While one of his former bandmates becomes one of the world’s biggest artists, another gears up to drop his third album after some consistently moderate success and two more dramatically nosedive after scoring top 10 hits, the most unique post-OneDirection career trajectory yet has been Louis Tomlinson’s, who started out slow and has been steadily … Continue reading Louis Tomlinson – Faith In The Future
Pop Reviews
Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
Six albums in and almost exactly 10 years since the release of her commercial breakout with Kiss, Carly Rae Jepsen’s status as a pop music cult figure of sorts is still going strong. But when you have albums like 2015’s E•MO•TION, which appeared on countless year-end lists and arguably played a big part in today’s … Continue reading Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
Taylor Swift – Midnights
16 years after the arrival of her debut and returning with her fifth major release in just over two years, it’s truly impressive that Taylor Swift is still shattering records. It seemed like it was out of reach that any album would ever sell over a million in its first week ever again, but this … Continue reading Taylor Swift – Midnights
The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
After one of the most polarizing, provocative and sometimes pretentious bands somehow released a couple of its greatest works back-to-back after expanding the tracklist and letting frontman Matt Healy’s cluttered mind roam wherever it wanted to, it seems The 1975 have reversed course with their latest. Standing at only 11 tracks in length, that mind … Continue reading The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
Charlie Puth – CHARLIE
It truly seems like you never know what to expect when you hit play on a Charlie Puth album. Not because he’s wildly experimental – but because he’s now delivered an awful album, an incredible one, and one that’s perfectly mediocre, the latter being his latest, CHARLIE. After the widely acclaimed pop-R&B fusion of 2018’s … Continue reading Charlie Puth – CHARLIE
5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOS5
One of music’s biggest cult fanbases comes through for their Australian pop-rock idols once again, propelling them to the top of the charts without much of a hit single to speak of. After lifting themselves up from the depths of trendy early-decade drudgery with their last project with the more pop-oriented and often anthemic CALM, … Continue reading 5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOS5
FLETCHER – Girl Of My Dreams
Girl Of My Dreams is technically New Jersey vocalist FLETCHER’s debut studio album, but there’s already been a rollercoaster of a journey to get here. When I was lucky enough to interview her, she told me all about the internalized struggle to finally include pronouns and narratives in her music that made it abundantly clear … Continue reading FLETCHER – Girl Of My Dreams
BLACKPINK – BORN PINK
K-pop’s – really, the world’s – biggest girl group return two years after dropping their first official studio album, appropriately titled The Album. Just as short as the last one and as many of their previous EPs and compilations, Born Pink stands at a tight eight tracks and finds the group continuing to follow their … Continue reading BLACKPINK – BORN PINK
YUNGBLUD – YUNGBLUD
For all of the members of the tight-knit modern-day mainstream pop-punk crowd, YUNGBLUD presents an interesting phenomenon – he’s the one who seems like he belongs the least, trying too hard to be wild and crazy in order to align with the tired “welcome to the freakshow” narratives, but listening to his music consistently gives … Continue reading YUNGBLUD – YUNGBLUD
Panic! At The Disco – Viva Las Vengeance
After the legendary pop-rock and emo project’s biggest breakthrough into the mainstream yet with Pray For The Wicked – Taylor Swift collabs and politicians dancing to the inescapable “High Hopes” included – the third release as a Brendon Urie solo act, now verging on a 20-year career carrying on the Panic! moniker, arrives after a … Continue reading Panic! At The Disco – Viva Las Vengeance
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 