Review: Songs of Innocence

Songs of Innocence

'Songs of Innocence' is the new album from the legendary Irish rock band who need no introduction U2.

Let's face it, everybody who hasn't been living under a rock has heard of U2. Especially more so after the controversial method of marketing this particular album. By putting it straight on people's itunes accounts, one of the biggest bands in the world set off a nightmare of criticism from celebrities and anybody who had a twitter account. The only real saving grace for them was if the album they had given to anybody was actually any good...

Then the song marketed with the album "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" comes on and you're calmly reminded of the grounded rock music that U2 have earned a massive reputation from. Despite the fact that this song is typically the kind of music they normally make, U2 have somehow managed to make the track current and popular to people. Despite the safe nature of the opening track, 'Songs of Innocence' is an album that's anything but safe as it tackles a large variety of musical styles. This is particularly highlighted on 'Sleep Like a Baby Tonight' which wanders through three discernable genres in 5 minutes.

The album is called 'Songs of Innocence' but it should really be called 'Songs of Hope'. If the lyrics in every song hold one central theme, it's to keep on believing under all circumstances. In a sense, U2 may have promoted the album in the way they did because they wanted people to hear the messages behind these songs. There has been massive lyrical development from 'No Line on the Horizon' where none of the lyrics on the album made any sense. These are songs that the band really want be to hear properlly and this reviewer is certainly happy to oblige to that

So to recap... massive band, massive promotional mistake or was it? I am certainly ready to forgive the band for their bizarre giving away of the album in order to focus on the music. 'Songs of Innocence' is a well made, stellar piece of work from a band with a lot of experience. As a reviewer however, I missed the extraordinary factor from a band who should be experienced enough and have enough of a repertoire of amazing music (not to mention the 6 year wait) to make an album that's better than this. Nonetheless, it's good to finally hear music from these guys again.

8.5/10



Click here to watch the video for lead single "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" 

Review: Black Star Elephant

Black Star Elephant

'Black Star Elephant' is the debut album from Norwegian-African pop/hip-hop duo Nico & Vinz.

It's important to start with a clear distinction, 'Black Star Elephant' is more than an album. 'Black Star Elephant' is a personal adventure of songs and vignettes from along the journey created by a duo whose focus was once old-style rap music. With a change of direction has come a groundbreaking change of sound and an album that delivers beyond what a typical album is supposed to.

Nico & Vinz are leading a revolution of African beats mixed with pop music. This album is a massive showcase of that with highlights for this being on 'Imagine' and 'My Melody'. This is not however what the album is limited to and lead single 'Am I Wrong' proves that the charts love this duo for their incredible ability with pop music. This music significantly contributes to the wandering journey nature of the album with dips into Asian sounds also present ('When the Day Comes').

The lyrics are the most striking part of the album. It's been a long time since an artist offered an album that was so full of motivational messages. Most of the songs on the album attempt to tap at our conscience whether that be regarding money ('People'), perseverance ('In Your Arms') or love ('Runnin') among so many others. Nico & Vinz are two people with beautiful voices who have chosen to use them to spread messages of hope and motivation through their music. It's a brave move, when they could've easily made a pop album full of #1 singles, but instead chose to create positive energy with their ideals on the state of the world.

'Black Star Elephant' is a piece of work unlike any other heard before. It is an experience that takes you on an exciting journey, it's music which is grounded and soulful and it's the right lyrics that make people think about the many issues the duo tackle with their songs. In a sense, they are modern prophets whose uplifting music makes us want to follow every word they say and to consider our own actions. This album is a masterpiece and should give the duo tons more attention than they've received up until now.   

10/10



Click here to watch the video for their global smash hit 'Am I Wrong'

Review: Listen

Listen
 
'Listen' is the new album from French EDM legend David Guetta.

From the opening track 'Dangerous', you can tell that something is up with Guetta's music. This is Guetta's new single to promote the album and it doesn't include one of the fundamental parts of EDM - the drop. As people soon realise from listening (pun slightly intended), this doesn't take away from how excellent the track is, and sure enough it's become popular everywhere as Guetta's singles typically do. As somebody who's so renowned in this field of music, Guetta must've been so brave to take the leap to try and do something different with his production work. The result is an album that marks a new era of EDM.

Just by looking at the guest stars on the tracklist alone, you know that this is a well-crated, well-thought through album. Guetta opts for some of his successful old collaborations (Sia, Nicki Minaj, Afrojack) but has mostly branched out to include artists not typically found in this genre of music (Emeli Sande, Birdy, The Script). The result of this is a fresh sound on every track that is delightful to hear. The production work on every track is stellar and Guetta knows when to bring in fellow producer Showtek to add something even more different to certain songs.

In short, there's something for everybody on Guetta's new album from the uplifting to the soulful to the ravey even to the revolutionary (try out 'Rise' with Skylar Grey). Guetta has knocked down the typical genre boundaries around EDM to give people music for every mood, lyrics that are just a tad shy of meaningful and excellently delivered vocals from guest stars who compliment the extraordinary production work. There are miles of positive progress between Guetta's last album 'Nothing But the Beat' and this, a fresh collection of unexpected songs that anybody who likes good music can enjoy. He may be over 40, but there's still a lot of life and good music left in David Guetta's creative capability to keep him going for years to come.

9/10



Click here to watch the music video for lead single 'Lovers on the Sun'