Ariana Grande
My Everything (Deluxe Edition) Album Review
Republic Records
Released August 22, 2014
Genre: Pop, Contemporary R&B
Listen: "Break Free feat. Zedd"
Ariana Grande has slowly risen in ranks as one of the biggest pop stars in our culture. With her second album, although mostly hit-or-miss, Grande proves herself to be, not just a major powerhouse, but also a respectable songstress. While her songwriting...
Let's step approximately fifteen minutes into the past, while I was listening to Corsicana Lemonade, by White Denim. My first thought as I hear the blunt, first A flat of the album was, "I've never heard a sound like that before." And, it's true. They have a very similar Stomp-Box blues tone to the Black Keys, but they also...
Pharrell Williams
G I R L Album Review
I AM OTHER/ Columbia Records
Released March 3, 2014
Genre: Funk, Neo-Soul, Dance Pop
The first word you hear on the opening track, "Marilyn Monroe," is "different," and then gentle strings arrive, like something you'd hear off of a Lana Del Rey album before the song breaks into some soulful territory. From this point on, it's...
Henry Steinway is an LA based producer known under the pseudonyms Clockwork, his electro house project, and RL Grime, a persona more focused on hip hop and trap music as shown in his album VOID, the first full length album under either alias. RL Grime first started to gain popularity with his remix of "Mercy" by Kanye West and singles...
Passion Pit
Kindred Album Review
Columbia Records
Released April 21, 2015
Genre: Alternative Dance, Synthpop, Indie Pop
https://open.spotify.com/album/5vHUSuZ5xizxS3zfr3SKkq
Passion Pit was a one-man project of singer and songwriter Michael Angelakos to his girlfriend as a Valentine’s Day present. As the “gift” became popular, Passion Pit became a full-fledged band. Their first album, Manners, was a combination of ’80s synth-pop, children’s choirs, intricate orchestrations, and, of course, Michael Angelakos’...
2013, a monumental year indeed. We witnessed the downfall of Blockbuster, the evolution of Miley Cyrus, the craziness of the Harlem Shake, the selection of a new Pope, the Obamacare fiasco, the birth of Prince George of Cambridge, the iPhone 5S/5C release, and the massive typhoon in the Philippines.
Aside from these monumental events, 2013 was also a BIG year...
The Roundup is looking to continue its series, Artist Spotlight, with a personal and worldwide favorite, Juice WRLD. An exciting artist who really put his foot in the game, his death last year really saddened everyone across the world.
We are able to truly understand how much he changed the rap game now that he is gone. Without societal expectations...
On October 27, 2014, Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album, 1989, was released with high hopes from her fans. For some, it was on par with the star’s previous album, RED, and for some, it exceeded their expectations. For me, it was about the same as my expectations, which consisted of another pop album reminiscent of that nails-on-a-chalkboard 2008 poppy sound...