It’s that time of the year again when everyone puts on a happy face while their blood pressure is as high as a Taylor Swift fan after Grammy nominations are released. The holiday season is here boys and girls, and there is no escaping it, so what I recommend while you prepare Thanksgiving dinner is that you put Disney+ on one tv for the kiddos and NFL Network on another for the kiddos…I mean men…and then grab a glass of wine for yourself, put on some noise cancelling headphones so you can listen to some new music and order from Postmates because nobody needs that much stress in their life.
Tinashe Songs for You
It takes a lot of courage and confidence for an artist to leave their label and go the independent route after having a good deal of success. Kentucky native Tinashe pushed all of her chips to the center and bet everything on herself. Her first independent release Songs for You has the former child actress ready to step up to the winners window. The album has touches of a mixtape but make no mistake about it – this album is destined to show that Tinashe is a force to be reckoned with in R&B. “Life’s Too Short” is a sweet love ballad that sounds like a late 2000’s Mariah Carey jam while “Hopscotch” screams Cassie.
Tinashe spends a great deal of the album showing her vulnerable side and catching the listener in their emotions. The battle with her former label RCA and the pain it caused is evident throughout the 15 songs that make up Songs for You. Tinashe, who was last seen portraying Mimi in Fox’s adaptation of RENT, shared the spotlight on the album through collaborations with 6lack, Ms. Banks, and G-Eazy. Early favorites include “Hopscotch”, “So Much Better” and “Feelings.” @Tinashe
Beck Hyperspace
It’s rare that an artist makes it in the business long enough to release 14 albums. It’s even rarer for an artist to reinvent their sound on that 14th album. It’s not rare if you’re Beck. Let’s face it – Beck is a damn unicorn. Beck releases Hyperspace, his follow up to 2017’s Grammy winning Color, today and finds himself aligned with mega-producer Pharrell Williams for most of it. With Beck and Pharrell collaborating together, fans of synth-pop will for sure be in heaven.
Let me warn fans of Color upfront. If you go into this album hoping for a continuation of Color, you will be extremely disappointed. Hyperspace is as different an album from Color as Paul’s Boutique was to Licensed to Ill for the Beastie Boys. The very well-disguised backing vocals of Coldplay’s Chris Martin are one of the most pleasant surprises on the album.
It’s refreshing to see an artist who is approaching 30 years in the business able to change time and time again and still be true to what brought him to the dance. “Everlasting Nothing”, “Chemical” and “Saw Lightning” are 3 gems to check out. Beck spent some time at Paisley Park, the home of Prince, earlier this year while finishing Hyperspace and recorded the 3 track Paisley Park Sessions that you find exclusively on Amazon Music. The session includes “Where It’s At”, “Up All Night” and a medley of some of Prince’s biggest hits. @beck
Leonard Cohen Thanks For The Dance
Everybody remember 2016 and how no celebrity was safe? Of course you do. Prince, Bowie, George Michael, Glenn Frey and Phife Dawg were just a few of musicians we lost in ’16. My first wedding anniversary, November 7th, was marred by the loss of one the voices of my late teen and beyond years. Leonard Cohen spent 82 years on this planet working through it like he was from another world and did so until he drew his last breath.
During the final moments of his life, he wrote the lyrics and recored the vocals to a batch of songs that would prove to be his last. The music of Thanks For The Dance was created by his son Adam after his father’s death. The albums arrangement is reflective of his work from the 1960s and ‘70s while his voice is very much the Cohen we knew from the last 20 or more years due to chain smoking and deteriorating health. Thanks For The Dance shows a man who has accepted his fate and is ready for what is next while reflecting on his life with both sorrow and joy.
Black Letters Still As You
It’s only been 5 years since Bangalore-based Black Letters made their debut with 2014’s Shapes On The Wall and it’s easy to see how much of their sound has evolved in such a short time. From the alt-rock sounds of their debut to the pop heavy 2015 release Petrichor to the laid back electronic offerings of Still As You, it’s easy to see the band is still planted in their Indian music heritage seen throughout their music. The Indian classical music influences are evident throughout Still and pairs well with the electronic sound waves and sweeping guitar melodies found on the 9 track album. Fans of Talking Heads, Radiohead and Bon Iver will really enjoy this album. Stand out tracks include “In My Senses”, current single “Some Do Some Don’t” and “Dripping.” @blacklettersin
Nasty Cherry Season 1
Who doesn’t long for the days of the Monkees or the Dreams from California Dreams? Or maybe you miss O-Town or Danity Kane. Well there’s no need to long for a manufactured band anymore because Charlie XCX and the good people at Netflix are giving the world Nasty Cherry. Charlie hand picked the four ladies who make up Nasty Cherry and together are a mashup of ‘70s Prince, The Runaways and New Order. The songs on the album are easy to digest as the 6 songs only total 15 minutes. Lead track “Brain Soup” is filled with Prince-esque funk while “Music With Your Dad” is so clever while telling the story of a best friend who Kong’s to get it on with their friends dad. You can stream the 5 part docu-series on Netflix to see how the girls come together to form the band. @nastycherryband
Please check these great new releases as well………
- Avalanche Party 24 Carat Diamond Trephine
- Upset Upset
- Labrinth Imagination & the Misfit Kid
- Coldplay Everyday Life
- Trippie Redd A Love Letter to You 4
Next week, I’ll be bringing you a Black Friday edition of New Music Friday that will cover some of the new holiday releases in 2019 with a list of some of my favorite holiday tunes.
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