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November 2016 - Pick of the Month

30/11/2016

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SONG: Ordinary Life – The Weeknd
The Weeknd released his latest album Starboy this week, and once again he didn’t disappoint. I really love The Weeknd’s unique style, however one song that really stuck out to me on this album is Ordinary Life. While it does arguably sound like The Weeknd’s usual style, to me there is something just a bit different about it. While the song sounds quite upbeat, the sound definitely has a darker elements to it. In my opinion this song is a strong contender to be his next single from the album.

ALBUM: Glory Days - Little Mix 
When Little Mix's third album, Get Weird, came out I did a post discussing my disappointment with the album, and how I had much higher expectation for their fourth album. So recently when Little Mix released their fourth album, Glory Days, I listened eagerly to see if their sound had matured, and this time I wasn't disappointed! The lead single Shoutout To My Ex set the tone for this album to have a much maturer sound, with more 'grown up' lyrics. After listening to the entire album for the first time, I was already hooked and started to listen to it non-stop on repeat. There is such a variety of songs on this album, from powerful anthems such as Power, to slower and more heartfelt songs, such as Nothing Else Matters. This album really has a song for anyone, and it's a huge improvement from the childish album that was Get Weird! 
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'Unfinished Business' by Nathan Sykes - Album Review

11/11/2016

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Today Nathan Sykes released his debut album Unfinished Business. There was a big wait for this album, with Nathan releasing a number of singles prior to the album’s release. The singles have had a mixture of sounds, from the piano ballad love song Over And Over Again, to the more up-tempo song Kiss Me Quick. This therefore made me wonder if the album would have anything new going for it, as I was worried that Nathan had shown all he was capable of already. However, the opening track Good Things Come To The Who Wait made my worries disappear. Not only is this song extremely powerful with a really strong beat, it also shows the listener that this album would show many sides to Nathan that we may not have previously seen. For me this song is an excellent opener to the album because not only is the beat incredibly gripping, but the whole tone of the song is uplifting, leaving the listener feeling good.

As the album progresses, there isn’t a song that I would want to skip. The third track on the album, Money, sounds different to Nathan’s usual sound due to the fast paced nature of it, contrasted with the much slower song I Can’t Be Mad further into the album, overall highlighting the diversity of this album. What I love about this album is the fact that no matter what the song is, whether it is fast paced or slower, Nathan’s vocals always remain at the top of their game, pretty much putting a large number of artists currently in the music industry to shame. Nathan has used this album to showcase his ridiculously incredible vocals, and shown that he is able to create a diverse range of songs, rather than a collection of songs that all sound the same.

Overall I am so impressed with this album, and it is definitely one of my favourite albums of 2016. Well done, Nathan!
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'Joanne' by Lady Gaga - Album Review 

10/11/2016

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This month Lady Gaga released her highly anticipated fifth album. Since her last album ARTPOP was released, everyone started speculating what ‘LG5’ would be like. Unlike the lead up to previous new music, Gaga kept the theme of the album (and the title) secret until only a few weeks before the release date. Once Gaga announced the name of the album, I knew it would be her most personal album to date. Named after her late aunt, Joanne, the album explores a side to Gaga that hasn’t been properly seen in her pervious work.
As the release date was getting closer and closer, all over Twitter I read tweets saying that this new album was going to have a more country theme, and I did honestly get a bit worried. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like Gaga’s talent means that she would be able to pull off any genre of music, but it just wasn’t what I wanted for her new album.
When the lead single Perfect Illusion was released, all of the worries I had vanished. The mix of both pop and rock together meant that there was something new and unique in the charts, and I loved it.
When the day finally arrived that Joanne was out, I was both excited and nervous to hear what Gaga had been working on for the past three years. The opening track, Diamond Heart, automatically sets the tone that this album will be one of her best, as it draws you in with a strong beat and strong lyrics, preparing you for the masterpiece of an album that you’re about to hear. The second track on the album is the promo track A-YO, a song that makes you want to grab a guitar and sing along with Gaga. This song is upbeat, but not in a typical Gaga way that would have a dance routine attached to it. While some people might not like this song because it’s quite different to her old work, I find it refreshing to hear Gaga create diverse music. The third song on the album is the title track Joanne about her late aunt, with the lyrics being all about grief. When I first heard this song I genuinely cried because I felt that the lyrics really spoke to me (as I have lost loved ones before as well). After listening to this song I felt like I had some kind of connection with Gaga, as we have both been through the same pain of grief before. This is probably one of my favourite songs, not just by Gaga, but ever. It’s not my favourite because I love to make myself sad or cry, but because it’s a song with such meaning and love, not just random lyrics that don’t mean anything.
As the album progressed, each song was different, which kept me hooked wanting to know what the next song would sound like. Towards the end of the album, the song Just Another Day really stood out to me because it sounds like something that would have been on Gaga’s debut album The Fame, as it makes me think of her song Brown Eyes. Although this song is only available on the deluxe edition of Joanne, it is definitely worth listening to if you want a song that will just make you smile.

Overall, Joanne definitely didn’t disappoint, and I would urge anyone reading this to give it a listen!
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July, August, September AND October's Pick of the Month!

4/11/2016

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After what feels like 5 billion years since I last posted, I have finally sorted out my laptop so I can post again, woohoo! The fact that July feels like forever ago, I thought that doing a 'Pick of the Month' for July seemed a bit pointless. So...I have decided to make this post all about my top song and album over the past 3+ months.

TOP SONG:
  • Ain't My Fault - Zara Larsson 
I had extremely high expectations for Zara's next single after the hit that was Lush Life, and she definitely didn't disappoint with Ain't My Fault. Not only does this song have really catchy lyrics, Zara is also showing off a more mature sound. I didn't count myself as much of a fan before this song, but now I'm sat eagerly awaiting her debut album! If you haven't listened to this song already, I would highly recommend that you do. 

TOP ALBUM:
  • Joanne - Lady Gaga
After three years of waiting, Mother Monster dropped her fifth album! I have been a fan of Gaga since the start, so I would arguably have a very biased opinion about this album, (to be honest, she could probably release an album of her singing nursery rhymes and I'd be throwing Grammys at her...) HOWEVER, I listened to this album with a very open mind, and told myself that I wasn't allowed to like it just because it was Gaga, but oh. my. god. did she deliver?! This album has a mix of dance anthems, all the way to ballads, and everything in between, making it one of the most beautifully unique albums to be released in a very long time. I've seen many people who aren't necessarily fans of Gaga praise this album, as there is nothing in the charts quite like this at the moment. Gaga exhibits both her incredible song writing skills and her legendary voice throughout this album, with each song being as captivating as the next.
 I would therefore urge anyone reading this to give Joanne a listen, whether you are a fan or not. 

*the next post up will be a full review of Joanne*​


I thought that I would also make a list of all the songs that I think deserve a special mention as being some of the best songs to have been released in the past three months (which I will also upload to my Spotify playlist):
  • Shoutout To My Ex - Little Mix
  • Side To Side - Ariana Grande, feat, Nicki Minaj
  • Perfect Illusion - Lady Gaga
  • Millionaire - Digital Farm Animals & Cash Cash, feat. Nelly
  • Blow Your Mind (Mwah) - Dua Lipa
  • Famous - Nathan Sykes
  • Starboy - The Weeknd 
  • Alarm - Anne-Marie 
  • 16 - Craig David
  • Love Me Now - John Legend
Click here for the Spotify playlist
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