Released on January 9th, Drive is Charlotte Cardin’s entry into 2019. Unlike many of her other singles, the delivery of the song is less direct – i.e., it does not sound like a pop song. While I do enjoy many of Charolette Cardin’s other songs, they often don’t stand out to me. This song is different.

Drive opens with just guitar, which sounds like it has been recorded in a huge room. The atmosphere setting has clearly been cranked all the way up. This effect makes you feel as though the music surrounds you. It’s immediately unique.

Cardin’s clean vocals come in after a few bars of introduction. She is singing to a man who she describes as “an angel,” explaining that she wants to “lay down in the heat, in the garden of our sleep.” The layered vocals in the chorus create a cool effect that mirrors the “big-room” guitar.

I look forward to hearing new music from the Québécois singer. Check out Drive below.

The Arctic Monkey’s second studio album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, released in 2007, is one of my favourite garage-rock albums of all time. It’s the perfect mix of high energy songs and melodic indie songs that are easy to sing along to.

The band’s first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, is the first indie/garage-rock album I ever listened to and liked. That was my gateway to bands like the Strokes and the Vaccines. I was a big fan of the Arctic Monkey’s AM at the time of its release in 2013, but I have now exhausted the repeat button on that album. I still enjoy the music but I wanted something different, something new (or actually old). That is when I decided to listen to the group’s remaining four albums, of which, Favourite Worst Nightmare is my favourite.

The pace of the record is set from the first track, Brainstorm. You’re launched right into it with fast drums and layers of hard rock guitar. Lead singer Alex Turner keeps the listener on edge throughout the whole project. It is a nonstop frenzy of aggressive rock guitar matched with calculated but powerful vocals. The high tempo songs are divided into a first and second half, sandwiched around the two slower songs, Fluorescent Adolescent and Only Ones Who Know.

My favourite songs from the album are Fluorescent Adolescent, Do Me a Favour, and If You Were There, Beware.

Diplo’s latest song is a cool mix of soft electronic and hip hop. The rapper featured on the track is Octavian, a French-British artist who’s best known for his track Move Me with Mura Masa.

The new song has a different vibe from Diplo’s other recent releases such as Close to Me (with Ellie Goulding) and the Mountains EP (with his LSD collective). While those tracks have much more of a pop feel, New Shapes is definitely softer and more focussed on instrumental than vocals.

This is not the first time a mega-star DJ and a relatively unknown rapper have collaborated in recent past. Just last month, Marshmello enlisted Roddy Ricch for Project Dreams. Hopefully this trend continues, because as both an electronic and hip-hop fan, I think this style of music combines the best of both genres.

Puma Blue’s 27 minute, 8 track EP is a mix of jazz, soul, and lo-fi hip-hop. This project is something you listen to when you are in your feelings. This one is meant to be played at 3 am.

Puma Blue, otherwise known as Jacob Allen, is a producer from south London who makes music from his own bedroom. He has put out a number of releases, including one EP prior to Blood Loss, but his most recent project is his longest so far. At 8 tracks, this record verges on an album, and its flow from song to song certainly gives it an album feel.

The project is riddled with sad love lyrics such as on the track Midnight Blue when Allen asks “Baby where are you, On this midnight blue? I pray for my love to come back soon.” He also sings on Ether: “Her silhouette hurts me.” The singer admitted in an interview that “the word blue was how my music felt to me.” But somehow, the listener is not left feeling down after the finale, close. Instead, the tracks all feel quite happy – laid back, but happy.

The vocals are used as instrument, only used when they fit and when there is something to be said. On the track Limbo Lake, the only lyrics are ‘Yo, the rain’s coming down man’ ‘Yeah man’. Instead, the guitar, saxophone, and drums take centre stage on the project.

My favourite tracks on the EP are Lust, Midnight Blue, and Ether.

Declan McKenna is a 20 year old British pop-rock artist who’s 2017 debut album is a breath of fresh air. McKenna blends singer-songwriter guitar music with alt-rock and even psychedelic-rock influences.

In 2014, at the age of 16, the artist released his third ever single, Brazil, in protest of FIFA and the world cup. The song peaked within the top 50 of a number of US billboard rock categories. It was later rereleased with his debut album.

McKenna’s music is exciting. It makes you feel good. It makes you want to dance (well it makes me want to dance). It definitely carries a young energy with it. The songwriting and production are executed masterfully to mask any immaturity from the young artist.

My favourite songs from this project are Brazil, Listen to Your Friends, and Why Do You Feel So Down?

British singer and producer James Blake released his fourth studio album, Assume Form, last week. This project opposes his “sad boy” reputation, while still keeping his signature sound.

The artist’s hip-hop influence is more prevalent on this album than his previous albums. It features superstars like Travis Scott, Metro Boomin, and André 3000. Despite the hip-hop influence, his music would definitely not be considered hip-hop. It most closely aligns with alt-electronic music.

James Blake’s has a distinct sound that is difficult to describe. The synthesizer always leads, and the vocals follow. Blake is a master of the synthesizer, and manages to produce new sounds that make my ears perk up when I hear them (the eerie ringing alien sound in Barefoot In The Park, for example). He also has the production knowledge to put complex and beautiful effects on his vocals. He makes his voice another instrument, rather than the centre of attention, as in most music. This talent is what landed him a number of awards including a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist after the release of his Overgrown album.

The love he feels for his for his girlfriend has brought him happiness and stability. This positivity shines through on the album through smokey synth and reverberant vocals. This is definitely one of my favourite releases of the month.

Songs to check out are Mile High, Barefoot In The Park, I’ll Come Too, and Are You In Love?.

The other day I went to a CD store to see if they had anything that I could rock along to in the car. I stumbled upon a Wu-Tang Clan’s greatest hits CD. I knew that some of my friends liked their music, but I had never listened to it and didn’t know much about the group. The CD was amazing so I looked into more of their music and found that their first studio album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), is regarded as one of the best rap albums of all time, and after the first listen, I knew why.

The energy on the album screams 90’s New York through its boom-bap beats. With this album, the legendary group brought street sound to the studio in a way that had never been done before. It was written at a time when culture was being influenced by the rise in popularity of foreign martial arts films (hence the name Wu-Tang, from the ’83 Hong Kong film Shaolin and Wu Tang). On the album they include many soundbites from their favourite movies.

From the very first song, I was encapsulated by the group’s energy when they collectively shout “Bring da mothaf***n’ ruckus.” It sets the tone for the rest of project – loud, catchy choruses separated by methodical verses by 9 of the greatest rappers of all time.

I would mention my favourite songs from this album, but I really believe that this is an album that should be listened to front-to-back. Most of the Wu-Tang Clan’s most famous songs come from this album (C.R.E.A.M., Protect Ya Neck, Wu-Tang Clan Aint Nuthing ta F’ Wit, etc.). It is truly a piece of rap history.

PS. Vevo doesn’t allow me to embed music videos in my posts. Most of the songs I post have music videos, so just head over to YouTube and you can watch them there.

Russ’ newest release is a 3 song package, none of which were not included in his September album, ZOO. The album featured lots of hits like Our Time and Missin You Crazy (I may do another post just dedicated to ZOO).

The new songs are all down-tempo tracks over which Russ sings and raps. The Atlanta artist seems to be mastering his relaxed songwriting style, making catchier hooks with each new release. The song Nobody Knows has a chorus which is hard not to sing along to.

On all three tracks, Russ talks about his struggle with feeling lonely and battling mental health issues. He shares on Nobody Knows, “Mask up my pain, hold back my tears, I’m going insane, nobody knows, all by myself.” And on Alright he sings, “It’s not written on my face, nah, it’s buried deep, they see me as strong, so I can’t come off very weak.”

The rapper often speaks about how he feels responsible for his parents’ separation. By becoming the primary breadwinner in his family, he feels he “enabled the breakup.” Since their separation, he has remained close with his mother. Russ describes his relationship with her in his music, explaining she provides him with constant support which keeps him from losing his mind.

I discovered Russ a couple of years ago on Soundcloud when his track, What They Want, blew up. I have an immense amount of respect for the artist. He is one of the few artists who does everything himself – writing, producing, mixing, and even album artwork. He has taken a lot of hate recently, especially on social media, for his arrogance. The fact that he has managed to push through all the hate and become a self-made success is really impressive. It did not happen overnight for Russ though. He released one song per week on Soundcloud for two and a half years, putting out 11 albums worth of material in that time. He has been long due for some recognition.

The 1975 released an acoustic version of Paris from their second album “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it.” This is my favourite song from the album (alongside If I Believe You).

Lead singer Matty Healy has also released two other acoustic songs as of late – Be My Mistake from the new album (A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships), and an unreleased track called 102.

The band has also now put out music videos for multiple songs on their new album including Love It If We Made It, TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME, and Sincerity is Scary.

Enjoy the sweet sounds from the 1975 from what looks to be a makeshift studio in someone’s living room.

 

 

Canadian R&B singer, Daniel Caesar, linked up with T-Pain to produce his second single of the year (the first being Beauty & Essex featuring Anderson. Paak’s collaborators, The Free Nationals). The song is the most sexually driven track Caesar has put out to date. It seems he’s taking a step away from his hopeless romantic reputation, shown on hit tracks like Best Part, Get You, and We Find Love.

He sings about his desires for a stripper named Priscilla, whom he met while on tour. “You make me feel so primal,” he admits.

The tone on the guitar in the song is mesmerizing, and muting it in the pre-chorus gives the chorus a punch of energy in an otherwise laid-back song. The drums have a little bit of character with the open hi-hat at the end of every other bar, while staying true to R&B roots with the kicking pattern. But as always, the star of the show is Daniel Caesar’s instantly recognizable voice.

I’m really enjoying this track. Hopefully this is a teaser for an upcoming album!