Album Review: Charli - Charli XCX

2019 continues to prove itself as the year of the successful female pop star. We’ve already been offered stellar albums from Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Lana Del Rey this year, and to keep that trend continuing, Charli XCX has provided another wonderful project in her album Charli. Utilizing the available design of the pop genre that has become so squeaky clean and radio-friendly, Charli XCX introduces her newly refined and experimental sound that differentiates this album and puts it above a lot of the pop music being released lately.

The record’s opening track “Next Level Charli” is aptly named as it sets the stage for the rest of the tracks yet to come. Listening to this album feels like peeking around the corner and getting a sample of what pop music will sound like in the year 2099. Charli XCX has clearly gained notoriety from her previous works, as the tracklisting features many recognizable names such as Troye Sivan, Haim, Lizzo, and many others, whose presence on this project doesn’t seem like a stream grab or last ditch attempt to save a project. This project doesn’t need saving - its production is next level, its tunes are catchy, and its experimentation is next level.

Some of the deep cuts on this project are what make it so enjoyable for me. The otherworldly and somewhat abrasive ending to “Click”, the dizzying effects paired with standout features on “I Shake It”, and the somewhat robotic vocals found throughout (“Official”, for example) this project are incredibly refreshing. The hits of this project such as “1999” and “Blame It On Your Love (feat. Lizzo)” make it good, but the experimentation makes it great.

Some of the tracks don’t really have an effect on me. That isn’t to say they’re objectively bad, but just lacking in one way or another. “Warm”, for example, seems strangely safe for a project that is taking so many creative risks. Little tweaks here and there could’ve made this project even better, but I’m certainly not disappointed in what this album has to offer.

If you’re a fan of pop music and enjoy experimental music, this is the project for you. Charli XCX delivers pop bops and toys with the genre in a way that makes me excited to be alive to watch pop music take the next step toward the future. Great stuff.

Favorite Tracks: “Next Level Charli”, “1999”, “Official”

SCORE: 9/10

A New (To Me) Way To Listen To Music

We’re fully immersed in a new era of music that is most easily defined by one thing: digital streaming. Music services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and others make it easy for artists to spread their projects to the masses, and for listeners to easily access the latest, hottest bops. One underrated component of streaming services that I hadn’t taken advantage of until recently is the playlist. Being able to group similar tracks together to create a coherent mood and sound has always been nice, but recently I’ve been doing something new: creating “Best of…” playlists for each of my favorite artists in which I put all of my favorite songs of theirs.

No more skipping. No more “Ugh, not this one!” Every single song that I include in a particular artist’s “Best of…” playlist is a song that I’m entirely willing and excited to listen to every single time. I’m able to throw these playlists on shuffle and not worry about dealing with what’s playing for as long as I’ll listen. This is revolutionizing the way I listen to music. Not really, but it’s cool.

I’m sure that you’ve known about and done this for a long time. There are probably lots of downsides to how I do things, too, for example not being exposed to new music and not being able to broaden my horizons by revisiting tracks I once deemed unworthy. I don’t mind it - it’s working for me for now and I figured I’d let you in on it in case this new strategy appeals to you, too.

You can check out my Spotify profile here which features all of my “Best of…” playlists, which so far include the likes of BROCKHAMPTON, Father John Misty, Fleetwood Mac, and many more. Thanks for reading - now go listen!

Album Review: Hollywood's Bleeding - Post Malone

Post Malone has returned after the release of his two critically-acclaimed and highly-streamed albums Stoney and beerbongs & bentleys. His newest project, Hollywood’s Bleeding, promoted its release with multiple successful and impressive singles. Unfortunately, besides a couple of impressive feature tracks, this album disappointed me generally and is my least favorite from Malone’s discography. The highs are sky high here, but the lows are much worse than the standard of quality Post has set for himself.

Let’s start with the positives: every single released in preparation for this album was excellent. “Circles”, “Sunflower (ft. Swae Lee)”, “Goodbyes (ft. Young Thug)” and “Wow.” are some of the best tracks Post Malone has released in years. The featured tracks that succeed here could have gone very wrong, for example pairing Travis Scott with Ozzy Osbourne (“Take What You Want”) or Future with Halsey (“Die For Me”), but these pairings along with Malone’s presence lead to very successful tracks. The opening track, “Hollywood’s Bleeding”, sets the mood for things to come, and “Myself” was partially written by Josh Tillman, so of course I loved it. As previously stated, the highs are high on this album.

But the lows are low. It seems like Post Malone is embracing the role of being a pop star, which is fine, but some of the musical risks he takes because of that on this project are questionable. The lyrics on “Saint Tropez” and “Enemies” leave a lot to be desired. Both SZA’s and Meek Mill’s features are subpar to me and both artists feel underutilized. “Allergic” is Paramore-esque, but in all the worst ways. The lows are as low as the highs are high on this album.

I feel about this album how I feel about the rest of Post Malone’s discography. I absolutely love some of what he has to offer, and the rest is mediocre at best. I expect this album to enjoy commercial success and to break streaming records, and I’m glad it provided a lot of good songs to add to my ‘Best of… Post Malone’ (more coming about that soon) playlist on Spotify. Hopefully his next project is more refined and is less of a roller coaster than this one.

SCORE: 5/10

Best Foot Forward: A Sneaker Series (Part 6)

The sixth installment of my Best Foot Forward series features everything black, white, and grey. That’s right, we’re in for a monochromatic look at some of the most versatile sneakers in my collection. Ranging in price, accessibility, and style, these sneakers are all very distinct from one another, but match with most outfits and situations handsomely. Let’s take a look.

Pair 1 (Upper Left): Nike X John Elliott Vandal in Anthracite

If you’ve been playing really close attention, the name John Elliott should ring a bell. One of my favorite designers John Elliott has collaborated with Nike on multiple occasions, and it always able to reinvent or reimagine iconic Nike silhouettes by giving them tasteful modern twists. We already covered my JE Air Force 1’s here on the blog, but today is a look at Elliott’s take on the classic Nike Vandal. A premium suede upper gives this sneaker a luxurious appearance countered only by the bold white midsole and gradient strap at the top of the tongue. While these weren’t the easiest sneakers to break in, they are fairly comfortable now that I’ve paired them with enough outfits. Any time John Elliott’s name is attached to something, it’s a possible purchase for me.

Pair 2 (Upper Right): Vans Old Skool in Black

I’m a firm believer that everyone could and should have a pair of these sneakers in their collection. Fashionable, timeless, and comfortable, the Old Skool has its roots in skating culture but has transcended into a streetwear staple for years to come. You can’t tell easily from this picture, but the midsole of my pair is showing clear signs of wear that, if it were any other pair, I would wipe away with a Crep Protect wipe, but I instead let build up to add character to this classic silhouette.

Pair 3 (Lower Left): Common Projects Achilles Low in White

After purchasing the CP Achilles Low in white is when I realized that I was truly entering a new phase of the kind of sneakers I’d be adding to my collection. Aside from some minimal golden branding on the outside of the shoe that is innocuous to the average person, the CP Achilles looks the same as any other white leather sneaker. So why is it worth its somewhat lofty price tag? The CP Achilles is a staple for me not because of hype or clout, but because of timelessness and craftsmanship. The leather on this pair is as nice as any of the other leather sneakers I’ve ever worn. Comfortable, modern, and minimal, the CP Achilles low can be dressed up or down to give entirely different vibes. I love this pair.

Pair 4 (Lower Right): Air Jordan 1 Retro “Shadow”

This is the fourth and final pair of Air Jordan 1’s that I have to show you as a part of this sneaker series. Contrary to what some think, the Shadow 1 is actually an original Jordan 1 colorway released in 1985. This cool grey pair is less of a statement piece than either the red or blue variants of the shoe that I wear so often, which compliments the other pairs nicely. I wear my Shadow 1’s on rainy winter days and am not surprised to see the resell price increase day by day as this pair becomes more and more popular.

Thank you for reading another installment of my sneaker series! I look forward to posting another soon, which will likely feature more color than this post did. We will see.

Movie Review: IT Chapter Two

Thought to be defeated by the members of the Losers’ Club, Pennywise the dancing clown has returned twenty-seven years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, and movie audience members across the nation. While this sequel may not surpass its predecessor’s record-breaking box office success, it shoots for the stars - unfortunately proving that bigger isn’t always better. A heavy reliance on acting performances is what keeps this overly complicated story afloat.

This movie just isn’t as good as the simplicity as the first installment. As a disclaimer, I have not yet read the source material, Stephen King’s novel, so any of my criticism of this movie that relates to the novel is unintentional. That being said, the story and information given to the audience is overcomplicated and hard to follow throughout this movie. Having more of an understanding of Pennywise’s backstory and motives would’ve been intriguing to me, but instead that is glossed over in favor of ancient rituals which end up not amounting to much of anything. More scares and less exposition would’ve made this an easier watch.

That isn’t to say that it’s all bad. I enjoyed the “artifact finding” portion of this movie, which gave exposure and backstory to all of the well-cast adult versions of the child characters we grew to love in the first movie. Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, and Jay Ryan give stellar performances here, in my opinion, and are the life vests to an otherwise complicated and long movie. There is more than enough comedic relief for the amount of scares, but the scares included are clever and innovative enough.

The almost three hour runtime feels unnecessary and a somewhat unsatisfactory and anticlimactic ending doesn’t supply the payoff that this series could’ve had to offer. At the same time, there is a nice moral to the end of the story, that accompanied by laughs, amazing special effects, and the occasional scare, keeps IT worthwhile and worth watching. I didn’t love everything about this movie, and in fact there’s quite a bit that I would’ve changed, but I’m glad that I saw it and was able to enjoy the best of what it had to offer. Also, the amount of red balloons I spotted before and after seeing this movie is quite unsettling. Now counting down until JOKER - spooky season is almost upon us.

SCORE: 5/10