Tag: julia michaels

#Review: The Chicks – Gaslighter

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Dixie Chicks are a well known country pop band comprised of singer Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalist sisters Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer. The group initially formed in 1989 , in Dallas, Texas and have, to date, released 7 studio albums. Now, 2020 sees the band release their eighth record and their first album in 14 years, Gaslighter. It is also the first record to be released under the new name, The Chicks, following the George Floyd protests. Here’s what we have to say about it…

The Chicks - Gaslighter.jpg

The album launches with title track, ‘Gaslighter’, a no holds barred anthem about the breakdown of Maines’ relationship and ultimate divorce. In fact, this particular topic provides a lot of material for the album – it was originally slated to be a simple record of covers in order to fulfill their contract with Sony, but following her divorce, she was inspired to start songwriting again.

‘Tights On My Boat’ is another one of those tell-all tracks detailing an affair her ex-husband had, with a lover, on the couple’s boat, on which she discovered a tell-tale pair of tights. The track (along with a couple of others) is written with pop songwriter and artist, Julia Michaels. Additionally, the trio collaborated heavily with Taylor Swift‘s 1989 producer, Jack Antonoff, seeing him take production credits for the record and some songwriting credits too.

This album certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to personal or political songwriting. ‘March March’ takes a look at issues of gun control, climate change and underfunded education and puts them through a contemporary bluegrass lens. Whilst ‘Set Me Free’ is all about Maines looking to be released from her marriage.

It’s an exciting pop take on a country record that is likely to reignite fans’ passions for the band and pick up a whole host of new ones along the way too.

Possibly some of the best tracks on the album come in the form of ‘Sleep At Night’, a banjo-led candid look at her ex-husband’s affair; ‘Texas Man’ with its upbeat rhythm combined with rousing lyrics and the captivating vocal riffs of ‘Young Man’.

Possibly my favourite track on the record has to be ‘Julianna Calm Down’ – it builds beautifully throughout with a really catchy, contemporary pop edge to it. Whilst ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ has some wonderful vocal harmonies and a sense of honesty about reflecting on how Maines met her ex-husband.

The Chicks may have changed their name and their new music may well have a certain degree of poppiness that die-hard country fans could cringe at, but this is exactly the evolution you would expect from the band’s last album back in 2006, to where they are today. It’s an exciting pop take on a country record that is likely to reignite fans’ passions for the band and pick up a whole host of new ones along the way too.

Rating
4

‘Gaslighter’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://music.apple.com/gb/album/gaslighter/1499733036

Gaslighter on Spotify

Gaslighter (Official Video)

Sleep At Night (Official Video)

March March (Official Lyric Video)

Julianna Calm Down (Official Lyric Video)

We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of the band’s eighth studio album? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.

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#Playlist: Brighton Pride Weekender 2019

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Brighton Pride is fast approaching, so to celebrate, we have updated our Brighton Pride Weekender playlist, dedicated to one of the city’s biggest annual events, promoting equality and diversity with the aim to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and more (LGBT+) community.

This playlist has been lovingly crafted to include a variety of tracks, by the artists performing at Brighton Pride 2019, as well as some other great anthems!

If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download it below:

Brighton Pride Weekender 2019.jpg

We hope you enjoy this playlist as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!

Please share the link to this post, or the playlist itself and give it a cheeky follow on Spotify too – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5nXqTcFL05VwLPppVaNIE6?si=copqGaOHQFi0lnhz6HYV8w.

Also, if you’ve got any songs you want to suggest for us to add, please let us know 🙂

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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#Playlist – re:MIXTAPE

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We felt it was time to create the ultimate remix playlist, to accompany/rival the likes of the latest Now That’s What I Call Remix album, putting all the world’s best remixes into one mammoth playlist.

This playlist has been lovingly crafted to include a variety of remixes we love, as well as suggestions from you guys!

If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download it below:

reMIXTAPE.jpg

re:MIXTAPE Playlist

This playlist is packed to the brim with some of the best remixes around:

  1. Bazzi – Mine (Jengi Remix)
  2. Maroon 5 – What Lovers Do featuring SZA (A-Trak Remix)
  3. NEIKED – Sexual featuring Dyo (Oliver Nelson Remix)
  4. Shawn Mendes – There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back (NOTD Remix)
  5. Charlie Puth – Attention (Bingo Players Remix)
  6. Avicii – Lonely Together featuring Rita Ora (Alan Walker Remix)
  7. Sigrid – Strangers (TIEKS Remix)
  8. P!nk – What About Us (Tiësto’s AFTR:HRS Remix)
  9. Kesha – Praying (Frank Walker Remix)
  10. Craig David – I Know You featuring Bastille (Sultan + Shepard Remix)
  11. Thirty Seconds To Mars – Walk On Water (R3hab Remix)
  12. Maroon 5 – Wait (Chromeo Remix)
  13. Taylor Swift – …Ready For It? (BloodPop® Remix)
  14. P!nk – Beautiful Trauma (E11even Remix)
  15. Niall Horan – Slow Hands (Basic Tape Remix)
  16. Miley Cyrus – Malibu (Alan Walker Remix)
  17. Rita Ora – Anywhere (R3hab Remix)
  18. Britney Spears – Make Me… featuring G-Eazy (Tom Budin Remix)
  19. Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (Freedo Remix)
  20. The Chainsmokers – Something Just Like This featuring Coldplay (Alesso Remix)
  21. Sam Smith – Like I Can (Artful Remix)
  22. Zedd – Stay featuring Alessia Cara (The Kemist Remix)
  23. David Guetta & Afrojack – Dirty Sexy Money featuring Charli XCX & French Montana (Banx & Ranx Remix)
  24. Charli XCX – Boys (Nevada Remix)
  25. Clean Bandit – I Miss You featuring Julia Michaels (Cahill Remix)
  26. Liam Payne – Bedroom Floor (Cash Cash Remix)
  27. Anne-Marie – Heavy (John Gibbons Remix)
  28. NEIKED – Call Me featuring MIMI (Alex Adair Remix)
  29. Kesha – Learn To Let Go (Feenixpawl Remix)
  30. Mabel – Finders Keepers featuring Kojo Funds (DUSK Remix)
  31. Rita Ora – Your Song (Cheat Codes Remix)
  32. Miley Cyrus – Younger Now (Fred Falke Remix)
  33. ZAYN – LIKE I WOULD (Oliver Nelson Remix)
  34. Busted – Thinking Of You (TAYST Remix)
  35. Charlie Puth – We Don’t Talk Anymore featuring Selena Gomez (Attom Remix)
  36. Julia Michaels – Issues (Alan Walker Remix)
  37. Vance Joy – Lay It On Me (Said The Sky Remix)
  38. Selena Gomez – Wolves (Said The Sky Remix)
  39. James Arthur – Naked (CADE Remix)
  40. Sam Smith – Lay Me Down (Tiësto Remix)

I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it! Please share the link to this post, or the playlist itself and give it a follow on Spotify too – https://open.spotify.com/user/muzik5peaks/playlist/1nN0ylV9EkCnCFOo3b6jW5?si=fFo3ZTQuTfq57o7xBw5Yig. If you’ve got any songs to suggest for us to add to the playlist, please let us know 🙂

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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#Review: Maroon 5 – ‘Red Pill Blues’

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Maroon 5 are one of the biggest bands on the planet and in my eyes they just go from strength to strength. Each album manages to change just enough to move with the current trends in music yet somehow they still manage to maintain their unique identify. This album is a far cry from their debut, Songs About Jane, but it’s still somehow classic Maroon 5.

Red Pill Blues (Deluxe)

The tone for Red Pill Blues is set by the opening track, ‘Best 4 U’, which has a very 80s feel to it with it’s synths and spacey atmosphere, yet somehow it’s still very current.

There’s no mistaking it, this album is less in-your-face about it’s pop nature than some of their previous releases but it’s an incredibly well-crafted record. It is filled with sensual tracks like ‘Lips On You’ (which for some reason really evokes vibes of Phil Collins for me), ‘Wait’, which has a sublime groove to it, married with Adam’s sensational falsetto vocals that just ascend with perfection and then there’s the 11-minute epic track, ‘Closure’, which sees the band break into an extended jam, to close the album. The rather understated, ‘Who I Am’ (featuring LunchMoney Lewis) has a somewhat similar feel to some of the tracks on the band’s debut album while ‘Girls Like You’ is a very catchy song with it’s gang vocals and intense use of acoustic guitar strumming. That’s without even mentioning the massive single, ‘What Lovers Do’, which is just epic!

Not like anything you’ve heard from them before – it’s a sensational, modern-pop record!

Then there’s the deluxe version of the album which contains bonus tracks such as singles ‘Don’t Wanna Know’ and ‘Cold‘ as well as the unreleased tracks ‘Denim Jacket’, ‘Visions’ and ‘Plastic Rose’ – if you’re a hardcore fan of the band, then you’re definitely going to want this version! ‘Denim Jacket’ has a gospel feel to it, ‘Visions’ is very reggae in its groove, whilst ‘Plastic Rose’ is very current with a deep house tone to it.

It has a very modern pop record and whilst on some tracks you forget they’re actually a full band, others make up for it with their funky bass sounds, soulful guitar licks or acoustic guitar rhythms. The use of different producers hasn’t detracted from it being an eclectic yet comprehensive record.

I would say that this album has a rather mellow and modest feel to it throughout but it’s still a sensational, modern-pop record! You should most definitely check it out – it’s not like anything you’ve heard from them before.

Rating
4

‘Red Pill Blues’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/red-pill-blues-deluxe/id1292455301

Red Pill Blues on Spotify

 ‘What Lovers Do’ featuring SZA (Official Video)

We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of Maroon 5’s latest album! What are your thoughts of this latest release? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or talk to us about it via our social media.

Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:

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#MellowMonday: A R I Z O N A – ‘Electric Touch’

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A R I Z O N A are an incredible electro-pop band, who have over 200 million streams on Spotify, to date, and over 9 million monthly listeners, and signed to Atlantic Records just over 12 months ago.

They just dropped their latest single, ‘Electric Touch’ and it’s beautiful. A modern-day love song, crafted perfectly, with a little help from singer and songwriter, Julia Michaels.

Not only in the song incredible, but the music video is too – it is a moving video, starring a true-life young gay couple, and tells their story throughout. The couple contacted the band, asking for a short message, but in turn the band decided to honour them in a music video. It’s a real must-see, so check it out below.

In relation to the video, Hailee Ritcey (one of the two main characters in the story) shared the following on social media:

“For a long time this day has filled me with so much fear and anxiety. I’ve never been really sure what I would say, why I felt like I needed to post, or why it even mattered at all. It’s taken me a long time to come to this level of confidence with myself and with my relationship. I have been so lucky to have wonderful family and friends that have really helped me to this point. And I’ve realized the people that truly love and care about you always will, regardless. So a few months ago Carly and I took a trip to Seattle to see one of our favorite bands. Because their music means so much to us I decided to reach out to them. I knew it was a long shot to even get a response but then they took it one step further. They asked us to tell our story through their music. So this is my girlfriend. And this is A R I Z O N A. Thank you A R I Z O N A for creating this incredible opportunity for us and thank you for your music. So much love!”

What are your thoughts of this electronic band? Got a #MellowMonday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via our social media.

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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‘Electric Touch’ can be downloaded off iTunes now – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/electric-touch/id1221577774?i=1221577961

#Two4Tunesday: Ed Sheeran – ‘Castle On The Hill’ & Julia Michaels – ‘Issues’

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Ed Sheeran – ‘Castle On The Hill’

Now I’ve never been a huge fan of Ed Sheeran, but even I can’t deny his triumphant return and ‘Castle On The Hill’ is the first song of his that’s made me take note of him.

The sheer passion in his voice in the chorus of this song is gripping and really captivated my attention. Although this song is currently Number 2 in the UK and his other single (‘Shape Of You’) is at Number 1, I think this one is quietly addictive and could well make it to the Number 1 spot in time.

No official video has been released but for now, check out the lyric video below.

‘Castle On The Hill’ is on iTunes for downloading now! – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/castle-on-the-hill/id1191555115?i=1191557930

Julia Michaels – ‘Issues’

Julia Michaels has so far been known for writing huge hits such as Hailee Steinfeld‘s ‘Love Myself‘, Justin Bieber‘s ‘Sorry‘, Britney Spears‘ ‘Slumber Party‘, and even the track ‘Dive’ from Ed Sheeran‘s upcoming album.

However, Julia Michaels has now taken the first steps into the world as an artist in her own right and she’s making huge waves already. Her debut single, ‘Issues’ is a real hard-hitter with some fantastic vocal melodies and lyrical acrobatics, just the way the lyrics play around the instrumentation is brilliant; it really is a work of songwriting art. She stated, “It was the first time I’d written a song that sounded so much like myself that I couldn’t picture anyone else singing it.”

Similarly to ‘Castle On The Hill’, no video has emerged yet but in the meantime, check out the audio video below.

‘Issues’ can also be downloaded from iTunes now! – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/issues/id1192330387?i=1192330824

Matt – Muzik Speaks
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