The jokes write themselves with the title, don’t they? Only nine months after the biggest artist in the world released the much-ridiculed but still wildly successful Certified Lover Boy, Drake returns with his surprise-dropped 7th studio album, seemingly in an attempt to push the boundaries of how little effort he can put into a #1 … Continue reading Drake – Honestly, Nevermind
Dance Pop
George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid
Soulful UK folk-pop vocalist George Ezra hasn’t released a studio album since 2018, but he’s been steadily building his brand as one of his home country’s most recognizable musical figures through other lanes in the meantime. Fresh off of being invited to perform for the Queen, his third project Gold Rush Kid certainly takes things … Continue reading George Ezra – Gold Rush Kid
Lights – PEP
Releasing on a relatively quiet week, Canadian indie and electropop icon Lights – though not incredibly well-known outside of her home country – has been getting some extra attention lately with her fifth studio album, PEP. Known for genre-bending (her recent output has included a side project representing somewhat of a dubstep revival and a … Continue reading Lights – PEP
Charli XCX – CRASH
Even when Charli XCX, an artist typically regarded as one of the most forward-thinking pop stars on the planet, half-jokingly refers to her latest album as her “sellout era,” you can still expect a couple subversive twists alongside the catchy, stadium-ready hooks that she’s so experienced at crafting. While the British alt-pop sensation’s latest certainly … Continue reading Charli XCX – CRASH
Diplo – Diplo
It seems that highly prolific DJ and electronic musician Diplo’s mind is in the right place when it comes to his approach to crafting an album while working in his genre – he’s made quite a few comments lately about the futility of crafting a truly engaging electronic album from front to back, opting instead … Continue reading Diplo – Diplo
Mitski – Laurel Hell
It seems that even an experimental indie darling like Mitski can’t escape the tide of 80s inspiration washing over all facets of the music industry right now. The art pop singer-songwriter’s first project since the incredibly acclaimed Be The Cowboy in 2018 – which topped just about every year-end list there was, Mitski returns after … Continue reading Mitski – Laurel Hell
MØ – Motordrome
When I was able to interview Danish alt-pop singer MØ earlier this month, she told me that the pandemic struck at a strangely opportune time for creating her latest project. Exhausted from seven years of associating with musical megastars and touring all over the world, MØ had planned to take a break, rediscover her passion … Continue reading MØ – Motordrome
The Weeknd – Dawn FM
You have to imagine that one of the most common questions The Weeknd gets is about why he dies so much – often graphically – throughout his music videos and album concepts. On the Toronto R&B/pop icon’s fifth full-length album, he takes his morbid curiosity to an entirely new level – but as it turns out, … Continue reading The Weeknd – Dawn FM
Alan Walker – World of Walker
As the year winds down, the big releases are starting to become fewer and farther between. Essentially the only one to make a dent on the charts this week, British DJ Alan Walker, still only 24 years old after scoring a massive worldwide hit in “Faded” at age 18, has dropped his sophomore album – … Continue reading Alan Walker – World of Walker
TWICE – Formula of Love: O+T=<3
While everyone this side of the Atlantic held off on their release to avoid competition with Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, nine-member K-pop girl group TWICE continued widely outpacing many of their peers when it comes to the sheer volume of music released and dropped their third album in just over a year. While I’ve … Continue reading TWICE – Formula of Love: O+T=<3
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 