Here Is Spring: Three Albums That Will Make You Dance
BY İDİL DAMLA BİNGÖL (IE/IV)
In the last few weeks, three new albums have been released. This week I'll review them briefly: Charli XCX's "True Romance," Phoenix's "Bankrupt!" and !!!'s " THR!!!ER." The common characteristic of the three albums is that they're all so fun. They're easy to listen to, happy and they'll make you happy. They are spring in musical form.
Charli XCX - True Romance
Twenty-year-old Charlotte Aitchison is at the beginning of her career, and she is already very popular. Her debut, "True Romance," is a pop album and benefits from the clash of genres. The album has received mostly positive reviews and is an indication of her future success. She has been ubiquitous for some time now, featured in every magazine and every blog, with remixes of her songs everywhere. You may remember that some of the remixes of the song "You (Ha Ha Ha)" have been featured in my column. According to "Consequence of Sound," the album takes the stance, "I am now a better person because of you, don't know why you (and I) were interested in the first place, but get the hell away from me." It's a view of a broken relationship from the perspective of a 20-year-old girl/artist. My favorites on the album are "You (Ha Ha Ha)," "Cloud Aura" (with rap vocals by Brooke Candy) and "Set Me Free." According to many music blogs, this album is proof that Charli XCX is an overachiever, so give her a chance.
Phoenix - Bankrupt!
Phoenix is a four-piece band from France; they have released four albums prior to "Bankrupt!" In my view, the album that saved them from being an ordinary, boring indie pop band was "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." "Wolfgang" made Phoenix a headliner, a very famous band around the world. We have all heard songs from that album on the radio, or even during the TV shows we watch. And now, four years after the release of "Wolfgang," the band has released their fifth album. We know that making another recording after a very successful one can be a nervous time for both the artist and their audience, because the new album will always be compared with the previous one. Here, we have a case of this happening, as I've seen in most of the reviews of "Bankrupt!" The album's first single, "Entertainment," definitely won me over with its melody and video, and the rest of the album is similar. It's pop, fun and easy to dance to. This is mostly what you (or we) expect from a pop album. It doesn't have the impressiveness of "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," but it's also a very good album.
!!! - THR!!!ER
!!! (Chk! Chk! Chk!) is a Californian dance punk, pop, indie pop, funk or indie band. They are whatever you want them to be. They change, evolve and stay fresh. Their new (and fifth) album is not different from their previous ones in terms of one characteristic in particular: it makes you dance. As I mentioned in one of my earlier columns, I fell in love with "One Girl/One Boy" immediately. It's a disco-influenced duet with impressive vocals. I have to admit I'm so obsessed with the song that I listen to it constantly, so the rest of the album is still a bit of a mystery. My other two favorites are "When the Water's Cold" and "Except Death," but as I said, I'm still exploring.
This Week's Mini-List:
1. Drake - Girls Love Beyoncé (ft. James Fauntleroy)
2. Crystal Castles - Sad Eyes (Invisibles Remix)
3. Yüksek - Extraball (Breakbot Remix)
4. Foxes - Beauty Queen (Jack Beats Remix)
5. London Grammar - Hey Now