ShufflePlay Reviews - now posted: EMOTION by Carly Rae-J!

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I've been writing music reviews for years, though about four years ago I started doing it for my blog - moreso to give my website a purpose to exist but eventually it became a routine for me. Most new albums I get I try to write a review for. It helps me to get to know the albums more and forces me to listen to the CDs I buy more than just a few times when I otherwise might lose interest after just one listen. It also makes me think about why I like or dislike an album. I would say since I started writing reviews for my blog, there've only been a few times that I can look back at an old review and disagree with the rating I gave, though never more than +/- 1 star (out of 5).

I'll post some of my reviews in here as I write them in addition to on my website. Just for reference, here's a link to every music review I've written:

www.themaxonline.net/word/music-reviews/
(They're listed in alphabetical order but if you scroll down, you'll see them in chronological order too)

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Here's my review for Banks' album Goddess:
www.themaxonline.net/2014/10/23/banks-goddess/

Banks – Goddess

This year has been generous for new and emerging artists. With most superstars between albums, many newcomers have the opportunity to show off their talents and become the next wave of big names. Banks‘ debut album was among the most anticipated new releases for 2014 as she faces the challenge of not getting lost in the shuffle.
The first thing that jumps out about Goddess is the incredible amount of deep synths that pulsate throughout. Although sometimes overdone resulting in blending between tracks, particularly in the middle of the record which doesn’t grab as well as either end, it does wonders adding to the atmospheric depth to it, making the record darker and moodier than it would have been otherwise.

It could have easily been a standard R&B album, but working with up-and-coming producers like Sohn, Shlohmo and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs forces a blend of electronica, trip-hop and ambience that sometimes sound close to The Weeknd‘s production style, but it results in a delicious audio experience, which helps in separating Banks from the rest.

Goddess is an album that often places Banks on the giving end of relationships. Denial and deception arise throughout the record as she reveals her feelings, whether they are bound to be returned or not. On This Is What It Feels Like, she is being pushed away from someone who isn’t ready to commit to something more, where she sings “and finally when I let myself fall hard for you/I see you trying to pretend like I’m making it up.”

She admits to being difficult to be with on You Should Know Where I’m Coming From while the lyrics in Change depict an abusive partner who promises he will change: “Baby don’t go/I didn’t know/I’ll change, I swear.”

The beauty of Goddess is how much variety it has to offer without venturing too far off course. The lyrics cover many different aspects of doomed relationships from waiting, to holding on even though it’s too late. She even gets sexual on Stick, which is sure to make “licorice stick” the new “disco stick” or “lollipop”.

Even Banks herself has many different sides of performing on the record. Waiting Game, which originally appeared on the Divergent soundtrack, is an echo of Ellie Goulding‘s Halcyon record, while Fiona Apple is channeled for the piano ballad You Should Know Where I’m Coming From. Change has a slight jazz sound to it that helps draw a comparison to Norah Jones, and Someone New, a guitar ballad, is reminiscent of fellow newcomer Birdy‘s simpler arrangements.

Goddess isn’t the best album to come out this year but it does well enough to push Banks as one of the year’s standout artists. Most of the tracks are strong enough to stand alone and could serve as a drawing point, but as a collective, it’s a record that fits together well.
4/5

Tracklisting
1. Alibi
2. Goddess
3. Waiting Game
4. Brain
5. This Is What It Feels Like
6. You Should Know Where I’m Coming From
7. Stick
8. f**k Em Only We Know
9. Drowning
10. Beggin For Thread
11. Change
12. Someone New
13. Warm Water
14. Under The Table

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Moist – Glory Under Dangerous Skies
www.themaxonline.net/2014/10/24/moist-glory-under-dangerous-skies/

There’s a definite limited expectation toward the idea of a new album from the recently reunited band Moist. Known primarily for their distinctive style of alternative rock from the 90s, they were one of, if not the biggest band in Canada for a short period.
They quickly rose to prominence on the CanCon alternative scene and MuchMusic with their first album Silver in 1994 and gradually faded by their third record five years later. Any recollection of Moist is limited to what they brought in that span.

As for what they can bring two decades later, they pretty much have two options. Stick with what they did and hope to attract old fans with the power of nostalgia, or try to fit in with today’s rock musical landscape and hope something sticks.

Judging by the album’s first single Mechanical, they chose the first option and in doing so, achieved something few bands are able to after such an extended hiatus. They’re honed in on their best sound and recreated it into new material, as if they never took a break at all.

Two songs into Glory Under Dangerous Skies and it’s like listening to Moist at their peak in the 90s. After Mechanical is Broken, which could pass as a nephew of Push. The record sticks closely to the sound they became known for, with lyrics that are poetic and angsty but at the same time, larger than life and time, and observant. They have a way of making you feel like a small blip in a very large space but still everything connects to you.

Even beyond that, they can still deliver great lines that just jump out of the songs. Lines such as “I believe what we see/can’t exist without history/we are reached through insecurity,” and “what you could call true/dispels any other lie,” from God Is In The White Rice, and “we ran to Jesus to be saved/fill the hole inside me/a little trick to fool us all/you fooled us all” from The River.

The smooth transition across 15 years between albums could be attributed to the band members’ continued involvement in music after Moist. Mark Makoway and Jonathan Gallivan did songwriting and production with other artists, while David Usher released albums of his own following his debut solo record Little Songs in 1998. He followed it up with seven more between 2001 and 2012.

Yet, despite his own successful solo career and reputation as a songwriter and musician, there’s a clear distinction between that and the sound of this record. Glory Under Dangerous Skies is purely a rock album, complete with guitar solos throughout and enough energy to make you feel young again.

As a band, they sound as great as they ever have and as a comeback, they’ve achieved what any good comeback sets out to do. Rekindle interest through nostalgia and outdo themselves doing it. They’ve delivered what any fan of Moist or 90s Canadian alternative would want and really, it’s kind of the point.
4/5

Tracklisting
1. Mechanical
2. Broken
3. Bayou
4. Comes The Sun
5. The River
6. Glory Under Dangerous Skies
7. Morning Dies Here
8. Black Roses
9. Still I Won’t Look Down
10. God Is In The White Rice
11. All Forgiven

I'll do what Green Baron does and tag potentially interested parties: Green Baron Pipa Cody Devin If you guys don't care, my apologies.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – Cheek To Cheek
www.themaxonline.net/2014/10/27/tony-bennett-lady-gaga-cheek-to-cheek/

Pop culture fans live for unlikely pairings and collaborations and the pairing of Lady Gaga, one of the top pop stars to emerge in the 21st century with Tony Bennett, one of the most successful crooners of the 20th century, is among the most unlikely yet. The two got together for a recording on Tony’s 2012 album Duets II felt like a natural match for the both of them. So naturally, they’re singing cheek to cheek.

Cheek To Cheek consists of traditional pop and jazz standards from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, including a few from the Great American Songbook. Tony is once again in his element with a top notch performance that doesn’t at all suggest his abilities have waned after seven decades. It’s even more impressive when you consider that he’s 88 and still going strong. Plus, he just broke his own record for being the oldest artist to have a #1 album.

With Tony effortlessly confirming his status and doing so while sounding as comfortable as he does, all ears are on Lady Gaga to hear how she performs by his side and whether she does justice.

Despite what her own pop material shows, Gaga has solid vocal ability. Her stripped down, acoustic live performances have shown that.

When you remove the production and the electropop backdrop, and take into account how much she has embraced and performed with some of the most historical figures in music, her involvement on an album such as this really isn’t that far fetched.

She really shows her chops on Lush Life, one of several solo recordings she has on Cheek To Cheek. Her presence is prominent throughout the album, even when she takes a minimal role, such as on Goody Goody. she’s merely reacting to Tony’s delivery with one-line responses, which don’t really add anything to the song but the cuteness factor makes it a highlight.

Next to Tony’s obvious level of comfort with these songs that he’s made a career out of, Gaga’s naivety seems to have a slight air of stiffness in her performance that could be an issue of confidence or nervousness, rather than a question of her ability.

On Cheek To Cheek, she’s the student being taught by one of the greats of modern music. In some ways, it’s a bold move for someone as relatively new as she is to sing next to the one of the star voices of the old generation, but it’s a move that shows her versatility, adventure and ability.

In addition to what they both bring to this collection individually is what they also bring together. Tony and Lady, as he affectionately calls her, have a natural chemistry. And he does refer to her as such in I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, though he does slip a “Gaga” in there for good measure.

The magic between the two is most apparent in how much they affect the other when in each other’s presence. Lady has a new elegance about her that is different than any of her other styles and personas over the last five years, and it only comes out when in Tony’s presence, while Tony has a reserved youthfulness when around her. He’s cool and smooth.

Cheek To Cheek is significant because of what it does for both of them, even if it doesn’t contribute anything on a larger scale. It’s a pleasant collection of songs that continue to live on by being brought to new generations from two voices of two very different generations. It’s not an important album now but could very well have relevance at a later point in the future.
3/5

Tracklisting
1. Anything Goes
2. Cheek To Cheek
3. Don’t Wait Too Long [Tony Bennett solo]
4. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
5. Nature Boy
6. Goody Goody
7. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye [Lady Gaga solo]
8. Firefly
9. I Won’t Dance
10. They All Laughed
11. Lush Life [Lady Gaga solo]
12. Sophisticated Lady [Tony Bennett solo]
13. Let’s Face The Music And Dance
14. But Beautiful
15. It’s Didn’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)
16. On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever [Tony Bennett solo]
17. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered [Lady Gaga solo]
18. The Lady Is A Tramp

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Hozier – Hozier
www.themaxonline.net/2014/11/01/hozier-hozier/

The first time I heard Hozier‘s debut single Take Me To Church, I knew it was an event. Coupled with a music video that depicts violent homophobia in modern-day Russia and its use of religious imagery on sex, the song was bound to turn some heads and be either praised or slammed. There was little room for any middle ground.

Hozier’s background as an Irish songwriter likely played a role in the inclusion of religion on his debut self-titled album. While the album isn’t centred around religion or Christianity, he loosely references it, mostly in passing, throughout the record. His jaded perspective may not be to everyone’s liking but it’s hard to ignore his performance on what has become one of the year’s most highly anticipated albums.

Hozier doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder though. He’s hardly a one-topic-wonder hell bent on bringing down the Church. But he does bring down the church with vocals and songwriting that can immediately attract and maintain the attention of even the strongest of believers.

His sound centres around blues and soul often packaged in a more easily digestible format that can allow for mainstream success – which is inevitable. Take Me To Church isn’t particularly made-for-radio but there are tracks on here that might be, mainly Someone New, which is built around a refrain that is both catchy and easy to sing along to.

Hozier’s lyrics contain a lot of imagery, romancing the cold, the dark, graves, and death, when singing about love and lust. He takes a dark approach to situations and relationships, playing with the devil but remaining in control.

The duet In A Week, with Irish singer/songwriter Karen Cowley, is a morbidly romantic take on love about corpses dying together above ground in the fields, which is particularly interesting considering the number of times Hozier sings about digging or being buried elsewhere on the album.
They’d find us in a week
when the buzzards get loud
after the insects have made their claim
after the foxes have known our taste
after the raven has had its say
I’d be home with you
It’s a sinister highlight on an album that explores life, death and love with a confidence that only someone who doesn’t fear any of these can have.

Hozier’s approach and delivery is one that makes him so fascinating for a musical newcomer and he has a voice so captivating that, love it or hate it, it’s already got your attention.
4/5

Tracklisting
1. Take Me To Church
2. Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene
3. Jackie And Wilson
4. Someone New
5. To Be Alone
6. From Eden
7. In A Week [featuring Karen Cowley]
8. Sedated
9. Work Song
10. Like Real People Do
11. It Will Come Back
12. Foreigner’s God
13. Cherry Wine (Live)

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

You+Me – rose ave.
www.themaxonline.net/2014/11/06/youme-rose-ave/

rose ave., the collaborative album between City & Colour (Dallas Green) and Pink (Alecia Moore)
Within seconds of pressing play on rose ave., Dallas Green proclaims “we’ve got a long way to go” and instantly, the pairing of the Canadian punk-turned-folk musician with American pop star Pink is a perfect match.

His delivery of that first line in Capsized is pretty much on point with the way Pink would have done it had it been her line. The two sound so well together that you would never think it was their first time recording as a single unit.

You + Me is the collective name of Dallas Green, otherwise known as City & Colour, and Pink, who is going by her real name Alecia Moore for this project.

Having known each other for several years now, this is their first time collaborating on original music and even though a majority of the 10-track record was written and recorded in about a week (with the exception of the only cover, No Ordinary Love by Sade), it sounds like an album full of leisurely yet sad folk songs – as if they’ve been jamming in each other’s living rooms with them for years.

While the folk sound is more in line with Dallas’s acoustic solo material as City & Colour, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Alecia can pull it off as naturally as she does.

Despite the normally polished in-your-face pop of her Pink musical persona, Alecia has always displayed an organic desire in her music, even if just subtly. Simply put, a move like this for her was inevitable. If it wasn’t a folk album, it would have been alt-country, or blues rock. Something more authentic and roots-based.

Together, they deliver an album full of desolation – forlorn, tragic songs that somehow feel comforting in their delicate, gentle delivery. It plays like a warm cabin fire in the deep winter. Their voices together are exquisite, neither overpowering the other but both easily distinguishable if need be.

At times, the two are reminiscent of the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss pairing from a few years back, particularly on the single You And Me, which has both sharing the mic equally.

The album maintains a consistency throughout, never dropping to any lows though also not offering any highs. The dramatics of Break The Cycle give the most variance on the record in a song that strangely brings to mind Left Behind from the Broadway musical Spring Awakening with its string arrangement accompanying a guitar and precision-perfect harmonies.

rose ave. is that rare album by two distinctly different artists who have paired up to create something that doesn’t leave you missing their past individual material. I could see You + Me live and be fine if the setlist consisted only of these songs.
4/5

Tracklisting
1. Capsized
2. From A Closet In Norway (Oslo Blues)
3. Gently
4. Love Gone Wrong
5. You And Me
6. Unbeliever
7. Second Guess
8. Break The Cycle
9. Open Door
10. No Ordinary Love

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Taylor Swift – 1989
www.themaxonline.net/2014/11/11/taylor-swift-1989/

Taylor Swift has become known for a specific brand of pop/country that was all her own. She took the girl-next-door image and built herself around it with lyrics about the good and bad of relationships she’s had, doing so with innocence. She used her growing celebrity status, and subsequently the status of the men she was romantically linked with to her advantage, making her song lyrics the primary talking point about her.
She became a superstar singer known for her songwriting – kind of a rarity in today’s celebrity-driven culture. Love her or hate her, you knew a Swift song when you heard one.

So when Taylor announced plans to release her first full-on pop album earlier this year, it still came as a surprise. Even considering the biggest singles from her last album were all pop songs without an ounce of country, that Taylor would completely leave her roots out of an album was a shocker. With an audience as fickle as country music’s, it was almost certain to backfire.

But Taylor was in need of a change. Even she says so in the liner notes, where she writes about her belief that people do change and that for her, it means a need to change the way she tells her stories.

So she essentially gave up a winning formula that consisted of her own unique brand of music and lyrics and shifted to a formula that blends her in with much of today’s pop music.

And therein lies the conflict. I appreciated that Taylor carved out her own niche and made it work even if I personally didn’t care for the material or her songwriting. Now she’s made an album that basically caters to what I like in a good pop record but she no longer stands out. 1989 could have been an album by anyone else doing 1980s-inspired synth pop and nobody would ever have a reason to connect it back to Taylor Swift.

The first single Shake It Off is a carefree, bouncy pop hit centred around a catchy hook. I likened it to being for her what Girlfriend was for Avril Lavigne. Attention-grabbing, decently-successful, but won’t do her any favours.

The album does do a fine job of combining the entity that is Taylor Swift with modern day synth-pop. She’s still writing about boys, crushes and broken hearts but being the pop album it is, less emphasis is placed on the lyrics and more on the catchy melodies and production from hitmakers Max Martin, Shellback, Ryan Tedder and Jack Antonoff.

Out Of The Woods is an album highlight with its yearning desire to get back on solid ground. All You Had To Do Was Stay, likewise, boasts a strong melody and instant-hitting chorus. Blank Space is Taylor at her newfound best with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that play up her reputation as she sings “got a long list of ex-lovers/they’ll tell you I’m insane/but I’ve got a blank space baby/and I’ll write your name.” The fact she included lines like “you look like my next mistake” and “I’m dying to see how this one ends” are enough to show that she really can shake it off.

Other than Welcome To New York, the distractingly simplistic first track, 1989 is mostly front-loaded with all the best songs showing up in the first half while the latter half begins to feel like it’s blended together.

One of the most anticipated tracks, Bad Blood – supposedly about her sour friendship with Katy Perry – falls flat as the album’s weakest three and a half minutes. Even Clean, her collaboration with Imogen Heap, fails to end things on a high note as it never ventures into adventurous territory that Imogen is known for and that Taylor would be welcome to.

1989 isn’t the freshest pop album to come out this year and it will likely become disposable within Taylor’s discography in a few years, but it’s doing wonders for both her and the industry as it posted her biggest sales week to date with 1.3 million copies sold in its first week, the most for any album since 2002.

It all comes down to marketing, advertising and Taylor’s likeable image, but the music still has to be good enough to meet this level of popularity. In this case, it works.
3/5

Tracklisting
1. Welcome To New York
2. Blank Space
3. Style
4. Out Of The Woods
5. All You Had To Do Was Stay
6. Shake It Off
7. I Wish You Wood
8. Bad Blood
9. Wildest Dreams
10. How You Get The Girl
11. This Love
12. I Know Places
13. Clean

Here's my review for Red when it came out:
www.themaxonline.net/2012/10/26/taylor-swift-red/

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I forgot I posted reviews in this thread. lol

Here's the one I wrote earlier this month for #RebelHeart

Madonna - Rebel Heart
www.themaxonline.net/2015/02/12/madonna-rebel-heart/

When Madonna used the word “reductive” in her infamous interview on ABC back in 2012, it set off a firestorm of what would become one of the biggest rivalries in pop music. The word would also go on to become a go-to term for throwing shade. But lately it also seems to be the word that best describes Madonna’s own music.

Before even listening to Rebel Heart, Madonna’s upcoming 13th album, the song titles lend themselves to the dead horse she has beaten time and time again. They aren’t merely uninteresting as much as they bring one eye-roll after another. Devil Pray, Holy Water, and Messiah all play up the religious angle in some of the album’s many been-there, done-that moments, while S.E.X. could be seductive, or it could just be a reminder of her controversial book of the same name from the early 90s.

It seems no one is as big a fan of Madonna as Madonna herself.

Never before has the iconic pop star relied so much on her own legacy than with this record. Her name and status splash across the album to emphasize who she is and why it means something. She goes from reciting the most familiar lines of Vogue in Holy Water to incorporating the titles of many of her past hits for the bulk of Veni Vidi Veci.

Madonna’s reinvention tactic this time seems to be a response to her own status crisis as she kneels at the alter of herself to constantly utter reminders of why she’s important. Rebel Heart makes so many references to her own hits and achievements that it begs the question, has she finally run out of ideas or is she just really insecure?

The number of tracks on the super deluxe edition suggest she’s still full of ideas, but out of a whopping 25 songs, there’s a lot to sift through before finding one that sticks.

Living For Love kicks the album off on a good note as her best single since Hung Up. It’s a melodic house track that incorporates a gospel choir in true Madonna fashion. It’s not new territory in any way but it’s still a solid dance recording.

Madonna’s ability to deliver great songs isn’t lost on this album as she occasionally hits other high points throughout such as on Ghosttown, her best ballad since The Power Of Goodbye. She comes out of left field with Body Shop, the album’s star track and one of the most creative songs she’s ever done. It’s sexy and seductive in its delivery, showing that less really can be more.

It’s hard to ignore the strong production across most of the record, especially when the lyrics and melody are so lazy much of the time. Quite often it’s the production that brings out the best of songs that would otherwise fall flat. Producers including Avicii, Diplo and Kanye West offer support on the record. Illuminati, produced by West, is a classic in the making within her discography, even if the concept has dated slightly. Iconic has a hard-hitting chorus that helps the unnecessary inclusion of Mike Tyson in the intro monologue be forgotten, though the recycling of the couplet “born to be a superstar/that’s (exactly) what you are,” which initially appeared on the song Superstar from MDNA, feels like a rip-off.

One of the best pop songs on the record is the title track, which does a much better job of laying out Madonna’s career from start to present than Veni Vidi Vici. She sounds appreciative and almost emotional on the upbeat tune that focuses more on its melody, making it succeed.

But then there are the weak songs. Tracks like the aforementioned Devil Pray and Holy Water regurgitate the same religious themes using terrible lyrics that have become tiresome in Madonna’s music. The only purpose of S.E.X. is to be edgy and controversial – only it’s not 1992 anymore. There’s absolutely nothing interesting about the song or the stale double-entendre “I’m like an open door/let you come inside of me.” And for Autotune Baby, the title actually does say it all in what some are saying is the worst song Madonna has ever recorded. No comment.

It’s ironic that the Madonna of today is at her best when she isn’t trying to make a statement, court controversy or attempt to appeal to younger audiences. She continues on the path of sabotaging her own legacy by diminishing her status with weak material. Rebel Heart follows two duds and makes little effort to not join them as it strives to appeal to new audiences that aren’t interested in someone so desperate to win them over. It’s unfortunate as the record contains some of the best songs she’s recorded in nearly two decades, but as a whole it suffers under the songs that are among the worst she’s ever recorded.

At best, Rebel Heart, with 25 tracks on the super deluxe edition, is her best album in a decade. That is simply to say it’s better than Hard Candy and MDNA, hardly an achievement, and only if you keep a finger near the ‘skip’ button. Realistically, it too often comes across as contrived and, dare I say it, reductive.
2/5

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion

www.themaxonline.net/2015/08/01/carly-rae-jepsen-emotion/

Unlike many artists releasing 80s-influenced pop music today, Carly Rae Jepsen is probably one of the few who actually has memories of that decade – as she turns 30 in November so many not very vivid ones – so while you could say Emotion (or E•MO•TION) is an homage to music of the 80s, there’s probably a deeper connection that allows her to build her own nostalgia. This album could be intended for people around her age.

Or maybe she just really loves cheesy 80s music. Emotion is the most authentic 80s pop album to come out maybe since the 80s. It’s completely melody-driven with an emphasis on production that supports big clean beats, synths and hooks – it’s like hearing neon colours.

With I Really Like You, the first single, there was an obvious attempt to recreate what made Call Me Maybe so irresistible by going for a simple catchy melody with an intent to penetrate #internetspeak. It kind of works. The hook is simple, instant and memorable, and the repetitive “really” is transferrable – to be used while tweeting for example. But where Call Me Maybe was easy-to-digest and not particularly intrusive, I Really Like You has a higher rate of annoyance, which is likely what kept it from becoming as big as anticipated.

Run Away With Me is closer to zero on the obnoxious scale as a hard-hitting pop bop that draws you in to lets you get lost with it. Think Teenage Dream but retro. The title track is pure sugar in musical form with a hook that lasts for days. All That, the only ballad on the album, is the best example of the 80s living strong as it evokes early Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, or Paula Abdul.

And that’s just within the first five tracks. Boy Problems, track six, is the first not to be up to par with all that came before. It feels primitive in comparison. Imagine if Boys Boys Boys was on Gaga‘s Born This Way instead of The Fame. It wouldn’t fit. Things pick up again, however, on Making The Most Of The Night, the second of two (after Boy Problems) co-penned with Sia.

The presence of undeniable melodies is impressive, yet as great as Emotion is, it’s still a relatively faceless album. Despite asking “what can I say that you don’t already know?” in LA Hallucinations – which is incidentally the track with the most personality – we learn very little about Carly from this record.

In today’s celebrity-obsessed culture, that makes it challenging for her to break away from her cemented ‘one-hit-wonder’ status. And it’s unfortunate because this record could be the best and most consistent pop album start-to-finish since Avril Lavigne released Let Go in 2002. If it really could be about just the music, this album would define pop music for 2015.

5/5