I am the type of person who falls asleep to heavy metal on a nightly basis.
My music taste is often overlooked by mainstream media as being “emo” or “too edgy for its own good.” However, there is nothing more satisfying than a talneted singer flawlessly switching to screamo or a guitar solo that would make Slash so proud he’d cry.
With bands like Our Last Night, Anarbor, For the Foxes, Softengine and All Time Low blessing my Spotify playlists, there is absolutely no need to find any sort of new music.
But there’s nothing wrong with trying, so I took my chances on rap, country and pop albums to see what I might be missing out on.
“LoVE me Now” – Tory Lanez — (6.2/10)
I don’t have much experience with rap other than a few old school R&B songs and friends blasting it in the car and getting way too into it which just results in second-hand embarrassment.
But I decided to give “LoVE me NOw” a try.
For starters, the album’s aesthetic of ransom note letters and muppets could have been skipped. I’m all for being different and taking risks, but if the only chances a musician is taking is the cover art rather than the music, then they’re just a cheap sell out.
Many other rappers are featured on “LoVE me NOw,” and while they all sound the same to me, after doing some research, the collab artists, such as 2 Chainz, Meek Mill, Trippie Redd and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, outshined Tory Lanez by far.
I was into the music for the first two songs before I realized all of them sounded the exact same, talked about the same thing, and maintained similar beats. I prefer to know when one song ends and when another one starts.
I got bored very quickly.
However, I did end up enjoying “CuT me oFF” (ft. NAV) because it actually differed from the other songs in a good way. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I almost wish there were more than 2 minutes of it.
Based on the entirety of “LoVE me NOw,” my opinion of rap music has not changed, and I doubt it ever will.
“I Serve a Savior” – Josh Turner — (7.31/10)
While Christian Country is not my go-to music genre, I can appreciate the sentiment behind it.
Religion and country songs are often found together, so nothing really seemed out of the ordinary with this album.
Listening to “I Serve a Savior” brought back all the old songs we were forced to sing during mass. I worked so hard to forget those, but in times like these, I’m reminded of how I will always know them like the back of my hand.
The songs were pretty good and included some classics like “Amazing Grace” (which happened to be my favorite), but it did feel like the type of music played at a youth group because they’re “so hip!”
With that said, I was still impressed with the album as a whole. Although I will admit, I did need to take a few breaks between sections of songs because there is only so much banjo and twangy guitar solos one can handle.
Overall, “I Serve a Savior” was a success in my black leather, studded notebook.
“3 (The Purple Album)” – Lukas Graham — (8.62/10)
Lukas Graham first grabbed my attention years ago with “7 Years,” and although I didn’t follow his music, I still found him to be incredibly talented.
The album offered the most variety of the three. From a mix of pop and rap to a tinge of gospel, each song left me satisfied and wanting to hear what was next.
And while they were all different, they never escaped the essence of Lukas Graham and his very specific style.
I loved every single song on “3” because they all piqued my interest and I didn’t find myself just zoning out to them. My favorites, were “Love Someone,” “Everything That Isn’t Me,” and “Hold My Hand.”
The entire album was filled with a specific vulnerability and connection that the others lacked. The lyrics were heartfelt and honest in a way that didn’t seem overdone or fake.
I definitely plan on listening to “3” in the future and probably dramatically singing along as if I’m in a music video.
We all have our particular music tastes, but maybe branching out every so often isn’t such a bad idea.
