REVIEWS
There’s plenty of music released every single month, and with each Monthly Music Roundup article, we share some quick reviews of several releases from throughout the month that we personally enjoyed and want to cover. ALBUMS
Currents “The Way It Ends” Following their 2018 debut LP “The Place I Feel Safest” and their 2019 EP “I Let The Devil In,” Currents have returned with their sophomore LP, “The Way It Ends.” The record opens with “Never There,” beginning with softer guitars before heavier vocals come in and hard hitting drums build the song up, and the overall dark tone sets the mood for the remaining songs. This record contains a lot of songs that show the band’s primarily heavier influences, such as the energetic “Poverty Of Self” (which was easily the heaviest single) and the harder hitting “Origin,” and shows how well they combine those with the more melodic influences on tracks like the unforgettable lead single “A Flag To Wave,” the dynamic and interesting “Second Skin,” the catchy “Monsters,” the dynamic “Kill The Ache” (which is the perfect example of how they showcase all of their various influences), and the slightly slower, yet still very memorable “Split.” Other moments on this record focus a bit more on the more melodic side of the band’s sound, from the memorable “Let Me Leave” to the much slower “How I Fall Apart” and “Better Days,” both of which mix a little bit of aggression in as well. With “The Way It Ends,” Currents have returned with a strong and overall very memorable sophomore album. Wallflower “Teach Yourself To Swim” Wallflower have released their debut LP, titled “Teach Yourself To Swim.” The record begins with the five-minute long opener “A Parody Of…,” starting off with softer vocals and instrumentals before both of those get louder during the captivating choruses, which add more to the song as it continues to gradually build up. A large majority of the songs on this record are on the slower site, from the harder hitting and catchy “Hungry Eyes” and “Anacrusis” to the softer tracks like the intriguing “Blood And Bone” and the emotional ballad “The Distance,” as well as tracks that start out softer but become harder hitting later on, such as “Doom In Your Head,” “Further Down,” and “Passerby.” In contrast, a couple tracks on here are a lot more upbeat in comparison - “Eat Away At My Heart,” with catchy melodies and instrumentals all throughout and a hard hitting and more aggressive bridge that really showcases those instrumentals, and “Dread,” with catchy bass and drums leading up to a huge chorus and a slightly aggressive ending later on. The remaining two tracks are more midtempo - the hard hitting closer “take, take, take.,” with catchy instrumentals and vocals that really stand out, and the extremely memorable and acoustically driven “On & On.” “Teach Yourself To Swim” is full of interesting performances and memorable moments, and makes a great debut LP for Wallflower. Will Jay “Perfectionist” After releasing many singles over the last several years, Will Jay has released his long-awaited debut album, titled “Perfectionist.” A lot of this record emphasizes the pop influences in Will’s sound, from the mesmerizing opener “Lies” with the solid vocals and huge, synth-driven chorus, to the energetic “Married To The Music” and very memorable “Run” and “Talking To Myself.” Despite the prominent pop influences, there’s also some experimentation throughout this record as well, from the spoken word added in “Must Be Nice” and piano in “By Now” to the acoustic guitar driving most of “I Don’t Want To Die” and the rock and alternative tinged instrumentation in “Writing A Song, Pt. 3.” Speaking of which, all three parts of “Writing A Song” show the different influences in his sound, and give the listener a bit of insight on what to expect on the record as a whole. Another aspect of this album that I really enjoyed was the lyrics and the various topics discussed in those lyrics throughout the record. The dark and intriguing “I Need Control” talks about mental health, “Burned Out” touches on exactly what the title suggests and the impact that overworking can have on one’s mental state and life, and the closing track “Perfectionist” talks about self-worth. From the honest, emotional lyrics to the overall variety in both those lyrics and the music, “Perfectionist” is a solid pop record that stands out a bit from others in the genre. EPs Commonwealth Choir “No End” Following the release of their debut EP “Shirtless” back in 2013 and a series of singles over the past several years, Commonwealth Choir have released their sophomore EP, titled “No End.” The EP starts off strong with “Light,” bringing upbeat instrumentals and catchy composition in the beginning, and overall, it’s a very well-written and memorable opener. The equally as upbeat “Palm Reader” is driven by bass and drums before catchy riffs and melodies kick in, followed by a chorus that showcases the vocals well and a memorable guitar solo towards the end. “Treehouse” is slower than the previous two tracks, with some softer vocals and instrumentals before the harder hitting choruses. “Down” brings the upbeat energy from earlier tracks back, combines synths with the energetic instrumentals, and provides another huge chorus and some more pretty good guitar solos later on, and the closing track “2010” has a bit of a darker tone, shown in the chorus before the energetic and memorable bridge, one of the biggest standout moments of the whole song. From the mix of indie, emo and alternative influences to the consistently catchy composition, “No End” is a strong sophomore EP from Commonwealth Choir. LUNE “Ghost” Lune has released their debut EP, titled “Ghost.” The EP starts with its title track, “Ghost,” bringing tons of aggression right off the bat. The chorus is much more melodic, bringing melodies as catchy as the song’s upbeat instrumentals, and there’s plenty of emotion in both the clean and unclean vocals. “Misery Dialogue” is a bit more upbeat than the previous track, brings more of a mix of singing and screaming, and the vocals on this entire track stood out a bit. There’s also some added synths throughout the song, especially in the hard hitting second verse and breakdown at the end, and they fit well on the track. “Manipulator” adds in some hardcore influences, shown through the guitar riffs in the intro, while the verses contain some of the most aggressive vocals on here, accompanied by groovy instrumentation, and the performances bring plenty of emotion as the song builds up to the breakdowns that conclude it. “Modern Bones” brings a lot of energy as well during its intro and verses, while the huge chorus pairs another mix of clean and unclean vocals with some catchy lead guitars, and the metalcore influences in the band’s sound really shine during the chorus and bridge before a more melodic ending. Closing track “Mirror Image” brings another one of the heaviest moments on the EP in its first verse, as well as some impressive and energetic riffs throughout the song leading up to the more melodic choruses that contrast a lot from those verses. The tempo briefly slows down for a breakdown before an emotional and powerful spoken word section later on. From the emotional performances to the variety of heavier influences found throughout this release, “Ghost” is a solid debut EP from Lune. YEARLØVE “All Of The Grace Of The World In Your Eyes” YEARLØVE have also released their debut EP, titled “All Of The Grace Of The World In Your Eyes.” Opening track “Style And Substance” is upbeat and catchy right off the bat, with vocals that grabbed my attention in the verses, harder hitting instrumentals driving the choruses, and a catchy guitar solo towards the end. Harder hitting instrumentals drive “Runaway,” accompanying a stellar vocal performance all throughout the song, especially during the choruses. Lead single “Witness” slows things down for a bit, bringing interesting vocals and melodies right off the bat and showcasing the bass and drums a bit more as they lead the more midtempo rhythm. The much bigger chorus is where the vocals truly stand out, and overall, this made a pretty good lead single. “Dance” is also pretty upbeat, and is one of the more memorable tracks on here, with catchy melodies and instrumentation throughout, while “The Same” is much slower and softer in comparison before eventually becoming a harder hitting ballad. Closing track “Thinking Of You” picks the pace right back up, bringing even more memorable composition, yet another solid vocal performance, and another huge chorus. The song encompasses a lot of what this EP as a whole has to offer, and fits perfectly as its closing track. From the memorable composition to the interesting performances, “All Of The Grace Of The World In Your Eyes” is a really good EP from Yearløve.
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