My Own Little World

One of my friends called Reputation “fun trash,” and I’m beginning to agree with him. Taylor Swift’s sequel to her 80s-laden synthpop tribute 1989 – an album I thought was incredibly solid and more substantial than her previous work – has all the components of today’s latest trashy pop music. It has celebrity feuds, horrible break-ups, dubstep hooks fused with R&B rhythms – it’s all here. And I’m feeling somewhat…disappointed. Granted, being someone who loved the music of 1989 and its trendy nature makes it pretty plain that I don’t care for just any pop music. My favorite pop album of the year was Lorde’s Melodrama , a beautiful synthpop record with some indie flair that subverted the lyrical trends of most pop music by showing what happens after the party ends. Besides the musical quality of the record, what I loved most was that Lorde retained who she was – an outsider wanting to offer a slight critique of what the industry pushes as its product. Taylor Swift, ...

A few months ago, a British worship artist by the name of Ian Yates got in contact with me, asking me to review his upcoming album. I jumped at the chance to get a bit of an early look at a (at least in the United States) relatively unknown artist while also getting to form a bit of a relationship directly with people actually making their own music. I went and listened to all of Ian's back catalog to make sure I had a proper perspective on this new album. To be honest, I'm not really a huge fan of a whole lot of his older stuff, as it fits into the modern worship box way too snugly. There was definitely some evident improvement as I went from album to album, but on the whole it's by the books worship music. I didn't think his material was bad; it just didn't grab me in any meaningful way. That being said, Ian's new project Awaken to Love  has a lot more to offer than his prior work. It's got some solid lyricism and musical composition that are just in...

I'm in the middle of what's probably my third listen of A Head Full of Dreams , and I cannot decide for the life of me whether I like this record or not. On one hand, this is the upbeat Coldplay that I know and (usually) love back once again with a vengeance to inspire the world to seize the day and make the most of their lives. On the other hand, this is overall the least Coldplay has ever sounded like themselves because of the increasing amount of electronic textures present. Granted, A Head Full of Dreams  pushes Chris Martin and Co. into new directions musically. When I head "Viva la Vida" back in 2008, I never would have thought that we would be hearing Coldplay going full-on disco pop ("Adventure of a Lifetime") or R&B ("Hymn for the Weekend," which also features Beyonce). These areas of experimentation are intriguing and typically work because they're so unexpected. From a band who over the years has been known to more or less st...

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and that means it's time for Christmas music. Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, I'll be doing a series of reviews on as many of the Christmas albums I have as I can. This week, we'll kick things off with an eternal classic: Bing Crosby's White Christmas . I'll bet that when most of you think of Christmas music, one of the first songs to come to mind after the classic Christ-centered carols is "White Christmas." I'll also bet that the version your mind jumps to is that by Bing Crosby. What most casual listeners don't realize, however, is that Crosby was much more than a one- or two-trick pony. His rich, soothing voice continues to this day to be a great match for these classic Christmas tracks we see on White Christmas . Take the opening track of "Silent Night." Nearly every single full-length Christmas album has some sort of rendition of it, and for good reason. However, Crosby's smooth b...

I have a confession to make. Nick Jonas was definitely my favorite Jonas Brother. He was always the one who seemed the most musically inclined and wanted to do his own thing. Kevin and Joe wanted to be rock stars: Nick wanted to be more alternative and old-school. Well, two years after the band's breakup, he's finally getting his shot. With his self-titled debut album, Nick Jonas finally gets his chance to prove why he's still relevant to music today and not just a relic of the Disney pop star era. Musically, Jonas's album reminds me of Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly  in the fact that it is a former teen star taking on '90s R&B and pop (and the killer range/head voice they both show off). It works well here, though not quite as well as Grande's album, mostly because it still feels very rooted in today's music; however, its swagger and bouncing beats cannot be denied. Almost every song is appealing in some way, with standouts being ...

From my first listen of "Shake It Off," I could tell that Taylor Swift's newest album 1989 was going to be a must listen. This was a huge turn musically for her, going from a country-pop vibe to a slightly more experimental mainstream pop sound. As I heard more new tracks, I realized that this was a bigger turn than I thought it would be, intriguing me even more into Swift's new album. It was going to be either great or very bad, with not much room in between. Thankfully, 1989 's musical turn is a fantastic genre change for Swift. Diving into the deep end instead of wading into new territory was a little bit of a gamble, but it pays off. The overall vibe is very 1980's synthpop, which I personally loved. Not many artists could pull off this style and keep it relevant and listenable all at the same time, so Swift doing this is quite an accomplishment. Songs like "Style," "Out of the Woods," and "All You Had to Do Was Stay" exe...

Everfound is a new Christian pop/rock group from Russia. These four brothers are set to invade America with their electronically-tinged sound. To help gain more exposure, they joined the Winter Jam tour this year. Their self-titled debut was released last summer, providing us with more insight as to these brothers' sound. Does their debut album break any new ground? Musically, they do not accomplish anything terribly new. They put forth an energetic but familiar CCM pop/rock sound, akin to Sanctus Real. The electronic elements are more prominent than most artists, but they do not yet have their own unique sound. This is their debut album, so they have plenty of time to utilize their amazing potential. That is the one thing that Everfound shows on this album: potential. Nikita's voice is very promising, as he can sound emotional while belting out incredibly high notes. Their anthemic sound will draw many fans early on in their career, giving them more leeway when they make a...

Ever since Michael Tait replaced Peter Furler as the Newsboys' lead singer, I've become far less enamored with the band. After a solid initial release in Born Again and a mediocre worship album in God's Not Dead , I really did not know what to expect from Restart . Musically, I was not surprised at all. The album makes use of the standard modern pop-rock sound that both of Tait's albums have used. Some songs sound better than others, with "Live With Abandon" being the best. Overall, the music rarely obscured the lyrics, which with this style is a mark of some excellence, even if the composition is nothing we have not heard before. It supports the lyrics well; however, this is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the lyrics are somewhat thought-out, but a couple songs stand out for better or for worse. "Live With Abandon" and "We Believe" have excellent lyrics, especially the latter. "We Believe" is a simple yet effective p...

I've always had a soft spot for Katy Perry. Her voice is silky smooth and her music is infectiously catchy. However, after looking back at Teenage Dream , I started to become less enamored with her because of her provocative lyrics. You see, I am very impressed when pop singers can break the mold of sex-filled lyrics and create wonderful music. At long last, I can add Katy Perry to that very small group. Does she still write about sex on Prism ? Yes, but it is much more diminished and subtle than Teenage Dream  was. Thematically, it worked; however, I'm not one that likes to hear "sex, sex, sex" in all my music. Thankfully, Prism  distinguishes itself from almost all other pop music in that sense. The album's two highlights, "Unconditionally" and "By the Grace of God", are both astonishingly Christian in their values that they purport, which is a real surprise given how much Perry has denied her faith in the past few years. Musically, Prism  ...