Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Beats to Adore

If you have to come up with an essential question for a philosophic discussion, ou might want to use this: "Why did I not hear of Tanlines earlier?" I think that anyone who counts themselves as a pop lover could fall in love with this song. Whether your loves also include indie, rap, rock, whatever - the beat of this song has it. If you watch the video for All Of Me while listening, you will definitely think it sounds old fashioned, but without watching, it just sounds like a song perfect for any and every kind of day and situation.

Some artists are in relative obscurity, the hit the random jackpot, a la Carly Rae Jepsen with Call Me Maybe. Some fade into complete obscurity, blogged about once but was never a "thing", a la Kyrah and her song Uh Oh. Then there are those like KASH, who do their thing, then vanish until a new single comes out. What I like about hi is that the music is powerful, but it doesn't wash away his voice. He works with the music instead of using is as an accompaniment, which sounds really good. His song Long Way From Home went on YouTube earlier this month, and is a very mysterious sounding track. If you don't get what I mean, I guess you'll have to listen.

Swag List

A*M*E - Ride Or Die
Saturday, Monday ft. Julia Spada - Headshake
Kristine Elezaj - Warpath
Charlee - Obvious
The Stunners - Bubblegum

Monday, August 27, 2012

First Album Reviews + Bonus Artist

I've never really reviewed albums before, but two recently came out, and I'm excited to give you guys my thought on what I think of them. Here goes! Note: My release dates are the dates for the U.S.

First, Rita Ora's debut album, titled O.R.A. released the 25th of August 2012

First off, I can see why people compare her to Rihanna. Rihanna fans, swarm to your computers and download this album, because it is very likely that you will enjoy this album. I see so much potential for this album, and if it doesn't make it at least close to the top, I should probably sue the radio stations, because it is super catchy. I wouldn't say she's a second Rihanna, she certainly isn't. Rihanna tends to put more focus on her voice, and make it the center of the song, with cool effects in the background, while Rita Ora definitely puts more music in there as well. Love it!


Conor Maynard's debut album, titled Contrast released October 16th 2012

So, this is mostly for UK, Phillipines, Poland and Germany, since those are the only place that this has been released so far. Well, I'd have to say that I'm pretty disappointed in this. Don't get me wrong, I do like electronic sounds in my music - I adore the Black Eyes Peas, but this was too much. It sounded like a bunch of robots broke into his recording session and started screaming. Which is why I was surprised when I heard the opening bars for the song "Another One", which I was sorta impressed with, especially considering the set of the album. You'll like that song if you like One Direction and Justin Bieber for sure. I also enjoy the song "Take Off". Interestingly enough, neither of those songs have as much electronic interference as the other ones. There are a few good songs, but only if you're willing to look for them.

Nabiha isn't the most obscure artist, but she should be more well known. What I think distinguishes her from other artists is how palpable her attitude is in her song Never Played the Bass and in Trouble. Trouble really reminds me of Duffy's song Mercy, which was, to say the least, pleasurable. I don't feel a lot of success for Nabiha unfortunately, and I'm not crazy in love with her, but it would be nice to have a few more songs from her, because that attitude is very unique.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Songs to Anticipate

Whatever Gwen Stefani does on the music scene, so far it's had lots of cheers from pop-lovers. Although only one single from the band No Doubt's new album, Push And Shove has been released (Settle Down), anticipation for the album's release on September 25th hasn't diminished. With eleven songs, the tracklist looks pretty varied, like it could have dance songs right next to softer slower ones as well. Keep No Doubt's album on your "Want List", because from the sound of Settle Down, no matter what the beat is, the album will be amazing.

Although they are certainly not a pop band, I do occasionally post about rock bands, and The Seems are the very definition of American Rock. Based in L.A., so far they only have one song released, called Buysexual, and if you like Classic American rock, it's definitely worth a listen. There isn't any news about an album being released, but since it is on iTunes, future plans are very possible!

Swag List

Jessie J - Domino
Rachel Crow - Mean Girls
Belle Amie - Girls Up
Rock Mafia ft. Miley Cyrus - Morning Sun

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Bands to Love

ElectroVamp's music is exactly like their name - electronic and smooth sounding. With the success of their song I Don't Like the Vibe of the VIP three years ago, the sister duo will be coming back soon. The most recent taste we have from them is a song released less than a month ago featuring Keenan Cahill called Hands Up, a poppy song with a dancy, easy to love beat, even if you aren't a fan of electronic sounding music. No news on their album yet, but it sounds like a potential success.

The Face is pretty new to the music scene, but that didn't stop them from coming out with an amazing song and an insane video to match. Love Stuck has a vibe of music that sounds a bit like a combination of today's and an unidentifiable band from a different decade. Of course, the beat was made by Dream Beats, but the vocals are all from The Face. Again, the only music I've found is their demos and this song on Soundcloud, but hey - that could change very soon.

Swag List

Zendaya and Bella Thorne - Something To Dance For/TTYLXOX
Katy Perry - Wide Awake
Alexandra Stan - Get Back (ASAP)
Robert Downey Jr. - Man Like Me
Elton John - I Want Love

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Albums to Love

After a too-long period of time when my computer was unavailable, there has been a lovely outburst of music.

First up is Ms. Swift. She has announced that she's releasing a new album - yay! - called Red. The First single off of it is called We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The only one I've found is sort of buzzy because she recorded it without a sound booth, and put it right onto Youtube. It's our classic T Swift, and it sounds like this new album is less country than they used to be. Whether that means more relaxed songs or maybe some pop-py ones as well, We'll have to wait until October 22nd to find out.

A lot of the time, it seems like pop singers are a dime a dozen. Sometimes though, we find one who sings beyond expectations. Although Arlissa's song Hard To Love Somebody could be sung by anyone and sound pretty good, Arlissa's voice lends it a dimension beyond the usual. I don't know how much more music she will do, but if this is what she has, I hope she'll show us more.

If you haven't listend to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals yet, you are missing out. Think of a more vocally powerful Jewel - including the fancy voice acrobatics and beautiful lyrics, and you have Stars. While I don't consider Never Go Back to be quite the same quality, it is still a pleasure to listen to. Their Album The Lion The Beast The Beat is certainly a treasure to listen to, with tracks classified as rock and others as pop.

Swag List
Far East Movement ft. Cover Drive - Turn Up The Love
Ariana Dvornik - Fly Away
Lexi St. George - Dancing To The Rhythm
Bridgit Mendler - Ready Or Not
Rock Mafia ft. Miley Cyrus - Morning Sun

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Debut Albums Announcement

I mentioned Janet Devlin briefly two posts ago, so now I'm going to dedicate half a post to her. So, besides the VERY exciting news that she'll be releasing her debut album in September, here's a preview of one of the songs she wrote, called Crown of Thorns. Naturally, it sounds amazing live - she was on the X Factor, after all. It isn't a genre that I normally listen to, I think her album will be more folk-y, but I can't wait anyways!

I still remember the first time I heard of A*M*E*. She had no music up - the only thing anyone, and that was  only a few people, knew about her was her name. Now girlfriend is producing some seriously good songs, like Ride Or DieCity Lights and Find A Boy. Still no info on her debut album release date (grrr!) but we do know that she's planning to put on some ballads. I think I'm about to fall in love with ballads!

Swag List

Misha B - Home Run
College 11 - When Love Comes Around
Hilary Duff - Stranger
Aly & AJ - Potential Breakup Song
Aloha From Hell - No More Days To Waste