Featured Music Friday | Page 2 of 10

Music Review: TLC, “TLC”

September 1, 2017

Fifteen years after Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was involved in a fatal car crash while filming a documentary in Honduras, the remaining members of the iconic 90’s R&B trio – TLC – “Chilli” Thomas and “T-Boz” Watkins, have released their fifth and final TLC album with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. In early 2015, they asked fans to help finance the project by donating at least $5 to reach their goal of $150,000. In less than 48 hours, they surpassed their goal and become the “fastest most funded pop project in Kickstarter history,” raising a total of $400,000. Clearly, the group that fostered feminist anthems like “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty,” are still relevant today. TLC delivers as a perfect farewell album: from opener “No Introduction” (“We don’t need no scrubs chasing waterfalls”), to empowering tracks like “Haters” and “Perfect Girls,” the album is a celebration of their history (“Way Back ft. Snoop Dogg”), their legacy (“It’s Sunny,”) their work as champions of social justice (“American Gold”), and, most heartfeltly, their fans (“Joy Ride.”) Chilli and T-Boz may be saying goodbye to new TLC music, but they’re not splitting up – they’ve promised their devoted fans that they will continue to perform together for as long as they can.

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Music Review: Calvin Harris, “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1”

August 25, 2017

Featured Music Friday

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It’s hard to believe that Calvin Harris titled his debut album “I Created Disco,” considering the Scottish DJ was born a full decade after the genre’s demise. But that’s exactly what he did and it turned out well for him: he’s now the highest-paid DJ in the world. Since his debut in 2007, Harris has turned out hit after hit, collaborating with big name artists like Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Florence Welch, Rita Ora, and Ellie Goulding, just to name a few. For a DJ who headlined Coachella last year; who has the most successful Las Vegas residency today, and more number one hit singles than you can name, his latest album, “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1” really blows. Besides the album’s lead single “Slide” featuring Frank Ocean and Migos, which was released back in February and became (arguably) the anthem of Spring Break 2017, there’s not a single track on the album of note. Even a deluge of artists like Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams, Future, Khalid, Travis Scott, Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry can’t mask the phony “funk” mixes and lame, tropical-themed lyrics that would’ve gone over quite well with the Fyre Festival crowd. But the absolute worst thing about the album lies in it’s title: with “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1,” Harris is undeniably promising another installment of overproduced, over-saturated, star-studded garbage. http://calvinharris.com/

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Music Review: Haim, “Something to Tell You”

August 18, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

Southern California sisters, Este, Danielle and Alana Haim who make up the soft rock group, Haim, are back with their sophomore album, “Something to Tell You.” Haim, the breakout band of 2013, who charmed listeners with their laidback, quirky, SoCal style, caught the eye – or rather – ears, of The Godmother of Rock and Roll, Stevie Nicks, as well as pop music mogul, Taylor Swift (who they opened for on select stops of her mega-successful 1989 World Tour). The sisters grew up playing a diverse collection of instruments, and their musical proficiency is always on full display (check out a fantastic, live version of “Right Now” below to see how seamlessly they can switch instruments in a single song). Haim sounds unlike any other band out there, and “Something to Tell You” is a solid addition to the band’s growing opus. Highlights include playful opener “Want You Back;” the soulful “Nothing’s Wrong;” the bouncy “Little of Your Love;” and the stark, powerful track “Right Now.” In their short time in the spotlight, Haim has gathered somewhat of a cult following, and fans of their first album, “Days Are Gone,” will not be disappointed in the follow-up (or the return of Este’s beloved “bass face.”) Check out Haim’s website here: http://haimtheband.com/

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Music Review: Bleachers, “Gone Now”

August 11, 2017

Featured Music Friday

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New Jersey native, Jack Antonoff, has finally released, “Gone Now,” the highly anticipated Bleachers sophomore album. Antonoff began Bleachers as a side project while on tour and enjoying success as the lead guitarist for the indie-pop band, fun., who are best known for three hit singles in 2012: “We Are Young,” “Some Nights,” and “Carry On.” For Bleachers, Antonoff released a debut single, “I Wanna Get Better,” in early 2014 which became an instant chart topper. Since his Bleachers debut album, “Strange Desire,” Antonoff has been busy co-writing and producing for major artists like Taylor Swift and Lorde, as well as moved out of his parent’s house (at the age of 27) to live in Brooklyn with girlfriend Lena Dunham. With the release of “Gone Now,” Antonoff takes center stage once more. The album – which is about transitioning from adolescence into adulthood (and ultimately saying goodbye to childhood) – is filled with 80’s inspired melodies and synths, reprises, and spoken word interludes. There are a few highlights in “Don’t Take The Money” and “Everybody Lost Somebody,” but overall, the album feels one-noted. But don’t feel too bad: Antonoff has had some major successes in 2017, most notably, his producing and co-authorship of Lorde’s latest album, “Melodrama.” Sometimes your art soars; other times, it may fall flat. http://www.bleachersmusic.com/

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Music Review: Lorde, “Melodrama”

August 4, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

It’s no secret that Lorde is wise beyond her years. When she penned her debut single, “Royals,” she was fifteen years old; sixteen when she achieved international recognition as the leading musical talent of her generation (shortly before his passing, David Bowie took her hands in his and told her that she “sounds like tomorrow.”) With her 2013 debut album, “Pure Heroine,” the world was introduced to not only a gifted songstress, but a peculiar person who somehow understood the complexities, ironies, triumphs, and tragedies of one’s teenage years – all while still living it. To say that there was pressure for the young artist to achieve that same level of success for her next project is an understatement. For four years, the then teenager obsessed over her highly-anticipated follow-up. During this time, she moved back home to New Zealand, experienced her first heartbreak, tried to be a normal teenager, met Jack Antonoff of Bleachers and fun., moved to New York to record her album in his and Lena Dunham’s Brooklyn Brownstone, and ceberated her 20th birthday. The culmination of all this is “Melodrama,” a powerful look into young adulthood. The album centers around a raucous house party and it’s partygoers – a microcosm of all the elation and devastation experienced during one’s later teenage years. “Melodrama” is Lorde transitioning into adulthood. In the album’s first single, she gives herself the “Green Light” to let loose for one night before picking up the pieces of a failed relationship and moving on the next morning; on “Liability,” she wonders if she’s too much for other people, even unworthy of friendships and love. The album is beautifully produced by Antonoff – staying true to Lorde’s aesthetic and breaking all the conventional rules of pop music by mixing house piano with banger beats. “Melodrama” is an album about discovering one’s place amongst all the noise and chaos of the world – especially young women fighting for autonomy in a society where their voice isn’t always taken seriously.

Check out Lorde’s website here: https://lorde.co.nz/

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