In No Particular Order – February 7, 2019
Happy New Music Friday!
I’m going to keep things nice and short with a few interesting picks from this week’s new releases because, well, life is short and you might as well enjoy the music.
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Oh Wonder – No One Else Can Wear Your Crown
London, UK indie pop duo Oh Wonder have released their third studio album this week with No One Else Can Wear Your Crown. The duo is composed of husband and wife Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht. Their natural chemistry comes through in their uplifting and ear-catching music, making the track list a stellar collection of indie pop tunes. Most notably, the bitter-sweet tune “Happy”, colourful chanting track “Hallelujah”, and synth-pop lead single “I Wish I Never Met You”. Oh Wonder are able to slow things down, with the lush, heartbreak song “In and Out of Love” and the love ballad “Nothing But You”, making No One Else Can Wear Your Crown an enjoyable listen from start to finish.
They have offered a deluxe edition of the album, which includes five acoustic renditions, and worth the extra listen on your preferred streaming service. Head to their website to get a copy and for more music, tour dates and more!
8/10
Loathe – I Let It In And It Took Everything
Another British band has found their way into this week’s INPO, this time from a heavier position. Loathe are from Liverpool, England, and the group consists of lead vocalist Kadeem France, guitarist and second vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe, guitarist Connor Sweeney, drummer Sean Radcliffe and bassist Feisal El-Khazragi. The five-piece blend together heavy metal, nu-metal, and metalcore to create a sound with clear inspirations from TOOL, Linkin Park, Deftones, and early-Slipknot. But they’re paving their own way in the hardcore music scene, and their new album I Let It In And It Took Everything should help solidify their name in the genre.
Not for the faint of heart, “Aggressive Evolution” kicks things off, as France mixes together his hardcore and clean vocal abilities, backed by the band’s relentless instrumentation. Most of the album follows a similar pattern of hard-hitting musicality, including “Broken Vision Rhythm” and “Red Room”. With only a few “standard” breakdowns, the band finds different ways to build intensity throughout the album, and stand out in the hardcore genre. Bouncing between elements of prog-metal and grunge/nu-metal to even out of the album’s intensity. “Two-Way Mirror” does an excellent job, as it swiftly moves into the following prelude “451 Days” and then into “New Faces in the Dark”, which features an explosive finish, creating a pseduo-3-part track.
For fans of the metalcore side of the music, head towards songs such as “Screaming”, “Heavy is the Head That Falls with the Weight of a Thousand Thoughts”, and (especially) “Gored”. These few tracks on the album ensure the metalcore side of the band takes over, before switching into more TOOL/Deftone-era prog-metal with “A Sad Cartoon” and its reprise, before closing on the monstrous title track “I Let It In And It Took Everything”.
As a sophomore release, I Let It In And It Took Everything is a powerful re-introduction for a band that has been around since 2014, but is finally hitting people’s radars (and rightly so).
Head to the band’s website to get your copy and for more music and information.
8.5/10
Galantis – Church
If you’re looking for a little guilty pleasure this weekend, Swedish electro-pop duo Galantis are back with another album of undeniably catchy hits that teeter the line between pop and EDM. Composed of Christian Karlsson (of Miike Snow) and Linus Eklöw (Style of Eye), the duo are no strangers to writing electronic pop hits. Church is the duo’s third album and is as colourful as its predecessors, including features from OneRepublic, Dolly Parton, and Passion Pit.
The album flies through various genres of dance music, with funk, house, pop, disco, and synth-pop littering the track list. Opening with the club track “Steel”, the album takes off from there. Even though it is a cold, dark February, Church is filled with summer hits, such as “Stella”, “F**k Tomorrow Now”, and the party-starter “Miracle” to create the illusion of warmer weather.
One of the more interesting collaborations features country superstar Dolly Parton and Dutch rapper/R&B artist Mr Probz. The track’s glitch-pop energy is colourful and fun. Things take a weird turn when Parton’s aging voice breaks into the bridge, but it’s a fun song nonetheless.
Hits such as “We Can Get High” and “Bones” give the album some momentum, since Church is not the duo’s strongest album. But I suspect things will be taking off regardless this summer as they continue to release singles from the album.
Head to their website to hear more.
