Sunday, 6 October 2013

Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! by Panic At The Disco

4/10
Rated: Enjoy the Silence 

We know this band is in decline but this album is outrageous. They are trying to be so popular and cool to compite with Maroon 5or something, it sounds really annoying like The Wanted doing alternative music .Fortunately songs are very short and end before it turns duller because this album lacks of feeling and is another plastic over-produced pop record that we can hear anywhere .It is too repetitive and the absence of innovation is incredible, it is even worse than last album that was so forgettable.The album has a peculiar hidden vegas sound that is the last remaining thing of the band that was compared once with The Killers.



The album is full of synths and don't know if it is on purpose but it gives the idea that it is a failed attempt to be tacky 80's music. It is just really messy cos there's a bunch of ideas that are trendy nowadays but  poorly executed.It doesn't even work as satiric if that was the idea, Cobra Starship at least have made this catchy and have an idea of what they're doing but sadly Panic At The Disco remains try so hard and eventually buried they "career", not that it have been great but at least they had have some good songs.This record sounds like it was inspired by Bowling for Soup's 1985 which could have turned interesting but the desire to be fashionable kills everything. And if you liked the first album,unfortunately,the fake drama is back! and now mixed with more cheesiness.

Sunday, 29 September 2013

Innocents -by Moby

 8/10 
Rated: Music is my Radar 

Many trying to bring this 90's ambient electronica back but there's only one that could it done perfectly or maybe it was never gone for Moby. This new album keeps up with his last albums but has less modernity and could be more transcendental/Complete/interesting.It doesn't mean it is not trendy this album has enough to compete against anything on the charts now and give a lesson of  how to mix without being pretentious even Lana del Rey can learn something because there's a vibe in which she could get inspired by or inspired by her. The end of the 1990's chill music makes it attractive plus intriguing and is mixed with little doses of more fashionable tunes that make the album be a little more timeless in Moby's very own style. The record is a delighting mix of many sounds that could turn low and soft of more powerful and vibrant. 


The music is relaxing and more balanced than in past record which at some moments it heard to be crashing and producing a bit of mess. It perfectly flows and variates from disco to more folkloric and kind of gospel sounds also there are bits of soft sounds and more "aggressive" ones that blend very well together like in the song 'Don't Love Me', which also mixes some sort of sexiness . Every song is beautiful like a work of art so you can hear the difference between a random generic singer/band and the brilliance of Moby. The tracks are mostly cheerful with a dark little twist and have nice warms ups and keep growing to explode in music joyfulness . Collaborations as in any album from this musician works magically and make sense as the instrumental lapses do. This album is so easy to identify with Moby's unique style and is very pleasant to hear it to give a rest to your mind from many noise pollution we get this days.        

Recommended: A Case For Shame , The Perfect Life, Don't Love Me, The Lonely Night , The Dogs

Saturday, 28 September 2013

The 20/20 Experience Pt. 2 by Justin Timberlake

 8/10 
Rated: A Kind of Magic 

After a bit weak first part this second one makes the Justin Timberlake come back even more joyful and kind of rejuvenate the style and sound. The 20/20 Experience Pt. 1 was the refined, sophisticated and adult side of Justin and now this is the young and playful one.I was concerned that this could sound way different because first single is a different but this is the perfect sequel that makes the album has a better close.It keeps exploring "new" sounds and mixing them gorgeously also the songs twist at the end which create almost a new song, like in FutureSex/LoveSounds,  the only problem that it keeps carrying on is that songs turn a bit boring because they are too long. At some point it gets cheese as part 1 but this is less pretentious and more electronic and in party mode but balanced with acoustic guitars that are a glee.




Musically it isn't genius as is not very innovating but it is more like the whole composition what makes this album be so good. It sounds a lot like 2000's Justin Timberlake and to the music that was popular in 2003 ,so, at some moments it could sound dated but JT is perfect to replay this and make it some sort of a timeless genre because He knows how to do it brilliantly and gladly he's not just following a trend. The diversity of music blended ,so well,  is  amazing , even the songs that are very long  keep you at least surprising once in a while with little treats. Although it is not very modern it is some how up to date, resembles new Daft Punk and songs from Great Gatsby OST and even give an idea of what Nsync sounded in the early 00's and how it could sound in this era. It contains tracks that like for those girl fans but also more rocky and crazy tunes, so is balanced, corny and powerful, it also brings more of the JT live experience with more natural songs and not so worked. This is just as nice as the first part but a spiced up.

Recommend:  Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want),Take Back the Night, Murder ,Drink You Away,Not A Bad Thing

Sunday, 22 September 2013

This is... by Icona Pop

 8.5/10 
Rated:Lucy in the Sky

Finally a duo that can bring out what a Powerpuff Girls album could sound like. This album is the international debut of the Swedish pop sensation so it includes some tracks from their first production that was released less than a year ago. From start to end this album is all of the best of pop, enjoyable , catchy and dance-y , it has the chart music vibe but without being one of the bunch.This record has its own style and stands out from the others because is modern and very girl power.There are highs and lows but mostly high hyper dance beats and the lows help to break what it could be a monotonous record that is average in today's charts .




Dance, joyful and crazy like any young pop band ,but with incredible tunes that will be hard to forget. Probably Icona Pop will just be like another craze band and will end soon (5 years) but if they keep this style, who cares!, it will be a memorable career . The music style is like for the same target market as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Rita Ora, etc so it is strong and commercial but with a lot of feeling on it to find empathy. Synths are wild and voice is refreshing, it has a very similar feeling to the Spice Girls. The beat changes to create another mood and everything is in harmony and measured like a good Power Pop album should be. It is nothing new or special, could be compared with Calvin Harris latest track, but the duo own it and make it very cheeky and feminine, they managed to twist the popular music and cool it up.

Recommended:  I Love It, All Night,Girlfriend, In The Stars, Hold On, Then We Kiss

Mechanical Bull by Kings Of Leon

 8/10 
Rated: Music is my Radar 

Kings of Leon are back with a good album that hopefully will get better feed back than previous one. Mechanical Bull, the six album by the band, is a a great follow up without being too corny but  still have similarities with 'Come Around Sundown' but spicing it up with a vibe of the first albums.It sounds like this is the more relaxed  album the band have done, it is not too worked, sounds like more natural, the band let it flow and is so nice because add some more joy and an emphatic feeling . You can hear more of the band without many details that sometimes, in past songs, just overshadowed the band essence.It is pure but very well edited to have a more charming sound for the new fans and the old ones . There's a lot of passion for doing the perfect music but not aiming for being the best.



Young and refreshing is what this new album sound like but with a twist of classic late 70's and 80's  rock and is less Country Pop than previous records and the Garage Rock style stand outs more again like in the first albums. The album has everything typical from rock and roll, nice beat, fun, nice lyrics, a bit of cockiness, some craziness, etc. everything works perfectly together and gets close to all that amazing bands like  Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Guns N' Roses,White Snake, Eagles and all those bands we enjoy when randomly pop up on the radio, but targeting a public for this  era and that is modern and love to hear bits of trendy sounds. Could sound like is a very though album but is not, it keeps a mellow and sweet ambient  like the last one but with plenty more of an adult-but-playful version of KOL. Music is a delight probably nothing so new except for some Jazzy tunes but how good and timeless the blend was done is what makes this album entertaining and distinguishing the band once again .

Recommended:  Supersoaker, Don’t Matter,  Wait for Me, Family Tree, Comeback Story,  On the Chin

The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES

 8.5/10 
Rated: Like a Virgin

The new Scottish band comes stomping hard with this sort of new sound.  This is the atypical beat in the stereotypical chart synth pop, the band are aporting to the genre, that these days could be repetitive and is starting to become boring, some kind of clever new mix to the sound and are definitely creating their own style. A magnificent shift to what is hip and popular nowadays, with a  young new spirit is what industry has been looking for  with the indie touch and 'The Bones of What You Believe' has all to hit, catchy tunes, fast,entertaining , dance and  juvenile, songs will definitely gonna get stuck in your head for a while. Although they  are very similar the band managed to put some interesting sounds in each track that will keep you listening and interested as it is  new and joyful.  



The innovating sound is a mix of late 80's and 1990's dance scene but not what was very mainstream but some sort of variation the underground dj, clubbing and dance scene ,like the song 'Let Me Love You For Tonight ' by Kariya, this record has a intriguing cool sound. The
Songs morph into something even better to what were you listening and percussion not just join everything but gives it a more hard sound than the usual. The result is a mix of two very different songs merging to be just one dance tune and the band nailed it perfectly. At some points it does get a lot like ordinary pop and what we can listen on Top 40's but the key moments are huge enough to make the album very special and magic it even sound like a lite version of new rave. Mixing the old with the new  and calm moments with party  Chvrches debut album is set to be memorable.

Recommended:You Caught The Light,Lungs,Science/Vision, Night Sky, Lies,Tether,Gun,The Mother We Share


Saturday, 21 September 2013

Nothing Was The Same by Drake

 6 /10  
Rated: (I can't get no) Satisfaction

Drake is back and letting all out, his feelings are supposed to do the talk but unfortunately it sounds forced/faked. Perhaps the willing was good because there's a lot of effort and you can hear it in each song and that could be the main problem with this album, it  sounds  far too worked and overthink that the essence is lost. It is dull and the only few good moments, that are where it sounds natural and with guts, are lost or didn't got the attention to spice this album up. It lacks of aggression/wildness ,variety , spark and modernity that some previous albums had have. Some good collaborations could been  used in the right way, but the album is to inclined to Pop and to be catchy that everything sounds messy.



Depression is also playing a big role here, there is a lot of this feeling that a new genre has been invented, Emo-Hip Hop, it sounds theatrical and not very real. The music is a little-much "dark" and the R&B is undistinguished, we have heard this album a million times in the 2000's that is boring. Although it sounds like early Kanye West music there's an exaggeration that doesn't let the songs shine. This record is probably the most intimate from all Drake's  albums but fail to be intriguing and there's no balance of hollow and encouragement, it is very sad, slow and dated . A very typical album of hip-hop and R&B that is not giving anything new or taking something, except for joy, it is not impressive or to make so much buzz about it. The album has the potential with many clever twist it has but doesn't innovate or provoke any action, is just one more.

-No songs to recommend-