For someone who exploded onto the pop scene with “Royals,” a cautionary tale about celebrity culture and the pitfalls of observing our entertainment heroes as flawless, godlike figures, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde has accumulated quite the dedicated cult fanbase – and the expectations of leaning into her role as the cerebral pop star doling out … Continue reading Lorde – Solar Power
Month: August 2021
Trippie Redd – Trip At Knight
Returning once again with what is now his seventh project to hit the top 5 on Billboard’s albums chart since summer of 2018, emo-trap and cloud rap superstar Trippie Redd drops his second project of the year with Trip at Knight. Although promoted as a sequel to his 2018 debut album, Life’s A Trip, Redd … Continue reading Trippie Redd – Trip At Knight
The Killers – Pressure Machine
Conceived in the empty period of time when The Killers were meant to be on the road touring their critically acclaimed 2020 project, Imploding the Mirage, the Las Vegas alt-rock and new wave titans’ seventh studio album Pressure Machine is described by frontman Brandon Flowers as containing “songs that would have otherwise been too quiet and drowned out by … Continue reading The Killers – Pressure Machine
Dan + Shay – Good Things
Country-pop duo Dan + Shay have been making forays into the world of mainstream radio for quite a few years now, their crisp harmonies, periodically show-stopping vocal talent and cheesy, feel-good aura often universally appealing in the right mood. Nabbing Justin Bieber two years ago for the track “10,000 Hours,” which actually belongs to this … Continue reading Dan + Shay – Good Things
Tinashe – 333
After a lengthy battle with her label and finally breaking out as an independent artist with her critically acclaimed 2019 project Songs for You, R&B star Tinashe is taking that increased creative control even further with her latest release. Tinashe has fully settled into her role as the indie darling with a cult fanbase in … Continue reading Tinashe – 333
Nas – King’s Disease II
After a six-year hiatus following 2012’s polarizing Life Is Good, legendary NYC rapper Nas has dropped three projects in the last four years, all with quite a few instances of accolades and acclaim to back them up. Returning after almost exactly a year with the sequel to last year’s Grammy-winning King’s Disease project, Nas once … Continue reading Nas – King’s Disease II
Isaiah Rashad – The House Is Burning
Regardless of the mountain of complaints seemingly levied against the label every day for taking their sweet time to get releases out to the world, the artists of Top Dawg Entertainment almost always seem to go above and beyond expectations when it comes to the public’s interest – one of the lesser-known names in Isaiah … Continue reading Isaiah Rashad – The House Is Burning
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Any follow-up after capturing all four of the Grammys’ top categories with a debut album released at age 17 would have been an extremely tall order. While one of music’s brightest new stars may have ever so slightly fallen victim to the sophomore slump – or at the very least, the astronomical expectations she created … Continue reading Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
When I had the opportunity to interview Texas soul singer Leon Bridges about this album earlier this month, he told me about how people’s expectations of him to continue emulating a fleeting moment of inspiration throughout his entire career are beginning to get him down. Bridges exploded dramatically and decisively onto the scene with vintage … Continue reading Leon Bridges – Gold-Diggers Sound
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