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Chris Brown “Turn Up The Music” Single Review

March 5, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

The bland and uninspired lyrics that are devoid of any creativity are almost forgiven thanks to the club-friendly production. The bouncy, sweeping synths akin to a David Guetta beat are serviceable and provide for a chirpy listen or two, but the track sputters out. Is the chorus catchy? Um, yeah, sure, but it just doesn’t have that extra layer to it to give it any substantial credibility. It has no meat to chew on, being a thin listening experience that’s only suitable for the club floors. At least Chris Brown’s addicting “ooh’s” are fun little diddy.  ”Turn Up The Music” is by no means a travesty, but it never goes above average, being content with staying on that bar.

Report Card
Instruments: 59
Production: 78
Lyrics: 38
Vocals: 70
Overall
50

 

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Rihanna (ft. Chris Brown) “Birthday Cake (Remix)” Single Review

March 5, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

In my review of Rihanna’s Talk That Talk album, I despised “Birthday Cake’s” existence. It was an all-too-brief and prematurely ended track that wasted potential and space on an album, being a greatly confusing filler track that fools you into thinking that it was a full track and if you were like me, you were wondering if the file was corrupted. Now, Rihanna’s latest single sees her actually turning the barely-over-a-minute song into a full-fledged club stomper that ultimately satisfies. The initial siren-like synths can be overbearing and annoying but that’s soon pushed to the side by Rihanna’s alluring vocals and some nifty digital tom-toms. The bass drum comes in nice and heavy and help alleviate the irritation you might get from the endless loop of the word “cake”. Chris Brown mixes things up with a pleasantly non-auto-tuned vocal, adding some variety to the existing raunchiness. Still, it’s a little odd they’re collaborating, giving their history, so you’ll be excused for thinking of that joke when he says “give it to her in the worst way”.

Report Card
Instruments: 75
Production: 89
Lyrics: 50
Vocals: 70
Overall
76

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Cher Lloyd “Want U Back” ft. Astro Single Review

March 3, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

Cher Lloyd first came onto the music scene as a contestant on the UK X-Factor. This sweet appearing 16 year old quickly made her swag known with her cover of Turn My Swag On, which caught the attention of every judge. Coming in fourth she left her mark on the stage with her vocals backed up by her unexpcted inablity to rap. Soon after X-Factor she was unsurprisingly signed to Simon Cowell’s label Syco, in which he has given her free reign over her career which has lead her to become undoubtedly the poster child for alternative urban pop this past summer. Now she is starting to cross over into the U.S and I say she is defintiely going to be one to keep an eye on.

UH! A grunt kicks off this upbeat pop track and It is clear from the beginning that this falls in the category of a basic pop song with a little added urban touch as it features another former X-Factor contestant; Astro’s first attempt as a featured artist gave this song what it was missing. Cher’s vocals become clear in the bridge as she “ooo’s” her way into telling her guy that she had him first. In all the song is simple lyrically yet very catchy, which is what a pop song should be. This girl has the potential to successfully become a hit maker in the U.S. if she keeps it up.

“Do I sound like a hellicopter? Prrrrrrrrrr”

Report Card
Instruments: 79
Production: 84
Lyrics: 75
Vocals: 80
Overall
85

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Kid Cudi “WZRD” Album Review

February 29, 2012 in Album RealViews, Music

01. The Arrival WZRD’s opener is one drenched in atmosphere, full of sweeping, ominous bass textures that hint that WZRD is going to be one hell of an experiment on Cudi’s part. The guitar’s almost sound like an odd siren and the subtle-yet-stirring strings add to the doomsday tone very well, as I could not stop thinking about the 28 Days/Weeks Later movie franchise while it played. Is “The Arrival” going to get a lot of repeat listens? No, but it’s an effective instrumental.

Grade: 65

02. High Off Life Is this Kid Cudi? Or is this some kind of generic rock band? The opening guitar riff, before the hip-hop drumming comes in, would lead you to believe the latter. The generic chords provide the backbone for this decent track. There’s not a lot in terms of variety, making for a somewhat underwhelming listen. While the instruments may be lacking, Cudi’s quirky vocal tone and delivery make it worth a few listens, especially when he reaches some odd-sounding notes during the chorus.

Grade: 70

03. The Dream Time Machine The beat here is a very slow and methodic, meaning to say kind of boring. Various synths and light guitar work do their best to mix things up, but I couldn’t help but ultimately succumb to the song’s sleepy vibe. Not even the lyrics of self-change could save this sappy track. The hook is somewhat catchy enough worth a single listen, but “Dream Time Machine” is for the patient listener and the hardcore Cudi fans only — every one else will skip this track well before it ends.

Grade: 45

04. Love Hard Cudi (or maybe producer Dot Da Genius) playfully vocalize along to the electric guitar in the intro, providing a more light-hearted vibe to the beat. The song moves along at a steady pace, with Kid Cudi’s distinct vocal tone being the highlight once again. The bridge drops the beat almost entirely in favor of a relaxing synth texture. “Love Hard” sees Cudi questioning a woman’s ability to be loyal, seeing if she’s the right fit for him. It’s not a great song, per se, but it sure as hell not terrible and rises above the mediocre line.

Grade: 73

05. Live & Learn Starting off with dual guitars, “Live & Learn” is one of the album’s more accessible tracks. Cudi’s vocal tone, again, must be praised here as his pleasing delivery of, “I don’t know” during the chorus is a treat to listen to. The verses are melodic and catchy and near the ending of the song, “Live & Learn’s” tone and music pattern completely change up, adding in some buzzsaw synths and heavier guitar tones. This is easily one of WZRD’s best tracks because who won’t want to sing along to “where did I come from?” during the chorus?

Grade: 82

06. Brake Another slow track and another tediously slow listen. The intro is unnecessarily long and there are scattered moments of lulls that come off as pretentious, beating us over the head that WZRD is an experimental album — we get it Dot and Kid, no need to stop the beat and beat us over the head with spacey satellite sounds to remind us how you guys are “breaking new ground”. “Brake” is forgettable and the songwriting, frankly, seems lazy in its lyrical content and melodic structure. I can’t imagine anyone listening to this track out of their own free will during their free time…unless you’re trying to fall asleep, then I perfectly understand why you would voluntarily opt to listen to “Brake”.

Grade: 35

07. Teleport 2 Me, Jamie The album’s lead single is definitely one of the few upbeat moments (but it’s not a fast-paced song) on WZRD and thank God because the slower tracks have proven to be sloppy messes with Cudi and Dot’s heads a little too high up their asses. While it’s not an amazing track by any means, it just almost feels like it is because it’s actually listenable. The “na-na-na’s” are sing-along-worthy and the synth-laden backdrop is a pleasurable one for the most part. “Teleport 2 Me” feels like an odd choice for a lead single as it’s not the strongest song on the album nor the most catchiest. The verses are melodic enough and the chorus serviceable.

Grade: 70

08. Where Did You Sleep Last Night This track is actually a cover a Lead Belly song and it’s definitely a different twist on the track but as much as it pains me to say this, I think Nirvana’s cover is better. Not to say this one’s bad but if you don’t know the original, I doubt you’re going to want to listen to it — just because it’s a cover doesn’t mean it’s not boring because let me tell you, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” is boring. I am really starting to detest this album because of how pompous it comes off to be, making me yearn for Cudi to return to the Man on the Moon series because if Cudi continues down this path of really slow, dull, and horrifically lifeless, I fear for his career because I know I’m not the only one who’s bored to death by this album so far and I’m a Cudi fan — imagine those checking him out the first time by jumping into WZRD? Skip this.

Grade: 40

09. Efflictim  Cudi tackles the topic of “what if I was dead” over a barebones beat fueled by an acoustic guitar. The results? It’s actually a pleasant acoustic song thanks to Cudi’s vocals. Is he an outstanding singer? No, never has been, but the odd quality his voice hosts makes it all okay. “Efflictim” isn’t particularly a good song when taken in context to the plethora of acoustic ballads, but his personal delivery makes for some redeemable qualities as does the fact that Dot and he decided to stay strictly acoustic.

Grade: 62

10. Dr. Pill Fat bass and a distorted synth/heavily-effected guitar make for a great intro. The verses are decent but the chorus is a complete letdown, making for a “is that is?” kind of moment. As you can guess by the title, this is all about the dependency on substances for making life easier. While I appreciate the more aggressive beat, I can’t forgive the lazy chorus. While it’s nice to hear Cudi open up about some personal issues, I wish he was a little more creative because we all know he has it in him.

Grade: 51

11. Upper Room Man, we’re finally at the closer and thanks to the way-too-many number of slow tracks, it’s felt like a long journey to get here. Hopefully “Upper Room” can close the album on a positive note and does it? Well, let’s just say it was the best slow-paced song off the album, so in a way, yeah — it does close WZRD out decently but far from greatly. It’s the vocal melodies that carry this song as the beat feels like every other slow beat off of WZRD. Thankfully, “Upper Room” is mercifully short at a little over three minutes. It’s a decent track and if it weren’t for the “most people are pussies” line, it’d be forgettable, especially since it closes out on cliché violins.

Grade: 54

I cannot express how disappointed I am by WZRD. When I initially heard of the duo of Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius teaming up to make a rock-centric, hip-hop album, how could I not get excited? Kid Cudi is an immense talent and it’s understandable how he grew weary of the genre he was in, wanting to branch out and try something new and trust me, I am all for artists flexing their creative muscles. I can’t praise Linkin Park’s “A Thousand Suns” or Kanye West’s “My Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy” for their ability to knock off preconceived notions of their musical identity and rise to the obstacle of musically maturing. Unfortunately, Kid Cudi falls flat, creating a pretentious and, even more criminal, boring album that fails to capture any moments of musical euphoria — any meaningful display of Cudi’s musical evolution. The whole rock side of the album is a neat gimmick and I wanted it so badly to be pulled off, but WZRD just does not successfully blend the two genres in any exciting way whatsoever. On a positive note, it’s easily better than Lil Wayne’s “rock” effort in Rebirth.

 Report Card

Instruments: 43
Production: 50
Lyrics: 68
Vocals: 70

Overall
45

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Usher “Climax” Single Review

February 24, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

With the last slew of club-centric singles, it wouldn’t be put past you to assume another fist-pumping jam was heading your way and the initial seconds lead me to believe just that. “Climax”, in actuality, is a sort of return to form for Usher and not just another attempt to blend in with the all-too-crowded club-pop genre. It’s an alluring slow jam primed to be the backdrop of many-a makeout sessions with its minimalistic beat and Usher’s enticing falsetto’s assuring that. For all those disappointed by Usher’s more club-focused direction on the past albums, then “Climax” is a song made just for you. It’s nothing melodically special but it more than gets the job done. Welcome back, Usher.

Report Card
Instruments: 78
Production: 88
Lyrics: 70
Vocals: 88

Overall

85

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Avenged Sevenfold “Nightmare” Album Review

February 21, 2012 in Album RealViews, Music

01. Nightmare The Halloween-esque xylophones are the perfect soft lead-in for the barrage of guitars and mach 5-speed bursts of drumming (placeholder drummer just so happens to be Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy — R.I.P. Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan). The verses set the pace splendidly and the halfway mark of the verse sees a great, aggressive chug from the guitars for a nice change-up. The chorus is extremely melodic and extremely catchy. The cymbal play of Portnoy during the chorus is fantastic, hitting the ride cymbal at all the right times over his pummeling double pedaling. The bridge is akin to Metallica in terms of its chest-thumpin’ chugfests, but it’s an excellent change of pace. Gates’ guitar solo is thematically perfect and the long running time of six minutes is barely noticeable since “Nightmare” is such a great song — just ignore the cheesy “it’s your fucking nightmare” line.

Grade: 94

02. Welcome to the Family Mike Portnoy wastes no time showing his ability to execute some impressively quick drum fills, kicking the song off with just that. The guitars come with a clean, aggressive groove under Shadows’ demanding vocals. The vocal melodies are catchy and move along at a pleasing pace, the whispering lead-in to the absolutely splintering guitar solo being a highlight. Unfortunately the song kind of sputters out but that’s just being nit-picky.

Grade: 79

 03. Danger Line Militaristic snare work and a matching guitar lead pave the way for some great palm-muted verses. The chorus sees Shadows singing higher in the chorus than the verses over a quick drum pattern, creating a weird dissonance, seeing as Shadows’ vocals lead you to believe “Danger Line” is a mid-tempo song but in actuality, the instruments are just blazing a path. Things come to a halt later in the song with Shadows giving a more tender performance over a militaristic snare pattern and some great, sporadic horns playing in spurts. Gates’ solo excellently adds to the somber tone of a soldier saying his goodbyes, perfectly ending with a whistling pattern.

Grade: 88

 04. Buried Alive Avenged Sevenfold show that a ballad can actually host some chest-thumping “oomph!” power. “Buried Alive” may start off slow but if Shadows’ dominant vocals in the powerful chorus doesn’t grab you by the throat, then the latter chug-fest breakdown, voluntarily or not, will have you banging your head. Shadows sounds powerful as he yells for people to get their “fucking hands off me”. The solos are technically great but don’t add as much to the tone, especially when compared to the prior song’s solo, despite its lesser technicality.

Grade: 81

 05. Natural Born Killer Not sure if the drum pattern was an ode to The Rev’s insane drum pattern in “Almost Easy” from the band’s self-title effort and if it is, it’s a pretty damn cool tribute to hear that pattern again. Unfortunately, the song doesn’t quite add up to something amazing but it’s still a damn good song. The blistering pace is great in its relentlessness and who won’t love the guitar solos here? There’s just something missing here (perhaps it’s the vocal melodies) that keeps “Natural Born Killer” from being one of the album’s best but make no mistake, it’s not one of the bottom-feeder tracks, either.

Grade: 76

 

06. So Far Away Guitarist Synyster Gates writes this beautiful song in memory of the late Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan and holy Hell, if you’ve been a fan of the band or even just respect The Rev’s indisputable drumming capabilities, it’s hard not to respect the material here. While not an excellent song in terms of music complexity, it is excellent in the aforementioned context, ultimately rising to be the album’s best ballad. An acoustic guitar’s strummed chords provide the backbone for the piece as Shadows’ deftly sings the lyrics in a soothing matter. The solos here are on par with “Seize the Day” in terms of how much they add to the song. It’s one of the album’s strongest, hair-raising moments when Gates’ solo explodes and Shadows’ erupts into a heartfelt yearning for a lost friend — truly touching stuff.

Grade: 93

 

07. God Hates Us If “So Far Away” is the emotional and heartfelt sendoff for The Rev, then “God Hates Us All” is the pissed-off, brutal search for someone to blame for the drummer’s premature death. The softly picked guitars in the beginning are deceptive as the song erupts into an absolutely killer, neck-breaking affair sure to be the reason for many-a-bruises in foreseeable mosh pits.The guitars are lethal in their execution and the drums menacing in its aggression and what’s even greater is that we get to hear some Waking the Fallen-era screaming from Shadows, further enhancing the pure rage found on here. Once again, Gates murders a solo and leaves its corpse as a dare for other guitarist t0 match his ability to execute on both a technical and melodic level.

Grade: 91

 

08. Victim I guess the seemingly endless streak of phenomenal songs had to end soon, right? “Victim” is by no means terrible, it just absolutely pales in comparison to some of Nightmare’s better slow jams. Don’t let the neat bell and soulful female vocalizations fool you in the beginning, “Victim” is a dull song, even with its tempo change in the half-way mark. The verses are decent enough but it feels like Shadows going through the motion. The chorus is a letdown as is the bridge, making for a track that has no payoff. “Victim”, at a length of seven and a half minutes, is just too long and uninteresting for its own good.

Grade: 55

 

09. Tonight the World Dies Man, Shadows has an undeniably powerful voice and it couldn’t be any more evident than in the chorus of “Tonight the World Dies”. The haunting “ooh’s” over the dark, looming, and Western-inspired guitars create an effective tone and is a perfect juxtaposition for the absolutely explosive chorus. Shadows commands your attention during the hook and the bridge is a great escalation into another chorus that, despite Gates’ solo being the only difference from the prior choruses, feels more powerful somehow. This is a ballad that’s tender yet isn’t afraid to kick some ass.

Grade: 82

 

10. Fiction Despite the pianos doing a commendable job at doing so, they’re not the most eerie thing about this somber track. And no, neither are the subtle vocalizations or violin work — it’s the fact that this song features the late The Rev’s voice in a spine-chilling closing note on the chorus. It’s a hauntingly beautiful build-up to the note, with the piano changing its pattern and Shadows perfectly segueing into The Rev’s perfect, high-rasp delivery. Without this context, “Fiction” is still a great experiment for the band, featuring no guitars whatsoever. The vocal melodies are among the best on the album, if not the best. The gentle female vocals lead into the at-first-awkwardly-nasal soft vocals of Shadows, ultimately ending on a somber and oddly hopeful ending. “Fiction” is eerily gorgeous and an ultimate homage to a lost band mate and I couldn’t even imagine how hard this song was to record for the guys.

Grade: 97

11. Save Me The crew really should have let “Fiction” close Nightmare out, as it was a perfect summation of the tone, message, and tribute that Nightmare ultimately is. “Save Me” is absolutely excellent in its variety, each instrument playing intricately throughout. At almost eleven minutes, it’s a lengthy son of  bitch and while it’s good with some moments of greatness, it might drag on a little too long for its own benefit, but hot damn is it still a doozy of a closer. Shadows is, again, impressive, sustaining some long, raspy notes over Portnoy’s pummeling double-bass drumming. Gates and Vengeance are constantly switching things up, creating an unpredictable listen. “Save Me” never settle into one pattern for too long, being the songs greatest strength and while I believe “Fiction” and “Save Me” should’ve been switched around, it’s still a high note they leave on, showcasing their vast improvement as they blend the sting structures and outstanding musicianship form “City of Evil” and the chugging grooves from their self-titled album.

 Grade: 88

Avenged Sevenfold’s “Nightmare” is a tricky album to review. Do I give it a high score as a gentle gesture of my respect the highly-regarded drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan? Or do I look at it strictly on its music, context be damned? Well, with The Rev dead or not, “Nightmare” is one hell of a metal album, finding a perfect mix of powerful grooves and intricate musicianship. Signing The Rev’s drum idol, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, as the drummer couldn’t have been a more perfect move as he plays perfectly throughout the entire album, helping A7X fans believe that their band can still put out some killer tracks. It’s easily their darkest album in both tone and lyrics and makes a strong case against “City of Evil”for the title. Thankfully, the guys are able to execute an outstanding album, an absolute feat knowing the emotional hardships they went through and the perfect way to pay their respects to their late best friend.

 Report Card

Instruments: 95
Production: 90
Lyrics: 77
Vocals: 92

Overall
91


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Enter Shikari “A Flash Flood of Colour” Album Review

February 21, 2012 in Album RealViews, Music

 

British post-hardcore, electronica, and dubstep band Enter Shikari has released their third album A Flash Flood of Colour. Growing up from their albums such as Take to the Skies and the most recent Common Dreads, Enter Shikari’s new album is fused with the same heavy break downs, great synths, clean and screaming vocals, and most importantly their message to the human race that’s fused through their entire sound.

 

01. System Their first song on the album opens up with a synth beat that’s catchy almost immediately and an orchestra comes in later to add to the landscape of the song. Rory’s voice comes over in a reading style, the over all lyrics being a poem Rory wrote about a house on a cliff and it was a metaphor for the government’s system. The drums (played by Rob Rolfe) are heavy and the bass makes your head rock. The end of the song melds perfectly to the next one, perfectly building up to it.

Grade: 90

02. Meltdown  A continuation of System that’s host to one of the heaviest break downs I’ve ever heard. The two songs really can’t be played without each other, even the names go together (System Meltdown). The lyrics are one of promise and hope, that we can turn this world and government around if we stand up. “It’s not too late” is the clear message, that we still can do something to help. The controversial rant Rory has of “fuck all borders, and fuck all boundaries. Fuck all flags and fuck nationalities.” goes along with Common Dreads theme of we’re all part of the human species and that it’s ridiculous for the 21st century to still act this way — no one’s different;we’re all humans that should help each other.

Grade: 90

03. Sssnakepit: A more techno beat then the first two opens this song up, then throws you into a foray of metal. It’s more of a party anthem, telling everyone to let lose. “Come and join the party, leave all anxieties beyond. When the world is pushing down, just push right back”. An uplifting speech and good to listen if you’re down on your luck. I didn’t know whether to laugh or go as hard as I could when I heard the line, “We’re all nice guys . . . until we aren’t!”. Simple to understand and kind of silly, but the way he screams it followed by the breakdown, it’s hard to not thrash yourself around the room and become a danger to all living things.

Grade: 85

 04. Search Party: A slower start allows the head some time to heal. Rory’s words are a call again to humanity and his ‘foresight’ of humanity. “I know that we’re going to repeat history, unless we sort this out”. The chorus is catchy with Rou’s beautiful angel voice coming in to sing along with Rory’s. “I know that we’ve got to find something new.” Another call to England to understand that they have to find something new, that they need to sort out the problems and the corruption to the government. It’s a message easily applicable to America as well, if not more so. The song ends on a faster pace, still letting you get your breakdown on. Probably one of my favourite tracks on this album.

Grade: 95

05. Arguing with Thermometers: This song opens up with a heavy guitar rift and crashing drums. More typical of Enter Shikari when they were more ‘metal’ then they’ve been recently. The overall message of this song is the fact society is addicted to a drug — that drug being class structures, as in middle upper class. He says it’s all bullshit. After all, their upside down triangle on the cover of their album and new logo is about flipping societies hierarchy upside down, so the most people are rich and the fewest people are poor. A great message if I do say so myself. The song is heavy with it’s typically fused dubstep and overall catchy beat. If you’re familiar with Enter Shikari, this song isn’t out of place for these boys. This is easily the best song to hear live. CLEAR THE PIT.

Grade: 85

06. Stalemate: A slower song, with Rory singing as well as playing on his acoustic. It’s another message about how the rich make tomorrow’s wars, fueling generations of hate. Rory can’t seem to agree that we’re civilized. They mistake treating this Earth like it will last forever, and all we generate are stalemates. Rory talks about running away (much of Take to the Skies theme of leaving this corrupt world),”money is made when bombs are dropping in Afghanistan and when phosphorus falls in Palestine. Hauling weapons out of reprobates, harming anyone who wants a taste, of disgrace.” The song is ‘slow’, as slow as Enter Shikari can take it outside of “adieu” from Take to the Skies. Overall, the simplistic tone and music during the lyrics is for the listener to focus on what Rory’s saying. And in the end, when they’re repeating what they feel over and over again, the music takes up more and gives you something quite very pleasant to listen to. Ends with Rory on the piano singing. Easily a great track.

Grade: 80

07. Ghandi Mate, Ghandi: A rant by Rory of everything that he believes in. Techno beat plays while he just seems to freestyle everything wrong he finds with the British Government and the whole world. “I dont think how much military equipment we are selling to other countries, how many hydrocarbons we’re burning, how much money is being printed and exchanged, is a good measure of how healthy our society is.” Chris, Rory and Rou and probably Rolfe all scream “we’re sick of this shit!” before the beat drops and dubstep takes over and the mashing destroys your ear drums (in a good way). Rory’s lyrics in this album are a little less subdued this time around. The band is truly sick of the shit going on about them, and they’re no longer covering their message with clever metaphors. They’re just coming out and saying everything and it’s great.

Grade: 80

08. Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here: The song that their album’s name came from. The song opens with a beat track laid down by Rob Rolfe and a surprisingly clean guitar by Chris. This track has a little more of melody to Rory and Rou’s vocals. It’s a step away from what they’re used to but fits right in with the album and is completely Enter Shikari. The drum’s off-beats add to the techno and the catchy guitar rift. The singing goes perfectly with it and I find myself listening to this track more and more, repeatedly coming back to it. Something about it is just…good. And if the music scene wasn’t plagued with Lil Wayne, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this song on the radio.

Grade: 95

09. Pack of Thieves: A haunting techno bells opens up this track. All composed by Rory, the lead singer and acoustic guitar player as well as strings. This song takes a bit more deciphering then the rest of Rory’s lyrics, but still carry the same message. “Behind those eyes, we reach through their callous disguise. Into fortresses where they fabricate whitewash and lies, we’re all fooled into living, with a small pack of thieves, that distort the world.” It’s not a mystery that the pack of thieves is the government. The song is catchy and has an anthem-like feel with the techno film played over the guitar and the great drum track performed by Rolfe.

Grade: 85

10. Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide: The main message of this song, despite the quirky lyrics and title, is the fact that the governments problems have been going on for so long that even the T-rex has experienced the same problems. So why can’t we fix it? The melody is good for this track, not my favourite song, but fits with the album and doesn’t feel like it would’ve been better without it.

Grade: 80

11. Constellations: Easily their most melodic song, most relaxed and calm intro to their last song on the album. Much like “Adieu” this song seems to be about a girl. Surprisingly. “You’re the constellation that guides me home”. It’s a surprisingly good song, and almost a tear jerker. For me it feels like i’ve been through so much with these boys, and then through this album they go through so much maturity. It’s nice to know these boys still have that one they are doing this all for — that one girl. There are still the last fading reminders that we need to fix this world, fix it for each other, fix it for the ones we love. We owe it to each other. This song ties up the album so nicely that you want to immediately go through the entire song just to come to the conclusion again and have that same feeling of a journey with Enter Shikari.

Grade: 90

 Report Card

Instruments: 100
Production: 100
Lyrics: 95
Vocals: 90

Overall
90

 

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Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe “We Are Young” Single Review

February 19, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

I have always loved Fun. Seriously. I’m not talking about enjoyment and amusement– I’m talking about the band, Fun. Off their newly released second studio album, Some Nights, you may recognize this song if you keep up with Glee. The track is very “chill”, mellow, and thoughtful. My first time around listening to this, I can say I was pretty much hooked. The indie pop beat is very engaging, and the bridge sets you up for the chorus’ broken piano beat that just makes you want to sing out loud with all of your friends in harmony. The lyrics are positive and full of energy– totes a song I would listen to while getting ready for a good night out with the “homies” (omg kill me did i ju-).

It definitely gives that spring-time, liberating feeling. Anyways, if you love this song as much as I do, you should probably check out the rest of the album. As of now, it is available for steaming on soundcloud, and is set to release on the 21st of February.

Toniiiiiiiiiiiiight, we are youngggggggg. So let’s set the world on fiiiiiire, we can burn briiiiiighter, than the suuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Report Card
Instruments: 83
Production: 93
Lyrics: 95
Vocals: 92

Overall

91

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Katy Perry “Part Of Me” Single Review

February 17, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

After a slew of chart-topping singles off of the 2010 album, “Teenage Dream”, Katy Perry finally comes out with some new material. “Part of Me” is an overwhelmingly mediocre song, completely disappointing in her 2012 debut. The beat is nothing you haven’t heard off “Teenage Dream” or “One of the Boys”, being a more lackluster and bland affair. The vocal melodies are decent in the verses but the chorus is a let down, being far too melodically safe for my taste. The bridge is completely forgettable and does not break the mold enough to save the song. “Part of Me” suffers too much from monotony and repetitiveness and I feel like this is one of Katy Perry’s weakest singles.

 Report Card

Instruments: 30
Production: 70
Lyrics: 70
Vocals: 70

Overall
48

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Nicki Minaj “Starships” Single Review

February 17, 2012 in Music, Singles RealViews

Nicki Minaj is well on her way to becoming the most prolific female rapper of all time and “Starships” is just another argument for that case. It’s definitely far from a straight-up rap song but that’s the great thing about Nicki — she can pull off catchy pop hooks (as evident in “Super Bass”) while being one nasty flow delivery girl. Her rapping here is serviceable as   her signature pitch fluctuations are intact over the booming club beat. The chorus sounds like a Rihanna hook that’s sure to be stuck in your head but the undeniable highlight of “Starships” is the killer beat drop that’s sure to get the club-goers jumping. Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” has easily become my favorite song of hers to blast in the car.

 Report Card

Instruments: 88
Production: 98
Lyrics: 80
Vocals: 88

Overall
89

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