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Tag: Single Review

28 April 2012

Brandy ‘Put It Down’ (feat. Chris Brown) Single Review

The world turned into a very cold, dark and lonely place for me yesterday morning when I realised that Brandy‘s new single had leaked and none of you instantly reached out to me to break the good news. It had be out for at least four or five hours, y’all. I have my phone switched on all through the night for such critical news breaks.

Brandy is one of those artists that I hold very close to my heart and stan wildly for without much feedback and mutual excitement shared in my friendship group. It is hard. However, I’m hoping this new and evidently more current R&B direction B-Rocka‘s rockin’ will get more folks fangurling in my corner.

‘Put It Down’ (featuring Chris Brown) is a straight up declaration of war on the American urban charts. Every from its superstar collabo to the airtight production and flow screams “Brandy means business”. Our gurl is gunning for a hit and she’s got the #1 spot well within the firing range right now.

For the first time since her Afrodisiac era, Bran is actually presenting herself with a song fit to compete with the young, cool crowd and better yet, she’s doing it in a way that is still indistinguishably Brandy. She may be commandeering a harder hip hop flow but it is still executed with smooth vocals and harmonies that she’s known for – thankfully, not a thorough Auto-Tune fit out like it was going on Glee or some shit.

The bass heavy urban beats courtesy of Bangladesh (producer behind Rihanna‘s ‘Cockiness’ and Ke$ha‘s ‘Sleazy’) may not be entirely game changing by the industry’s current standards but it is for Brandy. It’s just a thrill to hear her beat them soulful vocal tones into submission and deliver a sharper flow often required for hip hop beats.

There was even a moment in verse two where Bran skillfully serves up a few rap lines, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has heard her firey rap delivery on Timbaland‘s last album.

The term, “put it down” definitely sounds like an expression Bran had borrowed from her gal pal Kelendria Trene Rowland, who was flogging that expression hard during her term as X Factor judge in the UK. While we’re on the subject, I reckon this project’s gonna land itself in very close proximity to Kelly Rowland‘s flawless Here I Am album.

The sexual confidence Bran is putting down on ‘Put It Down’ is already a nod to the kind of bossbitch anthems Kelendria‘s used to delivering. It is gonna be a whole new era and a whole new dimension of hits for Brandy – and thank fuck it is finally happening for the girl.

Listen to ‘Put It Down’ featuring Chris Brown:



Footnotes:

Brandy will release ‘Put It Down’ in the States on 8 May. I don’t understand why this smash isn’t already out on iTunes – within 24 hours of it hitting Brandy‘s Soundcloud account, the track was already played some 100,000 times.

‘Put It Down’ is the first taste of the diva’s forthcoming comeback album Two Eleven which is slated for a June release in the US.

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25 April 2012

Little Boots ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’ Single Review

I am generally quite pleased with Victoria‘s efforts of late. She has inevitably sashayed into a more dance-centric playing field despite debuting three years ago with an album glistening with productions by some of pop’s A-lists. And we’re cool with that.

Little Boots‘ latest piece ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’ takes the children back to a time where dance pop was elegant, effortlessly stylish, and need not rely on throbbing, aggressive Guetta club beats to make an impact.

The prevalent 90s house pianos and soft “oooh” in the verses sounds like something you’d clock in a present day Bananarama single, if it was written and produced by Alphabeat.

‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’ is categorically more of a pop single than Victoria‘s last single ‘Shake’, a slick six minute-long nouveau disco jam. There’s a punchy hook that takes root with repeated listens, but only because it is so well supported in the song’s structure. Basically, the chorus stands out well because the milder, more innocuous verses aren’t desperately trying to flag your attention from every corner.

It’s a whole different discipline in pop songwriting, y’guys. And it’s not necessarily something that’s observed – or appreciated – very much these days. Nowadays, hit makers for Rihanna, Jessie J et al know that the average listening span is, like, seven seconds or something ridiculous. You gotta hit them upfront and fast before they change the station or hit skip on the iTunes store.

‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’ clearly gives not a fuck if you got better shit to do after seven seconds. Victoria is busy in verse one, setting the scene and getting you in the mood for the chorus.

Listen to ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’:



I guess over 15,800 plays on Soundcloud and over 5,700 downloads in one day isn’t such a poor response after all.

Footnotes:

Little Boots is being oh so generous to offer a free download of ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’.

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7 April 2012

Mark Foster, A-Trak and Kimbra ‘Warrior’ Review

The new it kids of indie pop are doing alright.

Here we got Mark Foster (Foster The People), A-Trak (DJ/producer who has remixed for the likes of Robyn) and Kimbra (Kiwi songbird best known for that Gotye smash) teaming up to write and produce a track exclusively for Journeys/Converse‘s latest “Three Artists. One Song” campaign.

It would’ve been so easy for them to have just gone into the studio and covered a song like so many artists have done for top-dollar commercials.

These three could’ve come out with some predictable indie remake of ‘We Will Rock You’, and it still would’ve sounded adequate. But the point with ‘Warrior’ is to have a completely unique and fresh collaboration that falls in line with Converse‘s youthful, creative and hip appeal.

There’s a small debt to 80s dance pop here, albeit reappropriated for today’s hipster chic ears. The buzzing fluorescent synths, the crisp drum beats, and stylish reverb on the vocals is thoroughly indicative of the kind of indie electro hybrid that’s in fashion these days.

You can also pick up Kimbra‘s artistic contribution to the project here. Apart from obviously taking lead vocals, there’s also her signature, overlapping layer of harmonies that’s present in the breakdown.

Simply put, ‘Warrior’ is arguably the best song ever created for a commercial since Mary J. Blige‘s career-defining ‘What’s In The Chicken Wrap?’ smash for Burger King.

Watch the rather OTT music video for ‘Warrior’:



Footnotes:

Here’s where you can download ‘Warrior’ for free.

The last “Three Artists. One Song” campaign saw Gorillaz, Andre 3000 and James Murphy collaborate on a track called ‘DoYaThing’

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31 March 2012

Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull ‘Dance Again’ Single Review

Not even I, with years of experience as an apologiser of Jennifer Lopez music, could go there with this underwhelming filler.

When I first read that J.Lo‘s threatening a new single called something like ‘Dance, Love, Dance Again’ – I was prepared to go to church and hear this bitch preach about picking yourself up and finding love again. I thought I had the chapter and verse all marked out but sadly, this track is not drawing from a well of personal experiences.

Conceptually speaking, ‘Dance Again’ could’ve been a sensible afterword on Jennifer’s Love? era – y’know something uplifting to counter all those “unlucky in love J.Lo” headlines following her divorce? Instead, it feels like an unnecessary and totally off-mark second take on ‘On The Floor’.

‘Dance Again’ sees the pop superstar reunite with mega producer RedOne and rapper Pitbull, but without the crutch of a killer sample to hold up the track, all parties are working at a loss.

This is essentially, unadulterated top-to-toe filler. I would probably reduce all this mess down to a 30-second loop of the chorus and sell that bite size to Dancing With The Stars or whatever dance talent show that features some ex-Pussycat Doll behind the judging panel.

Listen to J.Lo‘s new single with Pitbull ‘Dance Again’:



For a track that’s supposed to turn the party for J.Lo‘s all-important greatest hits compilation – and believe me, the bitch has had some deluxe choons in her time – ‘Dance Again’ really turned out to be a worrying sign that perhaps, the best days of J.Lo‘s music is behind her.

I’m a huge fan of the ho so it’s really disappointing to see that some economy class rush job like this gets priority over proper invested efforts from her last album like the personal ‘(What is) Love?’ or actual stompers a la ‘Invading My Mind’.

Time to take your own advice, boo. As you said in your cameo on will.i.am‘s ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ – “you can go hard, or you can go home.” I’m done.

Footnotes:

Jennifer Lopez will release ‘Dance Again’ worldwide on Monday 2 April via Sony Music, an interesting return to the label after a brief stint with Island/Def Jam for her Love? era.

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31 March 2012

The Saturdays ’30 Days’ Single Review

Forget about the actual song because I think it’d be far more interesting to see how them Saturdays‘ fans are gonna keep stanning for a passing-grade song that won’t be released until mid-fucking-May. That’s longer than a 30-day wait, y’guys. Get me my pocketbook, I’m outta here.

Like it or not, ’30 Days’ comes loaded with a bit of pressure on the mostly on-point British girlband. After a collective clutching of pearls when their album On Your Radar flopped in November, this is the all important next step to reaffirm The Saturdays‘ status as one of England’s leading girl groups.

“30 days” is not enough to get “all fired up” about.

’30 Days’ strategically catapults the ladies back into the nondescript dance beats that made them relevant with ‘All Fired Up’. However, there’s something frustratingly pedestrian about ’30 Days’ that you’re either gonna be able to get over in the first few listens or condemn it to hell.

If you did a cross-examination of ’30 Days’ and its next of kin ‘All Fired Up’, you’ll probably find that one lacks what the other track has.

This new jam brings some emotionally pertinent lyrics – and y’all know how I live for dance ballads – which directly contrasts the repetitive, throwaway lines of ‘All Fired Up’. However, ’30 Days’ doesn’t quite have the spark and wall-to-wall hooks of ‘All Fired Up’.

It was obvious that ‘All Fired Up’ could get away with slapping on one-dimensional club beats because the mish-mash of melodies and hooks more than compensated for it.

The problem with ’30 Days’ is that you’ve really heard it all after the 1:20 mark. However, I am happy to debate over cocktails whether the jet whoosh at 0:13 and 2:28 is a mild stroke of genius or not.

Listen to The Saturdays‘ brand new single ’30 Days’:



The music video is expected to drop soon but don’t expect to clock Una Healy‘s baby bump. The young yummy mummy has apparently ordered for the bump to be edited out of the clip because she feels it’s not relevant any more now that she has given birth.

Gurl, please. I know of plenty of women who have been in that situation and they’re not airbrushing any baby bumps out. It’s not a question of relevance, it’s a question of whether her bump’s getting in the way of the band’s youthful party girl image.

Update – how is this post travelling for value? Here comes the Max Sanna and Steve Pitron remix of ’30 Days’:



Footnotes:

’30 Days’ will be released on 13 May in the UK. The single comes with a b-side ‘Turn Myself In’ and the iTunes EP also packs in a remix of ’30 Days’ and a thrilling karaoke version.

Pre-ordering it will get you a Saturdays-only version of their album track ‘The Way You Watch Me’, which originally featured Travie McCoy and was supposed to be the girls’ fourth single from this era.

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14 March 2012

Alphabeat ‘Vacation’ Single Review

Danish fluoro pop group du jour – Alphabeat – is back with a vengeance and for those who feared their demise after The Spell (or to the UK crowd, better known as The Beat Is…) flopped, here’s a sign that there’s plenty more quality pop to come.

‘Vacation’ feels like a sensible return to live instrumentation and that “band” sound of Alphabeat‘s first album. It’s got one of those hooks that translates more effectively in a live gig setting than it would with us sitting in our lounge quietly nodding along.

Take a listen to Alphabeat‘s new single ‘Vacation’:


 
“Every woman, every man put your feet in the sand! And have yourselves a vacation!”

The rest of the forthcoming third studio album is said to be more of a full-bodied 70s disco invasion, as opposed to the 90s glam they were serving with The Spell. Expect for some Kool & The Gang realness.

The new album’s a completely independent affair and while the band’s still shopping for a record label, they’re still happy to keep chugging along and plugging their music to Danish radios the old fashioned way.

Footnotes:

Alphabeat‘s ‘Vacation’ is now out in Europe and the US. Fingers crossed for an Aussie release date.

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13 March 2012

Mary Mary ‘Go Get It’ Single Review

Here’s something for confession o’clock: I have a very interesting connection to gospel and modern Christian pop music.

I should probably say that it’s more of a connection to certain artists that I grew attached to in my younger years when I used to go to church and actively browsed the CD section in Christian bookstores. I know, right? Talk about a past.

Y’all remember when Mary Mary‘s ‘Shackles (Praise You)’ was on radio all the time, right? Well, the gospel duo’s one of the rare few acts I’ve managed to keep checking back on over the years.

The sisters are great songwriters and after 12 years in the game, they’re still one of the most popular names in the American gospel music game.

Musically, they never fail to bring something uplifting and life affirming to the table, and some days, you know you need to hear words of encouragement. Some days you know you just need a finger snapping pick-me-up jam.

‘Go Get It’ is Mary Mary‘s latest jam and it’s exactly the kind of feel good track the doctor ordered.

“You were made to live a good life and that’s what I believe. So hit the floor, say a prayer, start working! You’re gonna do something… if you wanna get what you never got, gotta do something that you’ve never done!” Preach.

It actually sounds like something written for a sitcom headed by a cast of sassy, modern black women. Funny one should say that because ‘Go Get It’ is set to feature in Mary Mary‘s own reality show, which will air in the States on WEtv.

Listen to ‘Go Get It’:


 
Footnotes:

‘Go Get It’ is the lead single and title track of their new album, which comes out in May. The album’s gonna be a greatest hits compilation featuring some remixes and one other new recording.

Mary Mary the reality series will premiere on 29 March in the States, showing the two sisters juggling their superstar lifestyles with big families of their own.

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