Tag: weekly music blog

Music Monday – Volume Eighty Four

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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 Seventy Seven

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1) Troye Sivan – Wild

Incredibly catchy synthpop track featuring eerie electro elements and crashing percussion.

2) Troye Sivan ft. Broods – Ease

Another brilliant and sincere track from Troye Sivan.

3) Lucy Rose – Till The End

Strong 90’s vibes on this incessantly catchy track. Mirroring All Saints’ ‘Pure Shores’ with distorted trip-hop styled percussion, pretty piano riffs and funky guitars, it’s an awesome & uplifting track.

4) Jason Reeves – Back With Me

Gorgeous acoustic ballad.

5) Crissi Cochrane – Pretty Words

Gorgeous acoustic ballad with lovely Sara Bareillies/Christina Perri-like vocals.

6) Amelia Lily – You Bring Me Joy

Was reminded how awesome this track is at the gym the other day. Awesome and underrated pop-rock track.

7) Adele – When We Were Young

Gorgeous emotive ballad which completely blows ‘Hello’ out of the water.

8) Take That – Will You Be There For Me?

Gorgeous and vulnerable ballad from Take That’s re-packaged ‘III’ album. It carries an R&B-like vibe and is beautiful from start to finish.

9) Take That – Bird In Your Hand

Stunning synthpop ballad with lush layered harmonies and a gorgeous vocal performance from Mark Owen.

10) Troye Sivan – Fools

Brilliant pop track which opens tentatively with gorgeous piano chords before evolving into a jittery R&B track.

Music Monday – Volume Seventy Six

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1) Grimes, Bleachers – Entropy

Impossibly catchy indie-pop track on which American indie-pop band Bleachers team up with Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes. Minimalistic instrumentation is coated with Grimes’ syrupy and melodic vocals.

2) One Direction – End of the Day

Euphoric arena anthem which remains loyal to the boyband’s signature sound. Awesome track.

3) One Direction – Love You Goodbye

One Direction ballads are always exceptional and this is no exception. Taken from the band’s final (at least for now) album ‘Made in the A.M.’, this is emotive and heartfelt with catchy ‘hey, hey, hey’s’ and gorgeous  weeping electric guitars. One of their best tracks.

4) One Direction – Long Way Down

Lovely, gentle acoustic-based track from ‘Made in the A.M.’ It’s one of the more reflective tracks and the Chorus is rather low-key but this is part of what makes it so endearing. In places it sounds rather like Lady Antebellum and these Country elements work beautifully.

5) One Direction – What a Feeling

One Direction channel Fleetwood Mac on this ’80’s synthpop-influenced pop track. It’s one of the stand-out moments from latest album ‘Made in the A.M’ with funky guitar riffs and gorgeous, rich layered harmonies.

6) Ben Haenow – All Yours

Brilliant euphoric pop from last year’s X Factor winner Ben Haenow.

7) Ben Haenow – Testify

Epic gospel-influenced track from Ben Haenow’s début album. The drum loop is fierce and the gospel choir adds an extra depth to the track. It’s the best track on the album and is crying out to be a single.

8) Ben Haenow – Greatest Mistake

One of the stronger tracks Ben Haenow’s début album. The Chorus is incredibly catchy and his raspy vocals sound fierce on it. Great track.

9) Justin Bieber – Company

Sultry and irresistibly catchy pop track with a funky bass line & elements of tropical house. Bieber at his best.

10) Justin Bieber – Been You

Bonus track on the deluxe version of Justin’s latest album ‘Purpose’. Incredibly catchy electropop-influenced track more than strong enough to have been included on the standard edition of the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Mi_wp3K3Q

 

Music Monday – Volume Seventy Two

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1) Tove Lo – Moments

Emotive and powerful electro-pop ballad with brutally honest lyrics. Produced by one of the hottest production duos currently around – Mattman and Robin, ‘Moments’ is abundant with crashing percussion, reverberating vocals and eerie sound effects. One of the hottest tracks around right now.

2) Tori Kelly – Should’ve Been Us

Pop perfection with hip-hop beats and a powerful vocal performance.

3) J. Tillman – Howling Light

Gorgeous folk ballad comprised of little more than guitars and organic instruments. It’s refreshing to hear music in its natural form, free of autotune and other programmable effects.

4) The Japanese House – Cool Blue

A gorgeous and gentle intro builds into a shuffling 80’s synthpop-esque track featuring pretty guitar riffs, spacey synthesisers and auto-tuned vocals. One of the hottest tracks in the world right now.

5) The 1975 – Love Me

Yet another pop track which reinforces the return of ’80’s pop. Abundant with detuned guitar riffs, squeaky synthesisers and gated percussion, The 1975’s comeback single is an explosive and effortlessly catchy affair. Healy’s vocals are the clearest they have ever been and the lyrical content is as witty and clever as always. A fine return.

6) Drake – Hotline Bling

Utilising both hiphop and trap, Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ heavily samples Timmy Thomas’ 1972 song “Why Can’t We Live Together”. It may be somewhat repetitive and Drake’s vocals may not be the most powerful but it’s effortlessly catchy.

7) Kanye West – Love Lockdown

One of Kanye’s best. The ‘808’s and Heartbreak’ album is often overlooked due to West’s attempt at singing rather than rap but it contains innovation and power that could never have been projected through rap. The song’s power lies in its minimalistic pop style – piano riffs, a Roland TR-808 drum machine imitating tribal percussion and West’s heavily autotuned vocals dominate this repetitive but catchy and powerful synthpop track.

8) Olly Murs – Kiss Me

Catchy pop track featuring a punchy bass line, ’80’s-eque synthesisers, funky bass riffs and an effortlessly catchy chorus. Just try to ignore the fact it is more or less a rip off of Nick Jonas’ ‘Jealous’…

9) James Morrison – Demons

James Morrison triumphantly returns with this powerful, eerie and beautifully sincere pop-soul track. The sped-up/high-pitched “I’ve got demons” refrain which opens the track and appears throughout is heavily reminiscent of Simon Webbe’s pop hit ‘No Worries’ and adds an extra dimension to Morrison’s gorgeous track. ”

10) Selena Gomez – Sober

Gomez wails over jittery synthesisers, reverberating percussion and spacey vocal effects on this great pop track.

Music Monday – Volume Seventy

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1) One Direction – Infinity

This week, One Direction announced their fifth album ‘Made in the AM’ in addition to the release of this new track. An emotive pop-rock ballad featuring weeping guitars, reverberating vocals and syrupy sweet harmonies, the song features an epic climax.

2) Carly Rae Jepsen- Let’s Get Lost

Funky track in a similar vein to The 1975 featured on Jepsen’s new album ‘Emotion’. An effervescent affair featuring funky guitar riffs, clinking synthesisers, gorgeous layered harmonies and a rogue saxophone solo, it’s a piece of pop perfection.

3) Carly Rae Jepsen – All That

Jepsen continues her 80’s synthpop vibe on this gorgeous slushy ballad. Giggly synthesisers and whimpering bass lines lead the track whilst Carly’s seductive vocals trickle gently atop. The climax is rather powerful too.

4) Ryan Adams – I Wish You Would

Whilst Ryan Adams and Taylor Swift share a musical background which covers country music, the concept of indie singer-songwriter Adams covering Swift’s entire synthpop ‘1989’ album sounded like an awful idea on paper. Amazingly, however, it works beautifully. Adams turns this into a moody acoustic ballad with wailing guitars and his heavy vocals endlessly reverberating.

5) Ryan Adams – Bad Blood

Adams somehow produces a cover better than the original. This alternative rock interpretation works perfectly, rife with various guitars.

6) Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike & Ne-Yo – Higher Place

Moody club track built around gentle piano riffs and the gorgeous contrast between Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s bass, low registered vocals and Ne-Yo’s gorgeous higher-toned vocals.

7) Mariah Carey – Dreamlover

Catchy Pop-R&B track which enabled Carey to break into the pop market. It’s all very ’90’s with its fierce drum machine and glittery piano riffs but it’s impossibly catchy and a lovely feel-good track.

8) REM – Man on the Moon

One of alternative-rock band REM’s biggest hits, this track is lyrically a tribute to performer Andy Kaufman.

9) Mumford and Sons – Believe

Upon release, ‘Believe’ marked a musical departure for the band. Best known for their organic, acoustic instrumentation, ‘Believe’ enters a more electric and alternative territory. A gentle, eerie opening develops into a powerful and energetic stadium-rock anthem.

10) Duke Dumont – Ocean Drive

Duke Dumont demonstrates a different side to him as ‘Ocean Drive’ enters a more funky, electropop territory compared to the usual deep-house tracks he produces.

Music Monday – Volume Sixty Six

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1)Tamzin Archer – Sleeping Satellite

Moody 90’s pop track with lovely lyrics and an incredible vocal performance by Tamzin Archer.

2) Des’ree – You Gotta Be

Self empowering, sunny  pop-soul track bound to leave a smile on the listener’s face. Featuring a tinny keyboard sound and R&B percussion, it is SO 90’s but with a lovely message.

3) Kate Bush – This Woman’s Work

Stunning piano ballad by Kate Bush, written for the John Hughes movie ‘She’s Having a baby’. Featured in the film’s dramatic climax, it’s a fitting accompaniment to the emotional scenes but is just as beautiful as a stand-alone song.

4) Maxwell – This Woman’s Work

This may be the first time Music Monday has included two different versions of the same song in the same playlist but this had to be done. The original, as previously mentioned, is a beautiful piano ballad by the ever-elusive but incredibly talented Miss Kate Bush. Maxwell, known for his slick falsetto vocals gives this an R&B makeover complete with a twinkling harp, weeping guitars and R&B percussion. It’s a gorgeous interpretation of a lovely song.

5) Joe Jonas – Levels

Joe Jonas has certainly reinvented himself from the cheesy teen-rock he produced with his brothers and is fast becoming the latest pop-prince in the music world. The bar was set high by Jonas’ debut single ‘Jealous’, a huge pop hit which charted well around the world. ‘Levels’ is just as good, however; if not, better. Incredible falsetto vocals and funky production carry this catchy track.

6) The Weeknd – Shameless

Moody Ed Sheeran-esque ballad with gorgeous falsetto vocals by Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd. Obsessed with this right now.

7) The Weeknd – Tell Your Friends

Soul-infused R&B jam from The Weeknd’s latest album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’. Produced by Kanye West, it’s much in the same vein as some of West’s early material.

8) Oh Atoms – Sugar Mouse

Pretty and gentle little folk ballad featured in cult favourite ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’. Gorgeous harmonies too.

9) Robbie Williams – The Road to Mandalay

One of Mr Williams’ most underrated works and one of his best lyrically. Genius, poetic lyrics crooned over gentle guitar strums and a gorgeous French melody leading the chorus. Simple but beautiful.

10) Michael Ball – Love Changes Everything

A very personal choice by myself as this was played at a funeral I attended last week. Beautiful song composed by theatre guru Andrew Lloyd Webber for his musical ‘Aspects of Love’ and sang flawlessly by Michael Ball.

Music Monday – Volume Sixty Five

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‘Music Monday’ is a weekly blog in which I compile a list of ten songs I have been enjoying in the past week. This edition features Robbie Williams, The Weeknd, Kings of Leon amongst others.

1) JoJo – Save My Soul

JoJo is best known for 2005 smash R&B hit ‘Leave (Get Out)’, released when she was just fifteen years old. Since then, she took a hiatus and returned a five years ago but with limited success. ‘Save My Soul’ is a powerful and emotive ballad from her latest EP ‘III’ with a soaring melody, crashing percussion and haunting piano chords. Stunning.

2) Tove Lo – Talking Body

Sensual and seductive synthpop song by Swedish recording artist Tove Lo. A fine pop track; catchy with an easy sing-along chorus.

3) Steve Angello – Wasted Love

Epic dance track with the Coldplay-esque euphoria. Dougy, lead singer of The Temper Track lends his vocals to this powerful and uplifting song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAODa-4S2B0

4) Daniel Bedingfield – Never Gonna Leave Your Side

This was always a little inferior compared to Bedingfield’s other famous ballad, the gorgeous ‘If You’re Not The One’. It’s a beautiful song nevertheless and a lovely pop ballad.

5) Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting For You

Slushy and sentimental ’80’s power ballad, a little cheesy but gorgeous nonetheless. One of the most beautiful ballads in pop history, evident from its extensive list of covers.

6) Kings of Leon – Use Somebody

A plea for help but refreshingly presented in an alternative rock format instead of as a ballad. An epic, emotive track full of stadium-rousing ‘oh’s’, wailing guitars and Caleb Followill’s raspy vocals. Still as good now as it was upon release back in 2008.

7) Robbie Williams – Different

One of Williams’ most underrated singles of his career. Co-written by Gary Barlow and Jacknife Lee, it’s a haunting and powerful pop-rock track aching with sincerity. Williams’ forte has always been the ability to put his heart on his sleeve and channel this into well-written lyrics. This deserved to fare SO much better on the UK chart.

8) Justin Bieber – What Do You Mean?

Bieber appears to have made it through his rough Britney-esque meltdown and has returned triumphantly with his best music yet. ‘I Need U’, a collaboration with Diplo and Skrillex was an incredible comeback and ‘What Do You Mean’ continues Bieber’s new electronic-dance-music sound. ‘What Do You Mean’ uses minimalistic instrumentation and gentle, funky production built up of squeaky, steel-pan-like synthesisers, skippy percussion and Bieber’s gentle vocal.

9) The Weeknd – As You Are

Dark, powerful and catchy track from The Weeknd’s (real name Abel Tesfaye) third and current album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’. Canadian Tesfaye has been in the industry for a while but is only now finding worldwide success, aided greatly by ‘Earned It’, featured in this year’s Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Tesfaye is a pioneer of the ever-developing PBR&B (an alternative version of R&B music) and ‘As You Are’ is a strong demonstration of this. With slamming 80’s-styled percussion, echoing vocals and gentle synthesisers, it’s an explosing and haunting track. Incredible song.

10) The Weeknd – I Can’t Feel My Face

It’s easy to dismiss this song at first with it’s slightly deranged lyrics but it is also unmistakably catchy with its funky guitar riffs and heavy percussion. Very MJ.

Music Monday – Volume Twenty Six

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1) Jessie Ware – Imagine it was us

Catchy, irresistible dance track. Love this.

2) Charlie Simpson – Thorns

Great song off Charlie’s début solo album with a catchy, beautiful melody.

3) Charlene Soraia -Caged

Great pop track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPY2QxeU5Ag

4) Stereophonics – Have a nice day

Such an uplifting, catchy song which is perfect to lift your spirits at the beginning of the day. Always reminds me of the summer and always makes me feel great.

5) Ronan Keating – Life is a rollercoaster

Cheesy Pop at its best. Catchy, uplifting and a fine, fine song. One of my favourite songs of all time.

6) Friendly Fires – Hurting

Such a catchy song with a 1980’s electro-feel to it.

7) The Vamps – Smile

Perfect closing track to The Vamps’ début album. A catchy, feel-good anthem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UtVqsF7dFA

8) The Vamps – Lovestruck

A slightly darker track on The Vamps’ début album, this is a great song.

9) Robbie Williams & Brad Paisley – Collision of worlds

A perhaps less known track, this appeared on the soundtrack to the movie ‘Cars 2’. The lyrics are witty and very cleverly written and it’s such an awesome song.

10) John Mayer – 83

A great little song that appeared on John’s début ‘Room for Squares’ that deals with nostalgia and wishing to be a child again. It’s easy to relate to and a fantastically written song.