In the first month of the new year, many artists released new music. Some of these new songs include “Flower Shops” by Morgan Wallen and Ernest, a new album by the Lumineers, and a new album by The Weeknd.
“Flower Shops” by Ernest and Morgan Wallen
The first song was called “Flower Shops”, and it was performed by Morgan Wallen and Ernest. I really liked this song. The song is sung by a man whose relationship is on the brink of ending, and he’s trying to save it. This song was very sad but very sweet. I’m not the biggest country enthusiast, but I found this song very pretty. It was full of love and emotion and felt like a poem. One thing I did not enjoy was how slow the song was. It felt like it should be a little bit faster with all the instruments.
“Brightside” by The Lumineers
Next was the new Lumineers album “Brightside”, the first song I reviewed was the title track Brightside. The song is about observing a loved one start to lose their fire and love for life. I found this song to have a nice rhythm and melody, but I’m not a huge fan of the vocals. The lead singer sounds like he has some sort of cold. While some measure of a rasp is good in a voice, it sounded like he was struggling to get the sound out. The song was also quite repetitive, repeating the chorus five times. The lyrics were cute though, and the guitar was nice.
“A.M. Radio” by The Lumineers
Next also from Brightside, the song “A.M. Radio”. The song is about not avoiding your destiny and not leaving someone behind. I have mixed feelings about this song. I found the verses to be poor, lyrically and vocally, and again there was too much strain on his voice. As well as generally being off beat, whether intentional or not, it sounded incredibly off. The chorus, however, was very nice, it had a nice sound and flowed well.
“Birthday” by The Lumineers
Another track from Brightside, was the song “Birthday”. This song I thought was about a close friendship that’s slowly falling apart and tearing. I actually really liked this song. While lyrically it was no masterpiece, it was simple, easy to understand, and I found the vocals much better on this one. Overall, this was my favorite song from the album.
“How Do I Make You Love Me?” by The Weeknd
Next I listened to the Weeknd’s new album, “Dawn FM”. I started out with the song “How Do I Make You Love Me?” This song is about him trying to figure out how to make a girl like him. I liked this song, it has a nice beat and a cool electronic sound. However, I found this song repetitive and kind of weird. It seems like it was supposed to be some sort of dance music, but it just felt like it was inconsistent. The actual lyrics are nothing special, as he just repeats the same things over and over again. There was also a whole part of the song where it was just him breathing really hard over and over again, kind of weird if you ask me.
“Out Of Time” by The Weeknd
Next from the same album was “Out Of Time”, I actually really liked this song. This song follows a plot of desperation as he’s trying to work on himself and his lover and he is running out of time. The chorus is catchy, and the lyrics are very easy to understand and relate to. I thought that the autotune on this song had a good effect without it being too much. I liked almost everything about this song, and it flowed really well. Although, there was a part of this song that was meant to be a whole radio broadcast which is a theme in the whole album which I don’t really get.
“Is There Someone Else” by The Weeknd
Next was “Is There Someone Else”. This song is about him suspecting his partner is being unfaithful, and his struggle with whether to deal with it or not. This song is pretty good. I like the melody, but it honestly sounds the same as all the other songs from this album, and it just kind of lacks creativity. Overall the Weeknd’s new album is alright, but to me it just isn’t hitting the mark many of his past works did.
