Tag: New album

Music, New music, New Music Friday

The Weeknd Returns With “After Hours”

by Blondie and the Beat1 Comment on The Weeknd Returns With “After Hours”

After listening to After Hours on repeat for a full day, I am going to try my best to put all of my wonderful thoughts into one piece. It’s been four years since The Weeknd released a full length album. Starboy put him on the map as a prominent figure in the music industry (listen to “Starboy”, “I Feel It Coming”, and “Secrets”). Now that After Hours is finally here we can fully digest this emotional roller coaster.

The Weeknd - After Hours.jpg
Image via rapcurrent.com

I admire the genre bending heard on the album. It’s not fully hip-hop, rap, R&B, or pop, it’s a little bit of everything. With 14 tracks spanning almost 4 minutes each, I’m impressed with the amount of cohesiveness we hear from track to track. Each song has one thing in common; love. The majority of this album feels like a “It’s not you, it’s me” moment in a relationship. On “Hardest To Love” we hear Abel softly sing, “I’ve been the hardest to love, it’s hard to let me go.” It’s no surprise Max Martin is a co-writer on this record (and many others), leaving his mark on that catchy pop beat. While on “Scared To Live” we hear The Weeknd sing, “I am not the man I used to be, did some things I couldn’t let you see.” Track 10 titled “In Your Eyes” follows suit with lyrics like, “I always look the other way, I’m blind, I’m blind.” Once again, we hear themes of self-realization/deprecation and even shame. The album makes you walk the long road of a relationship and you’re not sure where the road is really going. Most of After Hours is a slower tempo – reminiscent of early Abel minus the abundance of drug references and obscene slang/phrases. These tracks feel more refined and mature in a beautiful way.

Songs like “Snowchild”, “Escape From LA”, and “After Hours” have that classic The Weeknd sound with a simple yet consistent production you can almost predict beat for beat. “Save Your Tears” is a standout hit off the bat. Retro synths and synced lyrics are so addicting to sing to – this one will chart for months on end. Abel always manages to stay in the same type of vocal range and it works extremely well. He flexes his chords when he wants, but it’s always restrained in a subtle way.

Digest After Hours from top to bottom and let the love motif wash over you.

 

 

Music, Music News, New blog post, New music

Tame Impala’s New Single, “It Might Be Time”

by Blondie and the Beat1 Comment on Tame Impala’s New Single, “It Might Be Time”
Image via nme.com

Retro chords and galactic beats seem to be Tame Impala’s speciality… and damn, he (Kevin Parker) does it so well. It’s hard to pin down what genre Parker fits into and that’s what makes him spectacular.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2P0NiuAfypaw5UZJoo0n0o?si=bGTgqzpqSxubE2AWDl2s-A

“It Might Be Time” is Parker’s third single this year. The song comes with the announcement of Tame Impala’s upcoming 2020 album (titled The Slow Rush) and tour. Parker said in a recent Instagram post, “I’m so excited for touring next year and beyond with a new show and new album of songs.” He also clarified the meaning behind the new track, saying, “Enjoy this quirky new song about your own inner paranoid thoughts telling you you’ve lost your mojo…”

The bouncy track features lyrics like, “I’m only tired of all these voices, always sayin nothing lasts forever” and “it might be time to face it, nobody knows what you’ve come here for”. After his explosive 2015 album, Currents, Parker has a lot of pressure to make his next full length project just as alluring and enticing as his last. The latest singles are surely headed in the right direction.

Music, Music News, New blog post

AG5: Thank You, Next

by Blondie and the BeatLeave a Comment on AG5: Thank You, Next

(Image via yournextshoes.com)

Recently, the pop star has been quite vocal on social media regarding her upcoming fifth album. Through fan questions and her own snippets, here’s what we know so far.

  1. She’s already played it for Republic Records and celebrated with champagne after (that’s gotta be a good sign).
  2. There will be no collabs on the album.
  3. The album MIGHT be called thank you, next
  4. We might hear the album before the end of the year
  5. The new material will also be featured on her upcoming Sweetener tour
  6. She says thank you, next “is kinda the exact opposite of knew better but…you’ll see.”
  7. Ariana made the album in 2-3 months
  8. Another song on the album is called “Needy”
  9. Some lyrics for “Needy” include “tell me how good it feels to be needy”
  10. The album won’t have an intro
  11. “Thank you, next” will be the last track on the album
  12. She says track one will “be your favorite”
  13. “Thank you, next” is about Pete Davidson amongst other past flames. Ariana says, “I’m so … fuckin…. grateful for my ex… tis far from a diss track… it’s the opposite”

Listen to “thank you, next” below:

Music, New blog post, New music

A Kim Petras Halloween

by Blondie and the BeatLeave a Comment on A Kim Petras Halloween

(Image via altpress.com)

Pulsing dance/pop synths are the highlight of each track off this spooky mixtape. Kim Petras has already mastered pop but proves she has a dark/dance side on TURN OFF THE LIGHT, VOL. 1. 

Starting with “Close Your Eyes,” you’re immediately swept into another world; a sweaty dance club around mid-October, filled with runny eyeliner, fishnets, and a harsh beat twisting through your blood. Petras’ punky vocals push through every musical layer possible, hitting the highest notes over a glorious dance drop. Picture ballroom ceilings draped in cobwebs and red velvet; that’s how grimy yet enchanting this mixtape feels.

“Turn Off The Light” has a similar backbeat as the iconic “Thriller” complete with a vocal sound bite from none other than Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. While “Tell Me It’s A Nightmare” has a vintage Lady Gaga feel (think “Judas” or “Monster”); so dramatic-pop, it hurts.

Fans flooded Kim with love and support for the new Halloween-inspired music. Petras tweeted: “I’m so happy u guys ! I love you more than I could ever express”

If you’re not in the spooky spirit, listen to this on repeat all October and you’ll be transformed into a wicked pop witch.

 

Music, New blog post, New music, New Music Friday

Man Crush Monday: Post Malone

by Blondie and the BeatLeave a Comment on Man Crush Monday: Post Malone

(Image via nme.com)

The 22-year-olds sophomore album titled, beerbongs & bentleys is jam-packed with an 18-song tracklist. Featuring a couple we already know the words to; “Candy Paint” and “rockstar”. Post Malone makes a rap album that almost doesn’t feel like rap at all.

Malone carries his own weight on this album; although he has some stellar features (Nicki Minaj, G-Eazy, YG, Ty Dolla $ign…) Songs like, “Rich & Sad”, “Psycho,” “Zack and Codeine,” and “Better Now” have that addicting Post Malone sound. Some beats are pop, while others are harsh hip-hop.

He’s unlike other rappers, as we hear on the acoustic ballad, “Stay”; which seems to already be a fan favorite. Malone’s wavering voice glides alongside a smooth acoustic guitar. He sings about the struggle to maintain a relationship; “Tell me that it’s all okay, I’ve been waitin’ on this all damn day, call me in the mornin’, tell me how last night went, I’m here, but don’t count on me to stay.” Never have I been able to listen to a rapper sing an acoustic ballad like this and still like it.

This album has been in the works for a couple years now. Malone tweeted in late 2016: “beerbongs and bentleys isn’t a song…. It’s a whole project. also a lifestyle and it’s coming.” Time definitely did this project justice. Full hip-hop albums are hard to love in their entirety, but Post Malone has managed to make each song stand on its own full of bubbly choruses and insanely cyclical beats.

According to forbes.com, beerbongs & bentleys already destroyed the record for the most streams of songs on an album in the U.S. All 18 songs were played 48 million times in just the United States.

 

To see Post Malone live, click here!