March 2018 saw the return of Shawn Mendes, who brought us not just one, but two brand new singles, both of which vary greatly in style but have equally brilliant Feel-Good Friday vibes. We just couldn’t decide which one to share, so figured, why not share both?!
‘In My Blood’ is a (pop)-rock ballad that transcends from a soft, despairing beginning into a thunderous, passionate anthem by the very first chorus and continues to soar from there. This track shows off just how incredible Mendes’ vocals are with their raspy tones that show just how intensely meaningful this song is.
Meanwhile, ‘Lost In Japan’ is a melting pot of contemporary funk with R&B and pop flavours too; it’s very reminiscent of something by Justin Timberlake. This track is also passionate but in a very different way; lyrically the song expresses how Mendes would happily travel the globe just to be close to his lover, all of which sits atop a heavy bassline and groovy guitar rhythms.
Sadly, no music videos have been released as yet, but as soon as they do, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
What are your thoughts of Shawn Mendes’ two new singles? Are you as much of a fan as us? Have you got a #FeelGoodFriday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via our social media.
Milestones are a British pop punk band, hailing from Manchester. The quartet, fronted by singer Matt Clarke, have worked with producer, Phil Gornell (Bring Me The Horizon and All Time Low) to produce their debut album, Red Lights; their first full-length record with Fearless Records. Here’s what we have to say about it…
Milestones are certainly making a mark on the pop punk scene with this strong, punchy debut…but are they bringing anything new to the table? Not really, but nevertheless it works!
The album is quite formulaic with its use of ‘Woah ohs’, ‘Na na nas’ and other gang vocals, amongst a whole host of stop pushes, grungy guitars, semi-cliché lyrics about being against the world and such like, and to top it all off, are some straight-up, damn-catchy choruses.
It’s quite easy to make comparisons with bands like All Time Low, We The Kings and to some extent You Me At Six, but most notably, The Friday Night Boys, due to their pop punk precision and following of the modern tendency to over-produce these types of songs. Furthermore, being a British pop punk outfit, they’ve followed in the footsteps of so many others, by adopting the faux-American accent and referencing places in the USA (probably due to the amount of time the band have spent touring over there), but this band will still undoubtedly have made a name for themselves with this actually, pretty great album.
There are huge, sing-a-long choruses that would easily fill a stadium and Matt Clarke‘s epic vocals are delivered with massive power and heaps of conviction. It sure shows a band who know their sound and have the strength to produce a powerful album.
There are some mammoth highs, with powerhouse songs like ‘BitterSweetHeart’, ‘Once Upon A Time’, ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Liar’ and trademark, heartfelt “ballads”, exposing their more vulnerable side, with tracks such as ‘Against The World’, ‘Hold On’ and ‘Counting Cars’, all of which further fits themselves in to the mould. With its minute-long intro, ‘This Is My Life’ provides a moment of calm amid the album, almost splitting it into two parts, before kicking into the main song and ‘Eighteen’ is just a bit of fun, though lyrically lacking in some ways, whilst ‘Forever Or Never’ is a big track, bringing the album to a good conclusion.
Whilst it might sounds like I’m slating this record, I’m not trying to; I’m merely pointing out the current trends in the pop punk genre, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed it and have had it on repeat since receiving it. There are huge, sing-a-long choruses that would easily fill a stadium and Matt Clarke‘s epic vocals are delivered with massive power and heaps of conviction; he sings ‘Now I’m stuck in this fucking rut’, almost spitting out ‘fuck’ like no one I’ve ever heard. Overall, there are some stunning moments on this album (the harmonies in the middle 8 of ‘BitterSweetHeart’ being one of my favourite) and though it may not blaze trails within the genre or lead to world domination of the market, it sure shows a band who know their sound and have the strength to produce a powerful album.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of Milestones’ debut album, but what do you think of it? What would you rate it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or chat to us about it via our social media accounts.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Greyson Chance first shot to the internet’s attention back in 2010, when his sixth-grade performance of Lady Gaga‘s ‘Paparazzi’ went viral.
Since then, he’s matured into an incredibly talented singer and equally fantastic songwriter.
This latest release, ‘Seasons’, is stunning. He stated the track essentially embodies an embracing of a new path in life; “Rather than holding onto my past, or a lifestyle that I understood, I eagerly jumped headfirst into a completely new and unknown journey.” He continued, “It was also within this moment that I no longer regretted the missteps of my past, but rather appreciated the strength and wisdom I had garnered from them.”
There has been no music video released, as of yet, but we’ll keep you updated on this.
What are your thoughts of this incredibly talented singer-songwriter? Got a #MellowMonday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or hit us up via social media.
Has it been 20 years already?! Blimey! Well Billie Myers released ‘Kiss The Rain’ back in 1997 and it was actually one of the first singles I ever bought…gosh, remember CD singles?!
Considered Billie Myers‘ most notable hit, the song reached Number 4 in the UK charts and was taken from her debut album, Growing, Pains. It was also featured in TV shows like Dawson’s Creek and Crossroads and was co-written and produced with hit songwriter, Desmond Child.
Since then, Myers has had more albums, but none quite replicated the success of this single. She does however remain an active singer-songwriter and is a big mental health advocate and LGBT rights supporter.
Check out the original video for the single below too – it’s so brilliantly 90s!
What are your thoughts of this track? Remember it well? Got your own #ThrowbackThursday track from 1997 to remind us of? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via our social media.
If you haven’t already heard of him, MAX (Max Schneider)is a singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and model from New York, who has been in a variety of Disney and Nickelodeon shows.
One of his latest singles, ‘Lights Down Low’, is a great love song that is a blend of pop, R&B and acoustic songs and features guest vocals from gnash.
A great song for #MellowMonday to kick off the week!
Conor Maynard has recently been hard at work, recording a whole bunch of covers for a special album released, cleverly titled, Covers.
The YouTube sensation found fame by uploading cover videos to YouTube, and as such, continues to do so.
This version of Shawn Mendes‘ Number 1 hit, is stripped back and ballad-like – it’s a beautiful stance on an incredible track and has given a different feel entirely. This re-imagining, also goes to show just how amazing Conor Maynard‘s voice is…and also, how much we need a new originals album from him!
What are your thoughts on this cover? Do you like Conor Maynard’s voice? How badly do you want to hear a new originals album from him? Please share the link and post your own #MellowMonday choices in a comment below.
Muzik Speaks 