NEW MUSIC ALERT: April Releases [Part 1]
Not only did the month of April comes in epic proportions because apparently it is my birth month but it has been a great time for new music releases as well! I would post a lot of separate blog updates for my NEW MUSIC ALERT tab for but I don't have that much of time to do so here's a rundown of the singles and stuff that came out in the past month.
Let's start this one off on April 7th with the most anticipated Harry Styles debut single, Sign of the Times. I will be totally honest, sometimes I feel like he's over-hyped and just plain lucky that he's got the opportunity, the A-list connection and the huge following but I admire the honesty that he wants to share with the world through pursuing the music that is closest to his heart (One Direction is One Direction and I love their stuff as a band but it is also nice to hear their works individually). In Zayn's term, "real music", or so what he's felt that is real to him. He is talented, well-trained and equipped and he knows what he wants so he just goes for it (Harry has just worded it better, hence, lesser backlash).
Also, among the five (even though Zayn has always been my favourite One Direction guy), Harry's music genre is actually the one that I dig the most. Having said that, I like the song and the whole package.
He may have gone a bit over dramatic with the glam rock production (my friends have more colorful words to say, mostly negative but, well), he struggles on live shows (SOTT is a pretty hard song to sing but sorry Haz, let's be brutally honest, the nerves card can only work once. And although I admire the passion, you have to deliver, hit the notes, work even harder because you are a singer /performer and you should be able to, you know.) and it didn't have to be five minutes long but the message has been heard. Welcome to the rockstar Harry era. I am delighted and excited for him. I even like the other song Ever Since New York that he's performed on his Saturday Night Live guesting. Ten songs. Slick aesthetic (I am loving the vintage feel of it). The album will be out on May 12th and he has already released his intimate show/tour dates. Who knows, I might get to see him. We'll see about that.
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| "You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky..." |
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April 7th is not done being amazing as it is also the release date of The Maine's Lovely Little Lonely. I am so buzzing! It is everything my emo self has ever wanted (if the previous post about the singles off this album isn't enough of a proof). It has been years of great music and there is just no stopping them. The cohesive theme, the aesthetic, the heartfelt, hauntingly honest lyrics, the impressive song/instrumental transitions: twelve tracks of pure bliss. It is one of those records that you just cannot help but play from track one up to the last. That is how good it was and I am not even exaggerating.
It is hard to pick a sole favourite song from the album but I have been listening to Lovely and Black Butterflies and Deja Vu (in that order because A++) the most and I would definitely want to hear them perform Taxi and The Sound of Reverie come this June. I am totally sold with How Do You Feel? being the closing track because it is nothing but fitting to the whole listening experience. After reliving the heartaches, heartbreaks, the joy of falling in love, staying in love with life and love and everything in between, here goes a track that sort of reminds you that there is someone who is listening (albeit through their music) and you don't have to go through everything alone anymore.
It is hard to pick a sole favourite song from the album but I have been listening to Lovely and Black Butterflies and Deja Vu (in that order because A++) the most and I would definitely want to hear them perform Taxi and The Sound of Reverie come this June. I am totally sold with How Do You Feel? being the closing track because it is nothing but fitting to the whole listening experience. After reliving the heartaches, heartbreaks, the joy of falling in love, staying in love with life and love and everything in between, here goes a track that sort of reminds you that there is someone who is listening (albeit through their music) and you don't have to go through everything alone anymore.
To all the dearly depressed and broken hearted
The in-betweens and all the torn ones too
You're not alone in how you're feeling
I wonder why nobody is asking youAre you free or are you in sorrow?Are you free or are you being borrowed?How do you feel?What's your condition?You are alive but are you living?Give me your voice and I'll give it a listenAre you complete or is something missing?So tell meDo your hands shake?Does your heart break?When the earth quakesWhatever it isWhatever it isn'tMake sure that it's realOh, now, how do you feel?
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Another April 7th explosive (honestly, you guys are spoiling me) is from my girl Michelle Branch, releasing a banger of an LP after 14 years with Hopeless Romantic. It's been a long time coming and it is, well, worth the long wait.
The Fleetwood Mac and Lana Del Rey vibes of this record is something that I really enjoyed a lot. Long live pop rock! I miss the times when music is this honest and although she is not as mainstream sounding and will not probably as successful on the radio as her previous works were, I am totally fine with it. Self-indulgent, one would say.
Best You Ever, the lead single off the album is gold. Michelle Branch has not lost her touch with coming up with the most impressive and straightforward lyrics. I could listen to Knock Yourself Out and Not A Love Song for days. I live for the angst and chill emanating off Fault Line and Living A Lie. I love everything about this record and I just could not get enough.
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I have at least a few to add so I decided to just post a Part 2 for the April releases. Should be fun, right?
April x
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