music
Ariana Grande’s Positions Has A Song For Every Mood
By Ashley Oken Ariana Grande’s highly anticipated sixth studio album, Positions, dropped today (October 30) and is full of the empowering and relatable bops we expect from the pop princess. An R&B-influenced follow-up to her February 2019 album Thank U, Next, Positions finds Grande confidently and happily singing of healing through new love. Second song “34+35,” for example, finds her candidly embracing her sexuality with her partner in a way she hadn’t in previous songs, while “Obvious” is a celebration of how newfound, unexpected love can be both freeing and comforting. She first announced the new era of music via Twitter on October 14 by telling fans of an album release at the end of the month, and she teased the LP until release day by posting the tracklist, where collaborations wi...
Cam’s The Otherside Synthesizes Sci-Fi, Harry Styles, And Backseat Quickies
By Ilana Kaplan When it comes to the release of Cam’s sophomore studio album, nothing has really gone as planned. For one, it’s taken five years for the record to come to fruition — thanks to a label change right after her 2018 heartbreaking single “Diane” dropped. Then, there was the fact that the country-pop singer-songwriter wanted to spend her time tinkering to get the music right. When she got pregnant in 2019, the timing for the record’s release didn’t quite work out. Add in a pandemic, and well, the timeline was complicated further. But Cam, 35, has found benefits to the way that her album rollout has happened. “I’ve had the extended maternity leave that I didn’t think I would ever get, so now I get extra time with the little one [daughter Lucy], which is amazing, and no...
Clairo Forms New Band Shelly, Shares Debut Songs “Steeeam” and “Natural”: Stream
Since releasing last year’s stellar debut album Immunity, Clairo has preoccupied herself with a series of collaborations. Our former Artist of the Month has linked up with producers A. G. Cook and Mura Masa, as well as futurist pop queen Charli XCX and rising songwriter Arlo Parks. Now, Clairo is taking her collaborative spirit a step further by forming a new band called Shelly. The outfit pairs Clairo with Claud (they/them), a Brooklyn-based indie pop artist who also just so happens to be the first act signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label. Shelly are rounded out by Clairo’s two old friends from Syracuse, Josh Mehling and Noa Frances Getzug. To coincide with today’s announcement, Shelly are sharing their debut songs “Steeeam” and “Natural”. Both continue the bedroom pop narrati...
Ariana Grande’s Positions Is a 2020 Pop Fairytale: Review
The Lowdown: Finally, Ariana Grande answers the question we were all asking: what would it sound like if a 1940s film star woke to find herself in the 21st century, carved out her own corner of pop music, adopted the world’s most recognizable ponytail, and gathered her soaring vocals and stacked harmonies into an exploration of modern love? Positions, Ariana Grande’s sixth studio album, is a journey. It’s not so much a departure from her two most recent entries, Sweetener and thank u, next, as it is an amalgamation of those works with her lauded and beloved Dangerous Woman. It’s certainly her most explicit album to date, but her musings on romance, lust, longing, and heartache have never sounded more at home than on this orchestral yet beat-heavy record. It’s daring. It’s showy. It’s wildl...
Puscifer Ride the New Wave on Existential Reckoning: Review
The Lowdown: Puscifer’s fourth studio album sees the enigmatic vocalist Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) joined once more by core members Mat Mitchell (guitar/production) and Carina Round (vocals/songwriting), among others. Existential Reckoning is their first LP in five years (Money Shot dropped in 2015). On the new effort, Puscifer offer up another go-round of electro-arty rock tunes, which lyrically seem to follow the continuing adventures of characters Billy D, and his wife, Hildy Berger … with the former purportedly the victim of an alien abduction. The Good: Any new music from Mr. Keenan is sure to please his legion of admirers. And Puscifer once again sees Keenan and company build tunes around electronics as their foundation (at times comparable to early ‘80s new wavers...
Neil Young Details After the Gold Rush 50th Anniversary Reissue
Neil Young has finally shared the details for the 50th anniversary edition of his seminal album After the Gold Rush. It’s due out later this year, and on top of its 11 original tracks, the release comes with two versions of the B-side “Wonderin’”. After the Gold Rush was initially released back on September 19th, 1970, kicking off Young’s beloved and insurmountably influential ’70s catalog. The album was remastered and re-released back in 2009, so outside of the new “Wonderin’” variants, this reissue is more focused on the commemorative packaging. The deluxe vinyl box set edition comes with special artwork, a litho print of its cover, and a 7-inch picture sleeve of both versions of “Wonderin’”. The first was recorded in 1970 and originally released in The Archives Vol. 1:...
Jonas Brothers Are Wistful And Ready For Snow On ‘I Need You Christmas’
It’s not quite Halloween, but the Jonas Brothers are already all set up for Christmas. On “I Need You Christmas,” a loungy and longing new cut from Kevin, Joe, and Nick, it’s all about the power of the holiday and how it can lift anyone out of the doldrums of loneliness. It’s also about missing childhood and realizing that at the end of a long, tiring year full of coldness and isolation, maybe the one thing that might help is to gather around the tree. How nice. Nick sings the first half, evoking scenes of “angels on treetops and angels in the snow,” pining for them amid feeling lonely and blue. By the time Joe takes over halfway through this “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”-type ode, he’s singing of carolers and mistletoe...
Oneohtrix Point Never Releases New Album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never: Stream
Daniel Lopatin has returned with the latest album as Oneohtrix Point Never, an expansive 17-track collection called Magic Oneohtrix Point Never. Stream the full thing below via Apple Music and Spotify. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never gets its name from the same place that Lopatin got the 0PN moniker itself: the radio station Magic 106.7 that aired in his Boston area home. As such, the album plays out much like a radio station’s dayparts, clicking on for the morning drive-time music, and closing with the late night jams. The record is broken up four different suites, each split by a “Cross Talk” section. Prior to the album’s full release, 0PN shared the “Drive Time Suite” (“Cross Talk I”, “Auto & Allo”, and “Long Road Home” featuring Caroline Polachek) and the five-track “Midday S...
Rob Zombie Announces New Album The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, Unveils “King Freak”: Stream
Rob Zombie has announced his long-awaited new album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. The veteran rocker’s seventh solo LP won’t be released until March 12th, but the first single, “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)”, is available now. The 17-song album will arrive nearly five years after Rob Zombie’s previous LP, 2016’s The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser. The single, shortened as “King Freak”, marks his first new song and music video in more than four years. The track is heavy on the riffs, thanks to guitarist John 5, with a thunderous rhythm section powered by bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish. The song is accompanied by a music video that combines newly shot footage with concert scenes, presented in...
The Adventurous Magic Oneohtrix Point Never Illuminates a True Talent: Review
The Lowdown: The pseudonym of Brooklyn-based electronic musician Daniel Lopatin, Oneohtrix Point Never has made a name for himself not only with his own releases, but also through his collaborations with notable artists like Tim Hecker, FKA Twigs, and The Weeknd. He’s also found acclaim as the composer for both Safdie brothers films — 2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems — and he set a high bar with 2018’s Age Of. Thus, he had quite the task in front of him in making its follow-up, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, a worthwhile addition to his impressive and renowned catalog. Fortunately, Lopatin goes one step further by creating a fascinating and evocative, yet periodically frustrating, sequence. Recorded in lockdown between March and July of this year, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never sees him c...
Carly Rae Jepsen Shares New Song “It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries”: Stream
What even is “the Christmas spirit” in 2020? I mean, do any of us really think this holiday season is gonna be all magic and pretty lights? Carly Rae Jepsen knows better, which is why she’s released the Xmas song this year demanded, “It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries”. Sure, all the jingle bells and bright notes are there, but they’re presented with tongue firmly in cheek. Though perfectly timed, the tune isn’t really about a pandemic holiday, but instead what Jepsen calls “Christmas versus expectation.” “Christmas holiday is my favorite time of year. I love it,” the Canadian pop star said in a statement. “But so often emotions run high and expectation versus reality is something I’d like to shed some light on and hopefully some laughs too in the process. So if you are lucky enough to...
Rapper Ladipoe tests positive for coronavirus
Rapper Ladipo Eso, popularly called Ladipoe, says he has tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus disease. Laipoe made this known on his Instagram story on Thursday, saying that he just received the results of his COVID-19 test. He also disclosed that his symptoms are mild and that he is okay. He wrote: “I recently received the result of my COVID-19 test and it was positive. “I have been in Isolation for about ten days now because due to the state of the country, this Monday was the earliest I could get tested. “My symptoms have been mild and I’m getting better. “Please continue to take necessary safety precautions and protect yourself and young ones when you’re out there. “Not everyone has mild symptoms; this is definitely something to be taken seriously.” Get more stories like this on...
