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Tracks of the Week

Music Tracks of the Week

Track of the Week // Jess Glynne “Hold My Hand”

Posted on March 10, 2015

If ever there was such thing as a “vocal crush“, mine would definitely have to be this British raven-haired siren. I’ve always been a huge sucker for raspy and raw-sounding singers so ever since the moment I first came across Rather Be on the radio, I’ve just fallen instantly in love with the grit in Jess Glynne‘s voice.

 

As a vocalist, Glynne is perhaps better known for the megahits she’s produced with fellow Brits like Clean Bandit and Route 94. Several #1 collaborations later, the London songtress is aiming to make 2015 her year to achieve solo success, and with this brand new, very infectious gem of a track… it’s looking promising.

Hold My Hand - Single 1

Hold My Hand follows Glynne’s Top 10 hit Right Here as the second single off her forthcoming debut album. It offers a very polished and pure Pop sound that we’ve yet to hear in Glynne’s previous Electronic-leaning materials and I absolutely love it! What I love even more is her smoky, soulful vocal performance – it’s genuinely the best of its kind. The way it flows along with the piano-driven rhythms is simply too slick!

Lyrics-wise, it paints a positive picture. This is a great mood-lifter with perfect sing-along words that will stick in your brain after a couple of plays… but it won’t stop there, as I predict the playcount’s about to skyrocket on my iTunes. What do you reckon? 😉

 

Love, Oliver

Don’t forget to tell me what you think of my choice this week!

Music Tracks of the Week

Track of the Week // Tove Styrke “Borderline”

Posted on February 27, 2015

So sorry I haven’t done one of these in so long!! Truth is, although Wi-Fi is as common as anything throughout Asia, there is no guarantee that it will always work so attempting to stream music presented a real modern day hardship most of the times. Therefore, I’d been keeping track of all the new music I’d missed out during my travels for when I return to the UK, which I am now. Good to be back but I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I don’t miss the sunshine…

 

Anyway! One obvious stand-out track that I have just listened to now (and already hooked) is the lead single off Tove Styrke’s latest EP, Borderline released late last year, to be included in her upcoming sophomore album Kiddo.

Borderline-EP-4

This track comes with bags of attitude and fun wordplays. Indeed, this song’s got some of my favourite lyrics, like /I live my life in shackles but I’m borderline free, I used to be blind and I still can’t see/ . It’s clever but it’s cheeky, and it’s cute bouncing on and off the beats.

 

Tove and I actually go way back to my high school days when I used to follow the Idol franchise religiously. On her respective series, Tove merely lost out on the crown to a couple of dudes when she finished third but she has since been tipped by critics all over the world to be the one to watch. Well, if she was anything to write home about then, she certainly is the singer-songwriter everyone should be listening out for in 2015!!

This is not the everyday-Pop-diva Tove I remembered from some tired, rehashed-out reality show, in a surprisingly good way. This track shows that this Swedish powerhouse is capable of reinventing herself to stay fresh and exciting with impressive ease.

 

If you don’t know who Tove Styrke is yet, Borderline is definitely the song to get onboard her love train with!!

 

Love, Oliver

*Borderline – EP is available to download on iTunes here. New album Kiddo is due to release on 16/03.

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Tracks of the Week

Track of the Week: Fall Out Boy “The Kids Aren’t Alright”

Posted on December 17, 2014

Fresh out the oven doesn’t even begin to describe this week’s selection from Fall Out Boy, whose new promotional single The Kids Aren’t Alright was only just released no more than two days ago.

 

American Beauty _ American Psycho

This is the third song we’ve heard from the Chicago band’s much anticipated upcoming sixth album entitled American Beauty / American Psycho, following the smash hit Centuries and the title track – all of which you can instantly download when you preorder the album on iTunes.

The pop-punk ballad opens with pulsing percussions rolling alongside these super catchy whistles, and it only gets better from there as it progresses into a powerful chorus where Patrick Stump scream-sings some rather emotional words. In comparison to the two previously released tracks, The Kids Aren’t Alright by far has the most sentimental characteristics yet, whilst retained is their hyper energy.

The vocals are, as usual, impeccable. Apart from his signature high notes that we’re all too familiar with, Stump also shows off a fair bit of his lower register – listen out for the flawlessly executed verses and bridge.

 

I have to say, the boys are killing it harder than they ever were before the five year hiatus. Who is excited for the album? *hand shoots up*

 

Love, Oliver

*American Beauty / American Psycho is out 19/01 in the UK – preorder on iTunes now.
Music Tracks of the Week

Track of the Week: Olly Murs “Seasons”

Posted on December 3, 2014

Never Been Better (Deluxe Edition)

My pick this week may seem unlikely as Olly Murs isn’t exactly the type of artist I would associate my musical taste with. Truthfully, I don’t find Never Been Better any different from his previous records so I guess you could say that he’s found his niche in the industry but as far as the album at hand is concerned, Seasons is a definite standout for me. A brilliant one at that, too.

 

Listen to the slowed down version of the song on Murs’ official Vevo channel:

You can win yourself a copy of Never Been Better for this Christmas here!!

I particularly enjoy the reggae touch in this song, which is a pleasant change from Murs’ usual samey-samey Pop beats. The grooves immediately brought to my mind something that Maroon 5 would do in their earlier years – the good times. 🙂

Before the track made it onto the album, the X-Factor alumni reportedly did a cyber audition for the hitmaker verging on legendary status, Ryan Tedder, who also provides background vocals here. The OneRepublic frontman clearly didn’t select Murs to record this song for no reason. As usual, I feel Tedder has yet again brought the best out of an artist as the improvement in Murs’ vocals is pretty clear to hear.

 

This track’s got all the attributes of a chart-topper – it’s super catchy, very very radio-friendly and I can already visualise a fun and energetic music video (Heart Skips A Beat) for it. Plus, it’s loaded with immense rent-a-rapper potential to become a solid hit in the States so I’d be very surprised if this doesn’t follow the Demi Lovato-duet “Up” as a single.

 

Love, Oliver

*Never Been Better is out on iTunes and Amazon now.

Let me know what you think of the song in the comment section!!

Music Tracks of the Week

Track of the Week: Major Lazer (feat. Ariana Grande) “All My Love”

Posted on November 18, 2014

I’ve always been a sucker for soundtracks, especially the ones with original music. Artists collectively showcasing their own interpretation for the film’s sound, new materials to quench us fans’ thirst between albums – it’s just great.

The Hunger Games has surely built quite a reputation in this department for producing some of the most popular soundtracks in the last few years. The franchise has given us in my opinion the best Taylor Swift song (with a little help from The Civil Wars) and some other fantastic collaborations, for instance, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Tedder in We Remain and Sia, The Weeknd and Diplo in Elastic Heart. The soundtrack from the latest instalment, Mockingjay – Part 1 is no different. It’s recruited the freshest, most exciting new voices from the current music scene, including Lorde, Tinashe, Tove Lo and Charli XCX as well as a few household names like Grace Jones and Kanye West.

 

cover600x600

Included in this soundtrack is my track of the week by Major Lazer and Ariana Grande, called All My Love. Formerly the myterious track when the tracklisting surfaced, it turns out that this Dance-pop smash is so much more than I’d wished for!! Take a listen below, if you like Grande’s Break Free, then you’re bound to love this!

This is a testament of the fact that Grande can do no wrong as her melodic, breathy vocals croon /All my love’s up on the mountain top/ over an electronic sound before it erupts into a tribal-esque beat breakdown.

The track has gathered a pretty interesting mix of creative talents. Apart from the ones already named above, New Zealand teen sensation Lorde and Danish songtress MØ are among those who share credits. Lyrically, the Hunger Games element is definitely much more apparent than the previous soundtracks and I think Lorde deserves a mention for her contribution in crafting most of the songs on this totally amazing record and giving me the most inspirational line ever in Yellow Flicker Beat,

/I never watch the stars, there’s so much down here/… Genius.

 

Love, Oliver

Mockingjay – Part 1 is out in a few days, are you going to see it? What do you think of my choice this week? Let me know!!