Bruno Mars - '24K Magic'

Four years is a long time to take a break. For Bruno Mars, though, it was just what he needed. His first single in four years '24K Magic' sees a fresh new start for the pop's funkiest singer.

Massive success brings massive wealth, and that shows in the song. It's half self-obsessed and half excited: the song's literally about his 24-karat gold chain and having an extravagant party, but on the other hand it also says that the party is here and he's excited to be back in the game. The chorus proudly chants "Players only, come on / Put your pinky rings up to the moon / Girls, what y'all trying to do? / 24 karat magic in the air / Head to toe soul player / Uh, look out," showing the celebration and grandiose of this party we're welcomed to.

The upfront nature and hype-up vibes of the lyrics is backed by the very 90s instrumental. The whole song's a party! Packed with fat basslines and bright synths, the instrumental makes the song feel bigger than the lyrics do. Slowly building bass synths give the song a taste of modernism while still fleshing out the 90s feel. It's a departure from Unorthodox Jukebox in the sense that its emphasis is geared on the vibe rather than the meaning. Mars was always a truly funky man, and '24K Magic' takes it even further.

The music video gives the song an appropriate visualization. The song's music video features Mars and his crew partying throughout Las Vegas, hitting up casinos and grand parties. The video's pretty straightforward, grandiose imagery of the Vegas party scene paired with dancing and butts capture the song's vibe perfectly.

Bruno Mars is back. It's real and its strong, and it's ready to tear up the music scene. 2017 is going to be a big year for Mars if '24K Magic' is any signal. It's the title track of his upcoming album 24K Magic, out on November 18. Don't miss it! We'll have our review out on it when it comes. Until then, we'll be partying to this track.

Rating: 82 / 100

Radiohead - 'Ill Wind' / 'Spectre'

The deluxe edition of Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool - our favorite album of the year (review here) - has shipped out to fans, and it's provided some goods: namely, the brand new b-side 'Ill Wind' and their rejected James Bond theme, 'Spectre'.

While 'Spectre' isn't necessarily a new track, it's nice to see it become part of a record. It's received two formal releases prior to this: as a standalone single on Christmas day of 2015 when it was first revealed, and on a double single with 'Burn The Witch' for Record Store Day earlier this year. That's a lot of time for the song to settle in and develop in our minds. The song's haunting piano intro and dark string soundscapes still resonate in the same way as they did when the song was first released. Each chord feels like a movie scene itself, leaving you to wonder how they ended up going with Sam Smith's admittedly cliché song... 'Spectre' has so much more depth and mystery to it. The flow and progression of Jonny Greenwood's string composition along with the way Thom Yorke brokenheartedly croons "Fear puts a spell on us / Always second-guessing love / My hunger burns a bullet hole / A spectre of my mortal soul" fits the dark romantic themes of James Bond perfectly.

'Ill Wind', on the other hand, is a brand new experience. It's a chill track in line with some of A Moon Shaped Pool's groovier songs, such as 'Ful Stop' or 'Decks Dark'. Clean guitar, a light bass, and a sparkling beat bring to song to its mysterious start before Yorke's haunting vocals come in, reverberating like he was singing in a cavernous environment. The song slowly builds, synths appearing out of the song's massive background, popping like bubbles full of spacial material. The song feels like you're being swallowed into an abyss, watching the origin slowly grow smaller and smaller as you fall deeper into the darkness. In that abyss are odd objects, both otherworldly and familiar. It falls right in line with some of the band's most captivating songs, the aesthetic and all.

Even Radiohead's b-sides are masterpieces. You can't really go wrong with this band. Age makes them more and more unique and full of expression. The deluxe edition of A Moon Shaped Pool has made the album of the year even more enjoyable, if not only just a little bit. With a tinge of Bond and the classic "falling into a spiraling hole" Radiohead vibe, the songs have solidified the album as one of Radiohead's best works.

'Ill Wind' Rating: 90 / 100

'Spectre' Rating: 95 / 100

Animals As Leaders - 'The Brain Dance'

Animals As Leaders are famous for good reason. There are few people in the world who can exhibit such a mastery of their craft as Tosin Abasi, a modern guitar legend. Their new album The Madness Of Many is out November 11, and the first single from it is 'The Brain Dance'.

Their unique blend of incredible playing and djent comes to an interesting crossroads in 'The Brin Dance'. The song actually begins with an acoustic nylon guitar, plucked with mind boggling brilliance as drums and bass slowly start joining the mix. The nylon guitar eventually becomes the band's signature electric guitar, performed with a mix of slap and plucks. The song then concludes as it began, peacefully with one final chord on the acoustic and bass.

The beauty of the song is that it truly emits fascinating imagery with only instruments, and guitar and drums at that. It doesn't need heavy, djent riffs downtuned to Drop A to be impactful; in fact, it's not wrong to say the acoustic guitar performance has more of an impact than the detuned guitars would. 'The Brain Dance' invigorates the mind as it tries to follow the sweet guitars and the jazzy vibes. The aesthetic and atmosphere of the song are pure and show the band's talent isn't limited to trudging, sludgy riffs with spidery guitar above. The talent lies in the playing itself - every element of the song soars in their own delicate dance.

Animals As Leaders are a different force on the block. There's nothing quite as evocative as they are in the format in which they perform in. The beautiful playing is sometimes heavy, but when it's softer and jazzier there is not complaint. This band is full of legendary players with underappreciated talent, and their next album is bound to be a testament to that.

Rating: 85 / 100

The Weeknd - 'False Alarm'

The Weeknd is on his comeback grind. His new album Starboy is out in two months (November 25), and after releasing the eponymous track 'Starboy' featuring Daft Punk (see our review here), we were left wondering what the new album would have in store for us.

'False Alarm' is the follow up single, and it's a bit hard to swallow. Dynamically and elementally different from 'Starboy', it provides a different look on the record. The new song features a strong EDM influence, especially in the chorus, complete with singing in a panicked fashion "False alarm!" before distorted screams straight out of a Skrillex song lead back into the verses. The verses feature smooth vocals with a cheesy melody and various instruments, including synths and guitars.

This song doesn't raise much hype for the album. If anything, it polarizes it further. There was already confusion about how underwhelming 'Starboy' was, and it feels as though 'False Alarm' was not the correct answer to it. The song feels very uninspired and the chorus does not have the signature Weeknd feel. His music was so noteworthy because of his unique sexiness that resonated in each one of his songs. Both 'Starboy' and especially 'False Alarm' miss that aspect of him. The song is also plagued by trying too hard to fit into the EDM feel. It's reading out of a textbook what it means to be a pop EDM song, down to the siren sample in the intro. His melody feels lazy and completely uninspired, as well. The experimentation is appreciated, but this song doesn't have any direction.

Things aren't looking great for Starboy. Two underwhelming singles in, and it's becoming increasingly harder to look forward to the record. We'll see what the full record holds for us - hopefully more substance than the singles.

Rating: 65 / 100

Kings Of Leon - 'WALLS'

Kings Of Leon made a reputation out of their country meets indie rock sound. Their seventh album WALLS is due out next month, and they've now shared the second single from the album, the title track 'WALLS'.

'WALLS' is less of a touching song and more of a formulated attempt at it. The song's pretty simple - acoustic guitar, reverberating piano, and heartbeat kick drum, a lowly mixed distorted bass, and the occasional synth. Caleb Fallowill sings with a bright, country timbre throughout, singing about breaking down barriers between people. A bass synth slowly pulses in and out, an sometimes guitar plays a note.

That's just about it with this song. Outside it's initial charm, it doesn't really go anywhere. It misses a climax or any memorable hook to bring it anywhere. The music video certainly doesn't help that either. It's a slow zoom into Fallowill playing guitar and singing, and then he just starts... moving. It's incredibly awkward and the way he stares into the camera without any life in his eyes makes you feel uncomfortable. The video his little to do with the premise of the song.

The problem with 'WALLS' is that it's very underwhelming. There isn't any punch to it, nor is there any point in it being an acoustic track, since there is no emotional attachment to any of the instrumentals to the vocals. They set a tone but not a message, which is where the song fails. There's none of the band's signature vibes to it - the electrifying guitar lines, the catchy melodies, nothing. This song would be miles better if it built up to something bigger. Being a purely acoustic track does not suit it.

Kings Of Leon aren't heading in a hot direction if 'WALLS' is the title track of the album. The title track is usually the essence and heart of the album - 'WALLS' is more of a resting pulse than the core of something meaningful. With the album ahead in less than a month, all we can hope is that there's more to it than this track puts off.

Rating: 58 / 100

Ariana Grande - 'They Don't Know'

Ariana Grande has been in absolute control of the pop world over the last year. Her album Dangerous Woman - see our review here - smashed all expectations and was a confident, fun, and all-around enjoyable pop experience. Her new song 'They Don't Know' is on the Trolls OST, and it's a really sweet track.

A lot of Dangerous Woman had a more serious vibe to it, or at least not deliberately silly. 'They Don't Know' is the perfect amount of sweetness and fun for a children's movie and a successful pop hit. The song is brought in my beatboxing provided by Justin Timberlake, who's track 'Can't Stop The Feeling!' from the soundtrack made big splashes upon its release. The instrumental is pretty understated, the bassline being the most prominent element of it. Snaps and a programmed beat make up the beat, while a few dinky synths come in for the pre-chorus, funky guitars brightening and fattening up the chorus. The production feels really tight here, too - it's perfectly mixed to be a pop sensation.

The song exudes love. Grande is singing about everything great about being in love. Her sweet, flowing melodies dance through a sunny sky and across rainbows while she sings "They don't know, they don't know, they don't know about us... They don't know about what we do, and it's true..." in such happy way. This song, as MTV put it, is what "putting rainbows, fireworks, and candy into a blender and pouring it into your headphones" sounds like. She becomes a little more serious and powerful in the bridge, which exudes a hip-hop flair, but it immediately kicks back in to the cheerful ode to love. 

Ariana Grande knows how to make a good pop song. All of her singles are popular for a reason - not because she has a giant fanbase following her (well, that's part of it), but because she can make poppy, fun, and catchy tracks like it's no one's business. This song really shows that. If it was still summer, 'They Don't Know' would be blasting on everyone's car stereos. I guess we'll have to start taking autumn beach visits just so we can jam out to this track on the ride there.

Rating: 87 / 100

The Weeknd - 'Starboy' ft. Daft Punk

After setting the bar huge with Beauty Behind The Madness in 2015, people have come to expect a lot from The Weeknd, and for good reason - his voice is the epitome of R&B and sensuality. Paired with Daft Punk, surely nothing can go wrong!

Despite two of the biggest names working together on it, The Weeknd's new single 'Starboy' is pretty underwhelming from what you would expect from him. It's not an awful song by any means - it's a pretty solid track, but it feels extremely generic. There's a lot more it could've done, and it's left without a lasting taste.

What it does have is great production. Daft Punk's contribution to the song was the production, and they nailed it. The beat is pretty heavy, a deep synth covering the bass of it with the high end of it will atmospheric piano dramatically creates a tense feeling. The song doesn't have much to it instrumentally outside of this, but there are synths that build up during the choruses that you just wish carried out throughout the song. If every chorus built up a little more with a new synth line or something akin to that, it would've been a much more memorable track.

'Starboy' is about The Weeknd's newfound extravagance after his success in the latest years. The lyrics talk about fame and the luxuries of a rich life. The chorus chants "Look what you've done / I’m a motherfuckin' starboy," The Weeknd sending shots at his haters; their messages made him want to succeed even more - and look where he is now. Many of the lyrics aren't as typically sensual or poetic as his works in the past of been, but instead are more hip-hop influenced. The bridge line "Let a nigga Brad Pitt / Legend of the fall took the year like a bandit" couldn't have been better timed.

The only real problem with the song is that it is quite generic. It sounds like any other deep house track out there. There's nothing really about it that would demand a second listen - every listen after the first really has the same impact. There's no intricacies or little details to discover that would make it worth revisiting, nor is there any real climax to the track. It's cleanly produced and very safe, and that's more or less all that it has going for it.

'Starboy' is an underwhelming lead single. It's good, but generic, and may sadly act as a sign that his follow up record to Beauty Behind The Madness may not be as fruitful as we could have hoped. His success is letting him revel in extravagance, to the level that his lyrics are almost cocky. Let's hope there are better things ahead for his upcoming record, Starboy, ironically, has more to offer.

Rating: 70 / 100

Zack de la Rocha - 'digging for windows'

It seems Rage Against The Machine is coming back this year in every way except a reunion. After Tom Morello and co. formed Prophets Of Rage earlier this year, their former lead singer has been busy at work making his own tunes. Zack de la Rocha is finally here with his debut single, 'digging for windows'.

It's safe to say that the song is better than a majority of Prophets Of Rage's debut EP (see our review here). It's not perfect, though. It has a lot of swagger and an interesting electronic based instrumental. It's reminiscent of RATM's typical in-your-face vibe, but not in the same flavor. 'digging' depends on thick, distorted synths with the subtle additions of backing guitars and synth arpeggios later on. It's a less chaotic Death Grips song, really. It definitely has the punk vibe paired with it, though.

Zach de la Rocha may have been out of the game for awhile, but he sounds just as energetic and angry as he was in his prime. It was seen when he featured on Run The Jewels' 'Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)' on 2014's Run The Jewels 2 that de la Rocha wasn't out of the game just yet. Coincidentally, it was El-P from RTG who produced the track! The production of the track is perhaps one of its highlights; it's electronic and experimental hip-hop with just enough anger to still give it the punk rock vibes from RATM. 

The song is pretty upfront with the lyrics; in fact, it starts off with him saying that he isn't here for cheerful lyrics - he's in it for some madness: "Fuck that bright shit / The spot or the flashlights / We in L.A. ducking both / In the shadows with lead pipes." The song deals with the narrator being caught by the cops and being taken to prison as well as falling into hard and unfavorable situations in life. He's angry at the corruption of it all, and calls out the big corporates: "Rise every time my cherry glows / On the end of my cig as / The smoke blows through the bars / And the C.O.’s laugh fades / As he strolls away / Says I gotta pay / Off that roll away / Or it's fuck your visitation days." The lyrics are edgy enough to harken back to that angsty yet relevant tone that RATM always had. 

Prophets Of Rage has nothing on Zack. They may cover Rage Against The Machine, but they're missing the main man that made the songs so real. The song has been confirmed to be the lead single of a yet-to-be-announced LP, and this song shows a lot of positive signs. 'digging for windows' is a great return to music for Zack de la Rocha. Now, we wait. This is the true return of Rage Against The Machine - not in the way we expected it, or necessarily wanted it, but the way we needed it. 

Rating: 81 / 100

Lady Gaga - 'Perfect Illusion'

And just like that, she's back. We knew it was coming but it's still hard to take it in - Lady Gaga is back with new music! A week ago, a fansite found details of a single scheduled for release on September 9, and it's all solidified!

'Perfect Illusion' is Gaga's long-awaited return to the music world. It sounds like Gaga has reinvented herself since she put a pause on music for awhile. 'Perfect Illusion' starts off with clean guitar and a bassy synth as sparkly synths build into the first verse. Gaga seems to be channeling Demi Lovato as well as her own grandiose in her vocal approach - the high and powerful pre-chorus leading in from softer verses serves as a big contrast between them. The instrumental is put on the backburner as the song tunes into Gaga instead of the rest of the music, her vocals as powerful as ever. 

As great as it is to have Gaga back, it's really hard to really appreciate this song. There's just a lot of inconsistencies and places it just didn't go. For one, the mixing seems to have taken the instrumental and put it on the backburner. By backburner, I mean it sounds like the song was mixed five minutes before it was released. Gaga's vocals are so loud above the instrumental and it kills the bass that could be supporting her higher voice. Gaga's vocals are great but without that big, in-your-face synth instrumental this song feels empty. Listening to Gaga yell "Perfect illusion" for two straight minutes isn't exactly the most fun listening experience, either. Take that and the lack of meat in the instrumental and you're left with a super underwhelming track.

I'm as happy to see Lady Gaga back as the next person, but 'Perfect Illusion' doesn't feel like the appropriate come back. There's just nothing to dig into with it. It has Gaga, and that's about all the credit you can give. The song is written badly, mixed badly, and there's no bass beyond the intro. If Gaga has more planned, let's hope they feel more big. You can't have Lady Gaga and underwhelming in the same sentence.

You can listen to 'Perfect Illusion' via Apple Music.

Rating: 50 / 100

Sia - 'The Greatest' (ft. Kendrick Lamar)

Sia may just be the undisputed ruler of the pop world. Her last album This Is Acting literally consists almost exclusively of songs she wrote for other artists including Rihanna and Adele. Now, she has a brand new track - 'The Greatest' - with Kendrick Lamar on it. That's just a recipe for success.

The song begins just as any Sia song does - with a keyboard synth intro. The verses consists of that intro repeating itself on top of a minimal pop beat as Sia sings about running from a hard situation: "Uh-oh, running out of breath... / Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes... And uh-oh, I see another mountain to climb... Uh-oh, I need another love, be mine." The song feels like the narrator is running from the hardships of life and as they hit one after one, she tells herself that she can keep going with the simple statement, "I got stamina." The pre-chorus has a more blatant - but uplifting all the same - cry, "Don't give up, I won't give up / Don't give up," before the chorus explodes in a burst of pride and hope: "I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive / I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest / The greatest, the greatest alive."

While not included in the music video version (presumably the single version), Kendrick Lamar's guest verse serves less as trying to act as a motivator to the self, but more like motivation coming from a fatherly, or even godly figure. He claims that he is "the wisdom of the fallen - I'm the youth," implying that his words resonate with anyone, the old and the young. His verse is a reassuring pat on the back that may be what the narrator needs to carry on. Kendrick ends his verse by saying it's okay to fail, and you will be able to come back and get back up again: "Letdowns will get you, and the critics will test you / But the strong will survive, another scar may bless you."

The music video is in a typical Sia flavor, her iconic teenage dancer Maddie Ziegler performing an interpretive dance throughout a beaten down house. As she jumps from room to room, she is met by groups of teenagers and kids who dance with her, their faces all painted grey as if to say their life has been drained away, while Maddie's face has rainbow paint on it (perhaps a call to the LGBT community) and she is full of life, and brings that life to the others by dancing with them. As the song ends and the video goes to a droning noise, all of the kids fall to the ground in a pile as if their life was drained as the music stopped. Maddie wakes up and looking defeated and the video ends with her crying.

The message of the song seems to be in response to the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida earlier this summer. The hashtag that has been paired with the song and video, #weareyourchildren, now has meaning. Regardless of sexuality or beliefs, today's generation has the freedom to be gay or Muslim or whatever they want to be. We are your children, so why do you hate us? The message is one to be held close not only for strength through life, but for strength in your personality and beliefs.

Sia is a prolific artist, but her messages often serve more as motivation than the almost political statement served in 'The Greatest'. It's by no means bad - it's great to see Sia express her emotions through this song. 'The Greatest' hits a lot of areas and will resonate with a lot of people. Leave it to Sia to make real music in a world of fake messages in pop.

Rating: 83 / 100