1st Quarter Of 2016 in Music - Wrap Up

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2016 is off to an extremely strong start. Here’s just a list of all of the new albums I’ve listened to from January to March and links to reviews, if applicable.

Doing it a bit different this time, doing it by rating, from greatest to worst. Alphabetical just seemed trivial.

5-Star Albums (8.5 - 10)

4-Star Albums (6.5 - 8)

3-Star Albums (4.5 - 6)

2-Star Albums (2.5 - 4)

  • Killswitch Engage - Incarnate: 4
  • Cozz - Nothin Personal: 3.5

1-Star Albums (0 - 2)

  • None! :D

 

Top Albums Of 2016 (so far)

  1. AURORA - All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend
  2. Panic! At The Disco - Death Of A Bachelor
  3. Deftones - Gore
  4. Dream Theater - The Astonishing
  5. Foxes - All I Need
  6. Daughter - Not To Disappear
  7. Lacey Sturm - Life Screams
  8. HÆLOS - Full Circle
  9. Weezer - Weezer (White Album)
  10. LIGHTS - Midnight Machines

Top Songs Of 2016 (so far)

  1. AURORA - 'Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) (Acoustic)'
  2. Panic! At The Disco - 'Emperor's New Clothes'
  3. Deftones - 'Hearts/Wires'
  4. Foxes - 'Better Love'
  5. Lacey Sturm - 'Rot'
  6. AURORA - 'Through The Eyes Of A Child'
  7. Deftones - 'Phantom Bride'
  8. Dream Theater - 'Moment Of Betrayal'
  9. Daughter - 'New Ways'
  10. Jack Garratt - 'My House Is Your Home'

Thanks for reading my reviews and following! :) A lot more to come, I’m nowhere near stopping. Follow me on Twitter or add me on Facebook too, while you’re at it.

Miike Snow - iii

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Soul is on a rise. The past few years have gifted us the soulful and blues giants that include Sound & Color-era Alabama Shakes and newcomer Jack Garratt. The next player on the scene is Swedish indie pop trio Miike Snow, whose aptly titled third record iii has more layers of soul and groove than you can handle.

 iii is simply just an infectious album. Every song has some splash of vitality that grows more appealing with every listen. Straight off the cuff with ‘My Trigger’, the piano intro just screams soul. The piano is a major component of much of the record, playing vital parts in what makes songs like ‘Back Of The Car’ rolling without faltering. The big single from the record, ‘Genghis Khan’, while “unique” in its wording, is packed to the brim with groove and is driven with conviction. It’s punchy, and even has a feel-good church bell synth/piano lead at the end that ends it on a happy note. The band channels the trademark CHVRCHES sound quite a bit on the record, most notably on the cool intro to ‘For U’ with Charli XCX and ‘The Heart Of Me’. Near the end of the album, Miike Snow begins to pour some more color into the mix. ‘Back Of The Car’ builds up into a massive orchestral pop banger that’s hard to just overlook without any notice. ‘Over and Over’ is riddled with a load of electronics and noise, after a triumphant guitar intro that reprises itself throughout the song. The electronics aren’t absent from the entire record, but they prevail most prominently in this track (speaking of electronics and layers, ‘I Feel The Weight’ feels like it’s straight out of Kanye’s book, right up to the autotune). The synth-filled and sweet ‘Longshot (7 Nights)’ concludes the album on a satisfying, if not a bit underwhelming note.

Miike Snow’s third record definitely has a lot of punch to it. It is, however, very style-centric. You won’t be focusing on the words of the songs as much as you will the feeling, which, for this band, doesn’t have any negative connotations to it. Each track has an infectious factor that’ll keep drawing you in. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely not a record to be overlooked.

Favorite Tracks: Genghis Khan, Over and Over, Heart Is Full

Least Favorite Tracks: Lonely Life, I Feel The Weight

Rating: 7/10