Swaay-ed

Currently Listening To: Pay My Rent - DNCE

Remember Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers? Well he has distanced himself from his bros and has his own pop group now, interestingly named DNCE. They recently released their first EP, a pleasant surprise with its funky, throwback pop feel.

SWAAY

Track List

1. Cake by the Ocean 

2. Pay My Rent

3. Toothbrush

4. Jinx

The EP only has four songs, but four is more than enough! 

The lead single, Cake by the Ocean, is a fun pop song with allusions to some....interesting times on the beach *wink wink nudge nudge*

Pay My Rent feels like it belongs in the 1990s, which is why I like it (I'm feeling old and I need something to remind me of my youth. DNCE really hits the spot with this track).

Toothbrush is my least favourite but it's all good, as far as pop music goes.

Last but not least, Jinx - I really love it! Refreshing, positive pop music. A breath of fresh air for the stale and polluted music scene of recent years.

All in all, Swaay deserves an 8.5 rating out of 10.

I hope they'll be able to keep up the momentum for their debut album (To be released in the near future, I pray!).

Wiped Out (With An Exclamation Mark)

Currently Listening To: Wiped Out! - The Neighbourhood

So this is the first time I'm actually listening to an album by The Neighborhood. Behold the cool black and white album cover:

Wiped Out!

Track List

1. A Moment of Silence

2. Prey

3. Cry Baby

4. Wiped Out!

5. The Beach

6. Daddy Issues

7. Baby Came Home 2 / Valentines

8. Greetings from California

9. Ferrari

10. Single

11. R.I.P. 2 My Youth

I'm not sure who they remind me of but there's definitely a familiar feel to their music.

I didn't listen to this California band's freshman effort so I can only judge by Wiped Out!. It's definitely not splendid, other bands of the similar genre have had better efforts, generally speaking. The album as a whole feels rather disjointed, but they do have a couple of nice songs. It'll be difficult for them to duplicate the runaway success of Sweater Weather, judging by the public's response so far.

Ratings: 7/10

Recommendations: Prey, Cry Baby, The Beach, Single, R.I.P. 2 My Youth

For a brilliant song from their first album, look no further than below:

The Original High

Currently Listening To: Original High - Adam Lambert

I can't believe this - it has been six years since Adam Lambert wowed the American Idol audience - and he is now back with his third album.

His last album, Trespassing, was released three years ago in 2012 (three years!!) so it's good to hear new music from him.

Trespassing

Adam looks so handsome on the album cover! ♥

Cover aside, I must say that I'm really impressed with The Original High. It's a good mixture of dance and pop, with just the slightest touch of the Glambert. Definitely his best album so far (and one of the best I've heard this year). It's an excellent year for music!

Tracklist:
1. Ghost Town
2. The Original High
3. Another Lonely Night
4. Underground
5. There I Said It
6. Rumors (ft. Tove Lo)
7. Evil in the Night
8. Lucy (ft. Brian May of Queen)
9. Things I Didn't Say
10. The Light
11. Heavy Fire

Ratings: 9/10
Recommendations; Ghost Town, The Original High, Another Lonely Night, Underground, Evil in the Night, Heavy Fire

Strange Trails

Currently Listening To: Fool For Love - Lord Huron 

I discovered Lord Huron from last year's Endless Love remake (for a romance movie, it wasn't that bad). A good discovery it was too, with Fleet Foxes being missing in action and all.

Now, Lord Huron is an American folk-indie band that deserves way more credit than the average American band. Sadly, their songs are way underrated and underplayed - even in America itself. Amazingly, Traxx.fm, our very own local radio station actually played their songs a few times. A step closer to exposure, I hope?

Anyways, they released their sophomore album Strange Trails a couple of months ago, but I've only just listened to it sooooo...here's an extremely delayed review of the album.

Track Listing:

01. Love Like Ghosts

02. Until The Night Turns

03. Dead Man's Hand

04. Hurricane (Johnnie's Theme) (2:46)

05. La Belle Fleur Sauvage

06. Fool For Love

07. The World Ender 

08. Meet Me In The Woods 

09. The Yawning Grave 

10. Frozen Pines 

11. Cursed 

12. Way Out There 

13. Louisa 

14. The Night We Met 

I really love the folksy, country feel of Strange Trails. Each and every song is carefully yet naturally crafted - which goes to show how talented they are actually. There is not a single bad song on the album and honestly, I don't have a favorite track in particular because the entire album itself is a masterpiece. It's just as good as their first album, Lonesome Dreams (released in 2012), which is something I've been listening to on a loop for more than a year.

It's hard to believe that both Lord Huron and Local Natives are LA based bands. I would have assumed that they're from smaller, less modern towns in America. They sound so unlike their peers, and I guess that's why they're so unknown.

Ratings: 9.5/10

Recommendations: La Belle Fleur Sauvage, Fool For Love, The World Ender, Meet Me in the Woods. The Yawning Grave.

Drones

Currently Listening To: Reaper - Muse

Muse released their 7th studio album, Drones, just a few days ago.

Drones

An extremely politically themed album, Drones is.

I've gotta say, the album is a lot better than 2012's The Second Law, which was a bit of a mix bag.

There's more variety in the music in Drones, where everything sounds a lot less theatrical and synthesized - and that's a good thing. 

One negative thing about the album this time are the lyrics. Too contrived and overly preachy about wars and shit. Luckily the music holds up, otherwise it would have been like the one-tone-disaster-that-was-the-resistance.

Track List:

1. Dead Inside
2. [Drill Sergeant]
3. Psycho
4. Mercy
5. Reapers
6. The Handler
7. [JFK]
8. Defector
9. Revolt
10. Aftermath
11. The Globalist (Ugh this is trying too hard to be a Bohemian Rhapsody)
12. Drones (And this sounds like a freaking church choir wtf)

(Take a look at all the song titles. It tells a story of revolution and its aftermath from the beginning to the end.)

Ratings; 8/10

Recommendations: Reapers, Defectors, Revolt, Aftermath.

To top it off, it looks like Muse will be topping the Billboard Top 200 for the first time ever. (Can't believe they've never  had a No.1 in the US before! Such a travesty!)

June has been a great month for music, what with Florence and the Machine reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts last week as well.

Other album releases I'm looking forward to this month:

2PM's No.5

Adam Lambert's Original High

Of Monsters and Men's Beneath the Skin

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Currently Listening To: Long & Lost - Florence + the Machine

It's been almost four years since Florence + the Machine's last album, Ceremonials.
I can't believe how fast time flies!
Feels like just yesterday it was released.
Anyway.
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is Florence Welch's third album, just released on 1st June.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

So I'm thinking the album cover should have been blue, to fit with the theme and all but oh well, black and white will do. 

Although it's good to hear from Florence again, something about this album feels different.

Is it a bad kind of different? 

Well I wouldn't really say that but Blue (let's just call it Blue - the full title is just too long) is somehow less entrancing than Ceremonials and Lungs.

Still a good album though, with a few standouts.

Track List:

1. Ship To Wreck

2. What Kind of Man

3. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

4. Queen of Peace

5. Various Storms & Saints

6. Delilah

7. Long & Lost

8. Caught

9. Third Eye

10. St. Jude

11. Mother

Deluxe Edition Tracks:

12. Hiding

13. Make Up Your Mind

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Recommendations: Ship To Wreck, What Kind of Man, Queen of Peace, Long & Lost, Hiding

1989

Currently Listening To: Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

I've never been a big fan of Taylor Swift, but 1989's not a bad album (girl has strayed soooo far from her pseudo-country roots). Most of the songs on the album sounded like it came from the 80's, which is not really a good thing cos it makes the whole thing sound dated, samey and boring. There are a few standouts though.

1.   Welcome To New York
2.   Blank Space
3.   Style
4.   Out Of The Woods
5.   All You Had To Do Was Stay
6.   Shake It Off
7.   I Wish You Would
8.   Bad Blood
9.   Wildest Dreams
10. How You Get The Girl
11. This Love
12. I Know Places
13. Clean

Deluxe Edition Tracks

14. Wonderland
15. You Are In Love
16. New Romantics

Rating: 7/10
Recommendations: Blank Space, Style, Shake It Off, This  Love,  I Know Places, Clean.