Lady Gaga-Artpop

Lady Gaga
Artpop
Interscope

Love or loathe her, anything Lady Gaga does is going make headlines. “Look, she’s singing on stage wearing an outlandish clothing item!” “Wowzers, she’s stepped out of a taxi wearing an outlandish clothing item!” “Golly gosh, she’s walking around New York NOT wearing an outlandish clothing item!” STOP PRESS!

But now she is back in the news for her music; ArtPop. Aura is the first track up and don’t let the opening restrained guitar chords fool you, this song is perfect for kicking of the Queen of Pop’s third album. It has everything; from thumping techno beats to smashing cymbals and manic synths. Gaga even has time to reference all the themes covered in Artpop; electronically repeating “Dance, Sex, Art, Pop, Tech”. Originally titled Burqa, Aura is set to reveal the girl behind the Gaga, letting the listener into the life of the megastar: “Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura?” she questions. It’s an outlandish claim for an outlandish song; even the lyric video is brilliantly over the top, being directed by Robert Rodriguez and created to tie in with the film Machete Kills, to which Gaga stars. 

And there’s no time for a breather as the album rolls straight into Venus. This goddess-of-love inspired track is the first Lady G has ever produced herself, and it’s got Gaga all over it. It’s a dramatic dance track that features the typical ‘chorus catchiness’ seen in past hits such as Poker Face and Bad Romance. The mystical and enchanting lyrics even include a run-down of planets in the solar system (No, Seriously). G.U.Y., standing for Girl Under You, spins all preconceived gender roles on its head and harks back to the dark dirty world of Born This Way. Full of explosive and in-your-face sexual references, including the spoken phrase “Mount Your Goddess”, GUY borders into the sexual-but-not-sexy category. This theme continues into the triple-x rated Sexxx Dreams, where restrained opening vocals burst into a gloriously filthy chorus which vocally harks back to Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite (Unintentional goddess reference). The climax of Sexxx Dreams comes with the brilliant spoken word intersection “I can’t believe I’m telling you this but I’ve had a couple of drinks and Oh my God...!”.

One thing made clear in Born This Way was that Gaga is not afraid to try new directions and music tastes, and this ‘development’ continues with the rap-grime scene of Jewels and Drugs featuring T.I., Too Short and Twista. It’s an eclectic mix of manic rap, expletive lyrics and perplexing backing beats. Whether this is a route Gaga should follow more often is debatable, so the choice is yours. Stay and you can enjoy a well hidden, but fine chorus. Or skip, and be rewarded with ManiCure, a superb mix of rock and pop that features a truly powerful guitar riff. Do What You Want featuring R Kelly is probably the most batted around song from the album, and rightfully so; it’s a gem. The inclusion of R Kelly does cheapen the songs meaning slightly, with Gaga singing about the struggles of becoming famous quickly and constantly being scrutinised in the public eye, Kelly about a night in a club! But that’s not important as this groovy R&B-pop cross is beautiful.  Artpop the track contains an intoxicating chorus, while Swine is the standout club track of whole album. It’s less of an ‘adrenaline rush’ and more of a stampede. Stabbing synths smash together with dubstep beats to provide an excellent electro-house record; it’s basically a club night in one song. 

Donatella is an ode to the Versace headmistress, painting her in both a positive but interestingly negative way (Would she like being called a “Rich Bitch”?). The love of all things clothes rolls into the David Guetta produced track Fashion! (Note the ‘!’; this is not to be confused with Fashion. See?). This is a pure disco record that reeks of David Bowie, which is never a bad thing. But from the ecstasy of the fashion world comes the dark drug fuelled underworld of Mary Jane Holland; Gaga’s ode to Marijuana. The disturbing, gritty lyrics add a very sinister edge to what is still an enjoyable sounding song. Dope lacks the poetry of earlier tracks, but makes up for that through shear emotion. Described as a song for the fans, this piano led piece exposes Gaga to the core (Finally revealing the girl behind the Aura?). Written whilst Lady G was recovering from a broken hip, she slurs “I need you more than Dope” with pain in her heart and literal tears in her eyes.  

Gypsy is the You and I or Edge Of Glory of Artpop, injecting fun and hope instead of pain and dope. It’s the surprise of the album, a gloriously enjoyable track that deserves to be placed higher up in the listings; more an opener than a closer.  Gaga’s vocals soar majestically in this 80s inspired anthem. And after a performance as epic as this, the only thing left is the Applause.

But Is it Art? Title track Artpop provides the insight that “My Artpop could mean anything” which kind of sums up the album; focus on the Art like many critics and get caught up for hours ultimately detracting yourself from the music. Focus on the Pop of ArtPop, and you’ll witness a superbly produced, if not eclectic euro-pop album.

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Lily Allen-Somewhere Only We Know

Lily Allen
Somewhere Only We Know
Warner Music Group

The countdown to Christmas these days seem to officially commence once the Xmas ads come along. And I don’t mean the ones for Iceland or Littlewoods or DFS, I mean the big guns; the Coca Cola trucks, The Toys’R’Us giraffe and the ever more increasingly important and poignant John Lewis advert. A touching story, a female singer and a piano-led cover are the basic premises for the John Lewis advertising department, but somehow each year the marketing geniuses there choose the best song, best singer and best arrangement to bring their Christmas creation to life. In doing so, they often create the perfect Christmas-song-that’s-not-a-Christmas-song for that festive period, forever cementing it to appear in any and all “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” Compilations. They can launch the careers of singers like GabrielleAplin and Slow Moving Millie, or raise the profiles of already successful artists such as Ellie Goulding.

This year sees the tale of the Bear and the Hare; essentially Brother Bear meets an uplifting version of Watership Down. In case you have been living in a cave like ol’ Bear here and are yet to see the advert, and then do so now. It’s a heart-warming, tear-inducing mini-movie accompanied by Keane’s brilliant hit “Somewhere Only We Know” covered by the self-retired singer, miss Lily Allen.

It’s a relief to finally hear some new (Well, kinda new) material from Lily, and although this isn’t her ‘normal’ edgy style, this piano led ballad cover of an early-noughties track works well. Lily’s vocals are delicate and fluffy like winters snow; pleasant on the ears with a slight cockney twinge. Mid track everything comes to abrupt and somewhat early stop, only to be stirred back into life by ghostly choral vocals and the plinky-plonk of piano keys. There is a slight sense that Lily wants to stretch her voice further and louder but is being held back by the calm and collective nature of this track. Yet when the crescendo does come during the final chorus she soars high above the sea of strings and keys landing gracefully back down firmly in schmaltzy, fuzzy-feeling territory. It is truly lovely.

Yes, It may not be the comeback track that many Allen fans would have wanted, but it is a beautiful tuneful cover that feels slightly understated but certainly not underwhelming. Mince pie anyone?

4/5

UPDATE

And if you did want a more “Lily Allen” Lily Allen comeback track, this maybe it….Here. (Review coming soon)

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Re-Ee-Wind, When The Crowd Say Bo?!

Hello and welcome to the Rebooted, Rejuvenated, Resculptured  music blog site: Out with George Judges Sound, and in with a New Name, New Logo, New Site, New Official Twitter and so much more (That's New, you understand). Its time to be Way Too Vocal about Music!

So Thank you firstly for visiting, this is Way Too Vocal. And today marks a very special day for this blog. The old site, George Judges Sound is gone, dead and buried, left only to be found on cached obscure Google searches. And in its place? A new, more immersive music blog, Way Too Vocal; featuring all the latest music reviews and news. Yes, the reviews have been a bit slow as of late, with general life and the such-like getting in the way. So I promise more will be coming shortly, along with the hopeful arrival of a sister-blog, aiming to provide interviews from the latest up-and-coming musicians (Fingers crossed, will keep you posted).

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Jessie J-Wild

Wild

Jessie J Ft. Dizzee Rascal and Big Sean

Island Records

Jessie J is back, but to be honest it’s hard to think of a time when she ever went away. After releasing her debut album “Who You Are” back in 2011, Jessie stormed the charts worldwide and hit the top spot in 19 countries. She then released a slew of hits, performed at the London Olympics and become a judge/coach/mentor on BBC’s The Voice. Oh and she shaved her head (for charity that is). She hasn’t stopped! Yet some critics still can’t believe how quickly this London girl has shot to stardom, but then neither can Jessie apparently.

“I just can’t believe that this is my life” she proclaims during the chorus of Wild; her return to the music scene and the first tease of her upcoming album. From the opening bars you can sense that this track is a little different, blending the typical Jessie J pop with sparse hip hop beats and a firece R&B attitude. It’s more Do It Like A Dude than Domino for example. A further twist in the track comes with rappers Dizzee Rascal and Big Sean who bring their urban stylings to the table. They both use this song to brag about their own accomplishments, with Dizzee saying modestly “I'm at the peak and I can't be topped”. Yet Jessie is still the main star of this song and the chorus is the major pull. It’s catchy and powerful, with lyrics brimming with swag and fire. Jessie’s vocals soar over minimalist guitar chords, before sliding up and down the scales in a style that she has become famous more. The fact that it may be one of the best hooks this year also means that you’ll be singing it long after it’s finished. 

But ultimately more Jessie and less Dizzee might have made this track better. In fact having two rappers on one track is a little bit g-g-greedy of J-J-Jessie J, and perhaps the track would flow better without the somewhat pointless interruptions (especially Big Sean’s “Fish Dinner” monologue). But it’s a bold move to do so, as is the progression away from her previous releases.  Plus with such a killer chorus it’s hard not to love this single. Wild is a definite contender for the track of the summer, or even pop anthem of 2013.

4/5

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David Bowie-The Next Day

The Next Day

David Bowie

Columbia

 

I should apologise for the lack of reviews lately; work and “life-related” things have cropped up, forcing me to take a hiatus. It’s therefore suitable that the first review back from this break is David Bowie’s The Next Day. Like me, he too has taken time out from the music scene (a bit more than me; say 20 years) and has now returned in a blaze of glory and publicity. We are, therefore quite similar…Except I didn’t move to New York and develop a fear of flying (Yet).

Title track The Next Day kicks this album off in full force. Guitars, drums and all manner of rock n’ roll build till Bowie himself bursts into a crescendo of a chorus; reassuringly stating that “Here I Am/Not quite dying/My body left to rot in a hollow tree”. Bowie’s vocals sound as good as ever, with a certain snarl heard during “And the next day, and the next and another day!” being accompanied by a thumping drumbeat. Dirty Boys follows, and is the first of many moody tracks on this album. Bowie’s voice is deeper and darker, accompanied by sleek and simple guitar riffs that intersperse themselves between Bowie. 

The Stars (Are Out Tonight), released as the second single from the album, is rocky, powerful and upbeat. There’s great power in Bowie’s vocals, playfully painting a frank, illuminating, and somewhat bleak view on modern day celebrity-culture. A cracking video accompanied the release; with David and on-screen wife Tilda Swinton coming face to face with a younger (and intriguingly female) version of himself and the evil ‘stars of today’. Equally quirky and artistic, it makes for reassuring viewing for those who feared that David may have become a “fragile old man” (The Where Are We Know? video probably didn’t help). 

The long strained notes of a pipe organ create a dark, almost horror feel to Love Is Lost, while the beautiful single Where Are We Know?  (Reviewed here) and features a calmer, more reflective Bowie. The softer backing tracks swells to create a masterful song that feels both dated and timeless. It is a fitting comeback single for this living legend. Valentine’s Day has a certain Starman feel about it, beautifully crafted with absorbing melodies and intriguing choruses. Bowie is famous for his cut-and-paste style of writing, taking lyrics of a song, cutting them up before rearranging. Lyrically, Bowie can sometimes be hard to decipher then, but this poetic style adds to his mystery and intrigue. 

It’s hard not to discuss David’s comeback without mentioning his retrospective exhibit at London’s V&A Museum. Titled David Bowie Is. it reveals that he’s a bit of a hoarder (Don’t tell Channel 4) with over 300 different items from his personal collection on display, ranging from costumes to handwritten lyrics and much, much more. The open ended statement, David Bowie Is. is an interesting concept, questioning who he is, but also whether he can be defined by pop-culture constraints. This album is similar, with many different Davids being housed in this jukebox style record.

If You Can See Me is a chaotic number which sees David’s lyrics being sandwiched between smashing bells and tumbling guitars. His vocals are lined up with a robotic version of himself, resulting in a strange mix of Ziggy Stardust and The Laughing Gnome. The clanging force of this track is truly breath-taking, and the last 30 seconds of disappearing sounds and encroaching silence are needed to recover. I’d Rather Be High on the other hand has a psychedelic tone about it, and makes for an awesome listen. Effortlessly cool, this track oozes 60s swing turning the tale of a WW2 soldier into a calm affair. 

A haunting saxophone features on Boss Of Me, where Bowie wonders how a “Small town girl like you/Would be the boss of me”. Bowie spans even more genres as the album progresses; from the groovy dance track Dancing Out Of Space to the jagged How Does The Grass Grow. But ultimately, The Next Day is a rock album at heart, and (You Will) Set The World On Fire showcases this perfectly. From the opening guitar riff through to the thumping drum beats witnessed during the explosive chorus.  You Feel So Lonely You Could Die winds down the album, before Heat finishes this living legend’s comeback. Once again, this is a different David; moody, dark and has a certain Les Miserable feel about it. It's retrospective and introspective, with lyrics such as “And I tell myself, I don’t know who I am.” leading to more intrigue, and questions. It’s almost a little open-ended, if albums had cliff-hangers.

A bonus version of The Next Day is available, containing three more brilliant songs including the instrumental I’ll Take You There (From the Stars Are Out video) So She and Plan; a fun and fast track that feels like the proper way to wrap up this album like this. To be honest, if any real fan has waited this long for a new release from the Bowie camp then shelling out a few extra pounds for more Bowie is no question.

So is this an amazing comeback heralding a new Bowie and a welcome return to the living legend? Yes, would be the short answer. This album features Bowie at his best; with different sounds, personas and ultimately different Bowies. It’s a welcome return to the man from Mars, and a defiant fist-in-the-air for those who thought he was long gone.

4.5/5

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