Reviews by mars
Taylor Swift’s Midnights review: music's brightest star shimmers amidst darkness on her return to pop (8/10)
There’s no one quite like Taylor Swift. Over a decade and a half into her flourishing career, she continues to be a driving force in popular culture. Her penchant for songwriting and knack for melody cemented her as a master(mind) of genre, pushing boundaries and opening lanes not only for herself but also placing storytelling at the forefront of Top 40 music. From country to pop, from rock to folk, Swift proves time and time again that she is a chameleon, shapeshifting both her sound and image as her mind takes her down endless rabbit holes. Following her retreat from the "folklorian woods," Swift dives headfirst into exploring the twirls and terrors of the night.
Britney Spears Reclaims Her Voice on the Radiant “Hold Me Closer"
While New Music Friday is always a cause for celebration for music fans, this week’s curation is no ordinary entry. For the first time in six years, Britney Spears released new music. More importantly, her new collaboration with Sir Elton John marks her first music released as a free woman since 2007’s Blackout. Boy was this worth the wait.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance review: a landmark celebration of pop's leading lady returning to the dance floor (8.5/10)“Been the light, been dark, been the truth, been that King Bey energy,” Beyoncé proclaims on “Cozy,” one of the standout hits from her latest LP, Renaissance; one lyric so perfectly encapsulating the last decade of music’s biggest stars. Since her days as a member of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé hasn’t just kept a finger on the pulse of popular culture - she is the driving force behind popular culture.
In the six years since Lemonade, Beyoncé dropped a live album of her ground-breaking 2018 Coachella performance, released Everything Is Love with husband Jay-Z, and The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack in tandem with the Disney film’s release. All of these projects left many wondering where music’s leading lady would go next. Beyoncé finally answered that years-long question this past Friday. Renaissance (released July 29, 2022), her seventh studio album, is an electrifying homage to dance floors of the past and future that masterfully plays into Beyoncé’s greatest strengths while the singer tackles new ground. Renaissance also debuts as "Act I" of an eventual trilogy of Bey's pandemic projects. Across the album’s 16 tracks, Beyoncé explores both old and new genre territory: dance, pop, R&B, deep house, disco, techno, Afrobeats, dancehall, funk… the list goes on. And while the Beyoncé of recent years has become synonymous with leveraging complete control, the pandemic provided her with a chance to create a place “free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.” This is perfectly conveyed through the bold and experimental nature of Renaissance. Beyoncé’s “BREAK MY SOUL” review: the first single from Renaissance marks a fiery, yet familiar return to music (7.5/10)
Over the last decade, Beyoncé has redefined what it means to be a pop superstar. What once required consistent press and promotional appearances, lengthy album rollout campaigns, endless late night talk show appearances seemingly unraveled. Beyoncé single-handedly defied all industry norms by surprise releasing her 2013 self-titled visual album - so much so, this act is now known as “pulling a Beyoncé.” She has helped reinvigorate the stagnant music video art form with Beyoncé and its visual follow-up Lemonade, two complete works composed of extreme genre exploration and musical risk. Her 2018 headlining performance at Coachella left a lasting impact: pushing the festival even further into its now-pop home and even permanently adding a runway to the main stage. For an artist this groundbreaking, “Break My Soul” feels comfortingly familiar.
Beyoncé is Back.
The 28-time Grammy winner announces her return to music with a quiet, yet impactful splash.
It’s very early Thursday morning on the East Coast, all is quiet on Twitter timelines across the globe. Slowly, but surely, one tweet reads “B7 IS COMING.” “QUEEN B is BACK,” screams another. By 7:00 AM, after weeks of whispers, Beyoncé is everywhere - unstoppably back atop her throne without saying one complete sentence. That is the power of Beyoncé. Renaissance, Beyoncé’s seventh studio album, will drop on July 29. It’s a long overdue (and much needed) return for the music superstar. Renaissance is “act one” of a to-be-determined number of pieces composing Bey’s next musical chapter. Fans began to suspect an impending announcement as the singer-songwriter wiped her social media profile photos clean last week. Yesterday, the twitter account for her nonprofit organization, BEYGOOD, tweeted out a collage celebrating Black Musicians. All photos in the collage are explainable outside of just one: an arm pointing to the cover on its left, which was Brandy’s “B7.” The best of New Music Friday's releases featuring the return of a pop prince, a heartbreak anthem, and a live album from one of music's reigning chameleons
In what feels like the first true New Music Friday “event” in months, this week’s new music releases will meet music fans with arms wide open. Drops are ranging across a massive mixture of sounds - from former teen superstars now fully-fledged pop titans to intriguing tastes of forthcoming studio efforts from some of music’s most mesmerizing. Two early tastes of sad boy summer join pop-rock’s leading icon on this week's Mars' picks of the week.
The Weeknd’s Dawn FM review: the pop icon takes listeners on a journey towards the light on his monumental victory lap (8/10)
The Weeknd has traversed his career’s narrative by boomeranging between the darkness and the light: from Trilogy and Kiss Land’s hazy roots to the pop-leaning, mass appealing Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy back to the one-two punch of My Dear Melancholy, and After Hours. His most recent studio effort dropped on March 20, 2020 - if that date doesn’t send chills down your spine… Released just days into the COVID-19 global shutdown, After Hours’ darker moments reflected the global sentiment as everyday life as once known came to an end while its uptempo efforts mirrored escapism triggered by the pandemic. It was quite the flex, being the first major artist to drop a net-new project during the pandemic era with no fear of impacting chart performance due to nonexistent promotional appearances and arenas being closed down for the foreseeable future. Nothing could stop the fierceness of “Blinding Lights” from captivating global audiences and becoming the biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time.
With such a monumental era behind him, Tesfaye decided to embrace brighter days. He said so long to the bloody and bruised Sin City nights by releasing “Take My Breath,” a disco-inspired introduction to a new Abel. He assured fans that “the dawn is coming,” and Dawn FM is just that: a light at the end of the tunnel. Mars' Top 21 Songs of 2021
A countdown of the best songs released during an erratic year including Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, Taylor Swift, and more.
There’s no denying that music is a reflection of culture. Music’s biggest moments were a direct window into American life in 2021: a chaotic, eclectic mix of both loneliness and a brief return to normalcy. Here are the 21 best songs of this year, including massive radio hits, a disco resurgence, TikTok sensations, the return of pop-punk, and of course, Taylor and Adele.
Adele's 30 review: the British superstar tackles divorce and self-discovery on her boldest, most emotional album yet (9/10)
There’s no one quite like Adele. Since releasing her debut album in 2008, the British singer-songwriter has cemented herself in music history with her ability to walk the line between timeless and timely. Her blockbuster sophomore release, 21, ushered Adele into the upper echelons of fame. The success of 21 and its singles back in 2011 proved Adele didn’t need any dubstep-infused, electropop mega-hit to become a household name. Instead, she consistently relied on her dreamy vocal performances, honest storytelling, and stripped-down production to showcase her talent.
Four years later, Adele dropped 25, which presented much of what listeners expected from the artist - a mostly safe collection of piano-driven ballads that stuck to the proven Adele formula. In traditional Adele fashion, 25’s release was an earth-stopping event: the album sold over 3.38 million copies in its debut week, the largest single-week sales in Nielsen tracking history. 25 has sold over 22 million copies globally, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. With that said, when something isn’t broken, why try to fix it? The release of her latest single, “Easy On Me,” sparked wide conversation around Adele’s “new” direction. Would 30 continue polishing Adele’s solidified sound or showcase the singer-songwriter venturing into new territory as she takes on her most personal journey yet? Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) review: the genre-sweeping Swiftian classic glows up to new, unimagined highs (9/10)
“Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place,” Taylor Swift sings on her 2012 magnum opus, “All Too Well.” It’s the time of year when temperatures cool, the holiday season nears, and iced coffees are traded in for warm, maple lattes. There is something disenchanting yet soothing about this seasonal transition. It begins with feelings of resentment toward darkness encroaching earlier each day and culminates in excitement for what's to come. These feelings are perfectly encapsulated in the emotions of Red. Released in the fall of 2012, Red marked a stark turning point in Swift’s artistic evolution. Having cemented herself as a country superstar timidly dipping her toes into the pop music pond, Swift set her sights on creating a body of work that, while sonically incohesive, displayed her artistic and genre-spanning range.
Red, titled to reflect the emotions felt by Swift while writing the album, is a series of both beginnings and endings in retrospect. Lyrically, she tells stories of the intensity found in love, anger, hurt, and passion. She sings of a romance’s shortcomings before wrapping up the album’s standard version with “Begin Again,” a sign of hope for love to come. Both her songwriting craft and ear for arrangement shine across Red’s entirety through its openness. Musically, Red is a hodgepodge of genres, allowing Swift to diversify from her country roots. It introduced the singer-songwriter to the world of true pop and dubstep, partnering for the first time with producers Max Martin and Shellback on her first #1 single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” She also navigates arena rock across the album but most notably on opener “State of Grace.” She even tries out some folk influences - if only we knew what was to come. |
About MarsNY-based, 26-year-old, music-obsessed and loves to write about it. Archives
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