There’s been a lot already said about the latest Taylor Swift single from critics and fans, and not a lot of it has to do with the actual music. There’s been drama expounded upon and personality quirks analyzed, but I unfortunately keep as many tabs on celebrity feuds and lifestyle happenings as I do my cat’s bowel movements – and to be honest they mean about the same to me. Thus, this little blog post has less to do with what fiery quip Katy Perry just came back with and more to do with a flawed, but pretty good, pop single. I’m sorry to disappoint the frequenters of Consequence of Sound, who are no longer capable of actually writing about music.
(What did Sowing just say about another popular music website ? Click here to read more!)
Anyway – the music.
So Taylor Swift has sort of run out of places to go already. She’s played the innocent country girl and the pop star, and unless she soon decides to whip out an electric guitar and start shredding, her scope is sort of self-limiting. She could, of course, revisit the success of 1989 – but that record was so overwhelmingly successful on a commercial level that writing a new piece in the same voice would effectively begin to stale her appeal. It’s the same reason that Red forced her to start wading into pop waters, because Fearless and Speak Now covered every…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 1, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
American Dream is LCD Soundsystem’s first album in seven years, following 2010’s This Is Happening. Featuring the band’s most vibrant and colorful album artwork to date, American Dream also feels warmer and more expansive than past records. A lot of the tracks, especially the lead single ‘Call The Police’, seem to be heavily channeling James Murphy’s inner David Bowie/U2. In a year filled with high-profile comebacks, LCD Soundsystem stands proudly near the top of the totem pole, boasting a must-hear record for fans of electronic-influenced rock and post-punk.
Listen to “Call The Police”, below:
– Full List of Releases: September 1, 2017 –
Anubis Gate: Covered in Black
Genre: Progressive/Power Rock & Metal // Label: Nightmare Records
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Cloud Control: Zone
Genre: Indie-Pop/Psychedelic, Dream-Pop // Label: Votiv Music
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Epica: The Solace System
Genre: Power Metal/Classical/Goth // Label: Nuclear Blast
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 18, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Steven Wilson – “To The Bone”–
Genre: Progressive Rock/Experimental/Psychedelic // Label: Caroline International
Background:
Steven Wilson is among the most consistent artists and producers in the progressive rock scene. Having worked with Opeth extensively, and not to mention spearheading his own successful outfit in Porcupine Tree, Wilson’s most impressive feats may have actually come on the solo front. To The Bone marks his fifth full-length solo LP, coming on the heels of 2015’s Hand. Cannot. Erase and 2013’s The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories). To The Bone is, thematically, a grave look at modern times – however, it is also a nod to the musical influences of his youth. Regarding To The Bone, Wilson has gone on record stating: “My fifth record is in many ways inspired by the hugely ambitious progressive pop records that I loved in my youth…I grew up listening to a lot of very smart pop records by artists like Kate Bush, Talk Talk, Peter Gabriel, Prince, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, The The…It struck me that there aren’t too many albums made like that these…
It’s not like we needed any additional reasons to crown Ella as the queen of pop. At just 20 years old, she’s stolen that crown from Ariana who stole it from Carle Rae who stole it from Taylor. Well, that’s if you ask me.
But personal and irrelevant opinions aside about who owns pop (when it’s really the record companies and producers), Melodrama was – and is – a stone cold classic. If you try and find a poorly constructed or unimaginative tune on it, you can’t. It’s art-pop at it’s best, and it is everything that the industry should be striving for.
…And then there’s moments like this that go even further above and beyond what you’d expect. Lorde must already be bored getting showered with accolades, because she has gone to work creating six incredible live re-imaginings of some of Melodrama‘s best songs: “Hard Feelings/Loveless” (see above), “Writer In The Dark”, “Sober”, “Supercut”, “Homemade Dynamite”, and “The Louvre.” The above is one of my early favorites – there’s just something about the way she gets down to her own music that is both adorable and admirable. You can tell she loves what she does.
In a brief interview with Vevo, Lorde states,
I don’t really do, like, acoustic sessions or anything, but with this record, it had roots in acoustic instruments and live musicianship.”
She also discusses working with Jack Antenoff (of Bleachers) and how the record centered…
Anyone on this site is, by now, well aware of my affinity for melodically-inclined music. There’s just something effortless and uplifting about songs that don’t require you to completely submerge yourself within them – and dedicate considerable time and emotional resources to – in order to understand. That isn’t to say that I haven’t spent tons of time getting lost in music with real, gritty depth and meaning, but lately the line between the genres I’d expect to pack that punch and those that I’ve traditionally viewed as reprehensibly artificial have actually begun to blur. From my perspective it feels like pop music is getting better, but that’s pretty clearly a hypersensationalized hot-take based on the opinion of someone who has ignored quality pop music for the better part of his life. As recently as three years ago I recall scoffing at the genre, aligning myself to a more elite standard as I’d quickly turn off the car radio to plug my ipod in and get lost in the music of The Antlers or The National. The reality, of course, is that quality pop music has always been there…I’ve just been isolating myself from it out of a fear of being subjected to the worst that the genre has to offer. But that’s no way to critique music, because by the same standards I ought to be repulsed by indie-folk considering the remarkable attention that bands such as Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers attract.
Or maybe I’m just getting old and my music taste has regressed to…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 11, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– Full List of Releases: August 11, 2017 –
5 Billion In Diamonds: 5 Billion In Diamonds
Genre: Alternative Rock // Label: 100% Records
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Amy O: Elastic
Genre: Alternative Rock // Label: Winspear
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of August 4, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– Full List of Releases: August 4, 2017 –
Accept: The Rise Of Chaos
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock // Label: Nuclear Blast
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Brett Eldredge: Brett Eldredge
Genre: Country // Label: Atlantic Nashville
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Briana Marela: Call It Love
Genre: Indie/Dream Pop // Label: Jagjaguwar
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Dale Crover: The Fickle Finger Of Fate
Genre: Indie-Pop/Alt-Rock // Label: Joyful Noise Recordings
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Dan Wilson: Re-Covered
Genre: Alt-Rock // Label: Ballroom Music / Big Deal Media
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Dead Cross: Dead Cross
Genre: Punk/Thrash Metal/Hardcore // Label: Ipecac Recordings
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Def Leppard: Hysteria (30th Anniversary Edition, Remastered 2017)
Genre: Hard Rock // Label: Mercury
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Marty Friedman: Wall Of Sound
Genre: Metal/New Age // Label: Prosthetic
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Mystery Skulls: One Of Us
Genre: Indie-Pop/Pop-Rock/Electronic // Label:…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 28, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Manchester Orchestra – “A Black Mile to the Surface”–
Genre: Indie-Rock // Label: Loma Vista
Following Cope, a straightforward rock album with few tricks up its sleeve, Manchester Orchestra headed back to the drawing board for their fifth LP A Black Mile to the Surface. It feels like the logical successor to Simple Math, soaring atop orchestral strings and dramatic song structures. Purely in terms of rock n’ roll grit, it is easily the farthest the band has ever sounded from Mean Everything To Nothing, but for what it lacks in aggression it more than makes up for in effortless songwriting, immaculate flow, and lyrical aptitude. It feels like the emotional weight of I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child expressed through the glossy filter of Simple Math‘s production – a prospect that should have a fan of either record salivating in anticipation. Just when it seemed like Manchester Orchestra’s best days might be behind them, they’ve proven themselves to be one of those rare indie-rock mainstays. With a record that sounds comfortingly at home for the band, yet totally unlike anything they’ve crafted thus…
MarsKid just kinda popped in my head. I thought something like UranusBoy might be a bit sketchy –MarsKid, 7/23/2017
Greetings fellow users! As some of you are aware, I’ve started a little user review competition in which the winner receives an automatic feature, as well as a “user spotlight” session. It basically consists of an informal chat in which I ask some personal questions as well as some silly ones. This week’s winner was MarsKid, who reviewed Bloodclot’s “Up In Arms”. Without further ado, please read on below as I sat down with him to discuss everything from zakalwe to Linkin Park.
I’ll start you off with an easy one: Would you rather spend the rest of your life as Ed Sheeran’s sound-checker (and you’re forced to be present to the end of every concert as well), or a stage dancer for Meghan Trainor?
Oh shit, this gets deeper than I thought.
I feel like being a stage dancer would honestly be a pretty nice gig. Get to shake it off in front of big crowds. Bitches like the male dancers. Having to stick to Ed Sheeran like glue would probably be like having to babysit Futures for a lifetime, so I’ll definitely pass.
Maybe I could teach him math operations though, that’d be fun.
Dancer takes the cake tho
Sound logic that I honestly can’t argue with. But let’s step back from those two hells for one second to talk about you. It’s…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 21, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Lana Del Rey – “Lust For Life”–
Genre: Indie-Pop // Label: Interscope
Background:
Lana Del Rey’s career got off to a blazing hot start with Born To Die, and despite the subsequent cool off, she’s still a household name in indie-pop. Ultraviolence was a sultry, dreamlike follow-up that ultimately proved worthwhile, but Honeymoon drew considerably less appeal from fans and critics alike. Her style hasn’t changed much across the board, which might begin to explain the diminishing return. With Lust For Life, she vies to recapture some of that initial luster. For a taste of what is to come, check out her collaboration with The Weeknd below.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 14, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
– List of Releases: July 14, 2017 –
Bloodclot: Up In Arms
Genre: Metal/Hard Rock // Label: Metal Blade Records
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Boris: Dear
Genre: Drone/Doom Metal // Label: Sargent House
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 7, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Broken Social Scene – “Hug of Thunder”–
Genre: Indie Rock/Experimental // Label: Arts & Crafts
Background:
After a seven year layover, Broken Social Scene has returned with all fifteen of its original members. Hug of Thunder marks the follow-up to 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record, as the band reunites for what Kevin Drew summarized as “…since we’re an anthemic band, we wanted to bring the celebration…It was important for all of us to come together because it’s the only thing we can politically do at this moment in time.” To date, four songs from the record have been officially released, but you can now also stream the whole album via NPR [see below link].
Here’s a list of major new releases for the weeks of June 16-30 of 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
16 June
Alison Moyet: Other
2 Chainz: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
Arcadea: Arcadea
Bad Cop/Bad Cop: Warriors
Barb Wire Dolls: Rub My Mind
B Boys: Dada
Beth Ditto: Fake Sugar
Big Boi: Boomiverse
Broadside: Paradise
Carach Angren: Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten
Cavernlight: As We Cup Our Hands And Drink From The Stream Of Our Ache
Chief Keef: Thot Breaker
Chuck Berry: Chuck
CKY: The Phoenix
Com Truise: Iteration
Currents: The Place I Feel Safest
Dead Head: Swine Plague
Doll Skin: Manic Pixie Dream Girl
The Drums: Abysmal Thoughts
Elegy of Madness: New Era
Entrails: World Inferno
Fleet Foxes: Crack Up
Gaytheist: Let’s Jam Again Soon
House and Land: House and Land
Hundredth: Rare
Iced Earth: Incorruptible
Igorrr: Savage Sinusoid
Impetuous Ritual: Blight Upon Martyred Sentience
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma: On The Echoing Green
Kevin Morby: City Music
Lorde: Melodrama
Matthew Sweet: Tomorrow Forever
Michael Nau: Some Twist
Oh Wonder: Oh Wonder
Palehound: A Place I’ll Always Go
Peaking Lights: The Fifth State Of Consciousness
Portugal. The Man: Woodstock
Ride: Weather Diaries
Royal Blood: How Did…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 9, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
–Featured Release: Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dressner, Nico Muhly, and James McAlister – “Planetarium”–
In 2013, Sufjan Stevens joined up with Nico Muhly, James McAlister, and The National’s Bryce Dressner to create a composition thematically centered around our solar system (I guess he is too big for states now). To date only performed in a live setting (the piece was debuted at Brooklyn Academy of Music over a multi-night span), it is finally being released as an official recording on June 9 via 4AD. It’s pretty much the most hipster thing ever.
Listen to the project’s single “Mercury”:
– Full List of Releases: June 2, 2017 –
Agent Blå: Agent Blue
Genre: Indie/Lo-fi // Label: Kanine Records
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Anathema: The Optimist
Genre: Progressive Rock/Doom Metal // Label: kscope
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Barrabus: Barrabus
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal // Label: Undergroove
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 2, 2017. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Alt-J have become one of indie-rock’s surging experimental acts, thanks to their extremely well-received debut An Awesome Wave as well as their more divisive – but equally impressive – sophomore effort This Is All Yours. If the singles are any indication, RELAXER will further the band’s legacy as innovators within their genre, expounding upon the brand of downtempo art-pop that illuminated sections of 2014’s This Is All Yours. It feels like a defining moment for a band that continues to stretch the confines of its own comfort zone, joining a rather exclusive arena of indie’s most respected, forward-thinking artists. Sink into the record’s lead single, ‘3WW’, for a taste of what is on the horizon.
Listen to Alt-J’s “3WW”:
– Full List of Releases: June 2, 2017 –
Adrenaline Mob: We The People
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal // Label: Century Media
![Dead Cross [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61MgcxD4QGL._SS500.jpg)
![Hysteria [3 CD][30th Anniversary Edition]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Lo1e5vzqL.jpg)
![One of Us [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41G31dOeAGL._SS500.jpg)
![Lust For Life [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51a3mjf6j2L._SS500.jpg)
![Times Infinity Volume Two [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51X4L4k96iL._SS500.jpg)
![Nightmare Future [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612Qz-FyAyL._SS500.jpg)
![Agent Blue [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51W-WBvh91L._SS500.jpg)
![Barrabus [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41ywLrFDfoL._SS500.jpg)
…
![Last Young Renegade [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/612F1RQte3L._SS500.jpg)
