Album Review: “Infections Of A Different Kind (Step 1)” By AURORA

This will hopefully be my last album review to have come out in the month of September! I am so excited to talk about this new release though, I love Aurora a lot. She is an interesting artist, she has a beautiful voice and the music she creates is usually right up my alley. If it’s not too much to say this, she’s like the Scandinavian version of Ellie Goulding! The reason why I say that is because they both have similar styles but I think Aurora brings out more emotion than Ellie, but of course that’s my opinion!

When I realized she had a new album out, I was really curious on what the “Step 1” meant at the end of the title. Does that mean, we’ll be getting another release or more in 2019? Technically, what I’m reviewing fits the normal standards of an extended play, as it only consists of eight tracks, but the songs themselves are all fairly long in length so maybe that’s the reason why it is called an album instead. I guess we’ll have to see later on what it all means.

We start off with her first single “Queendom” and I absolutely adore this song so much! I find it really empowering, but also it has like an unique take of what we think how fairy tales should sound like in a way too. It breaks out of the norm and the music makes it sound really fun and there’s no way you’re able to stop dancing or singing along to it. Next is “Forgotten Love” and the beginning started off softly but it grew a little in the tempo and became a bit upbeat during the choruses. I like the fast drumming, it gave the whole another edge. It went from this little frail thing into something stronger, but it wasn’t overwhelming, it was still very gentle like falling snow and dancing in it afterwards.

Third is “Gentle Earthquakes” and I’m not going to lie, but I kind of fell in love with the title first. The introduction is somewhat mysterious, you hear a statically voice in the background in the first two seconds before hearing Aurora’s voice coming forth, The broken voice stays throughout the song, so it adds another curious element. What I really enjoyed was once you got to the choruses, her voice would become very sharp and powerful against the pop-y beat. There’s a lot in this song, but it does sound like a gentle earthquake to me. No pun intended! We move onto “All Is Soft Inside” and the first thing you hear are these different bells, they’re in different pitches but they give a sort of exotic vibe to the song. I also love the usage of the orchestra in the background as well, I think it plays well in the story of the track. I’s all so good as it has this dreamy environment with all of these different sounds and tempos, I think it may turn into a favorite of mine!

Everytime I see this track “It Happened Quiet” I always want to put an “ly” at the end because it doesn’t make sense this way! Anyways, it’s not my song so I’ll just shut up. This has a gorgeous beginning with only a harp. It’s one of my favorite classical instruments ever. I think it’s very graceful and matches well with Aurora’s voice, but this is very quiet song, you can finally hear her at her finest without any interruptions. This is loving and sweet, ugh! I really can’t get enough of it! Next there’s “Churchyard” and I was wondering about this one too. When it starts out, she sings the words in a capella monotone type of way. This has a real gospel feel to it, because of the male choir in the background but the beat changes after a while into this synth-drum beast. The only way I feel like I can describe it is like how Madonna’s song used to sound in the 1990’s! It just has that type of vibe to it and even I thought it was strange, but I say that in a good way!

“Soft Universe” is another track that has an exotic take but the sound as a whole is actually pretty gentle. Although those high pitched “bam-bam” drums you hear throughout give it another layer, it still retains that softness but they also give it a fun edge to it too. I like the dark electronica feel it has, it’s just good! And last but not least, we have the title track “Infections Of A Different Kind” and I really enjoy hearing only her faint voice peeking over the piano in the background. I think the song in itself is very moving but while the song played out, I kept seeing a ballerina dancing elegantly in a studio full of mirrors in her light pink tutu, she looks so beautiful telling her story along with it. It’s that kind of song to see a prima ballerina dancing her best to something like this.

I have to say, I’ve listened to a lot of music over the years, but nothing has ever made me seen so many beautiful images before. I kept seeing different scenery like country sides covered with blankets of snow and then various types of dancers expressing themselves in such a neat way. Aurora has that way about her. She is just at one with music that there is hardly a separation between them. I have to say, not many musicians can do that nowadays! This was the purest sound I’ve found in a really long time. If she does plan on releasing anything else, I hope they sound a bit like this, if not better!

Have you heard of AURORA’s new album “Infections Of A Different Kind” yet? What was your favorite thing about it? Is there a song you love the most?

Album Review: “Unusual” by Marian Hill

Today, I will be talking about a very fun and unique duo’s second album. American artists, Jeremy Lloyd and Samantha Gongol, who make up Marian Hill have finally put out their new record, called Unusual!

The album was released on May 11th, and consists of ten songs total. I’m actually very excited but also a little nervous because I’ve only really listened to their singles, and unfortunately I never did hear Act One (2016) all the way through, but after I saw this on Spotify’s new music, I knew I wanted to hear it and review it on here!

Marian Hill is kind of known for their electronica beats, mixed in with a very chill vibe to it, and their first song off the album called “Subtle Thing” and its everything you know of MH, however, it’s a little edgier, and I really love the seductive, whisper way of Sam’s voice. Despite the fact that it has a mellow sound to it, you can still dance to it! I really like it. Second is “Differently” and this has an urban feel to it. I didn’t necessarily like the introduction, I didn’t think it meshed well together, the booping sounds with Samantha’s low voice, she was fine though. If it didn’t have that sound, I don’t think I would have had any care about it. Once the song continues, that element starts to intertwine with the rest of it, but by itself isn’t good. Next is “All Night Long” and this features Steve Davit, all three has made it into a modern jazz-y sound. That’s actually the best way to describe their music in the first place. They have a very light approach to electric music, so it honestly sounds more like a modern take to jazz and blues. I think this is the perfect track to showcase that type of subgenre, because it has that horn solo, like regular jazz music would, but it’s a totally different sound then what you’re used to hearing.

Fourth is “Don’t Miss You” and this has a darker sound, kind of sassy in a way. It has more of a pop element to it towards the end, so I really like it! Next is “Wish You Would” and to show you their quirkiness, you can hear these obsessive snapping sound and a mixture of computer sounds throughout that make a whole beat around Samantha’s words. It’s really cool.  If their song “Down” had a part two, sound wise, this would be that song! Afterwards is “Don’t Do It” and I really like Sam’s high pitched voice in the beginning of the verses, usually I don’t like it, because I think it’s too much, but I thought it was very pretty. This has another ominous, almost hip hop-y beat behind her lyrics, I can hear a small exotic taste in it too! It’s very interesting!

“Sideways” is next and finally we have a slower track. This could be the perfect song to put in a sad scene of a television show or movie. If you need something to calm you down, this is your song to listen to on those gloomy days! This will probably become a favorite of mine. We have “No Hesitation” now and and we’re back on the eccentric train with this one, but I don’t hate it. It’s not so outlandish like the other one, so it’s very mild and has a nice chill vibe. It’s good with me. Steve Davit makes another appearance with this next track, “Listening” and we have that urban feel to it, but gives me an old school pop vibe too. And lastly we have “Go Quietly” and its a straight up ballad. Yay! I love the dreamscape-y beat, it’s absolutely beautiful!

I thought this album was really great! I’m always to listen to different kinds of music, because I don’t want to hear the same stuff over and over again, and I think with Marian Hill, since they’re so out there, as they don’t necessarily fit the general pop and electric dance music standards, they are really unusual to what we’re used to hearing on the radio on a daily basis! You kind of have to train your mind to look beyond your normal tastes, and see for the smoothness of the music!

Have you listened to Marian Hill’s second album yet? If you have, what were your favorite(s) so far? Let me know below!

Album Review: “Warmer In The Winter” by Lindsey Stirling

Last week, I published my review of Celtic Woman’s newest Christmas album and I said that I was thinking about putting up two others to be counted as part of a Blogmas! So this is your second, and I will say, I didn’t know about this until it popped up on my “new music” on Spotify one day and I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity and review it too!

If you are not familiar with Lindsey Stirling, she is usually a electronic violinist. In Celtic Woman both Mairead Nesbitt and Tara McNeil play fiddle and violin, but it’s mostly the traditional way. Lindsey has done covers before, but she always adds her own flare and it can sound very pop or electronica. She was on America’s Got Talent a few years ago and has released three other albums, but this will be her first holiday album. I have not heard any of the songs beforehand so I’m not sure if they’ll be instrumentals or have guest singers on certain songs, which as I’ve seen on the tracklist there are a few featured, so we’re going to dive into this together!

Let’s get started with “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy” and this definitely has that pop, but playful style that Lindsey usually brings out in her music. I actually love this, it’s one of my favorites. If I ever got the chance to see a ballet of the Nutcracker, I’d be one happy camper! I’m happy it still has the slow, but fun sound and it also has that dance vibe going on too. The second is “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” which features Sabrina Carpenter, a singer that I’ve been loving lately! I like the sultry, but fun jazz-y vibe of this track. I say “sultry” because of Sabrina’s tone and the horns section. Next we have “Christmas C’mon” that features singer and rapper Becky G and I know this is going to be weird, but this has a country sound to it. Becky’s voice gives it a nice pop vibe, but it’s actually Lindsey and her skills that are giving off that sound that makes me think of upbeat country music

Fourth track is “Carol Of The Bells” and I was wondering if I was going to like this one or not, but I knew Lindsey would do a fantastic job with it. It is all instrumental, but if you know me very well, you know that I have a soft spot for these types of songs. You still get that familiar sound of the original song, but it’s all violin with an added synthesizer. And then we have “Angels We Have Heard On High” and I really love the classical sound of just the violin and orchestra in the background. You also have these soft little vocalizations too, which I’m guessing is Lindsey giving it an added dash of sparkle to the song. I really do love how artists and bands are trying to modernize these Christmas songs, but sometimes going old fashioned works too!

There’s “I Saw Three Ships” and I’ve never heard of this one, but I found it a little odd that it sort of sounded like an Irish song, since it was so jam packed with tones that you’d normally hear with a traditional Celtic Woman song. I loved it! Anyways, next we have “Let It Snow” and the sound is different, the violin gives it a country vibe again, but then again it also has this jazz-y feel to it too. It’s very interesting. Oh, both of these songs are instrumentals and I love them dearly for that! There’s something cool about this next song though, it is an original Christmas song! I don’t know about you, but I never hear of these anymore! It features another musician Trombone Shorty and I love this. I’m just not sure who is the vocalist though, Lindsey has only done the soft “oohs” and “ahs” in the background of her songs, but never fully sang the songs, so maybe because this is something she came up with and she sang to it too.

“What Child Is This” is next and it’s another instrumental. It has a welcoming, but mysterious sound to it. I love these types of songs, as the more elements the musician adds to it, the more emotion you get from everything. You just feel like spinning in a white dress, or at least what’s I thought as I listened to the song. Next, we have a familiar song and it is “All I Want For Christmas” but I will say that because of the slow tempo of the introduction, you can’t tell what it is until the very last notes and then you want to slap yourself for not knowing it right away! It is upbeat and playful; makes you want to dance along to the beat! It’s great, but I think I miss the words.

The last three songs of the standard edition start with another original track, “Time To Fall In Love” and it features Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low. I think between the two songs that Lindsey wrote for this album, this one sounds more in the Christmas-y theme as far as lyrics go. I’m not saying I hated the other one though, it’s good, but does it match the tone of a holiday record though? Anyways, I also think this one has more of a pop-rock sound to it, and Lindsey is taking a backseat on it, although she has a solo, it just kind of sounds like ATL type of song. Next we have “Jingle Bell Rock” and this has become an iconic song, makes in part to the movie Means Girls but I love the jazz take to it. My papaw would probably like it since he was so into big band music! Lastly, we have one of my absolute favorites “Silent Night” and it is naturally a slow, somber-y, type of song anyways but I think Lindsey went that extra mile and made it even more beautiful with adding only the “ahhs” of the choir instead somebody singing it all the way through, it’s actually really beautiful.

I was very happy with this album! I thought with Lindsey’s first Christmas album, I think she did a great job. It was beautiful and unforgettable. I’m glad she stayed true to her style of music and didn’t force herself to add multiple singers to the favorite holiday songs, sometimes the instruments can say a lot more than what we think, they can bring out more emotions to the listener.

Have you heard of Lindsey Stirling’s new Christmas album, “Warmer In The Winter” yet? What were your thoughts on it?

Tune Tuesday | Denmark ’17

Hi 🙂

It’s time for week three and we’re going to be talking about Denmark! It is always a country that I love to talk about on Tune Tuesday, but finding music from the actual country can be fairly difficult! Which is the main reason why I only have two to share today! These artists are very good and deserve free promotion!

The first person I am going to discuss is a native DJ by the name of Martin Jenson! I’m not going to lie but after I discovered him and his single “Solo Dance” on Spotify, I began to hear the track on Sirius XM BPM quite regularly! I don’t hear a whole lot about him anywhere, but I’m hoping to hear some more soon!

Lastly is Christopher, he was a late addition, I was on Facebook on a “liking” spree trying to find new music for these posts and ended up regretting not putting Finland back on my rooster but finding this guy too! First of all, he is REALLY cute! Blond hair and blue eyes! *shudders* He kind of sounds like Justin Bieber but I think I prefer his voice instead! Last month he released a new song called “Naked” and it’s really good! He also has two released albums on Spotify!

Have you heard of Martin Jenson or Christopher before? Always looking for suggestions for music in Denmark, if you know anybody, let me know!

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Album Review: “Glory Days” by Little Mix

I’m back with another review and it is all female British group Little Mix newest album “Glory Days” and I was very intrigued about having a new album to listen to but has it really been a year since “Black Magic” came out? It’s shocking to me how much time can pass! And also how these singers can put out another album within a year since all they do nonstop is touring and promotion! That’s one thing I’ll never understand I guess!

If you’ve never heard of Little Mix they consist of Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, and Jade Thirwall. They competed on the British version of The X Factor and was the first girl group to win on the show in 2011.

The first song to start off the album is “Shout To My Ex” and I love this track a lot, I just wish it got more air time on the US radio ways. It’s the ultimate pop, break up and motivational song. There’s not too many times a song can bring out three different topics but in this, it works. Second is “Touch” and I get an airy vibe out of it. It is very catchy in the choruses and that works great with the exotic groove it has throughout. There is an acoustic version of this song on their deluxe edition. “F.U.” is next and it has a very simple introduction, light beat and the girl’s vocals shine. It has a jazz/soul sound but it is definitely a “screw you” to a boyfriend, somehow this works and what really gets me is that I actually really like it.

Next is a track called “Oops” and again, it has this cute, soul/bluesy feeling with the piano and drums. It features American singer Charlie Puth and I love how deep his voice against the girls – they’re not going too crazy but it’s a nice balance. Fifth is “You Gotta Not” and again, I love their sassy attitude! This is what got me interested into the group so much; the introduction to this one kind of had my name written all over it. It’s fun and has a perfect dance beat I think. If you think it sounds like a Meghan Trainor song, you should probably know that she was one of the co-writers! This next one is down to my style as far as the amount of bass it has, it might actually rival “Grown” in their last album. It is called “Down & Dirty” it has a deep bass-y and electronica sound, and they don’t really do these normal EDM sounds but it has a nice tone to it. It makes it raw and dirty, it’s really good!

I was very happy to see how another badass song was after that banger, it is appropriately titled “Power” and it starts out with these fierce stomps, it has that pop but in-your-face sound and between both Perrie and Jesy’s vocals. I’m just blown away, it’s so good! I actually hope some DJs make a few remixes out of it, because it’s worthy of it for sure! Of course, nothing lasts forever and we have to go back to discussing the ballads on the album, the next is “Your Love” and even though it is slower, but it’s still a mellow beat. I guess if you’re going to talk about how love makes me feel like, you’re going to want something that would go with that feeling, so it works!

This next track is called “Nobody Like You” and this is a ballad at its best. Little Mix has the best ballads, that’s one thing that they truly rock at because of their diverse voices. I also love the eternal sound, as it continues the true sound never fades it actually grows with increased tempo. It’s gorgeous!

I love the fact that “No More Sad Songs” has an upbeat sound, there’s nothing more annoying when certain people title songs like this and they’re disgustingly slow and sappy. This one is in the middle but it’s still something I’d prefer to listen to any day! And we are back on the dance-y side of music again, the first thing I thought of what it started was old school hip hop, like something of Will Smith in the late 90s! Anyways, I think the song is really good even if it has a sexual motive behind it… Last song of the standard edition is “Nothing Else Matters” and surprising it’s not a slow track! I know this will be another weird description but I get like an early 2000’s pop song, at least that’s what I pictured into my head when it first started playing! It’s pretty good too!

It’s so hard to put together a summary of an album at the end of these reviews because you feel like you just put all of your thoughts while talking about each song, but as a whole you have to basically give it a mental rating. I do think it’s a great pop album, very different from their previous albums as far as how many ballad-like tracks are included, but I don’t think it’s so good that I would give it a full 10/10, you know? Which I hardly ever rate my reviews, but for this I think it would be fair to give it an 8 out of 10, and that is still very good!

Have you heard of Little Mix’s “Glory Days” yet? Which songs are your favorites?

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