March Playlist

Hello again.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their spring breaks. I am thoroughly happy that spring is here because I really miss the greenery and of course the gardening that comes with it.

I am so sorry for never posting about our third garden, but I think I have a way to incorporate it with whatever we do this year. We have a little nursery in my nephew’s playroom. There is a dresser in there that has enough space to like five containers of various veggies to grow indoors, and my dad put a couple of his LED lights on top of them in the daytime, and they’ve been growing like weeds! It’s absolutely insane on the progress our green beans, lettuce and radishes have been making in the last few days.

Here are some of the early photos my mom took earlier in the month.

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I’m definitely looking forward to going outside and hang out with my cats for longer than five to ten minutes top, I’d like to get down and scoot out onto the deck again, I need to get as much exercise as possible–I’m not interested in getting my body into shape. It’s already a shape and I’m okay with it at the moment. All jokes aside, I enjoy being at the cats level. They seem to enjoy it a lot too. Some of them know if I am on the ground, they can get more pets, however, they have yet to figure out I also like to read while on the ground too, and there’s one that usually does not like to see my books. All of us (the cats and myself) are very spoiled but we can’t deny we don’t enjoy it though.

Besides all of the pretty things growing in our house, I’ve been listening to a lot of great music lately.

I have listened to quite a few albums this past month, and with promising results. I started with VÉRITÉ and her new release, “Love You Forever” and I loved this album so much. I absolutely love VÉRITÉ’s moody music, she reminds me of a poppier BANKS. The next album was Pop Evil’s “Skeletons” and that is a really good record. I enjoyed it a lot. And the final “new” releases, Ava McMahon, who was a member of Celtic Woman (I refer her as Eabha as that is her real name in Irish Gaelic) released a new EP called Scéalta this past week and she has a beautiful voice, and even though I don’t know the Gaelic language, it obviously doesn’t stop me from listening to her music.

For some odd reason I get into these spurts where I will focus all of my musical attention on a single artist or band and this month, I was hooked on Asking Alexandria. I was a late bloomer–honestly, I remember hearing about them in 2005-06 with Bring Me The Horizon but I was nowhere near ready for metalcore at that point in my life, so I stayed as far away as possible. And then all of a sudden, Danny left the band and I weirdly got into them with Denis as lead vocalist and I did like him but you can’t replace Danny’s voice though. Nowadays, the whole “metalcore” vibe they had in their days has disappeared, but I love this transformation into hard rock, and it fits with Danny’s voice now and honestly the music they’re creating now is much better, but of course that’s my opinion.

Before I leave you be for the rest of the day (or night), here is my Top 20 for March. If you’d like to check out the rest of the Spotify playlist, click here.

Black Out Days by Phantogram
Grand by Kane Brown
Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus
Evil by Hollywood Undead
Temporary by VÉRITÉ
Fukk Sleep by A$AP Rocky featuring FKA Twigs
Inside Out by The Chainsmokers featuring Charlee
Let Down by Palisandes
Feel The Waters by Sarah Reeves
Animals – Orchestral Version by Architects
Empire by Beth Crowley
Until the Levee by Joy Williams
Sound of Glory by Pop Evil
See What’s On The Inside by Asking Alexandria
1985 by Bowling For Soup
Already Damned by Crimson Adored featuring Lauren Babic
I’d Do Anything by Simple Plan
What Could Have Been by Sting featuring Ray Chen
I’m Dangerous by The EverLove
Lullaby of Woe by Ashley Serena

What were you listening to this March? Drop your top three favorite tracks in the comments below.

Album Review: “Modern Alchemy” by Zayde Wolf

You guys know how much I love my dark alternative music; artists like Banks and Verite, are like my guilty pleasures, so that fact that there’s a male artist with that same flare is kind of cool and interesting.

Earlier this month Zayde Wolf released a new album called “Modern Alchemy” which the title alone, sounds freaking cool! I am very curious to see what we would hear on this release, because when this came out, I only listened to one song because I needed to make sure I had made up my mind about whether or not I wanted to review this. The album has a total of thirteen songs, and as far as I know, no other artists are featured on it.

The first song we start off is “Dangerous” and I liked this. I think it’s more pop oriented than I thought it was going to be, but honestly I really liked it for that though. It wasn’t overwhelming in any way, and has a great groove to dance along. Next is “No Mercy” and its a little sexy but sharp tone. I think it has an interesting indie rock vibe going on, but I really like the combination the darkness it brings. Third is “Next Level” and this one is a little bit more mellow compared to the first two songs. I think it has more of an urban feel to it, full of attitude kind of track! I feel like people could have a lot of fun dancing to this song, because it has that perfect adventurous atmosphere from the moment it starts to finish.

Considering we started on such a high note, it’s nice to see that “Won’t Ever Let You Go” has a totally different sound. It makes me think of summertime, full of youth–not calling myself old or anything–and wanting to fun all of the time with friends and in life. I really like it. Next there’s “Do What We Wanna Do” and the fusion of alternative and cinematic is strong with this one. However, it’s not as intense, but I’m okay with that. It has a party anthem sound to it, but it’s not at all in your face, claiming the title off the bat, type of songs and I think that’s why I like it a little more than I thought I would. This next one is right up my alley. I love a bold introduction and this definitely has it. Of course, this is called “Gladiator” and it has such a strong, motivational outlook to it. I just love it so much!

I always love how certain words can excite me and something about “The Crown” made me really pumped, and I was right with my thinking because this is great! You have that dark cinematic tone coming alive in this! It’s so action packed, but I’m always so worried that the lyrics will get lost with having such an intense sound included, but Zayde’s voice isn’t in a “cocky” tone, so it’s a nice medium. So good! The eighth song is “Billionaires” and since I’m in the middle of Arrow, I instantly thought of Oliver Green, but then I realized he was a millionaire, not the other one! Anyways, I am conflicted by it as a whole. As much as I just wanted a softer track, because usually once we get to a certain section of an album, we finally start hearing ballads, but not yet for this. However, it’s another summer type of song, so it has that perfect lighter sound but has a feel good vibe to it. I don’t know, it’s interesting, in a good way!

The last five songs start with “Higher Than High” and again, the mellow beat is in full force, but surprisingly I’m not over it. I’m not exactly thinking of “summer” while listening to it, but since I’ve been dealing with a number of emotional things at the moment, it gave me a sense of calm, which is really nice! You don’t have too many of those songs nowadays, or at least I don’t! Next there’s “Rule The World” and we’re back on the cinematic kick! I’m not going to lie, I would have been disappointment if it didn’t have a kick-ass beat to go with that title! I really, really love the fact that there’s drum solo on this sucker, like yes! It gives it a totally different flare, it actually brings everything out. What I think is interesting is that it brings out that fighter in the listener, at least the phoenix inside of me was awakened, even if only for three minutes and twelve seconds. I always want these types of songs to be longer!

I have to say, I was really curious about “Breathing Oxygen” I didn’t want to guess on how it would say, even though I really wanted to! I like the fact that you can find the rhythm almost instantly. It has a nice groove to it and just has thought perfect notes to it. I really like the breakdown, it’s intense with the semi-slow sections of the beat.

“Animal” is next and you have this ominous introduction but then it kind of shifts to this mellow beat. It never quite changes when you want it to, but then again it’s not that bad! I think anybody who enjoys cinematic music like me will like that it’s not following the normal standards of the other songs of the genre. It’s unique and I really enjoy the drums in it, so I can live with that.  Lastly, we have “Take A Look At This” and we somehow went back to pop music. I seriously thought I was listening to Justin Timberlake when this first started like no joke. I like being able to dance to it and the fact that it’s asking you to pay attention to it. It’s a fun song and that’s what makes me love it so much!

I will say this and I swear to goodness that I don’t take this lightly, but I seriously LOVED this album like wholeheartedly! Every song was so good. There wasn’t anything that I can pinpoint that I hated and wanted to change, and that rarely happens to any of the albums I listen to! If I had money and obviously a stereo system, I would buy the album and listen to it proudly on full blast, that’s how much I loved it!

Have you heard of Zayde Wolf’s “Modern Alchemy” yet? If so, what were your thoughts and favorite(s)?

Album Review: “Church Of Scars” by Bishop Briggs

Today I will be talking about an artist that like Scrvina and VÉRITÉ , that have basically only released singles and EPs since starting their music careers. I’m happy to say that Bishop Briggs has finally released her debut album! Of course, “Bishop Briggs” is not her real name! It’s actually Sarah, but I find the stage name to be really unique and seems to be a special to her as she is honoring her Scottish roots! Everybody that’s not familiar with that sentence is scratching their heads right now! Look at a map of Scotland and get back to me!

I’ve actually only listened to like three of her songs in the past. She’s had two EPs out, first in 2016 and the other came out in the middle of last year. I’ve been kind of excited to review this record for a while. I’d say her music is like indie pop, it’s light but not as obnoxious. The album was released on  April 20th!

So we start with “Tempt My Trouble” and I liked the pop-rock sound of the song itself, however, I felt as though I have heard the same guitar introduction before and unfortunately, I was a bit distracted by that similarity, but the song itself is really good! I had a hard time keeping myself from dancing to the beat on my bed. I’ve grown to love her voice, it has a deep quality but it’s also very cheery at the same time. Second is a song that might sound familiar with people as it’s been featured on different TV shows for promos, for me it was used as part of a dance on Dancing With The Stars in 2016 with actress Heather Morris and the other female dancers. “River” has an unique beat to it, it’s pop-y, but also has an urban vibe to it so I really love it. Next is “Lyin” and this has a sultry beat, kind of mimics “River” in a way, but it’s much softer compared to it.

We move on to “White Flag” and weirdly enough, this was the song that made me realize that we might have ourselves a new song out, and then I found out that not only did we get a new song but a whole album too! YouTube has its perks sometimes! I really like this track too! I like the sassy beat, and it showcases Bishop’s low and taunting kind of tone in her voice. I have heard this song over a hundred times and I really want her and ZZ Ward to do a song together! It has that western, but bluesy-soulful type of sound that ZZ brings out in her music too! Next there’s “Dream” and finally we have slower song. It’s not a full ballad, but if she did an acoustic version, it would sound so beautiful! It’s pretty like this too, but I’m really curious to hear it like that or just stripped of everything, and maybe add a louder choir in the background? I’m giving myself too many ideas!

The sixth song is “Wild Horses” and I like the acoustic beginning before the drum kicks in, and then all of a sudden before the choruses end, we have a small bass drop! And of course, that kind of helps seal the deal for me! We have “Hallowed Ground” next and I like the fun, quirky beat we have with this one. One thing that I’m starting to notice is that every song is meshing into one another, a part of me likes it, but then I also think there’s no room for individuality. If it wasn’t one little element that’s different in each song, the whole album would be the same! So next, we have “Water” and finally we have the kind of song I’ve wanted since I started this review. A ballad. I think Bishop has a real unique voice, she has a lot of range that I feel kind of gets lost in these cool beats, and this one you can really hear her at every angle, when she goes to do high notes, she has that old school, soulful tone that should be highlighted more often.

These are the last two songs off of the album, starting with “The Fire” and again, we go back on the uptempo train. I like it, but the longer I continue to listen to the album, the less of the difference of the sound in each song, but it’s still good nevertheless. And finally we have “Hi-Lo (Hollow)” and I’m glad it’s another slower, ballad-y type of track. You still have the soulful vibe, but you can hear more emotion coming out of your voice, because you can tell she’s kind of straining a bit, but I really love it. And the mild bass drop is nice too, it doesn’t take over to the slowness of the beat overall, but it’s a good balance.

I didn’t have any expectations with this album, but I hoped for more as far as changing up the beat of the songs. I know I said that basically every song sounds like the other, except for the occasional ballad, but I actually liked the album. It just had some little things that just bugged me. I’ve already recommended it to a couple of people already, so maybe they’ll agree or disagree with me.

What are your thoughts to “Church Of Scars” as a whole? Did you think it lacked individuality with each song or did you like the songs for what they were anyways? Do you have any favorites yet?

 

Album Review: “Somewhere In Between” by VÉRITÉ

VÉRITÉ has finally released her first album! She has always been putting out singles and EPs for the last few years so now to actually have a large selection of songs coming out all at once makes me so happy!

Kelsey Bryne who goes by “VÉRITÉ” is an indie pop singer based in New York, which I thought was weird considering I swore she was Canadian! Sorry! Her debut album went out in mid-June, a week before Imagine Dragons’ album Evolve, you’ll be seeing that review next week! If you’ve never heard of her music you need to look into some of her singles like “Underdressed” and “Sober” and check out the other EPs she has on her Spotify too!

She starts out the album with “When You’re Gone” and it has this striking hum as your introduction that sort of increases in volume until you get to the breakdown and it disappears. It appears again whenever the second verses comes in, but the choruses are pretty soft and air-y with her voice. I like the subtle “ohs” throughout, it’s very pretty! Second is “Phase Me Out” and this one is pretty soft in the beginning but then you hear a guitar and the music just explodes! It’s not a heavy sound, it’s pretty mellow but it works for her voice and vibe she’s creating within the song. Next is “Death Of Me” and I really like the static-y sound, her voice is like an echo. Once the choruses start, the drum beat kicks on and the tempo increases; it has a very good rhythm! There’s not much about it, but I like that simplicity of it!

Fourth track is “Bout You” and I love the noticeable piano in the background. This kind of gave me a sassy vibe to it as soon as it started, and the beat in general is definitely that. It’s fierce! Next is “Better” and it has this low pitched hum that goes in and out with VÉRITÉ’s voice and then the sound switches and turns into this pop-y track. I really like it! Sixth is “Need Nothing” has an electronica sound to it, but it’s pretty mellow. It still has that alternative edge to it, has it’s sassy notes to it. It could be another favorite of mine! “Saint” is after that one and this has an ominous introduction but it has more pop-y/playful vibe to it too.

Next up is “Solutions” and it starts out with this warping sound and her voice. I love these stripped down beginnings. This one has more of an electronic sound than the other one I had mentioned, it goes in and out so it’s not obnoxious but it’s pretty interesting! The song “Floor” is after and it’s pretty slow and echo-y. It gives you more of a chill feeling while listening to it, but it’s kind of boring though. I do like the lyrics and melody, but I’m not feeling the slow beat sadly. Next is the title track “Somewhere In Between” and it is the ideal VÉRITÉ song, it has that alternative but unique sound. It’s very soft but it goes with her beautiful voice!

Now we start on the last three songs of the album, beginning with “Nothing” and this has an soft but mysterious intro but then it turns into this very energetic beat! I’m kind of glad for it another upbeat track and catchy! Despite the fact that I do love her softer songs, there’s only so many of those a normal person can take let’s be honest! Afterwards is “Control” and we’re back to the softer notes, but it does have jazzier sound with using the bass guitar in the background. It does have a small horn section which just adds to that jazz vibe to it! I love the groove and I had some serious trouble not dancing along to it! Last one is “Freedom Of Falling” and I really loved the beat of this one. The intro was a soft but steady beat. I liked her subtle hums in the background. It was so simple. Everything that I like about her!

This was everything I wanted it to be and more! It was so good! After so long of just releasing about three to four songs at a time, I bet it feels rewarding to put out this amount of music for all the fans! It won’t keep all of us satisfied but it’ll keep us occupied for a while I think. I think I’ll go on to say this was one of my favorite albums on 2017 I liked it that much!

Have you listened to VÉRITÉ’s new album “Somewhere In Between” or any of her other music she’s released? What do you think of it?

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