We’ve reached August which can only mean one thing… here’s the August mixtape!
This month’s is a hybrid of Pop and R&B with a few curveballs… enjoy!
Tag: R&B
July Mixtape
It’s the 1st of July which can only mean one thing… the July mixtape is here!
This month’s is mostly an R&B affair but with the odd curveball thrown in…
All Saints – Red Flag (Album Review)
Musical comebacks are always a tricky business. Since Take That’s immensely successful reformation in 2005, every defunct 90’s pop group imaginable has sprung back out of obscurity, aiming to cash in on a nostalgia-fuelled society; some with more success than others. For All Saints, the risk was even greater after an unsuccessful reunion in 2006 when comeback album ‘Studio 1’ barely dented the UK top 40.
Fast forward another decade, however and All Saints have delivered an explosive, fierce and brilliant pop album which has achieved the success it deserves, reaching the top 5 of the UK album chart.
‘Red Flag’ is a bold statement from start to finish which affirms the comeback of one of the UK’s best girl groups. No doubt greatly aided by Nicole Appleton’s divorce from Liam Gallagher, it’s an album which screams girl-power but one which shows greater depth and maturity than any of the band’s previous albums. ‘One Strike‘ was right to be selected as the lead single and the album’s opener. Its pulsating beats, distorted synths and reverberating melodies make it one of the band’s best works; a triumphant pop record.
The rest of the album follows suit, abundant with meticulously programmed percussion, sweeping strings, impressive harmonies and jittery synthesizers. ‘One Woman Man‘ features a memorable string riff whilst the moody ‘Make U Love Me‘ draws upon rock influences, utilising brooding guitars and rich vocals. Then there’s ‘Summer Rain‘ – a more mature take on ‘Pure Shores‘ which works well.
The ballads on the album are not to be overlooked, however. ‘Who Hurt Who‘ is a delicate and pretty piano ballad which strips back the production and programming the rest of the album is plastered with. It’s a gorgeous moment on which the girls’ voices are really showcased. The track is later eclipsed by the eerie and ghostly ‘Fear‘, however. Opening with fragile piano chords, tribal percussion soon steers the track in a different direction, evolving into a glistening and powerful chorus. It has The Invisible Men written all over it; their reverberating elements and minimalist production forming half of the track’s endearment.
The album only falls on its face once on the shape-shifting ‘Ratchet Behaviour‘, a bizarre dancehall-reggae track which leads to nowhere and is coated mawkishly in auto-tune. Still, the remainder of the album – three tracks which utilise tribal drums, fluttering synthesizers, hazy harmonies and butterscotch melodies – is strong enough to compensate for this ‘miss’ moment.
A powerful record, bristling with maturity, fierce harmonies and polished production.
Rating: 4/5
Highlights: ‘One Strike’, ‘Make U Love Me, ‘Who Hurt Who’, ‘Fear’, ‘Red Flag’, ‘Tribal’.
‘Red Flag’ is available now on Mercury Records.
Zayn – Mind of Mine Album Review
The past year has been something of a roller-coaster for Zayn Malik. A year ago, he broke millions of fans’ hearts when he announced he would be leaving One Direction to pursue the life of a ‘normal 22 year old’. It later emerged that he had been secretly recording solo material and his animosity towards his boyband days was soon made crystal clear in numerous interviews in which he took multiple swipes at the band and their music. A shock split with fiancée Perrie Edwards soon followed in addition to multiple venomous and highly publicised Twitter spats. Still, these potential career suicide-moments have been long forgotten since lead single ‘PILLOWTALK‘ rocketed in to the top of the charts of over a dozen countries.
As expected, ‘Mind of Mine’ is a world away from Malik’s One Direction days. Gone is the pop-punk and stadium-pop and in is alternative R&B, catchy dance-pop and elements of Soul. It’s slick, polished, consistent and mature with reverberating vocal samples, hip-hop beats and effect-drenched vocals scattered throughout. It’s a natural transition into R&B music similarly to Justin Timberlake’s début ‘Justified’ fourteen years ago.
‘Mind of Mine’ excels from start to finish with barely a blip. Overall, it possesses a moody and brooding tone with sexualized lyrics and a deeply-textured sound, resulting in a cohesive catalogue of material on which Malik revels in his newly-found freedom. Lead single ‘PILLOWTALK’ remains a stand-out track with its its thunderous percussion, reverberating synths, wailing guitars and Zayn’s sweeping vocals. The rest of the album follows suit with the sullen yet dreamy ‘dRuNk‘ featuring Malik’s multi-layered harmonies boasting ‘I’ve been drunk all summer’ over unsettled R&B percussion, summery synthesisers and weeping electric guitars. ‘rEaR vIeW‘ is similarly a sulky progressive R&B track with sparse production and a Timbaland-like chorus. Then there’s the beautifully haunting ‘iT’s YoU‘ – a gentle downtempo ballad on which Zayn’s stunning falsetto soars over jittering synths, a droning organ, hip-hop beats and crunching piano chords.
Just when things need shaking up a bit, the Beatle-esque piano chords of ‘fOoL fOr YoU‘ arrive. It’s a pleasant piano ballad on which Malik’s vocals really glisten and are relatively free of the over-production the rest of the album is laden with. The track mirrors The Beatles in both song-writing and production and it punctuates the album nicely.
Malik also refreshingly incorporates his cultural heritage into the album in the form of haunting interludes. The opening title-track features soaring Qawwali-influenced melodies over piano chords and clonking synthesiser arpeggios. Similarly, one of the album’s unexpected highlights is ‘fLoWer‘, a gorgeous acoustic interlude influenced by Malik’s upbringing as a British Pakistani Muslim. He executes his voice in Urdu, his father’s native language and warbles over eerie synthesisers and gentle acoustic guitars. It’s an innovative and utterly unique inclusion on an R&B album which works perfectly.
The dance-pop moments also work well, implemented best on ‘sHe‘ with its brilliantly catchy hook, slick production and buoyant production. It is miles away from the stadium pop-rock One Direction produced and is a steer in the right direction (pun not intended), reminiscent of some of Justin Bieber’s best moments on ‘Purpose’. Then there’s the soulful ‘tRuTh’, a track reminiscent of 70’s Soul with giggling synthesisers, a retro-guitar sound and distorted production. Featuring a brilliantly sunny chorus with sugary falsettos, it’s one of the album’s understated highlights.
Malik always had the advantage of having the strongest voice in One Direction and he exhibits his syrupy vocals perfectly on the album. His vocals are sturdy and powerful throughout, whilst his falsetto is his real gift, fluttering delicately over meticulously programmed instrumentals.
A bold and compelling album which validates Zayn’s transition into a credible recording artist.
Rating: 5/5.
Highlights: ‘PILLOWTALK’, ‘dRuNk’, ‘iT’s YoU’, ‘sHe’, ‘fLoWer’, ‘tRuTh’
‘Mind of Mine’ is available now on RCA Records.
FEATURE: Zayn – PILLOWTALK
Ex One Direction member Zayn Malik has set the world alight with excitement with the première of début solo single ‘PILLOWTALK’.
‘PILLOWTALK’ is a sexy and sultry alternative R&B track comprised of thunderous beats, eerie electro elements, broken vocal samples, wailing guitars and soaring melodies. It’s a far-cry from Zayn’s One Direction days and conveys a far greater depth of maturity, mostly through its sexual themes.
The fizzy downtempo track is co-written by Zayn with Anthony Hannides and Michael Hannides of MYKL [who’s track ‘Red’, Zayn tweeted support of back in March 2015] in addition to Levi Lennox. The latter three also produced the track.
Zayn always exhibited one of the more powerful voices within One Direction and his buttery vocals suit this progressive R&B far more than the anthemic Pop of his boyband days. It’s a carefree transition into R&B in a similar fashion to Justin Timberlake following his NSYNC days.
A bold and triumphant launch as a solo artist.
Check the track and its racy video out below:
Music Monday – Volume Eighty Four
1) Rationale – Something for Nothing
Soulful R&B track featuring fluttering synthesisers, jittering guitars, broken samples and funky bass lines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q79owpLDjo
2) Beachbaby – Sleeperhead
Energetic guitar-driven indie track from four-pieced band Beachbaby. It’s a moody but powerful track, integrating other genres such as shoegazing, Pop and post-punk.
3) Field Music – Disappointed
Low-key indie rock track from Sunderland band Field Music.
4) Walk The Moon – Avalanche
Energetic, catchy Pop-py track from US pop-rock band Walk The Moon. Indie-guitar riffs, synthpop synths and a driving beat makes it particularly reminiscent of the ’80’s and it works beautifully.
5) Travis Mills – Don’t Need Much
Dirty house track featuring little more than club beats, a funky bass lines and Mills’ rap. Incessantly catchy.
6) Craig David & Big Nastie – When The BassLine Drops
Craig David returns to his roots with this huge Garage track, aided by grime artist Big Nastie. It’s reminiscent of his 1999 début ‘Re-Rewind’ and is a welcome return for David after six years away from the music industry.
7) Selena Gomez – Hands to Myself
Saucy, steamy and sultry dance-pop track, reportedly inspired by Prince’s signature sound. Gomez whispers over minimalistic instrumentation comprised of little more than bouncy percussion, hand clips and tribal-pop elements.
8) Reba McEntire – Just Like Them Horses
Sweet piano-led Country ballad by American country music singer Reba McEntire from her twenty seventh album ‘Love Somebody’.
9) Nate Reuss – Take It Back
Gentle waltz-like ballad by Fun. frontman Nate Reuss. Dreamy, reserved with a delicate sprinkle of Reuss’ quirky, idiosyncratic vocals.
10) Walk off The Earth – Hold On (The Break)
Uplifting, inspiring and catchy Pop track from Canadian rock band Walk off the Earth. Ascending bass lines, clinking percussion and gorgeous layered harmonies result in an epic arena anthem.
Music Monday – Volume Eighty One
Music Monday is our weekly feature which showcases the hottest tracks in the world right now.
1) Wretch 32 ft Anne Marie and PRGRSHN – Alright With Me
Wretch 32’s commercial crossover is a triumph. Anne-Marie showcases her powerful vocals on an impossibly catchy hook whilst Wretch 32’s rap is refreshingly clear.
2) Babyface – We’ve Got Love
Whilst Babyface is an artist in his own right, he is also the songwriter behind many huge hits by the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown and Beyonce. ‘We’ve Got Love’ is his latest single, a catchy & uplifting R&B track with elements of new-jack swing. It’s a song which is bound to fall beyond the radar commercially but it’s one of the best R&B tracks in years.
3) NAO – Bad Blood
Slick and soulful vocals coat an eerie electro track with reverberating vocal samples. Nao is an up and coming British singer-songwriter from East London with a sound best described as ‘neo-soul with electronic’.
4) Grace Feat. G-Eazy – You Don’t Own Me
Whilst it’s still not a patch on the original by Lesley Gore back in 1963 , Grace & G-Eazy’s modernised interpretation is enjoyable. Produced by legend Quincy Jones (best known for his work on Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’, ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ albums), G-Eazy’s rap and hip-hop beats bring the track into the 21st century.
5) Liss – Try
Danish band Liss perform a perfect spin on Pop music on the incessantly catchy ‘Try’. Abundant with broken vocal samples and tropical house-influenced synths, it’s a fun throwback to 80’s synthpop.
6) The 1975 – Ugh!
The 1975 perform their best Prince initiation on this R&B-Rock jam. Featuring heavily auto-tuned vocals, tinny guitars, luscious layered harmonies and rubbery bass-lines, it’s absolutely brilliant & fuses 80’s & 90’s music together perfectly.
7) Fleur East – Sax
Energetic and bouncy dance-pop track with funky guitar riffs and brilliant use of brass instruments. Whilst it’s been on the radio airwaves for weeks now, it’s still as hot as it was on its première.
8) WSTRN – In2
‘In2’ is West-London trio WSTRN’s début single; an R&B/Hip hop track with moody guitar riffs and an irresistibly catchy hook.
9) 99 Souls – The Girl Is Mine
99 Souls cleverly fuse two huge R&B tracks, Brandy & Monica’s ‘The Boy Is Mine’ and Destiny’s Child’s ‘Girl’ into a funky house track which is bound to become a huge club hit.
10) The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir – A Bridge Over You
A strange inclusion on this edition, perhaps but in a chart so dominated by over-produced music, it’s refreshing to hear music in its simplistic form. Unaltered vocals accompanied only by a piano result in a gorgeous mash-up of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’. And of course it’s for a brilliant cause.
Music Monday – Volume Fifty Three
1) The 1975 – Settle Down
I love every single song from The 1975’s debut album but some tracks do get more listens than others! I neglected this song for quite a while but was recently reminded of how awesome it is. The slamming beats and funky guitar riffs contribute to its catchiness.
2) Gabrielle – I Wish
90’s R&B at its best with an awesome new jack swing vibe. Smooth, soulful with a message we can all relate to, this is an underrated beauty! Gabrielle has one of my favourite voices in Pop music and is worthy of far more credit than she receives. Many only know her for ‘Dreams’, ‘Out of Reach’ and ‘Rise’ but a listen to her Greatest Hits album proves her diversity and her level of talent. Love this.
3) Broken Social Scene – Major Label Debut
I watched ‘It’s Kind of a funny story’ for the first time last week and completely fell in love with it. Funny and moving, it tells the story of a teen boy who checks himself into a mental-health clinic. These guys did the score all the way through and this song played during the credits. It’s just a great feel-good song.
4) Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
One of Queen’s best songs and certainly one of my favourites. Gives me plenty of fond memories from performing in my school production of ‘We Will Rock You’ and from seeing the musical live in the West End twice. Bowie is a legend too of course. Irresistibly good.
5) Janet Jackson – That’s The Way Love Goes
Smooth and sultry, this song captures everything Janet Jackson is as an artist. Awesome production, clever sampling of James Brown’s ‘Papa don’t take no mess’ and a timeless song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUOkg4jFNus
6) Michael Jackson – Beautiful Girl
Stunning demo which appeared on Michael’s 2004 Ultimate Collection box set. The finished version (if it was ever fully completed) has never come to light but fans value this version greatly. Michael’s falsetto is gorgeous. Even his unreleased material was in a different league. Beautiful song.
7) S Club 7 – Sunshine
Track from the album with the same name, I’ve always adored this song. It’s so optimistic, so catchy and has an irresistible feel-good vibe. It’s a little bit more mature than some of their best known singles and Jon Lee’s voice is absolutely incredible on it. Some beautiful memories always return to me with this song.
8) S Club 7 – Have You Ever
Upon its release, I was never that fond of this track. Since their split, however, this song has found a place in my heart and it’s now one of my all time favourite S Club 7 songs. Written by one of my favourite songwriters Chris Braide along with Cathy Dennis (responsible for many of S Club 7’s material in addition to some of the best loved pop music over the past twenty years), this was released as Children in Need’s Official Single back in 2001. Beautiful, relatable lyrics, amazing vocals from Jo O’Meara and simply pop music at its best. Gorgeous.
9) S Club 7 – Two In A Million
Beautiful, mellow ballad from S Club 7’s début album and one of their more underrated singles. Jo O’Meara’s voice is absolutely incredible.
10) S Club 7 – S Club Party
This remains an absolute classic in the history of pop! Was very lucky to be able to experience this live once again when I saw a newly reformed S Club 7 perform live at the 02 Arena – the atmosphere was incredible during this song. Still much loved today.
NEW:
Album of the week:
Revolutionary Road: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Thomas Newman
Stunning score by my favourite composer, Thomas Newman. He’s been responsible for the scores of some of my favourite films e.g. American Beauty, The Green Mile & The Shawshank Redemption. His scores are always haunting and accompany any scene perfectly.
Ultimate Summer Playlist
With the arrival of summer, it only made sense to compile an Ultimate Summer Playlist. It’s not definitive, of course but these are a collection of songs which scream ‘Summer’ for us here at the Music Box.
[Apologies for two of the songs being crappy karaoke versions/imitations but they’re not available on Spotify – these are Rizzle Kicks – ‘Tell her’ and P!nk’s ‘Feel good time’.]
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