Rita Ora ~ “How We Do (Party)”
A great upbeat pop song.
“Vows” ~ Kimbra (album review)
Kimbra is a female singer from New Zealand that was introduced to the world this year as Gotye’s duet partner on the mega hit “Someone That I Used To Know”. However, she made waves in her homeland before that. And it’s easy to see why – she does have a beautiful voice. Kimbra’s debut album, “Vows”, has now been released in the US and other countries outside Australia/NZ. The world can see a fuller picture of her.
Kimbra’s style is eclectic – her album is influenced by jazz-pop, indie pop, soul, and electronica. Her beautiful voice fits well with all these styles. But that’s where her eclecticism stops. These are the only style I could see her doing – hip-hop, electro house, or hard rock would not be her forte.
“Vows” is a pretty tight collection of songs. Almost all the reviews from others about the album have been positive. Some have added critical comments about how the songs are not ambitious. Or too polished and don’t adequately capture her raw talent. This is true, but it is still good pop-soul-jazz-indie music where her voice is effective.
Almost all the tracks are slow or mid tempo – except for one, there’s no songs that could get you dancing. The one upbeat track is “Warrior”, which is produced by Mark Foster of Foster The People. “Warrior” is an indietronica song like Foster The People’s stuff. “Settle Down”, “Two Way Street”, “Good Intent”, and “Plain Gold Ring” are excellent tracks that have jazz and 60s/70s soul influence. These are tracks that Amy Winehouse could have done. “Cameo Lover” is a nice track influenced by 80s R&B.
(4 out of 5 stars)
Imagine Dragons ~ “It’s Time”
It’s time to begin, isn’t it?
I get a little bit bigger, but then I’ll admit
I’m just the same as I was
Now don’t you understand
I’m never changing who I am
“Mondo” ~ Electric Guest (album review)
Electric Guest is an electronic-rock group in the vein of Foster The People, MGMT, The Naked and Famous, and Passion Pit. Their first single, “This Head I Hold”, has been getting heavy airplay on AltNation and moderate airplay on The Spectrum. It hasn’t gotten much exposure beyond that, but it could become a ‘sleeper hit’ like “Pumped Up Kicks” was for Foster The People.
“Mondo”, Electric Guest’s debut album, is an excellent collection of ten songs. It’s so excellent that I think the band has been criminally under exposed. Electric Guest isn’t just a carbon copy of another ‘indietronica’ band. They have their own sound. Many of the songs have a psychedelic rock sound fused with synthesizers and keyboards. The music on the album is less polished than music on typical albums. It has a “live” feel. And the lead singer has a nice voice reminiscent of a 70s soul singer, an uncommon characteristic for an ‘alternative’ band.
“This Head I Hold” is a song that it could bring this indie band top 40 fame. Pop listeners like a catchy melody and irresistible rhythm, and this song has both. Besides “This Head I Hold”, the best tracks in my opinion are “Under The Gun”, “Awake”, “Amber”, “Waves”, and the over 8-min long “Troubleman”. “Amber” and “Troubleman” are more somber, while the other mentioned tracks are upbeat and get you dancing, like “Pumped Up Kicks” or MGMT’s “Kids”.
If you are a fan of other electronic-rock or indietronica bands, give these guys a listen.
