Bring Me The Horizon releases a new song, “Kool-Aid.” I have to hand it to them. From the first second, the song sounds like how the cover art looks: artistic coherence, that is hard to come by. Another thing that is hard to come by is a band that manages to sound old and fresh at the same time.
Alan Walker, the EDM prodigy from England, releases another banger in conjunction with MER Recordings titled “Who I Am.” The track is a mix of dancehall with a little bit of trap drums, featuring catchy vocal lines and atmospheric string pads. Some EDM acts rode the wave of whatever trend was popular during their first come up. Alan Walker was one of those acts, along with people like Skrillex, who decisively carved out a path for their very own unique sound. He started, and many followed. His sound has certainly changed since super hits such as “Faded,” but the music is impressively fitting for 2024. The vocalists featured on this track are Putri Ariani and Peder Elias. Putri is heard singing with powerful anthemic female vocals, which blends very well with Peder Elias’s still anthemic but raspy voice. The melodic hook in this song is a blend between a voice synth and some other synth sound. The choice of notes gives the melody a bit of an oriental sound, which unsurprisingly fits very well into the whole mood of the song.
It was 1982; an unknown and blind composer named Pauline Anna Strom released her first album, “Trans-Millenia Consort.” The album cover featured a broken egg and a gray eye coming out of it, its expressionless gaze pointing directly at the viewer through a window made of the cosmos and two rainbows.
World's End Girlfriend is widely known for his long-format output, post-rock minimalism, impeccable production skills, and collaborations with prominent artists such as Mono, Palmless Prayer, and Mass Murder Refrain. With each album, their most loyal listeners anticipate a blend of ambient pieces, slowly evolving post-rock tracks, electronic music, and 19th-century classical influences. However, in this album, they surpassed expectations and delivered 32 tracks, totaling an extensive 2 hours and 25 minutes of listening material.
Typically, when a composer crafts a minimalist musical piece, they do so with very specific intentions in mind.
If we search in the history of western music, the middle ages and renaissance music puts a high emphasis and value in vocal music over anything else. The best way to spread the word of the lord in music was by the use of the human voice.
Welcoming the New Year with a fresh perspective and renewed optimism, Catherine McGrath introduces us to her latest musical endeavor, "Next New Year." At Music Talkers, our appreciation extends beyond the mainstream pop trends, embracing artists who carve unique paths without relying on million-dollar marketing campaigns. Catherine McGrath stands out as a rising talent, igniting her musical journey by sharing original compositions and popular covers on platforms like Youtube, all while drawing inspiration from her musically gifted parents and utilizing online video tutorials.
The California based metalcore band Atreyu releases a new full length record. “The Beautiful Dark Of Life” is a compilation of three EPs released in 2023: “The hope of a Spark,” “The Moment You Find Your Flame,” and “A Torch In the Dark.” The album has a mix of new and already released tracks. The lyrics cover topics like the trials and tribulations of modern life, love and more. We also see lyrics about self-doubt, hitting low points in life and similar things. The different emotions are portrayed in the clean/screaming vocals. Everyone listens differently to music. One thing that is very commendable about metal/metalcore (and a lot of its related genres) is that they are very openly discussing the negative things happening around them. This method is not for everyone but for those that think it is cathartic, how wonderful it is that it exists and that these artists continue to tug at heartstrings. In the context of the album these heavy themes are parts of the whole, and the whole is meant to empower or help people.
The vaccines are due to release an album on the 12th january titled Pick-up full of Pink Carnations. “Love to Walk Away” is their latest released cut from that same album. This song is a mix of punk, rock and pop. Making what the public ultimately calls indie rock. The release has two songs “Love to Walk Away” and “Lunar eclipse”. Both songs are full of energy, very danceable and therapeutic with catchy hooks. As long as there are new faces, this branch of indie rock will surely carry on. I ain’t complaining!
Following the release of her iconic album Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj just released Pink Friday 2. Since then, a lot of things have happened in rap, and Nicki herself is probably responsible for paving a path for a lot of it. This album has pretty much a similar sonic picture all the way through, but still features enough diversity in production to keep it interesting. We hear a lot of trap drums, 808s, old school vocal and string sampling techniques frequently used in hip hop. Moreover, some tracks are dancehall, some use distorted kick drums and some use low boomy drums ready for a club. All in all if you listen to this as an album from beginning to end, you might get sonically tired because even though we hear a lot of different tempos, instruments and artists, the sound picture is largely the same. Boomy drums, thin samples and upfront vocals. I think the album is meant to have standout bangers, just fitting hand in glove with how music is consumed less and less by the album and more by the single.
I've never been fond of using the term "New Age" when discussing music. Broadly speaking, "New age" is a term commonly employed to categorize those who colonize or attempt to rationalize areas of knowledge that aren't inherently colonial or scientific. A prominent example is Yoga.
Given our prior review of Marina Herlop's latest album, I'd like to take this opportunity to delve into Igloohost's newest single, featuring Marina as a collaborator. Igloohost mentions that he and Marina are long-time friends, and they collaborated remotely over the internet to construct these tracks. The sources of inspiration behind the music are intriguing, ranging from germs and microbes to illegal oil computers and mechanical systems.
Following the success of his first hit album, BLK ODYSSY released the project DIAMONDS & FREAKS, which I hope is here to stay for a long time.
Following the success of his 2016 album, “In My Mind,” BJ The Chicago Kid, or Bryan James Sledge, looks to take his sound in a new direction with his latest release, “Gravy.” The album was recorded in the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, previously used by soul legend Al Green. Someone put a lot of thought into the structure of making this listenable as a whole album. The intro track really sounds like a proper introduction, and the outro really sounds like a breaking down of the musical elements to their absolute core, pulling further away from the audience while digging deeper into the influences of BJ the Chicago Kid. He mentions in the final acoustic track that “This song sounds like something my grandma would have liked to sing.” Personally, I love the tracks on the record, but the last song speaks to me in a special way.
