Romantic Rights - Death From Above 1979

Enraged Rock With A Strong Unique Bass

Two man bands are not that common, and DFA 1979 is not your normal band and Romantic Rights is not your normal rock. The bass guitar takes lead with a strong first note and scratches on the string to make for a rich opening followed by fast perfect drums. Then the bass switches to the main baseline and the breathy soft vocals come in. I am not a fan of really heavy air filled voices, but Sebastien does a great job of building up with a calm almost whisper of a voice. And then comes his more violent voice which is more normal for him and brings in the energy. Just as a side note, he is the drummer too, which makes this song all the better. The chorus also has a very slow rising note that come from a synth or just background noise out in, but it really help build to the song as a whole. With all these great pieces coming from a two man band, it's hard not to like this song.

Originality:8

Instruments:8

Vocals:7

Longevity:7

Red Score:7.5

World Alone - Lorde

Young Talent Coming Through Soft Strength

Most people only know her for her song Royals, but the rest her debut album is worth your time for a few listens, you may find some things that intrigue your ears. World Alone moves away from her more electro/pop sounding songs. She is talented, a lot more than I originally thought. With a few crisp guitar chords and a strong bass drum, and progressive precision melded with her voice, the opening can be quite enveloping. Her voice is raw and full of personality, it is a little unrefined, if we compare her to Adele or Hayley Williams we see that she has a way to go. She doesn’t take many risks with her voice, but the soothing way her voice comes out is really good. The voices in the background as if in a dinner goes well with the song and creates a good sense of what the song is trying to say, that we should embrace who we are and ignore the others who judge and live for the world. The high guitar chords layered with bass synths go great with her voice and never seem to get old. A good song, that was overlooked by the public and show off Lorde’s ability to write and perform more original music.

Originality:8

Instruments:7

Vocals:8

Longevity:6

Red Score:7.25

Kansas - Carry On My Wayward Son

Classic Rock At It's Finest

When rock was emerging and really finding it’s place during the 70’s, Kansas came along and hit the world with a rock ballad and guitar riff for the ages. Let’s talk instruments first. We have five main parts, drums, guitar, piano, bass and organ. In live versions our lead singer/organ player also rocks a wicked bongo part that we miss in the original recording. The drums are great, steady and strong. The bass is a good companion to the guitars but lack a real depth and uniqueness except in the second verse. The guitar parts are amazing. The main lead brings some of the best riffs in music history and the solos spiced through the piece are just fast enough to be impressive, and still keep enough character and flare to show a mastery level of quality. The rhythm/back-up guitar is a good counterpart to the lead, playing much more than just a general strumming of the strings. The piano parts bring the lively and classic feel and quality that can only be achieved through musical intelligence. This also comes about in the organ, which played by our lead singer Steve Walsh, who is frankly amazing on that electric organ. The whole song comes together with Steve and his backup singer who bring the wonderful biblical lyrics to life and make a song no rocker can stay quiet to when it comes on. This is one of the best songs of all time in my book. And it should be in your book too.
Originality:9

Instruments:10

Vocals:9

Longevity:10

Red Score:9.25

Bongo Bong - Manu Chao

Moving Through Sound At Smooth Slow Speeds

This may be one of my more odd songs I will review, but it really is quite the listen. The bounce and strum of different instruments giving small tidbits to make a full rhythm make for a dream scape of sound. I think the vast amount of instruments pulled together to make a relatively simple sound song is pretty impressive. I wouldn’t call this purely reggae, but it takes some of the elements from it and creates an interesting piece. Lyrically, it is fun, interesting and worthy of analyzing for deeper meaning, but I enjoy just hearing the words flow. The singer, Manu Chao, has a soothing tone that draws in it’s listeners. He isn’t anything special, but his voice is unique and uses it to his advantage. The female backup singer, which acts more like an echo, is identical, nothing special but well utilized in the song to make for a grand experience. The instruments are everywhere, in a good way, I’ve listened to countless times, at least five time consecutively for this review, and I’m still hearing small little words and instruments and harmonies. It really must have been quite the mixing challenge. Guitar off-beats, organ high and low pitches carrying the song, a long twang and mix of too many to count instruments make my head spin, but in a good way. I love bouncing my head to this song and just letting the simple soft percussion lead me along.

Originality: 8

Instruments: 8

Vocals: 7

Longevity: 7

Red Score: 7.5

Adventure of a Lifetime - Coldplay

Adventure Through Similar Joys

Returning again for another album, Coldplay puts out A Head Full of Dreams, and this is one of their flagship songs (for now). Coldplay delves back to the sounds of albums Viva La Vida and even more Mylo Xyloto for this song and the other pieces of A Head Full of Dreams. This song has a great sound and is light and playful guitars with a simple drum set are the quiet and subtle base for the song. The song really builds though in its various sampling sounds/voices, chimes, calls, claps and bouncy bass line. Chris Martin sings like he always does, which is a welcome thing, but it takes no real leaps in growth on his part. With that said the song is a fun listen, but it is not really revolutionary at all, and even falls a little to current pop/alternative/rock tropes and patterns. With no real risk, the reward isn’t strong. Adventure of a Lifetime, however, does do those tropes a lot better than other people and succeed where others sound like vague repeats. Just like a lot of Coldplay hits, it will sound amazing for the next couple of months and last a year, but isn’t revolutionary like the songs Viva la Vida, The Scientist, and Clocks. The sounds and format of the song may draw a little much from past victories of the band (that’s not really a bad thing), but this song is still far better than 85% of what is on the radio, so enjoy it, I do.

Originality:6
Instruments:7

Vocals:8

Longevity:6

Red Score:6.75

White Knuckles - OK Go

Classic Head Bobber 

White Knuckles is a song that is almost impossible to not tap your foot to or bob your head to. OK Go has always been great at writing songs that have great beats, but this song sticks out because of it’s great solos and harmonies. The bass line is really smooth and gives a funk style to the song that teams up well with its subtle guitar parts and claps. The song also uses a lot silent moments in which we only hear a few instruments and it really make the rest of the marching theme really stand out. The words of the song and ideas of white knuckling through inevitable things is well emphasized with the harmonies and uniform beat. The song also has a huge amount of very ambient sounds that can really only heard with some high quality speakers of headphones, and they are noticeable with them, but for your average listen they will just help fill in the gaps of song to make a nice sounding environment that you’ll probably not even notice. When you need a pick me up and a fun song, I’d recommend this, sing along and enjoy that slow headbanging bass and drum.  

Originality: 6

Instruments: 7

Vocals: 7

Longevity: 6

Red Score: 6.75

All These Things That I’ve Done - The Killers

An Ode To Music Which Brings The Past Back To Life

When we think of the Killers, we see a pop/punk/rock style with a voice and sound. The radio portrays this image of them while losing their much more unique and strong side. This song in particular is one of my favorites for many reasons. Brandon Flowers approaches the song with a firm tone of regret and passion which makes the song all that more powerful. He delves into softer “spoken word” and his normal singing style that is used in various other song, but just a little less whiny and adolescent, which is greatly appreciated. Listening to the instruments, we see the fantastic drums, which feel common at first, but we hear the sophistication of different cymbals and toms to deepen the musical harmonies and melody. The long synth pads in the beginning with a light piano and follow into the chorus contrast beautifully with the guitar during the bridge. The guitar and bass are standard Killers sound, and that works out perfectly. The thing that make this song far better is the bridge and transition. “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier,” repeats and is a great phrase which is followed by a choir and build into the ending, and finale of the song. The Killers are a fantastic band, we may only hear the most whiny, and in my opinion, and some of their worst songs on the radio, go back and listen to Hot Fuss and Day and Age, I’m sure you’ll be surprised at their great music.

Originality:9

Instruments: 8

Vocals:8

Longevity:9

Red Score: 8.5

Around the World - Daft Punk

1980's Versatile Repetition

Long before Daft Punk “got lucky” with Random Access Music, they were making song of the first world recognized and renowned electronic and house music. Around the World may seem repetitive, but it is supposed to be with that, it is meant to be played in clubs where they pound out music all night. But we see the variety and key talent that Daft Punk had in creating club anthems that can keep going and using the same bass line, melodies and drums in various ways to keep their listener entertained. The voices saying “around the world” is altered a lot, obviously, but this is more of a instrument instead of an actual vocalist and singer. The song moves a lot and every 20 or 30 seconds it transitions and plays with the sounds, echoing more or distorting them in order to add a great variation to the same sound. If you listen to a lot of modern house music, it feels as though the repeat button is stuck for five minutes on the same five second loop. But here with a gnarly bass line, bouncy lead synth, and a simple yet addicting drum part, the song never seems to get old through all seven minutes of it. Get to know the classic Daft Punk, for musical educational purposes and because they are awesome.

Originality:9

Instrument:9

Vocals:---

Longevity:7

Red Score: 8.3

Passenger - Royal

A Journey Of Sound

"Your body is the ship, your soul is the passenger." The lyrics and soothing sounds that blend electronic bass and choral parts is what makes this song so amazing. With thunder crashing in the beginning and a slow, progressive, call and response vocal part, the song brings its listener into a deep ambient experience that I have not found in very many other places. Royal uses a lot of electronic sounds and is mostly an EDM artist, but this song really sticks out from the normal loud thumping beats of average techno music. When the bass comes in long reverberating tones, it rounds out the high synths and melodies. This song will be one that you need to sit and listen to, dedicate some time to just close your eyes and let it all soak in. Listen a few times, this is perfect relaxing song from a long day. Everything here is so good, you may just need those multiple listens to really understand the song and love it, and once you will, you won’t stop.

Originality:9

Instruments:9

Vocals:8

Longevity:7

Red Score:8.3

Message Man - Twenty One Pilots

Ominous Sound In Perfect Clarity

From the opening the resonating organ at the beginning to the reverberating bass that follows the initial few lines, this song has a lot strong points. This song is odd none the less, it won't follow your typical beats. It has a constant beat that you can follow, but the half tempo sections used for the two verses and rap bridge make the song seem to change beats very often, but in reality the song keeps the same constant strong beat. The song has a very epic, operatic almost religious sound hidden throughout, which is why this song needs a few, real thorough listens to feel the effect of the different sounds working together. But after hearing the bass-line, irregular drums and various melody created synths, guitars and other instruments, the lyrics will become the primary focus. The call and response used in the verses is normal for Twenty One Pilots and well executed here, the verses are very interesting and you can pick at the meanings of lyrics for a long time. The rap is my favorite part, because it is just a fantastic constant flow of words that when finally read and understood show how impressive Tyler's, lead singer, skills of writing and rapping really are. This song shows a great leap in what music can be and how risky creativity in style of sound can greatly pay off.

Originality: 9

Instruments: 8

Vocals: 10

Longevity: 9

Red Score: 9