Burna Boy

Week 41: Coldplay- Moon Music

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

It was great to finally see Coldplay live and experience all I have witnessed watching their performances on television/listening to them. I went to Radio 1’s Big Weekend in spring with one of my best friends, and the experience is even better when you are there. Of course, there were still people watching it through their phones, which beggars belief. I prefer to be in the moment, and sharing the moment with Coldplay is one of those times you are glad to be alive. The love and harmony are just immense. It was excellent to experience it before they split up. I was looking forward to hearing “Moon Music” after hearing some of the tracks teased during Glastonbury headliner. Everyone else was also looking forward to it, as the pre-sale for the album sold out at least five months before it was released. Unfortunately, it all was an anti-climax.

The album’s message of love and harmony is evident in its ten tracks, but it seems the artists were too focused on their zen during the sessions. The lyrical content is kept to a minimum, as seen in the opening track, where Chris’s vocals only appear in the final minute. Before that, the track is a soothing instrumental , best described as ambient music.

Of course, one of the tracks featured during the Glastonbury headliner ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’ is one of the best ones. Chris’s vocals are more pronounced and the kind of song that got Coldplay scores of hits. Lyrically, though, is it found wanting again. The bridge section is excellent, where it is call-and-response, which the band could get the audience to sing back to them, and of course, there is the “la’s” hook, which will work live. I wish I could say I enjoyed ‘We Pray’, and to be honest, it features the brilliant Little Simz, but then it also has Burna Boy as one of the featured artists, and he ruins everything he touches, so as soon as he came on it, I skipped it.

‘GOOD FEELiNGS’ is a funky track, but as the common theme, the lyrics are not great. What about ‘iAAM’? What is that about, lyrically? Chris sings about standing on a sea of pain, but at the end of the lyric, he says that he will be back on his feet again. I mean, that isn’t very smart, to say the least. I suppose Noel did write “Slowly walking down the hall/faster than a cannonball” for ‘ Champagne Supernova’ back in 1995, so it might be just a case of Chris using rhyme.

Don’t get me started on ‘JUPiTER’. The subject matter is to make people aware of what it is like to be a lesbian and face homophobia from another person’s perspective, which isn’t a bad thing, but the lyrics are basic.

In a nutshell, I was highly disappointed with the final album. However, the message of peace, love, and harmony is present, but it’s not the triumphant conclusion we were expecting. The tracks are drenched in ambience, overshadowing the vocals . And when the vocals do appear, the lyrics don’t quite live up to their potential.

Song recommendations: ‘GOOD FEELiNGS’

5/10

Week Five: J Hus- Big Conspiracy

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

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It has been a very testing time for the vocalist from Stratford since the release of his debut album “Common Sense”, which charted at No.6 in the main chart and secured the top spot in the R&B chart. However, on this record, he doesn’t really talk about any of his personal problems during the past two years or so. If anything, this record is much wiser for a kid that is only twenty-three years old. Whatever it is that he was dealing with has seen him come out on the other side with a more mature point of view of the world. The debut was more spontaneous and had a sense of “I’ve made it, so I am going to have fun and live fast” attitude to it, whereas his follow-up shows more of his talents, and that he feels a lot more comfortable with the direction, he is heading in with his music.

You notice this from the title track alone and understand the hyperbole surrounding J Hus. Another thing I particularly like about the record is how the producer TSB has made it feel more like a live performance than a recorded record in a studio. I will need to check if the tracks were performed as a live show (albeit not to the public.) rather than the usual method of recording these days. Although this may be his record, the performance of icee tgm catches my ear on the opening two tracks. Especially on “Helicopter”. I recommend looking out for this talented female vocalist in the coming year.

She is not the only artist to be collaborating on the record. J Hus has opted to showcase himself more and use only three collaborations with icee tgm, Burna Boy and Koffee. Although some tracks have pop elements to them, their references to guns and sex, like “Play Play” and the very comedic “Cucumber”, might not be deemed radio-friendly enough for the mainstream singles chart.

As the album goes on, it gets darker and darker. I liked “Deeper Than Rap”, as you get a real insight into J’s life through the piano instrumental accompanying his autobiographical story. What is especially good about this record and why it deserved the top spot is that it blends all the sounds associated with the UK through the decades. It is ranging from Jungle, Drum & Bass, Garage, Grime and so forth. With Stormzy and now J Hus already scoring No.1 albums this year, it raises the stakes for other Grime artists to emulate.

9/10