album 'xx' was received with great praise.
A few days ago, The xx wrote on their Facebook page to all their fans:
"It's been a long time since we've played you
anything new. This song is called 'Angels', it is the first single from
our new album, 'Coexist'. We've been playing this song live recently, so
it feels good to share with you the version we've been working on for
so long. We hope you like it. The xx."
When listening to the song I thought that perhaps it was coming off as a little pretentious? I mean, The xx have always had this kind of simple tone, but the tone seems a little too Nirvana-like for me. The songs on the previous album had the same sort of tone, but some of the songs were slightly more upbeat. Also, the fact that the music video for the single is the sea just moving around seems a bit pointless to me and trying to make something small into a great piece of art that has this deep meaning to it. Check out the video and let us know what you think!
Secondly, the electronic indie pop band Delphic released a new track called 'Good Life', the official song of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The single is set to be released officially on July 23rd. The band released their debut album 'Acolyte' in 2010 and then went on to perform at a sold out tour. The BBC reported that Muse, Elton John, The Chemical Brothers and now Delphic are among the few who are releasing a special song for the Olympics, which could mean even more popularity for this rising band.
Sonically, I think the song is quite 'poppy' and you can tell that's it's not created for their kind of audience because the tone of the song is completely different to their original song. However, it is a catchy song, with a good hook. Make sure you have a listen below!
Two Door Cinema club have released a single for their long awaited second album 'Beacon' that's set for release September 3rd 2012. The band have made this new single 'Sleep Alone' available for free download on the band's website for a mere 24 hours, so you better hurry up and download it! Here's the link for the website if you need it: http://twodoorcinemaclub.com/. Here's to hoping you make it in time!
The single sounds to me almost like a sequel to a song on the previous album. What I mean by this is that bands usually experiment with different sounds and ideas, and it sounds like to me that they've stuck for the safe option and gone with what they know. Don't get me wrong, the song does sound good, it just sounds familiar to the songs on the previous album and could have more distinction. Make sure you have a look at the lyric video below, and we'll keep you updated on when the official music video releases, here on Music Bloggery!
Spector have released their new single and music video called 'Never Fade Away'. A quintessentially indie music video, follows the band being some sort of prisoners of war (what I think anyway), while someone films it with a bad camera. The song itself has a brilliant hook that finds itself inside your head within the first minute or so (And I only just got Celestine out of my head!). It's a simple video and a simple track that works brilliantly together and it's shows another slightly sombre side to the band, which I would love to see more. Have a watch of the video below, and tell us what you think. Their debut album 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' is releasing 13th August 2012.
The alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers released the official music video for their new single 'Brendan's Death Song'. The band, having earlier this year being entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after a second try, released this fifth single from the album. The song itself was about a close friend of the band, Brendan Mullen passing away recently, and the song is a homage to him and I think it's just discussing the general idea of death, considering the band have come so far and they're all getting older with children.
The music video sees the band leading the funeral procession with the loved ones and friends following them. It then shows the band performing in front of these people, with the words 'Death Song' written in fire in the background, which looks quite cool. This song overall is very sombre and peaceful, and at times quite profound, I believe. I'll leave you all to take a look, and comment your thoughts!
Alternative sadcore artist Lana Del Rey released the official video for her new single 'National Anthem' this week, and it received great popularity with the fans after it was seen trending on Twitter. After her increased popularity from her single 'Born To Die', this track is the fifth single to be released from the album. The video sees the artist singing 'Happy Birthday Mr President' as Marylin Monroe famously sang to President Kennedy in 1962 and then follows the story of Del Rey's life as the wife of a black president, who is seen to be Kennedy, which I found quite interesting. We see Del Rey surrounded by her children and her husband throughout the music video, and towards the end, the assassination scene of President Kennedy is re-enacted with a small monologue soon after.
In terms of the President being seen as a black man, I think this symbolizes how colour is irrelevant and perhaps if History had been different, we would have had a black President a lot earlier. I also think she's modernizing history, if that makes sense! For example, when she sings the Marylin Monroe song at the beginning, I think what she's trying to say is that she wants to be the modern Marylin Monroe and she represents the style and elegance that Monroe portrayed. Also, there's a part of the music video where Lana is dancing with a group of men which resembles modern society. There are tons of ways to decipher this video, with tons of opinions. Comment below and share your thoughts!
Coldplay released the official video for 'Princess of China' featuring Rihanna. When I first heard the song, I was surprised to find that Rihanna wasn't using all her power to show-off her vocal range or to overpower the song. I believe Chris Martin and Rihanna's voice merge well together - you have the low bass tones of Martin with the background harmony of Rihanna.
However, when I first heard the two were collaborating, I was not too happy. Of course, Coldplay have always been an extremely popular, mainstream band. But when I heard that Rihanna, (some would say an even bigger R&B star) was featuring on the track I was slightly disappointed because to me, it shows that Coldplay are trying hard to reach a genre of music that just isn't them, that they're almost begging for new fans when they have millions already. There was really no need to stick Rihanna on the album. Oh wait, there was one reason - money.
In terms of the music video, it seems a mish-mash of different stereotypes that just fails to achieve an end point, really. Check it out below.
This is the first edition of our Song of the Week and we have a brilliant song for you this week! The band who brought you the hit 'Chevy Thunder' are out with a new single 'Celestine'! The band that have been said as bringing classic indie back are doing everything right with this single. With great lyrics that you can understand (which are brownie points for me), and a awesome melody that is quickly making this song become my summer anthem.
The song has a similar tune to their previous single 'Chevy Thunder', which makes me slightly wary that their album will sound too similar. However, that doesn't mean they're not a good band! Secondly, I'm not sure if it's on purpose or by coincidence but the album art for 'Chevy Thunder' was a building in the shape of a dome and the artwork for this single is a curved shape which acts as a kind of frame for the dome? Comment your thoughts!
The music video for this song is not original, which they've made clear by the Anthony Kiedis (frontman for alternative band, Red Hot Chili Peppers) quote 'The desert - where all good music videos are made.'. The quote at the beginning and the little joke they make also at the beginning of the video shows the band has a good sense of humour and that they don't take themselves too seriously, unlike many pretentious bands nowadays. On their Facebook page, they wrote: 'Celestine is out now. Second best 99p you'll spend this week #mcflurry'. Musicians by day, comedians by night! ;)
Personally, the fact that in the video for 'Chevy Thunder' the frontman was reading Anthony Kiedis autobiography 'Scar Tissue' (which is an amazing book, by the way), and now in the video for 'Celestine' they've even quoted Kiedis, this makes me fall in love with them even more! This is because I'm a HUGE Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, if you didn't know already.
Anyway before I go all fangirl on you, check out the music video below, and comment your thoughts!
On 1 May 2012, Canadian indie band Metric released their new single 'Youth Without Youth' from their upcoming fifth studio album, 'Synthetica', officially releasing on June 12. According to Metric's frontwoman Emily Haines, Synthetica
is about "forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when
you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It's about what is real vs what is artificial."
'Youth Without Youth' is the story of a repressed child, and as the verses progress, so do the child's life. We follow the child through the teens and then being a young adult. I find the lyrics are compelling as they combine the idea of child games with destructive weapons. Lyrics like 'Hangman we played rubber soul with a razor blade' and 'We played double dutch with a hand grenade'. I find these two contrasting pairs work really well together. However, I find that the imagery would work better talking about perhaps a war-ridden country - how the youth are made to turn to war and violence at a young age, but that's just me. ;)
In terms of sound, the song differs from the style of the band's previous album, 'Fantasies', in which they received positive reviews from many different critics. 'Fantasies' is more of an acoustic sounding, slightly toned down album. However, the electronic, synthesized sounds of this album seem consistent to the title and theme 'Synthetica' while also being pretty damn catchy!
Check out the official lyric video and tell us what you think!
'Electra Heart' is the new 2012 release from Welsh singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds and by the mouth of Marina herself, Electra Heart is her response to rejection in love. Creating four 'archetypes', or characters (the Primadonna, Teen Idle and Homewrecker, to name a few), the whole thing is quite poorly constructed. She creates these characters but fails to actually achieve a effective end point. Most of the songs on the album contradict theirselves quite a few times - isn't an album meant to have a main, constant theme? For example, you've got songs such as 'Teen Idle', contemplating Marina's own youth (as stated in a previous interview) and then songs like 'Homewrecker', one of Diamandis' characters. For me, it just seems odd to be talking about little snippets of your life when you're meant to be creating a story, building characters if you will. Either write songs about your life or create a whole concept album. It's just inconsistent if you do both.
Also, I found that Diamandis has almost changed her morals completely. Her debut album, 'The Family Jewels' was about judging popular culture as well as promoting feminism (for example, on 'Girls', in which the lyrics are 'Not gonna bend over and courtesy for you.') and now she's talking about being a 'bottle blonde'. She's using the fact that she's aiming to portray the 70's type American dream as an excuse to completely change your image and sound. Honestly, I don't believe she's doing this conceptual album as a way to judge the types of love and personalities, she's just using this as an excuse to (as much as I hate using this term), 'sell out'.
I genuinely believe that the fame has caused Diamandis to change. When she released 'The Family Jewels', she looked like an ordinary, albeit beautiful person with an extraordinary voice, now she looks like she's walked straight out of a grandiose fashion show. You can't pretend music is not about the image as much as the sound, but her image almost overpowers her sound. She looked much more beautiful and natural in 'The Family Jewels' era. You can't be judging others when you look exactly like them.
Diamandis has stated that she wasn't happy creating music all by her stony lonesome, so she hired some top producers (who have worked with the likes of Katy Perry and Rihanna) to work on Electra Heart, which explains why her music sounds so 'poppy'. On her debut album, you would find that she had more simple, piano-driven melodies supported by her strong vocals. However, on Electra Heart, it seems like the music is doing all the work for her - which is why her vocals don't sound as quirky and strong as previously and the heavy beats and electronic sounds do most of the work. It seems to me these producers have perverted the sound of Marina.
However, Diamandis really comes into her own on the calmer, more acoustic sounding songs of the album. Songs such as 'Starring Role', 'The State of Dreaming', 'Hypocrates' and 'Buy The Stars' (Deluxe edition) offer a much slower-paced, simpler side to the album. If you get a chance to listen to her acoustic versions of tracks from the album on Youtube, you'll see it's stripped free of any heavy electronic beats. When listening to it, I found it's more like her than the actual album. I sure hope she releases an acoustic album, because it's definitely better than the original. You can compare the acoustic and original versions of her first single 'Primadonna' below.
Thematically, Diamandis' theme is definitely not original. There have been hundreds of artists singing about love, and Diamandis doesn't offer something new to the table. She even borrows The Beatles' 'Lonely Hearts Club' idea. I just wish she would have thought of a theme much more original and outlandish, like before.
Lyrically, Diamandis could have done much better. The lyrics on 'The Family Jewels' were much more memorable and effective. Yet, on Electra Heart, her lyrics seem to cater more to popular music. She sings 'when you're around me, I'm radioactive.'. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a billion other pop songs out there. It seems like Diamandis is catering to the pop genre and completely abandoning the quirky, indie style that she had introduced us with. Why introduce it to us if you're going to completely take it away from us? Fans expected an album much like the debut, yet they were shocked to find it's nothing of the sort.
Overall, because all of the reasons given, I am awarding Diamandis 3/5 musicos! It really disheartens me to offer her only 3 out of 5 as I am a big fan, but part of the reason I am offering her this score is because of the fact she completely changed and not in a good way. I want the old Marina. Comment your thoughts below!
Music Bloggery Recommends: 'Lies', 'Homewrecker', 'The State of Dreaming', 'Hypocrates', 'Lonely Hearts Club' (Deluxe edition only), 'Buy The Stars' (Deluxe edition only)
Wow, it's been a long time since I reviewed an album! Sorry about that, been a busy, busy, busy student! Curse you, revision! Anyhow, I manage to find at least a little bit of time for my blog, and this week, I am reviewing the 2011 EP from folk rock artist 'Jim from the Moon'. Having learnt guitar from the age of 11 and forming various bands including 'Antennae', the new EP 'I Am Going to Steal You' is a pleasant acoustic EP from this Irish inspired singer. When I initially listened to this EP, I found it was a simple mash-up between edgy vocals and peacefully pleasurable melodies. The vocals vaguely range from the style of 'Panic! At The Disco' frontman Brendan Urie to Pär Wiksten of 'The Wannadies' (Known for their most popular song 'You and Me', 'It's always you and me, always, and forever').
There's no doubt that this EP is good, however, there were some kinks that I found when listening it a few times. I found that the music was well refined, yet it sounded quite generic. The album offers nothing new or exciting to music. If you think about it, there are a billion other acoustic artists struggling to make it. You need to offer something unique and outstanding to make you stand out from the crowd - what makes your sound different?
There were good riffs, but the hooks failed to be memorable. Perhaps if the hooks were repeated more then it would stay more in the listener's mind and become more catchy. This could be achieved by just making the songs a lot longer. However, I did like how not all of the songs sound completely the same which is a problem for many a musician. For example, the track 'Thanksgiving Day' offers fast-paced melodies and vocals which makes for an interesting song. Yet, I find that the songs lack potential. They need that kick to make them something extraordinary. I would like to see a harmonious beginning with a almost demonic-like ending to a song for once - like the styles of Damien Rice (Irish-born folk rock singer). It seems like 'Jim from the Moon' tries to be an artist similar to Rice but perhaps is struggling to do so. Have a listen to the tracks from the different artists and check out the similarities below. I would definitely suggest experimenting with different themes and sounds to get a broader feel for different genres of music.
Another thing, I found the lyrics fell weak at times. You get poetic lyrics like 'My days are filled, busy finding God or busy rotting away', but the consistency is ruined when you contrast them with such blunt words like 'But I still said some dumb shit to you': It just ruins the poetic flow and seems out of place.
I did find that some songs were similar to other artists, but then again I always do! The last track on the EP entitled Esqueleton, I found that the intro was ridiculously similar to Coldplay's Sparks from their debut album, Parachutes. Check out another resemblance below!
Overall, I would give this EP a 3/5 stars! I believe that with those problems sorted, Jim from the Moon would be a great musician with a lot more success coming his way! It is a good EP, but I believe this EP has the potential to become something much bigger.
Have a listen to Jim from the Moon's music here, and then check out the similarities to the other songs below.
Mark Foster (Foster The People), A-Trak (DJ) and Kimbra (known for her recent feature on Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used To Know') created a rad collaboration in aid of Converse (Everyone's got to advertise!). 'Warrior', the title of the track, features the techno sounds, synonymous of Foster's style, and Kimbra's strong vocals. All in all, a very interesting mix!
Check out the official video below and tell us your thoughts!
A free mp3 of the song can be found here: http://www.fosterthepeople.com/us/news/warrior
