Review of: 'Be More Kind' by Frank Turner

If I was going to rank my favourite songwriters, Frank Turner would be in the top thee (along with Jason Isbell and Kacey Musgraves). Albums like 2009's critically acclaimed 'Love Ire And Song', and 2013's 'Tape Deck Heart' are amazing, deeply personal albums, and 'To Take You Home' and 'Jet Lag' are incredible songs. While his talent is undeniable, none of his albums have exceeded 'Love Ire And Song' in terms of quality, and it didn't look like Turner was interested in pursuing more in that kind of direction in this new album, I was unsure how this was going to turn out. Was it as good as I hoped?

Well, not quite. In short, 'Be More Kind' by Frank Turner is a blunt, thematically incoherent album with enough flashes of brilliance that push it into good territory. The kind of album that attempts to comment on a world that is falling apart, without having any idea how such an event can be overcame. Nowhere close to his best, but a decent, if inconsistent album. In order to explain why this is, the best place to start is the production which mostly clicks for me when the guitars are given more attention to detail in the mix. This is one of the reasons why the simple, yet effective melody on 'Blackout' mostly worked. The roaring punk presence of '1933', the elegant subtlety of 'Be More Kind' and especially 'Lifeboat', as well as the mister hooks on 'Brave Face' and the album standout '21st Century Survival Blues' are all moments that show Frank Turner still has great instincts when it comes to production, but why he does not exercise them across the entirety of the album baffles me.

A huge problem is that a lot of these songs sound so tired. While some of this might be intentional like on 'Going Nowhere', it does not make for a pleasant listening experience. 'Don't Worry' suffers from a similar problem. The album is lacking consistent tight, focused grooves. On that note, sometimes the guitars are pushed into a watery slurry where you can barely hear a cohesive groove like on 'Make America Great Again' with awful vocal production to boot. This almost feels like a cheaper album than his previous efforts, and on no track is this more apparent than 'Little Changes', which might be one of thinnest, most frail song that Turner has ever been associated with.

But, most of my issues with the production could be forgiven if the writing holds up, but once again, we get a mixed bag. Overall, I like the concept that this album tries to explore in an ever crumbling world, but the way that the album presents the issue is a problem. It starts on the very first track where Turner insists to us 'don't worry if you don't know what to do' because he has no idea what he's doing either: 'no one has a clue'. It almost shows an unwillingness to fully engage in the issue at hand. '1933' might be a better song, but suggesting that you're just going to go to the bar and drink away your problems while the world is falling apart does not have a lot of pathos.

'Make America Great Again' tries to be the anthemic political singalong track, but ends up failing by being less focused on how America can pull itself out of the political crisis they're in, and more focused on Turner's experience in America. Even the standout '21st Century Survival Blues' suggests a willingness to just hide away from problems, and it's fine if you're doing it with someone you love (which completely conflicts with the tone and message of the song two songs before, 'Brave Face', but it's not like this album is keen on consistency anyway).

However, where the album starts to get really quite infuriating is on 'Blackout' where Turner sings 'we should be asking ourself uneasy questions', seemingly without realising the difference between asking questions, and fully engaging in potential answers to those questions.

Look, on some level I am being harsh on this album, but that was because I expected it to be great. It gets an extremely light 3.5 / 5 from me.

Overall Rating: 3.5 / 5

Best Songs: '21st Century Survival Blues', 'Lifeboat', 'Brave Face', 'Be More Kind'

Worst Songs: 'Make America Great Again', 'Little Changes' 

Review of: 'Speak Your Mind' by Anne-Marie

In a world where female pop stars seem to be coming and going like crazy, including Dua Lipa, RAYE, Mabel, and now, singer Anne-Marie trading the spotlight. This debut album has been long awaited and long overdue, and has been in the making for some time, but, off the bat of a surprisingly good run of singles ('Alarm', 'Ciao Adios', 'Then') I became curious about how this album was going to turn out in the end.

There's no denying that Anne-Marie stand out from the crowd, sporting a significantly more intense and somewhat understated vocal delivery that you don't often get in pop,  but also has demonstrated that she has pipes that could work against more rock instrumentation, possibly filling the role that P!nk left behind and that Demi Lovato failed to fill.

As such, I was willing to give this album a fair chance, even if I was virtually certain the the producers would not allow her to push more in that rock direction. But, even with that, how's 'Speak Your Mind'?

Honestly, it's a mess. The kind of album with insane highs, but horrendous lows that level out into something that's pleasant, but the furthest thing from cohesive or tonally consistent. But it's not like I could have expected anything less given the number of producers and co-writers that have their names attached to this project. Overall, this album pulls every pop trick in the book, and, as a whole, falls flat.

But to get into why this is, the best place to start is Anne-Marie's vocals, and, I get it, her vocal tone isn't for everyone and how much you like the overstated, blaring vocal tone that she uses a fair amount on this album could be a defining factor as to whether or not you enjoy this album. For me, I mostly enjoy it. At its worse, it's just a bit thin like the breathy falsetto she tries on 'Breathing Fire', although the pre chorus on 'Used To Love You' pushes me to my absolute limit of what I can tolerate; it's quite obnoxious.

Speaking of obnoxious, the production and songwriting across these seventeen tracks are, as I've previously said, a total mess. It all starts off on 'Cry' where the mix feels so cluttered and lacking in depth. Songs like 'Then' and 'Some People' have the opposite problem where the production feels so dour and completely clashes with the tone of the rest of the album. In the former case, that can kind of work in trying to convince that ex to just move on with their life.

A song that this concept does not work with, however, is 'Machine', a song where Anne-Marie confronts the idea of being a machine and how it would be better for her as she would be less affected by the bad things that happen in the world that get broadcasted on the news. Only problem with this is that it completely ignores the fact that that humanity that Anne-Marie speaks about in the song as if it is something holding her back, is what makes life worth living in the first place. 'Perfect' is another example. A song about acknowledging ones imperfections that includes the line 'are you impressed with my honesty?'. 

But that isn't even the album at its worse. That would be the relationship songs like the Julia Michaels co-written song 'Trigger'. The relationship is falling apart, but instead of allowing the relationship to meet its natural conclusion, Anne-Marie insists that 'that won't fix it any quicker', and says 'do you really wanna hurt me?'. It somehow gets worse on 'Bad Girlfriend' where she admits to everything she has done wrong in this relationship, but instead of owning her mistakes and improve herself, she so plainly shows no regard for the feelings of the guy in the relationship.

Although, it's not like the guys in the relationships that Anne-Marie sings about are much better. 'Ciao Adios' is the kind of straight forward break up track where she knows the guy is cheating and just removes herself from that situation, a song I mostly like thanks to a strong guitar lead and memorable, sticky hook. Similar case on 'Alarm'. While I'm not the biggest fan of the sandy staccato synth that opens the song, the pre chorus builds some proper intense swell of the deep piano that I really liked.

With that, it's important that I now acknowledge the moments on this album that I really like. 'Can I Get Your Number' is a simply framed song where Anne-Marie is trying go build up the courage to ask to hook up with this guy in amongst the chaos of wounding if it's truly love. It's kind of cliché, but upbeat and catchy production made up of glassy touches and horn like synths can make up for a lot.

I've already talked about how I think the dark intensity of 'Then' really works, but on the opposite end of the spectrum you get '2002', a song about the childhood lifestyle that Anne-Marie lived that could have so easily came across as pandering to her generation, but thanks to Ed Sheeran's sincere co-writing, as well as one of the best pop hooks I've heard all year drive this song into great territory.

But overall, I get there is an audience for this, but between inconsistent songwriting, production, and performances, I would struggle to recommend this to anyone outside of isolated moments. It's a very light 2.5 / 5 from me, and if it wasn't for '2002' bring such a great song, it would have been a lot lower.

Overall Rating: 2.5 / 5

Best Songs: '2002', 'Ciao Adios', 'Can I Get Your Number', 'Then'

Worst Songs: 'Bad Girlfriend', 'Trigger'

Review of: ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ by The Shires

The lack of success The Shires have had during their short history frustrates me. No, that might seem like quite an odd statement to make, they are the biggest selling UK country act of all time after all. But that's not my problem. What I find particularly frustrating is the lack of pop crossover success that, at this point, they undoubtedly deserve. With the right marketing, I'm convinced that 'Beats To Your Rhythm' or 'My Universe' could have crossed over to pop radio.

However, with the lead single 'Guilty', it looked like their new album 'Accidentally On Purpose' was going to get that pop crossover treatment. This would have been good news, but the song was just not very good, even if both Ben Earle and Chrissie Rhodes are both great, charismatic performers.

This did slightly dampen my expectations going into this third full length studio album, but this is The Shires we're dealing with, if anyone can make this mainstream pop country sound work well, it would be them. So, what did I find on 'Accidentally On Purpose'?

Honestly, very little of note. 'Accidentally On Purpose' is the kind of album that I had high expectations for, but ended up falling completely flat for me for a reason that so much easier to explain than it should be. If anything, 'Accidentally On Purpose' just makes me think of the album that could have been, and that smoothly takes us onto the one consistent element of this entire album, our performers. Over the course of their previous two albums, both Ben Earle and Chrissie Rhodes proved incredibly charismatic and powerful vocalists when they've been given interesting material to work with, and it's certainly the case here. Although, sometimes the vocal arrangements and melodies don't give either vocalist the room to be as expressive as they could be. 'Guilty' is a prime example with a hook that does the complete opposite of flexing the huge vocal ranges our performers have that could be used in order to sell the good time party vibe that the song is going for. The song 'Echo' isn't much better in that regard, but, generally, I enjoy the performances on this album. The more subtle deliveries on 'Loving You Too Long' and 'Accidentally On Purpose', and the more intense presence behind the subtle gallop on the hook of 'Ahead Of The Storm' being standouts.

The production is more of a mixed bag. I’ll say this: this is a pop album with some country flourishes rather than the other way around. While I was not immediately put off on this album based on that fact alone, the thin and frail touches to so many of the songs here is a little off putting. The whining electronic effects on the intro of ‘Guilty’, the clumsy and very dry feel of ‘Echo’, and then there’s just a bunch of songs that do very little for me. ‘World Without You’ and ‘Speechless’ in particular leave me colder than they really should do, and on a pop country album like this, that’s that last thing you want.

That doesn’t mean to say it’s all bad. There is a soothing feel to how the guitar melody is mixed on ‘Sleepwalk’ that I did like, as well as the richer country touches that anchor the pretty damn good hooks on ‘The Hard Way’, ‘Accidentally On Purpose’, and the booming chorus on ‘Stay The Night’ that I kind of loved, even if the percussion generally feels thinner than it needs to be.

The bigger problem with ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ is the complete lack of any remotely interesting or new ideas in the song writing department. The problem is simple: there’s just not a lot of dramatic stakes to a lot of these songs. Without stakes, there’s just not a lot of pathos in these songs, however much Earle and Rhodes try to sell them. Take ‘Other Peoples Things’ from ‘My Universe’. There was something gripping and somewhat upsetting about the idea of everything you’ve ever owned stacked up in boxes for you to dig through and fin wonders you never knew you had, whilst anyone else would simple dismiss it, not seeing the beauty in it like you do. In other words, there was a true, deep, and undisputed pathos to that. This album on the other hand is rarely as adventurous. ‘The Hard Way’ plays the cliché of ‘you never really know what you’ve got / when you know it’s not coming back’, while both ‘Echo’ and ‘Guilty’ are mindless party tracks, with the latter track trying to justify itself through this vague idea of it being a crime to have fun: ‘If it’s a crime to have a good time then I’m guilty’.

The love songs like ‘Strangers’, ‘River Of Love’ and ‘World Without You’ don’t offer anything close to The Shires’ best love songs like ‘Black And White’ or ‘Naked’ from ‘My Universe’, and feel ultimately inessential, despite the latter track having an amazing hook

It’s the final song, ‘Loving You Too Long’ that connected with me most. I love songs about how time deteriorates relationships, but the best of these songs (‘Flagship’ by Jason Isbell) tend to come from an outside perspective looking in, but instead, The Shires take a complex role in a relationship that has gone on for longer than either partner could have possibly expected. In other words, the complete opposite of a song like ‘Flagship’ by Jason Isbell. It’s masterfully pulled off.

But otherwise, I can acknowledge that there is a time and a place for this kind of music, and it’s getting a light 3/5 from me as a result as well as a tentative recommendation, but listen to ‘My Universe’ and brave first. Only if you’re interested coming out of those two albums, check this out.

Rating: 3/5

Best Songs: ‘Loving You Too Long’, ‘Ahead Of The Storm’, ‘World Without You’

Worst Songs: ‘Echo’

Review of: ‘Golden Hour’ by Kacey Musgraves

I feel like I've been spoilt this year given the number of albums from artists I love scheduled to come out in April / May time, and this is the first big one from an artists that introduced me to traditional country and owe a lot to in terms of how my music taste has been shaped in recent years. Just like basically everyone, I was won over straight from the off with her stunning, borderline classic 2013 album 'Same Trailer Different Park' and haven't been able to look back since; an album that, for the record, entirely holds up to this day.

And while her sophomore album, 2015's 'Pageant Material' is a slightly weaker album due to the dramatic stakes being significantly weakened, I would still be looking forward to a new album if it was coming. And now we've got it in the form of 'Golden Hour', my most anticipated album of the year. Did we get the classic we all know she can make?

Simply put, no. In fact, I would go as for to say that this is the furthest that Kacey Musgraves has been over the course of her three album discography which is endlessly disappointing, as I said, this was my most anticipated album of they year, and to see it come out like this is a damn shame. However, it would certainly be unfair to say that 'Golden Hour' is a bad album either, as this is far from the case. What Musgraves and her collaborating songwriters and producers bring to the table with this album is a lot of potentially interesting ideas that let fragments of the Kacey Musgraves I loved in 2013, interspersed with love songs that can occasionally feel indistinct.

What is certainly not indistinct here is the familiar voice of Kacey Musgraves, and while she is at no point as subtly expressive as she was on the best moments of 'Same Trailer Different Park', but she still has a great voice which she effortlessly flexes throughout this album. That is, apart from the interlude 'Mother' where she sounds a half step away from RaeLynn for some reason. But, on an overwhelming majority of this album, like the standout 'Love Is A Wild Thing' that shows off Musgraves' great upper range, the closer 'Rainbow', and the rather upsetting subtler delivery on 'Space Cowboy' are all tracks that showcase Musgraves' excellent voice. I just wish the production that she have behind her was more consistent.

That doesn't mean to say that there aren't some decent moments in the production too, though. Musgraves and her production do have great tastes in chord progressions on the piano ballads like 'Mother' and 'Rainbow', I'll give her a lot of credit for that. Not to mention the excellent jangling groove on 'Love Is A Wild Thing', the stab at disco funk that goes surprisingly decently on 'High Horse', and the phenomenal reverb touched hook on 'Space Cowboy', these are all great moments, don't get me wrong, but for every time something goes well on 'Golden Hour' the production team lets a lot of poor tonal choices slip through. Why the awful sounding vocal snippet opening 'Oh, What A World' was included on the finished version of the track I've got no idea, as well as the synthetic fragment on the first verse; there's a a similar problem with the grading synthetic guitar tones on the solo on the borderline synth pop 'Velvet Elvis', with flat vocal production that seems to entirely ignore Musgraves' fundamental appeal.

It also seems that the tightly weaved melodies that made up 'Same Trailer Different Park' and to a lesser extent 'Pageant Material' have been significantly softened, and, on songs like 'Space Cowboy', seemed to have picked up a lot of hazy atmosphere that does kind of clash with some of the more rigid tracks here. Going from 'Slow Burn' to 'Lonely Weekend' is a bit jarring.

It also appears that no one has a clue what their doing with the percussion,which is either painfully thin, yet overweight like on 'Lonely Weekend' where the mixing is a complete nightmare, especially on the hook, or equally thin, and incredibly underwhelming like on 'Happy And Sad' making for a generally confused and unsettled listing experience that feels nowhere near as grounded as it could have done, but maybe I'm being too harsh. After all, the element that won over fans for Kacey Musgraves in 2013 was the writing.

And, once again, your getting a mixed bag, with a lot more love songs this time round. Like the fairly innocent bouncy 'Butterflies' with the extended butterfly metaphor being pretty cute, but what I found more striking was the line 'grandma cried when I pieced my nose' on the opening track 'Slow Burn' which picks up a lot more emotional weight when she discusses her own mother on 'Mother', there is definitely pathos to that. 'Space Cowboy' also works by taking the imagery of a horse in its field and gently crafting it into something so much more; just further evidence that Kacey Musgraves is sill as talented a songwriter as ever. Nowhere on this album is that more apparent on the excellent track 'Love Is A Wild Thing' that may be one of the best songs I've heard all year with heartfelt lyrics linking love to nature, highlighting the organic and inescapable nature of love itself. Gorgeous song.

The closer 'Rainbow' falls into a similar category, a track that discusses the difficulty that one undergoes in overcoming ones problems, but also the rewarding nature of overcoming said problems all through Kacey Musgraves rich and gorgeously framed lyrics. 'Lonely Weekend' perhaps goes even further where Musgraves tries to insist to herself that she's content with being alone at the weekend, but by that hook, you realise that there's definitely more too it than that, she still describes herself as lonely after all.

The writing doesn't always stick, though. 'High Horse' is perhaps the most blatant example. Musgraves tries to tell some anonymous person to get out of town as they think they're so much cooler than everyone else, but every listen to that song just further convinces me that Kacey Musgraves was not the right singer to deliver this message. She is a better fit for love songs like 'Velvet Elvis' and 'Golden Hour', and 'Wonder Woman' but no love song on this album is comparable to 'Somebody to Love' or 'Late To The Party' from 'Pageant Material'.

To make the 'Pageant Material' comparison once more, 'Happy And Sad' tries to be the ultra relatable song about mingled emotions, but this isn't too far removed from what Musgraves did on 'Miserable', a far better song.

As it is, it may appear that I'm being too harsh towards an album that is indeed good. I will admit I did have huge expectations going in, but I genuinely thought that Kacey Musgraves was going to do something amazing with this album, but, as it is, it's merely good. Huge disappointment, but still an incredibly strong 3.5 / 5, but it should have been more.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Best Songs: 'Love Is A Wild Thing', 'Space Cowboy', 'Rainbow'

Worst Songs: 'Velvet Elvis', 'Golden Hour'

Review of: Camila by Camila Cabello

I am fascinated by the career of Camilla Cabello. As someone who didn't engage with the band Fifth Harmony, I find it genuinely fascinating that Camila can depart from the group and all of a sudden make genuinely good music, including a number one hit with Havana which, I would argue, was very deserved. And however much her follow up track Never Be The Same was a complete bore fest, I still had real hope that her debut solo effort could at least be interesting to talk about, even though the album had already undergone one name change and it was scheduled for release in early January.

While both of these facts did dampen my hopes that this album was going to be good, along with the fact that I didn't really love a lot of the work that a lot of the co writers, and the fact that Frank Dukes is the main producer on this album, a producer who is best known for his work with Travis Scott, Future and Post Malone, and the fact that 'Crying In The Club', a song I otherwise like, was cut from the final track list for some reason, and the more I thought about this album, the more I thought it was going to be terrible. So, did it turn out okay?

Well, almost? I think I understand what Camila and her calibrating producers and writers were trying to do with this, but ultimately, Camila boils down to a string of modern musical trends that does show some potential for Camila Cabello down the road, but there are too many missteps all across Camilla that kept me from enjoying it as much as I wanted too.

So, let's start with Camila herself, and I'll give her points for clearly demonstrating the fact that she's grown as a vocalist, even though I still can't stand her falsetto, it didn't work on 'Bad Things', and it doesn't work here, especially when she tries to do the entire pre chorus in that range on 'Never Be The Same' where she just falls completely flat, but she's generally agreeable in terms of the range she's playing in across this album. Her best strengths as a performer seem to come in when she's required to underplay, which she's required to do a lot on this album. She's at her softest on the brief reencounter with an old ex on 'All These Years' and the reflection on 'Consequences'. Both of these moments are among the stickiest moments on this album, and it's so easy to explain why: she's sticking to a range that suits her, and this works for the most part.

It's a bit of a shame that I can't say the same for the rest of the musical elements that make up this album, especially the production which really is all over the map on this album. While you do have some tracks on this album that fall into by the numbers piano ballad territory like 'Consequences', you also have tracks that swap out for piano for guitar like the beautifully cleanly produced with the well mixed backing vocals on 'All These Years', but then you get the drudging, lumbering, percussion over melody approach that hinders 'Never Be The Same', the scratchy beat layered way too far to the front of the mix on 'Inside Out', and the cluttered percussion that drowns out the mix on the Skrillex produced 'She Wants Control', all of which were moments were I began to understand why this album was pushed go January for release.

Now, that doesn't mean to say there aren't more moments that I can get behind in the production of this album. I've already talked about 'All These Years', but I also like the dark piano melody on 'Havana', and despite the poor percussion mixing, there is a catchy synth line at the core of the mix on 'She Wants Control'; the horn blasts were also a nice touch to that track. Not to mention 'Something's Gotta Give' which actually has some real ghostly swell behind it, it doesn't sound bad at all. It is a bit of a shame that we didn't get more of that kind of sound on this album, it could have afforded to be more risky.

And that brings us nicely onto the songwriting on this album, and if you were going into this album hoping that Camila could bring some drama into her writing, like the entirety of Camila, you're getting a mixed bag. On the one hand, you've got the straightforward love songs on 'Never Be The Same', 'Inside Out' and 'Into It', but then you get a song like 'Consequences' where Camila shifts the focus of the listener in the final stanza to present to the audience how much she regrets the time she spent with this guy, in hindsight. A touching moment on an album that can occasionally feel dry in the writing. On 'Inside Out' Camila says 'I wanna love you inside out' to try and describe how much she loves this guy, despite it being the furthest thing from attractive. Also, on 'Something's Gotta Give', Camila tries to win sympathy by painting her as the victim in a poor relationship, but what I don't understand is why she doesn't just end the relationship herself. I still like the song, it is well produced, but the writing does bug me.

But then you get a song like 'All These Years', a song that shows Camila reconnecting with an old ex, but it's just for a brief moment, nothing more, and the framing does a lot to capture a lot from that mere second, and I can respect that, easily the best song here.

But, with all that being said, I can't justifiably join the leagues of critics praising this album. Sure, there are one or two good good songs on this album, but it can't make up for inconsistent production, writing, and vocals.

2.5 / 5

Best Tracks: 'All These Years', 'Havana', 'Something's Gotta Give', 'Consequences'

Worst Tracks: 'Inside Out', 'Never Be The Same'

Review of: So Good by Zara Larsson

To be quite honest, I've always found Zara Larsson quite a difficult artist to place. The kind of artist that thrived on tight summer jams like Lush Life and soaring electro-pop songs like Never Forget You ft MNEK, both of which are songs I like, but before long, I started finding weaknesses in Larsson's production and writing that made me slightly hesitant going into her debut international release So Good. Larsson remained an excellent performer with a tonne of presence and charisma, but her later singles really disappointed me. The first of these was Ain't my Fault. A song where Larsson claims that it is not her fault that she is attracted to this guy and tha
t it's just human nature. A fairly innocent idea awfully executed. An admittedly decent build up leading into an unsettled, stiff, rigid pop hook that is barely redeemed from being flat out abysmal by a charismatic performer in Zara Larsson that I've come to expect from the Swedish singer.

Her follow up, I Would Like fell somewhere in between Lush Life and Ain't My Fault musically, but while Larson could play the role of a summer girl bouncing from crush to crush on Lush Life easily, Larsson has a harder time on this track. Probably because the writing is nowhere near as tight and punchy, production that desperately tries to find the gap between the style that worked for her on her previous hits, and the ugly pitch shifted vocals that don't flatter her or this writing at all that also turned up on Never Forget You ft MNEK and Don't Let Me Be Yours.

I feel like I had reason to go into this album slightly concerned going into this international debut album. I was made even more concerned when I saw Charlie Puth and Ed Sheeran on production on a few tracks. At this point, I've lost all sense of expectation going into this album.   I was just looking forward to sitting back and watching the madness unfold in front of me. So, what did we get worth talking about from pop superstar Zara Larsson?

Honestly, not a tremendous amount. Don't get me wrong, whilst Zara Larsson's So Good is not a bad electro-pop album, it's difficult to call it great or even all that good at points. And the things is that, generally, I can explain the problems quite easily. The biggest one is the vocal production and pitch shifting that turns up on tracks like I Would Like, Never Forget You ft MNEK and Don't Let Me Be Yours that really sours the tone on some of these songs distorting any upbeat energy they might have. It feels like a cheap, lifeless way of attempting to build an atmosphere and ultimately it falls short of making me feel anything beyond repulse. And they come up again, and again on this album and it ends up as this album's main flaw. However, on the songs that this isn't a problem, for example her hit Lush Life, Larsson shows how much flare she really does have as a performer over a tight, bouncy synth line that matches the summer vibe without feeling completely lifeless or too drowned out in tropical influences like so much of what was on the radio in 2016 and into 2017 if you look at Ed Sheeran's super hit Shape Of You, but we're getting off topic. The point is, a select few of these songs really do work with production that plays off Larsson's vocal delivery well.

However, there are songs on this album that just flat out don't work. One of them is the washed out Sundown ft Wizkid which attempts to play with the theme of not wanting to wait until the end of the day to make love to their significant other but instead doing it there and then. Another perfectly innocent subject, but with weak pop production with nowhere near the detail of the best songs here. Once again, the saving grace of this track is a fantastic vocal delivery. And, to be honest, that is the one constant throughout this album and the one crucial element that saves so much if this album from mediocrity. However, there are one or two instrumental moments that do connect. I like the horn-like synths on the chorus of Don't Let Me Be Yours that really adds some flavour to that particular song even with the pitch shifting, the synths that have some presence on the build up on Ain't My Fault, and the razor tight groove and whistle anchoring the hook on Lush Life. These are all great moments, but the problem is, outside of Lush Life, Symphony, Never Forget You ft MNEK, Funeral, the verses and build up on Ain't My Fault, and maybe Don't Let Me Be Yours very little of this album stood out as memorable in my first few listens which leads do an ultimately disjointed album, which I could kind of forgive for an international debut, but for a pop star as successful as Zara Larsson I really expected something more.

The worst moment by far being the sluggish feminist anthem, Make That Money Girl. Not only are pitch shifted vocals as misplaced as ever, but, in terms of the production and writing, the hook feels lazy, sluggish, and with nowhere near as much presence as it thinks it has. Filler material on an album that desperately doesn't need filler material.

But, of corse, this album is not completely throw away as there are a fair few moments on this album that I do like quite a bit. Like the sticky, memorable chorus and bridge on the opener What They Say, the lonely feel of One Mississipi, the guitar on the verses on Don't Let Me Be Yours, and especially the track Funeral. The cacophonous and infectious hook against tightly woven and crafted verses and Larsson singing at the top of her lungs with the pitch shifting being kept at a minimum. One of the best songs I have heard thus far this year and, with any luck, it will be her next single.

But as a whole, I'm conflicted on this album. On the one hand, there are some great songs on here like Lush Life and Funeral, but at the same time there are some bad moments like Make That Money Girl and I Would Like that force this album back to an extremely light 3 / 5. I would recommend some individual tracks from this album, but only it as a whole if you are interested in seeing Larsson's progression as a pop star.

Rating: Extremely Light 3 / 5

Favourite Tracks: Funeral, Lush Life, Don't Let Me Be Yours

Least Favourite Tracks: Make That Money Girl

Review of: Shape Of You and Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran

On 6 January 2017, singer / songwriter Ed Sheeran released two new songs to promote his upcoming album, titled ÷, called Shape Of You and Castle On The Hill. Ed Sheeran made is breakthrough into the charts with his album + with songs like The A Team and the excellent song Lego House. He rode off his success with his following album X which featured top ten singles Thinking Out Loud, Photograph and the critically acclaimed Don't. Could his new songs stand up to the quality of his previous songs?

Well, if there's one thing I can say for certain, they are definitely very different songs. We'll start with Shape Of You. Instrumentally, it's very weak. A blatant cash in on the tropical house trend that filled the charts in 2016. Thematically, it might seem innocent enough. Sheeran is at the bar in search of a lover, but it leads to some clumsy lines like, when describing his relationship with the girl he picked up at the bar 'we push and pull like a magnet do'. Furthermore, Sheeran's delivery is significantly weaker than it has been on previous songs. It is clear by the lightweight, bouncy tone that the listener is supposed to be on his side, but how can I be when Sheeran shows so little emotional investment in the relationship. The line 'your love was handmade for somebody like me' suggests that the love that they have stems from more than just looks, but the rest of the song suggests otherwise, and the message comes across very weak complete with flimsy drum machines helplessly trying to give the song some kind of foundation. If there's one positive thing I can say, the hook is not bad. It does stick in the brain. Credit where credit is due I suppose, but all in all, I did not find this song very enjoyable. And the worst thing is that it's so radio friendly that once radio programmers get their hands on it, it's unlikely to disappear. So, not a very good start.

Luckily, his second single, Castle On The Hill, is about as far away from Shape Of You as you can get. A  folk pop ballad anchored by rich, rollicking guitars as Sheeran remembers and emotionally sings about how he's grown up in since he was as young as six years old in what is essentially a rehash of 7 Years by Lukas Graham but better production, more emotionally captivating lyrics and vocals and told through detailed writing, great lines, an Elton John reference and a killer, sawing hook. The real emotion comes on the bridge though when Sheeran lists those who 'raised him' during his lifetime and how the reality of growing up can be demanding for some. An amazingly touching moment before Sheeran erupts for the final chorus.

In conclusion, I am looking forward the new album that Sheeran is releasing on 3 March, but I do hope that Sheeran elects to use more sounds reminiscent of the ones used on Castle On The Hill than Shape Of You because this upcoming album has the potential to be great.

Shape Of You: 1.5 / 5

Castle On The Hill: 4 / 5