I was looking forward to hearing this after “Big Conspiracy”, but it was utterly unlistenable. What would have been a great song with Jorja Smith was ruined by shitty autotune. I enjoyed three songs because none of them used autotune: ‘ Come Look’, ‘Cream’, and ‘It’s Crazy’. Very disappointing. That’s all I have to say. Roll on Blur next week.
Song recommendations: ‘Come Look’, ‘Cream’, ‘It’s Crazy’
2/10
Here is another instalment of Taylor reworking her original albums after…well., you already know from the last reviews she was being held to ransom over her masters and found a way around it thanks to her solicitor and someone asking permission to use one of her songs, from the originals on television. I have enjoyed what is known as “Taylor’s Version” because everything is better. The vocals, the matured vocal delivery, the production, the professionalism, and the overall clean audio.
The opener is ‘Mine’, and immediately the album catches my ears for how much cleaner it sounds compared to the original, and I like Taylor’s more mature delivery. There is no teenage angst. The reworks stand out more because Taylor has collaborations, and Hayley Williams from Paramore is on ‘Castles Crumbling”.One of my favourites is ‘When Emma Falls in Love’- a soft piano ballad with tender but heart-aching vocals.
As you know from the originals, there was a lot of pent-up anger in her vocals. Still, on the reworks, she has changed that with tenderness and empathy, which is clearly on display in ‘Ours’, and her vocal delivery is done with more meaning now on ‘Enchanted’ as the track arrives at the bridge. There are even lyric changes, as found on another of my favourites, the full-on rock attitude of ‘Better than Revenge’ where she changes the song’s perspective to make the male the antagonist, rather than the female who originally was where she was slut-shamed.
There is also a collaboration with Fall Out Boy on ‘Electric Touch’ where Taylor exchanges verse with Patrick Stump( Who also plays the guitar) before they sing the chorus together. There is room for the National’s Aaron Dessner to play multiple instruments across ten tracks. He also co-wrote ‘Electric Touch’ and ‘Foolish One’. The producer is, once again, Jack Antonoff, who made a mess of “Midnights” but gets the production on point this time. He plays multiple instruments on the record and even does some backing vocals.
I also enjoyed ‘Back to December’ and ‘Dear John’ simply for their vocal maturity. After all the shit she has been through with Scooter, you wouldn’t be surprised if her vocals displayed raw anger, but no, she has done these reworks like the mature songwriter she now is. Another thing worth mentioning on the above tracks is the new arrangements where Taylor can show more vocal diversity now. ‘Sparks Fly’ is the only track where Taylor could have improved. The rest of the album is brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough. I love these “Taylor’s Version” and am only a fan of her country days. That speaks volumes to just how good they have been so far.
Song recommendations: ‘Better than Revenge’, ‘Dear John’, ‘When Emma Falls in Love’
9/10
I had heard of the name before but never listened to their tracks. A lady called Roxanne, who I speak to, is a fan. “Dead Club City” is their fourth album and the first time I listened to the band.
The record begins with the leading single, ‘Welcome to the DCC’, and straightaway, my ears prick up as I was not expecting a band with such a name to have a Jungle-esque track, let alone beginning to an album. I loved the feel-good groove to the opener; as I mentioned before, it reminded me of Jungle.
I thought this album would be all-out indie, but it is laced with disco, indie, rock and psychedelia. Elements of some of the songs had a Tame Impala feel to them. Then we have the Jungle-esque groove of ‘Keeping You Around’ and ‘Do You Love Me Yet?’. The latter has some mad guitar solo, which I unfortunately discovered was the outro, so the track fades out when the solo should have played until its conclusion. They missed a trick by not doing that.
There is even room for ballads on the record. The standout is ‘Green Eyes:: Siena’, where Conor Mason’s tender vocals accompany the acoustic. The lyrics are quite deep, too.
The album closes with ‘Pop the Balloon, an all-out assault on your ears for the majority, but then there is a complete drop in the tempo, which happens without any indication it is approaching. “Dead Club City” isn’t bad for my first introduction to the band. I know some purists may not like this diverse record, but honestly, it kept me interested, and I will now listen to more of their material in the future.
Song recommendations: ‘Do You Love Me Yet?’, ‘Welcome to the DCC’, ‘Pop the Balloon
7/10
The first I heard of Maisie Peters was a recent segment on television about her supporting Ed Sheeran. The 23-year-old signed with Atlantic after releasing two singles independently and released two EPs under Atlantic and the soundtrack for a British comedy series titled “Trying” for its second series.
In 2021, she left Atlantic and joined Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. This album is a joint venture with Gingerbread Man and Asylum. Her debut record was released Gingerbread Man titled “You Signed up for This”. Despite it not hitting the top spot, Ed has taken her on the road (As mentioned in the paragraph), so she is getting more exposure, and no doubt touring with Ed on his “Mathematics” tour has seen her sophomore album reach the acme.
I listened to “the Good Witch’ via her YouTube, and I thoroughly recommend watching the lyric videos to the tracks. The lyrics are displayed on what appears to me as tarot-like cards. And fuck me; the lyrics are fucking mind-blowing. She is a phenomenal songwriter. I wonder how someone who didn’t grow up in a town or city can write so much.
From the title track, I was immediately hooked by the absolute brilliance in her songwriting. How one talks about their rollercoaster emotions and keeps it interesting is mind-blowing. Aside from its lyrical brilliance, ‘Coming of Age’ is a three-minute pop song with panache and sets the tone for the rest of the record.
‘Watch’ is good regarding Maisie’s delivery, where she goes from melancholic to pure rage. ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man) rips to shreds an ex, and she mocks him for good measure by professing she was “the man” in the relationship over a Katy Perry-esque dream-pop beat. Think Katy’s ‘Last Friday Night (TGIF)’. ‘Run’ is a mild drum n bass track, albeit under three minutes. I hope Hedex gets hold of it and adds a banging remix. ‘BSC’ stands for Bat Shit Crazy, and when you listen to the lyrics, it is hard not to laugh at the humour displayed by her, yet with a sincere delivery. I haven’t mentioned ‘the Band and I’ yet, which features early on in the record. Wow, oh, fucking wow. Amazing track with Ke$ha-like vocals where she tells in great detail about life on the road.
‘Two Weeks Ago’ is slightly confusing when you hear the chorus because instead of explaining her current mood, she declares, “God, I wish it was two weeks ago’. Her hooks on the album are extremely catchy, and the echoed lines will certainly be sung back at her on tour. The record ends with ‘There it Goes’, which is about letting go of love that is covered in snow. By this, she means that their love is cold and doomed to fail. I thoroughly enjoyed this record, which moves from dream-pop to ballad, to dance, to drum n bass, where she discusses relationships and breakups bluntly with the occasional sarcasm and humour. The album is also radio-friendly, with no one track over four minutes. It may be a short listen, but it works.
Song recommendations: ‘Run’, ‘the Band and I’, ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man)’
9/10
Honest Opinions 