Tag: Country Pop

Aly & AJ – With Love From: Review

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Aly & AJ’s return to music hit a momentous high on their excellent follow-up to some remarkable EPs: a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun, and that consistency shined through and through. It keeps us fans, but as fans, we also understand what we like and don’t, so for their follow-up, With Love From comes with incredible highs, continuing that consistency with potent new directions that elevates the craft beyond pop. Shifting from the more summery pop-rock to pop that carries the influence of Americana and Country music on its sleeves. Unfortunately, the album doesn’t stay with this throughout, sometimes shifting back to a more pop-rock-focused sound, even when they aren’t as bad. These pop songs woven within the tracklists feel like it panders to the pop music fans have gotten to love when they could have had more consistency by keeping the aesthetic constant. But With Love From is one solid album that expands beyond the acoustic-driven fortitude of its sonic influences, creating an emotionally potent album.

The music of With Love From isn’t devoid of pop sounds as it plays a vital part in its central core as it guides the varying melodies that lavishly coat the occasionally twangy production. There’s a softening cadence, which heartens the slower tempo rhythms of the strings, allowing one to get engulfed within the twinkling acoustics and slow, methodical percussion that makes you feel like you’re in the room as it’s performing. It’s their liveliness within the performances, which eloquently contrasts the emotionally rich array of sounds. Though it’s a little more direct and nuanced with the first two tracks, Aly & AJ take it a step forward with the beautifully captivating “After Hours.” It powerfully balances styles, allowing the pop-rock notes to engulf the melody while the instrumentations elevate the twangy, danceable moods to keep the spirits high. It’s like a slight anti-thesis to the music getting presented prior and immediately after with the elegant, stripped-down ballad “Blue Dress.” This fantastic four-track run is one of the ones to remember within the album, as some short strings of pop-rock take away from the heavy influence overhead.

“Love You This Way” and “Talking In My Sleep” are the two that don’t feel suitably resonant in the track list as they lean too much into pop, taking away from the remarkable Americana/Country influence and a consistent ride from front to back. “Talking In My Sleep” feels more akin to something from their last album – more glitzy and poppy, the slight identity shift in the strings can’t boast it further, making one lost within the flow. The former is more standard, never seeming to find strength on either side of the musical aisle as the songwriting and melodies aren’t as strong as others. But as they come into your musical stratosphere, they detract from the strength surrounding it through other songs like “Sunchoke,” which audibly brings you front and center with the aesthetic influence behind the lyricism. It’s all reflective, talking about emotional aspects of relationships and life; they give us a take on closing time, delivering an anthem about allowing yourself a moment to reflect and stay positive through the nights. 

With Love From is a harmless but radiant and vibrant pop album that shifts the dynamic from what fans have gotten to hear from them, giving us something different than what one would expect. It isn’t your typical pop-rock album, so the more it progresses, the more you get entrenched in the fantastic melancholy of the string rhythms. Though Aly & AJ are the primary instrumentalists behind the strings, the producers bring forth the dimensions to round out the songs in these songs within the fantastical Americana/Country vibes that have slowly gotten reflected amongst some indie pop artists, like Clairo and Angel Olsen. A lot of credit goes to Aly & AJ’s producers, especially recurring collaborators Ryan Sparker and Yves Rothman, whose resume within this sphere isn’t vast. But they deliver exemplary work with an understanding of the direction taken by its lead artists, and it shows from the giddy-up catchiness of “Tear the Night Up” to the more classical take “Baby Lay Your Head Down.” It’s a continuous feat of great music that gets stumped along the way through more pop-like songs.

There was much enjoyment in listening to Aly & AJ’s album, With Love From; the music gets adjusted to work potently within the confines of its sonic sphere and excel beyond. It left me with surprises and an enjoyable trip to return to whenever the vibe calls for it, considering one can do worse. I’d recommend this highly; fan or no fan, what they build and deliver is beautiful. You’ll leave satisfied without feeling bloated, and that’s all one can ask, as it does change the pace from more loaded hip-hop and pop albums.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Shania Twain – Queen of Me: Review

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Blending luscious pop songs and whimsically balanced Country songs, Shania Twain continues to excel in reeling the listener into a world full of musical wonder. Taking a chance with producers containing rich backgrounds in pop, reggae-fusion, and rock – like when Josh Homme assimilated his rock roots with Country producing Nikki Lanes’ last LP – they find ways to bring distinct styles, elevating Twain’s strengths. When you hear a pop producer like Mark Joseph take a crack at Country with a song like “Last Day of Summer,” you hear his captivatingly smooth guitar playing, adding dimensions to the slower tempo track. It builds depth, allowing Queen Of Me to come and go like this swift, replayable, confidence-building experience. It’s an inoffensive Country-Pop album with a lot of replayability. It gets boasted by Shania’s rich energy, which makes even the most straightforward tracks a delightful listen.

Queen of Me shows its strengths imminently; Shania Twain opens the album with a phenomenal sequence of Country-Pop/Dance-Pop hits – from “Giddy Up!” to “Best Friend,” Twain is glowing. “Giddy Up!” is this fantastic country dance tune that gets those feet moving with glee, reminding us of her potency in making incredible hybrids. It’s only after that she begins to take shape and let the writing take the form of introspection and make the simple repeatable. “Giddy Up!” gets us up, but it’s what comes after that keeps us flowing within Twain’s gravitational pull. Her voice brings this touch of rejuvenation where the glee in her singing captivates you further. It’s a bit typical with its thematic approach, taking simple routes to get her emotions out with confidence and passion. That passion hits its peak on the beautifully rich “Not Just A Girl.” Like “Queen of Me,” the eponymous track, she exhumes this lioness confidence-like ferocity, making one react like Orville Peck when Shania Twain sang the first lines of their collaboration “Legends Never Die” – in the music video.

Queen of Me isn’t all perfect, though; we get a corny push-off song in “Pretty Liar” and a simple country-pop production in “Got It Good.” The latter does contain a lovely crescendo that keeps you engaged, but it doesn’t have the depth thickness of “Number One” and “Waking Up Dreaming,” nor does it have the kind of character the guitars bring on the country-focused “Inhale/Exhale AIR” and “Last Day of Summer.” Both tracks could have gotten shaved off and made the album a smoother listen, especially “Pretty Liar,” which comes by jarringly. But what Twain’s producers deliver is distinguishing character in the sound. The eponymous track blends synths into this remarkably captivating flex where she exhumes confidence through different scenarios. Additionally, “Waking Up Dreaming” is a perfect example of evolution in a genre; it’s part Country-Pop, part Dance-Pop, delivering these gorgeous electric guitar and synth bass notes that make Twain’s vocals triumphant.

Some of the songs on Queen of Me are a tad simple thematically, and it doesn’t tread new waters, but it does have emotional brevity to keep you replaying these songs more frequently. Unlike the Ava Max album, we don’t get boring, typical melodies or overly ambitious choruses aiming too hard to be catchy. Though “Pretty Liar” isn’t the most astute track, taking jabs at liars. It also includes a corny chorus, albeit catchy, and it goes, “Cause your pants are on fire (your pants are on fire)/You’re such a fucking liar (such a fucking liar)/(Liar) Another level higher, your pants are on fire.” She’s trying to have fun with the idiom but ultimately falls short of being something jovial and tongue-in-cheek. However, her lively energy in the song makes many of these songs great. The track “Best Friend” focuses on the relationship between best friends, and though it’s simple, her joyful energy makes it a pure delight to have repeating without hesitation.

Queen of Me is great, for lack of a better term. Shania Twain is back after five years, still in peak form, giving us wonderfully energetic performances and some overall fun songs. Though we get some simple ones, Twain keeps you reeled in because of that energy, her natural flow, and the lovely choruses that will have you singing along readily. It did so with me. But sometimes, you just need a little serotonin-laced music to keep the vibes strong.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) Is A Beautiful Journey Through Old Memories: Review

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It’s emotionally conflicting how reflective music can be; whether through life-connections that coincide with the teenage angst within or the nuance from an era where a difference in the music comes from the change in lyrics. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is an amalgamation of these senses and more, as she takes us on part 1 of her journey of re-recording her first six albums to retain the masters of her first six albums. This new version brings matured vocal performances that carry personal-emotional experiences from the career and life she has had since the release of Fearless in 2008. However, this version is not that different from the original, outside minimal tweaks and maturity in her voice that adds a new perspective to the writing and production, with beautifully re-polished mixes.

Taylor Swift’s vocal maturity underlies her recent vocal performances, adding a different feel on the surface. It maintains the steady-balance it had on the genre spectrum, never truly feeling defined by one genre and further allowed her to expand her creative mind. Behind the voice and styles you could hear a part of her aspire to make music that isn’t held back by genre-conventions. A lot of her soft-sung material creates new depth as her voice brings in that sense of reflection and brings the harbored memories from when you first heard these songs. This makes songs like “Fifteen,” “The Way I Loved You,” and “Today Was a Fairytale,” more impactful because the perspective leads you through a nostalgia trip where one can dream about non-adulting things and focus on those dreamy aspirations like a fairytale romance or your future aspirations. The latter of that trio of songs being one is a definitively better version, but the youthful vocals from 2010 adds more characterization to the story. 

One constant that differentiates the two versions is the mainline producer. Nathan Chapman did the production and the harmonization, while Christopher Rowe, from Taylor’s band, did the work this time around. It shows, as they bring back most of her band to repurpose their parts; which in turn adds distinct layering that reminds of the old, but you’d rather stick with the new. You can hear it from the beginning as they play at the same pace – with more nuance on “Fearless” and “Change.” It makes her past singles standout out more on the surface allowing for many, a good cry. This was a sentiment I’ve come to know very well with the duet “Breathe,” featuring the incomparable Colbie Caillat, whose redone vocals brought a happy tear to my eye.

Overall, the production/engineering/mixing are slight improvements on the many rough patches the original version of Fearless had on some of the harmonization layers and mixing, but it was never much of a deterrent. These songs, like “Superstar,” and “Jump Then Fall,” don’t hit that dynamic threshold she has shown to hit on many occasions, but that may be due to the impactful nature behind the vocal performance, that at times feels jaunty and roots-like in the string section and that stands out more than the whole. This has been a constant thing that made these tracks less desirable at the time for me, and still does today. And for the most part, there are no real underlying differences in the construction and notes that are in sequence on the production, but there is a more authentic and rustic overlay that brings a different light to the way we intake these songs.

Amongst the 19-tracklist of the original tracks on Fearless: Platinum Edition are new songs she had in the vault. These new songs bring back her two collaborators from Folklore and Evermore, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dressner to create country – like orchestration/production for Taylor to deliver what ran through her mind at the time of writing. As evident with the inner angst in the writing, you could tell there were some pots she didn’t want to stir further. “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” co-produced by Jack Antonoff, trades a lot of country overtures and implements them subtly in the string section, allowing the percussion to commandeer the production and take it to some poppy heights. 

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is like the refurbished product that got mislabeled as such. So when you get it and you find out it is a brand new product that was never on the floor you are beyond ecstatic. The unpacking feels like you are doing it in Taylor Swift’s presence and it begins to feel like a brand new album, based on the complexities in the layering with the new mixing it goes through. It doesn’t have that same youthful energy that she emboldens with her voice at the time. But as it is with growth, the voice will be different and that’s how it creates this feeling like it is something new.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.