ALBUM REVIEW: Amy Shark - Love Monster
There are just some albums that were destined to be heard and Amy Shark's 'Love Monster' is one of those records. Over the last year and a half the Gold Coast singer-songwriter has had a rapid rise to fame thanks to the release of her breakthrough single 'Adore'. It has seen her tour the world, perform on The Late Late Show With James Corden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the US, perform at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and place number two on Triple J's Hottest 100. An impressive feat for the fact that she had only released a six-track EP, but now she's finally ready to deliver her emotional debut album in its full glory.
'Love Monster' is an honest collection of 14 tracks that reflect on past and present relationships, friendships, heartbreak, confusion and everything in between. From the first listen you will be captivated and hooked but her raw honesty and unique storytelling that puts you in the middle of these experiences.
The album opens with the simple guitar and percussion track ‘I Got You’ that hears her exploring dedication before launching into the hopeless romantic anthem ‘Adore’ that started it all. But from there the album shows a dramatic growth in production and storytelling with the Jack Antonoff produced ‘All Loved Up’. This song is something else. It’s a cinematic and beautiful track full of confusion and love that hears her tapping into the brain of anyone who has been in love and loves to overthink. “All loved up in a world I can't explain”. The production is very dreamy and is melodically quite similar to her track ‘Sink In’ from the ‘Love, Simon’ soundtrack.
She turns it up a notch for the self-belief anthem ‘I Said Hi’ which hears her proving everyone who didn't believe in her wrong. She continues the fulfilled and angsty sound with the dramatic and cool ‘The Idiot’, ‘Never Coming Back’ and ‘Mess Her Up’ which have a slight Alanis Morissette inspired vocal delivery that oozes through. There's a whole lot of pure heart along with honest heartbreak on ‘Psycho’ that you can’t help but instantly feel in your gut. And along with the reflective lyrics you can’t help but get a very nostalgic feeling when hearing Mark Hoppus from Blink 182’s harmonies collide with Amy’s soothing melodies. This song has you feeling all the emotions instantly, and as soon as that key change hits in the final chorus you will be pushing replay quicker than you can imagine.
She adds in electronic synths for the catchy and relatable ‘Middle Of The Night’ and adds in strings for the moody ‘Leave Us Alone’. But where she really shines is her stripped back tracks full of raw emotion and heart. ‘The Slow Song’ will have your heart in a second with its romantic storyline while ‘You Think I Think I Sound Like God’ may just be one of her best songs with its honesty and production growth. The way the song’s tension builds until the final chorus is very cinematic and will have you in awe of her and ready to press replay.
This whole album is impressive. It perfectly embodies every aspect of her as an artist and will leave you feeling like you know her personally with the autobiographical lyrics. The production hears her showcasing so many different moods and sounds while remaining consistently strong and memorable hooks. Not only will this become a soundtrack to a lot of peoples lives but it is also undoubtedly the best album of the year so far. A massive call but an easy one to make.
SINGLE REVIEW: Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman
After the release of ‘No Tears Left To Cry,’ it’s hard to say that expectations aren't officially set high for her fourth studio album ‘Sweetener.’ She introduced a confident and bold sound which begins as a simple melodic ballad with a dreamy synth production that hears her serving strong and powerful vocals. But then 20 seconds in she drops this nostalgic 90’s beat that is super funky and will have you vibing instantly. She followed this up with the promo single ‘The Light Is Coming’ which was less impactful and was a little annoying with her continuous repetition of the song title. But her production was strong and promising as she delivered this beat-heavy electronic pop sound.
With the album release date getting closer, she has officially released the second single which sadly, slightly disappoints too. ‘God Is A Woman’ is a vocally strong and empowering track but when you strip away her vocals the song is a little boring. Production wise there isn't much going on and the most impressive moments come from the layering of her vocals. Towards the end of the song she delivers a 90’s gospel vocal delivery that gives you serious early Christina Aguilera vibes which is super cool but it takes 2 minutes and 40 seconds to get there.
The sultry inspired track looks at seducing someone so much that you become their whole world. “You, you love it how I move you. You love it how I touch you. My one, when all is said and done you'll believe God is a woman”. I really expected and wanted more from this song but instead it just falls a little flat. She reminded us that her vocals are incredible but we already knew that.
SINGLE REVIEW: Twenty One Pilots - Jumpsuit / Nico And The Niners
The ‘Blurryface’ era seemed never ending but as soon as Twenty One Pilots played their final show in June 2017, they sort of disappeared completely. It’s been a year since we’ve last heard from them and they’ve finally decided to resurface to give us a lot of brand new information. The dynamic duo announced that their third studio album ‘Trench’ will be released on October 5 with their ‘Bandito World Tour’ starting later that month. On top of this they released two brand new tracks as well as an epic new music video. So yeah, it’s been kind of a big day for them.
Lead single ‘Jumpsuit’ is a bold and dark track that hears the duo experimenting with heavier rock influences and a moodier production than what we’ve previously been acquainted with. It’s an interesting choice as a lead single because it doesn't really have any commercial appeal at all. The guitar riff is very dominant, and along with the thrashing drums, it’s very bold and in your face. The verses are softly delivered but as soon as the chorus comes in the volume is turned up and the heavier influences are unleashed. They even include a screaming vocal delivery during the final chorus which sort of just comes out of no where.
Lyrically this song follows the storyline of a fictional city called Dema and the escape efforts of a character called Clancy. It’s very visual and will have you enthralled into the heart racing world this song lives in; however I just wish this song was a stronger and more memorable moment. With a very impressive discography, I did expect something a little bolder and catchier from this song of hope, but they still have time to win me over. They continued this vivid storyline with the reggae-infused ‘Nico And The Niners’ which is a little more familiar sonically but is still very different to anything they’ve released before. Again, it’s not really memorable, but it’s also not a bad song either. It’s just a little, well, average.
SINGLE REVIEW: Sigrid - Schedules
Our favourite Norwegian indie-pop newcomer has been drip-feeding the release of her second EP ‘Raw’ over the past couple of months and proving to the world that she is a force to be reckoned with. Sigrid has just released the final track from the collection and will have you dancing instantly with its vibrant production.
‘Schedules’ is a sassy but sweet track about falling for someone and not worrying that it may not logistically work and just going with the flow. “I know that my schedule is fucked up but baby you know you're the same. And that's why I think we're a hit, woo”. She is known to release quite sad and vulnerable tracks that reflect on heartbreak, betrayal, and confusion but for this song she switches things up and sheds a little ray of positivity and hope.
From the opening keys she instantly gives you ‘High Five’ vibes before dropping pulsating synths similar to ‘Strangers’ and completely changes things up. It’s her catchiest track since ‘Strangers’ and ‘Raw’ and if this doesn't become a massive hit then I will be confused. It’s playful, catchy and just delivers a pure euphoria that is hard to explain. But if you don’t have a huge smile on your face after listening to it, then I think you need to question if you actually have a heart or not.
SINGLE REVIEW: Benny Blanco feat. Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
If you've been paying attention over the last ten years you would've noticed the name Benny Blanco popping up in the production credits of some of your favourite pop songs like 'Teenage Dream', 'Tik Tok', 'Moves Like Jagger', 'Castle On The Hill', 'Cold Water' and 'Now Or Never'. But the American producer has never released his own material, until now.
His debut single 'Eastside' is a slightly disappointing affair that leaves you feeling really underwhelmed. With some of the biggest pop songs under his belt I did expect something a little punchier and a little more impactful but instead we got a monotonous pop meets RNB track.
He strategically teamed up with Halsey and Khalid who are two of the most buzzed-about pop newcomers so there is no excuse why this shouldn't be more impressive than it is. Sadly its just really predictable as he fuses their two sounds together and delivers a 'SIlence 2.0' inspired prodcution. Yawn. But lyrically the storyline is very engaging and will have you slightly interested. "She used to meet me on the Eastside in the city where the sun don't set". But not even that can save it from being a little boring.
You can read full music reviews, live reviews, interviews and more at www.thomasbleach.com
And want to check out some of these songs? Then check out the #BLEACHED playlist on Spotify which is curated each week by Thomas Bleach as his favourite new releases.
