Whether it’s their impeccable aesthetic on Instagram, their overly drug-infused lyrics, or their fake postings about breaking up; The 1975 are a pure neon dream. If you look up “neon” in the dictionary, you might find this definition: “of,relatingto,orcharacteristicofatawdryurbandistrictorofgaudynighttimeentertainment.” Almost a complete description of The 1975. Coincidence? I think not…
For the past two months or so, they have been teasing their sophomore album, I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It with pink hued neon signs with what looks to be the titles of songs off the album. Each one is set against a beautifully haunting backdrop making you beg for more answers as to what they mean. As of today, 12/9 we have 11, which could almost be the full track listing. Flip through the gallery below!
“Delirium: A state of violent excitement or emotion.”
AKA, what we all are feeling after listening to Ellie Goulding’s new album Delirium. Pop takes the front seat, and Goulding’s vocals keep a tight grip on the steering wheel. Pulling off a 16-track album is hard (21 on the deluxe version!), but Ellie does it and does it real good. Calling this a comeback is an understatement.
Happy-go-lucky hooks, heavy dance beats, and simple lyrics are Ellie’s forte. She has perfected pop in her own way. But, we knew this was coming. We all felt the electricity of her “Fifty Shades of Grey” contribution, “Love Me Like You Do”, which is also featured on the album. Then she brought back her dance vibe with “On My Mind” and “Something In The Way You Move” and her simplistic beauty on “Army”. Releasing a new single every week for the past month made fans more and more hyped for Delirium.
The secret ingredient behind this album could be from the helping hand of musical genius, Max Martin. Martin helped Goulding on “On My Mind” and also “Love Me Like You Do”. His specialty? Pop. Ever heard of Taylor Swift? Yeah…
Delirium is amazingly upbeat in the coolest ways. A lot of electronic and dance influences are heard. Which is expected from someone who used to date electronic King, Skrillex, and who’s worked alongside dance demolishers, Diplo and Calvin Harris.
Photo: fuse.tv
“Codes” is radio ready any day now. Everyone can relate to this song, Ellie just makes it possible to dance to our confusing feelings. “Stop talking in codes, let me know what’s up…I need a love to celebrate,” is sung in a punchy tone as the chorus slowly becomes engraved into your skull. “Don’t Need Nobody” is on the same jam-level. It could easily be a club banger. We hear Ellie a lot harder than we’ve heard her before. A sick hip-hop sound proves she can really get down. “Nobody” is simple lyrically but the musicality is on-point with today’s music scene. While, “Don’t Panic” touches more on Ellie’s dance side, taking hints from pop/dance experts like, Walk the Moon.
A standout gem on the album is, “Army” written about Goulding’s best friend she met in college. She let her fans know why she wrote this song and how much it means to her by a post on her Instagram when the song was released.
“Army” is guided by a guitar in the beginning but slowly builds into a glorious ballad providing gospel-like lyrics: “When I’m with you, I’m standing with an army.” Goulding’s vocals are in their usual pretty wavering state as she climbs into the nooks and crannies of every single note in the most facile way. This is definitely my new favorite ballad by Ellie. Hello, wedding song, anyone?? Another emotional yet upbeat song is “Lost and Found” reminiscent of something you would hear on an old Fleetwood Mac album. Proof that Goulding still knows how to keep things light and fun.
Watch this live version of “Army” performed at Abbey Road Studios.
Delirium is a big YES. Cheers Ellie, you’ve managed to knock my socks off yet again.
“I’m no longer serious…I’m done with the sob stories. New chapter, new life, new album, new single, this is a completely new Demi.” A cool Demi Lovato said to Ryan Seacrest recently on his radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest .
Her new single, “Cool for the Summer” came out this past week just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations. A sultry Demi is heard on the verses and the gritty-rock Demi is heard on the chorus. “Don’t tell your mother, kiss one another, die for each other, we’re cool for the summer” are the lyrics Lovato spits out on her new rebellious track.
Seacrest quizzed Demi on her new music, including her motivation behind her new sound; “I’ve spent so long focusing on just kind of people pleasing, making everybody happy with being the best role model I can be. At the end of the day, yes I am outspoken about the things I believe in…I have all these things that make me a role model, but at the same time none of these things are really representing the bad ass that I am.” Get it girl!
Lovato and Ryan Seacrest
Lovato had help from producer mastermind Max Martin in the studio. Martin is responsible for early pop hits from Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys and newer tunes from Taylor Swift and of course…Lovato herself. “I did this song (“Cool for the Summer”) with Max Martin…the trickiest part about this song was trying to not make the song too rock so that it could still go mainstream and not make it too pop to where its not rock anymore,” said Lovato.
She also told Seacrest that her album will feature a lot more provocative lyrics and ‘new’ elements. “I have a lot of rhythmic flares in there as well…There’s nobody in the pop industry that says ‘Don’t f*** with me’. I am totally that but in pop music,” she says.
Demi has already proved her singing chops with emotional songs like “Skyscraper” and her pop chops with songs like, “Really Don’t Care”, so now is her time to take risks and get a little saltier. She tells Seacrest, “There’s a side of me that people don’t get to see with my past music, but it’s been there. Just because I’m sober doesn’t mean that I’m judging anybody else for their stuff and it also doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a damn good time back then either.”
Although there’s no name for the album yet Lovato says, “I do love naming my albums after songs. It’ll (the title) come to me when it’s ready, just like the music.”
Could Demi’s next album be titled Cool for the Summer??
I pictured her sitting at an antique coffee table in a white wooden table chair with green fairies painted on it, sipping on some green tea with her messy red hair trailing down her pale white cheeks as she scribbled some gloriously dramatic lyrics onto a bar napkin she stuffed in her purse after leaving dinner the night before. This is what I have envisioned Florence Welch has been doing for the past four years or so. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong…who knows?
Photo via bing.com
Florence + the Machine announced this week that they are back!! Oh my goodness I have been waiting FOREVER for this moment. Being a huge F+TM fan myself, I am so so excited for this new album. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful will be the third album from this eclectic bunch. They also released the music video for the first single called “What Kind of Man” and it is phenomenal. Reminiscent of “Kiss With A Fist” due to the feisty angst in Florence’s voice, but with age comes a fuller vocal range and a greater sense of musicality. Not to mention a highly artistic point of view as we see in the music video.
This video begins by showcasing a casual yet powerful conversation that takes place between a couple. The man tells the woman that she was having a nightmare and she gets angry that he didn’t wake her up, “I didn’t want to intervene. It seemed like you were suffering somewhere else. I didn’t think it was my place to drag you out of it so I just let you be,” he said. She replies with, “So you just let me suffer? So you think that people who suffer together would be more connected than people who are content?” He agrees and says, “I do.” I think this is often a question we don’t think about, but it’s interesting when you do take the time to think about it.
The song seems to about a long term relationship and the lack of commitment throughout it; “And with one kiss/ you inspired a fire of devotion/ that lasted twenty years.” But also the intoxicating element that comes with love, sparks a lot of the inspiration behind the song; “I already had a sip/ so I’d reasoned I was drunk enough to deal with it.” A theme we often hear about, but Florence makes it more dramatic when she sings the words, “What kind of man loves like this?” Almost posing the question, “How could a human being actually love like this?”
Miss Florence spreading her fairy wings so fans can soak up her glittery glow. photo via bing.com
I’m surprised by this electrifying intro to this new album cycle for Florence & the Machine, but I’m also not because everything this band does is never half-assed (for lack of a better phrase). The music is always top notch quality with stellar lyrics that you want tattooed on your entire being for the world to see. I hear more guitar-driven rock, a beautiful horn line, hard lyrics, and spunky tambourine on this track which transcends perfectly into where music is heading these days. The music scene seems to be going back to the basics, focusing more on the different elements of music. No more crap. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful has to be good. It just has to. The worst part? We have to wait until June 2….
Mikky Ekko’s debut album Time is indeed a long time coming. This is surprisingly his first full-length album and now I know why it took so long; it’s superb. Ekko combines elements of mainstream pop, poetic lyrics, and his incredible vocal range to pull on every heart string in your body. And he knows it.
Ekko’s voice reminds me of Ryan Tedder (lead singer of One Republic). His effortless falsetto, raw emotion, and lyrical power are elements both these men possess. Time is what I would imagine a Ryan Tedder solo album would sound like. Which I hope NEVER happens, because One Republic is absolute dynamite and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ekko’s voice is just as technically beautiful as Tedder’s but with a more sensual edge.
image via bing.com
Time opens the flood gates of everything you’ve ever felt in your life. Songs like “Comatose” are so powerful. Ekko describes it as, “Trying to find your way back to a moment. ‘Comatose’ is about chasing the reflection, chasing the memory, being in the dream of the coma and trying to find your way back to the light.” The song features dream-like piano chords and Ekko’s voice quietly floating over the music. Once you hear this song, you won’t forget it.
-Even better live, ohhhh myyyy lordddddd.
“Pull Me Down” is another track off this album that is powerful and eclectic. It sounds like something an alternative band would produce, but has several R&B elements to it, which is something Ekko is passionate about. The lyrics tell a story of a mutual love between two people. It’s passionate and beautiful; “Pull me down if you want to/ and I hope that you want to/ cause I want to be your man/ and I wanna say it loud.”
“U” is another song off the album that pulls on the more sultrier R&B side of Ekko. It mixes bits of electronic sounds, handclaps, and a reoccurring backbeat. This track delivers pure LOVE. These are lyrics you want your husband/wife to sing to you one day; “You’re the only one I live for, try for, weep for, die for, you know I’d give it all for.”
Songs like, “Made of Light”, “Love You Crazy”, and “Smile” have a more uplifting vibe to them. All have incredible rhythm patterns and leave a hook stuck in your head. Ekko’s singing style borderlines soft rap sometimes (especially in “Love You Crazy”) and is so interesting to listen to. Not many artists are as tapped into the flow of a song as he is.
On his website, Ekko describes Time as, “Pretty eclectic sonically, but lyrically there are moments of love and angst and things that many people deal with on a daily basis. I’m just trying to be honest about all of that stuff…People just want to feel something real.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. When you mix purely produced lyrics with unforgettable rhythms and hooks, you have found the key to the music kingdom. My point is, albums that are this flawless start to finish deserve all the success in the world. I will be BUYING this album.
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