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Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Review
The Arctic Monkeys released their sixth studio album earlier this month, after a five-year hiatus. In truth, no two Arctic Monkeys albums are alike–the band’s discography has a unique, but not an entirely consistent sound. That being said, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is definitely the band’s boldest effort so far, deviating from the harder, more psychedelic rock sound of the critically acclaimed AM. However, this comparison does not mean that Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino does not deserve its own acclaim. The end result of Alex Turner overcoming his writer’s block, this album is unique in that Turner used a piano to compose it, rather than his usual guitar, which explains the softer sound…
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Not a Teen Choice – Starboy Review
Say what you want about The Weeknd, but he is an incredibly hardworking, prolific artist. The R&B singer-songwriter recently released his third studio album this past weekend after much anticipation (and extensive promotion). The Weeknd claims that his influences for Starboy were The Smiths, Prince, Talking Heads, Bad Brains, and DeBarge – quite an eclectic combination of 1980’s artists to influence a 2016 R&B album, showing the exciting future that is in store for the genre. Upon first listen, the album seemed to be slightly scattered in terms of genre, something that seems to be a trend this year. Are the aforementioned influences clearly heard in the album? Here and there……
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BLM: Critical Review of To Pimp a Butterfly
Yesterday, Tumblr acknowledged that it’s been two years since the Ferguson protests began, which had me start thinking of Black Lives Matter, a movement I stand by closely. Last semester, I wrote a critical review on my favourite album of 2015, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly for my pop culture class in reference to the current social turmoil. Here it is. Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, was a favourite to win Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, topping many critics’ “Best Albums of 2015” lists, including Rolling Stones magazine’s (2015). Described as a “masterpiece of fiery outrage, deep jazz and ruthless self-critique” (Tate, 2015, n.p),…
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Song of the Day – “Luv” by Tory Lanez
This is a song I’ve been hearing all summer and been digging, but had no idea who sang it. I was also never curious enough to Shazam it or anything. Being the Caribbean girl that I am at heart, I love mainstream songs with Caribbean influence, and with releases like “Work” and a good portion of Drake’s Views, 2016 seems to be the year for it. Although not an amazing dancehall tune, I know that when I’m drunk in the club at 1am and Tory Lanez’ “Luv” comes on, I am feeling that island fantasy. Listen to the song below.
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Song of the Day – “Hometown Girl” by Zhu
Chinese-American electronic musician Zhu recently released his debut album, Generationwhy, on July 29th. Although the album as a whole has received mixed reviews, it does includes some moderately impressive electronic tunes. I am definitely not an electronic dance music expert so I usually try to stay out of conversations surrounding the genre, but I checked out Zhu’s album and, personally, I thought it was good. This song, “Hometown Girl,” featuring vocals from Jaymes Young is a song that I would not characterize as one of the best electronic tracks that I’ve ever heard, but it’s one that I do enjoy. It contains a laid-back beat, a catchy hook, and simple lyrics reciting a…
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“Sluggish, Lazy, Stupid, and Unconcerned”
Who else could blatantly read a whole generation like that and be praised? Thank God Endless was released at the beginning of this weekend to absorb part of my overly ecstatic reaction to Frank Ocean finally dropping his new album. But for some reason, what I wasn’t prepared for is how perfect this album would actually be. *listens to #Blonde one time* pic.twitter.com/iduMLdaflU — Wantickets (@Wantickets) August 20, 2016 As I have mentioned of Ocean before, he is able to have the listener reflect on their own self while listening to his inspired tracks. Blond has substance; the overall subject matter of the album is able to have every listener rationalize with Ocean’s own thoughts and emotions.…
