When I first heard the new single off of the new Chvrches album I thought it may be a Mumford & Sons or Kacey Musgraves situation where the sophomore album sounds like like average leftovers from a great debut. But the more I listen to Leave a Trace, the more I like it so I will hold my judgement until September when I hear the whole album (though I would not be too angry if for their third album Chvrches pulls the anti Mumford Sons, who when electric on album three, and goes acoustic). The video kinda has a lo-fi eighties feeling to it which actually goes with the new wave sound.
For those who thought the latest The Black Keys album was trippy, wait until you get a load of Dan Aurbauch's side project The Arcs and their weirdly violent cartoon animal human hybrid starring music video.
People have been bemoaning the death of rock and roll for about a decade or so now, but here is the thing, rock did not die, it put on a cowboy hat because that is the only place on the radio dial that plays guitars anymore. What used to pass as Adult Contemporary has also been gobbled up by ten gallon hats (which is why we have gotten country albums from Jewel, Sheyrl Crowe, and Hootie of Blowfish fame). The Band Perry have always been in that AC wing of country radio but it sounds like they are aiming for the Taylor Swift crowd because the first single off their next album sounds, and the video looks, nothing remotely resembling country. Unfortunately the result is a bland, sounds like every other boring and simplistic third rate pop song from last decade (the song was produced by RedOne who helped out with songs from Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Pitbull; Pharrell and Diplo are also reportedly part of the upcoming album which does not have a release date yet). Between albums, the group teamed up Fall Out Boy for CMT Crossroads and the male part of the group looked like they raided the other group's wardrobe. None of it works.
Speaking of embarrassing third rate pop songs from last decade. After breaking out in True Grit, Hailee Steinfeld has been dabbling in musical movies lately. Last year she was in the rather mediocre but had its moments Begin Again from the writer director of Once as the Hulk's guitar playing estranged daughter. Earlier this year she popped up in Pitch Perfect II and even though her song from the movie did not become an Anna Kendrick size hit, she still got a record deal out of it. And the result is maybe one of the most embarrassing pop songs since R.E.M. released Shiny Happy People (if the double entente of the chorus is not that obvious, she wears a Self Service t-shirt). You have to wonder how something like this is allowed to happen. If this is the best her music career has to offer, them maybe she should stick to movie, or at the very least she needs to beg her buddy Taylor Swift for some of her castoffs.
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