Author: Life by Stereo

Britney Spears: Glory Album and Short Review

Britney Spears - Glory album coverPeople who only like “cool” music scoff at Britney listeners, which is essentially brushing off the idea of catchy pop. Fine, but you’re missing out.

Overall? Glory is pretty good, and all the more impressive for a pop career that started in the 90’s.

Make Me” is actually one of the more boring songs on Brit’s new album, despite being the biggest single. Some of the better deep cuts include Man on the Moon, Slumber Party, and Love Me Down.

Say what you want about Britney, but her staying power alone speaks volumes. Not many pop singers are consistently relevant for decades, and she continues her streak with this record.

Get your Glory on below.

Balance and Composure: Postcard Track & Short Review

Balance and Composure have received a lot of criticism for this song, for one reason only: electronic drums. In the nine years (!) they’ve been around, they’ve stuck with a winning ethereal rock formula — and while they’ve taken chances within that realm, their diverse catalog has never dipped into anything electronic. Until now.

Don’t get it twisted – this is not some EDM anthem, and you won’t hear a bass drop. But for certain rock purists, it doesn’t matter — the mere idea that a computer may have directly assisted with the drum sound is enough to send them skittering back into the warm arms of their vinyl collection. Fair enough – but this song is the perfect progression for Balance and Composure. It retains their core (both musically and emotionally) while reaching for new grounds, and the result is one of the catchiest songs to come out in 2016.

Oh, and the video is phenomenal, too — check it out and listen to “Postcard” below. As long as you don’t have a phobia of drum patterns.

Tegan and Sara: Stop Desire Track & Short Review:

So, Tegan and Sara have come out with a few new songs lately (and now album, Love You to Death). “Stop Desire” is the best single yet. It has the heart of a classic T&S song (think So Jealous or earlier) but with a modern, “we’re mature and electro-pop-ish” twist. Great 80’s drums and shimmering crystal choruses. Reverb sprinkled in all the right places. A well-crafted pop song.

Listen to “Stop Desire” by Tegan and Sara below.

New York Dolls Self-Titled Album Review

New York Dolls Self-Titled Album
New York Dolls Self-Titled Album Cover

If you didn’t know about the Dolls’ place in history, style, and connection to punk, their self-titled debut could easily come across as classic rock ‘n roll. Which it is. All of the best punk bands have always been rooted in melody, however muddied and rolled through glass, and the New York Dolls were a perfect precursor to that – painting a rebellious sheen over a jagged box of rhythm.

It’s easy to listen to one of the less memorable songs on this album and think “Yeah, that’s pretty good” (as opposed to great). But when you think about the fact that this album came out years before The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones… so many of the key players in what would become “1977 punk” were at Dolls’ shows, and influenced to start said bands because of them. In that light, this album becomes even more impressive. Similar to an album like Raw Power for it’s place in history, it gets even better when you appreciate how groundbreaking it was.

Listen to it on Spotify here.