Sky's Music Reviews

Doing my second review on an album by five people; possibly biting off more than I can chew. We'll just have to see. 7/27 is the second album from Fifth Harmony, a "girl group" formed on the X-Factor. It was released on May 7, 2016, and like most of these "low-stakes" pop albums, produced by so many different people. Some of the most notable are Kygo, Stargate, and The Monsters and the Strangerz. This album, like my last, is a formidable 12 songs (on the deluxe edition). This album is, in my opinion, so much of an improvement to Reflections . Though it doesn't have as many empowering hits, Fifth Harmony is able to embrace their maturity while still maintaining a fun, youthful feel for the majority of the songs on 7/27. Though some of the songs do seem slightly pointless and overly bubblegum, most of this album is very satisfactory. I'm going to try to keep opinions about certain members of the group out of my review, instead vying to discuss Fifth ...

Last Year Was Complicated , or as I will probably call it, Last Year , is an album released by Nick Jonas on June 10, 2016. It is produced by a formidable lineup of producers from Island and Safehouse. This album is considerably more average pop/R&B style then the previous EP's I've done. Also, because it is much longer (12 songs) than the average EP,  I probably won't put as much effort into doing a track by track review, rather, pointing out outliers and reviewing the album as a whole. This album is, in my opinion, a smooth evolution from his last album, Jonas X2. His style seems more mature, and not just his frequent swearing and more... intimate subject matter. The majority of the album is about Jonas's recent breakup, and his tone and lyrics perfectly match the feelings that he wears on his sleeve. This album contains a fair share of both fun songs ("Bacon", "Champagne Problems"), somber songs ("Chainsaw", "Unhinged"),...

Half Way There... Pt 1 is an EP by Snow Tha Product, a very talented female rapper who I've been following for quite a bit. The EP was released on June 17, 2016. A lot of the EP is produced by the prodigious Focus, and written entirely by Snow herself. It consists of 6 songs and 2 interludes. First off, I'd like to say that Snow's style has evolved so much from her last songs. Most of her old songs, with the exception of Hola and her feature in So Dope, were all fairly flat and average to me, but I could tell that she had tons of potential. The first song, "No Cut", is a great start to the album. It consists of snippets from interviews and some rap verses. Her talented lyricism is quickly apparent; this track is full of clever metaphors. The interviews are mostly about the various label opportunities she's had, and some of the reasons and experiences that got her famous in the first place. "Nights" is the most memorable song on the EP. It...

Yes, that is all supposed to be in lowercase.  I'm going to attempt to post on this on Tuesday and Friday; however, I have a ton of college work, and sometimes I'm just too tired to write even more than I already have been all day. If I start getting more support, I'll surely post more. I'm going to try to start weaving a bit more of my own opinions and personality into my reviews. low kii savage is kiiara's debut EP, released on March 22, 2016. It's mostly produced by Felix Snow, and very well, might I add. It's a sleek, enjoyable electropop listen, crowned by kiiara's breathy vocals and impressive lyricism. Unfortunately, the majority of it is rather forgettable, but it's still a very good debut EP. kiiara seems to embody the modern culture of young adults today, and she does a good job at it. "Gold" is the premier track of the EP, and is rather popular. It's been on the top Spotify charts for who knows how long. So far, it...

There's a Lot Going On is an EP by Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, released on June 3rd 2016. It consists of seven songs, and all but the last two songs are produced exclusively by Papi Beatz. It is an emotional roller coaster of an EP, showcasing the darker sides of Chicago and of Mensa's life journey. I'm going to admit that I hadn't really heard much of Mensa except for the feature on Skrillex's song "No Chill", and the collaboration with Kanye West, "U Mad" . I'm pleasnatly surprised by Vic Mensa's lyrical skill and amazing flow; There's a Lot Going On  (I'll just call it TALGO), isn't perfect; but it's certainly above average. The first song, "Dynasty", is rather unremarkable. It does showcase Mensa's lyricism, but it doesn't seem to have a point like the rest of his songs do. However, it's the outro of the song that signals the true, dark intent of the EP. "To the police/ you can not [x3]/ ...

My first review on this blog, or ever, really, so I decided to make it simple. Vroom Vroom is Charli XCX's second EP, released on February 26th. It consists of four songs, and is produced entirely by Sophie, something that should definitly be noted; his production work is amazing on this EP. Vroom Vroom consists of a strange yet scintillating mixture of bubblegum pop and trippy electronic music. Despite how shallow the tracks may be, it is somehow quite enjoyable to listen to. It  reminds me of some of Britney Spears' work, but some of its sounds are definitely new. The eponymous first song is possibly the high point of the extended play. XCX sassily raps during the verses of the song, saying "All my friends are princesses, we keep it whipped and creamy. Ice cubes on our tongues because we like to keep it freezy" but she adopts a higher, poppier pitch during the pre-chorus. The production on this song is phenomenal; it's intense at all the right parts, an...