New Music Friday - 14/03/2025

Albums:

• Mia Wray - hi, it's nice to meet me
  

Singles:

• Bon Iver - If Only I Could Wait (feat. Danielle Haim)
• Bon Iver - Walk Home 
• Chappell Roan - The Giver
  
• EMELINE - take it
• HAIM - Relationships 
• JADE - FUFN (Fuck You For Now)
  
• Lil Nas X - BIG DUMMY!
• Lil Nas X - DREAMBOY
• Lil Nas X - HOTBOY
  
• Lil Nas X - RIGHT THERE
• Lil Nas X - SWISH
• Litany - I Need a Man
• Lucy Dacus - Talk
• Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco - Sunset Blvd
• Sugababes - Jungle

Mia Wray - hi, it's nice to meet me

Nice To Meet Me: It sounds like a million other songs that sound like this but that doesn't make it bad. It's generic but if it works, it works. It's a decent song. 7/10

Tell Her: I like the production elements in this one in the background. It's definitely a bop, the chorus hits. It's a good song! The vocals are good, the production is good, the lyrics are good. Not sure it needed the more distant bridge moment but it's still great. 8/10

Sad But True: This song is a bit more boring sadly, it's giving generic midtempo type song, not really sure I'm here for it as much. 6/10

What If: This is decent, but there's a fair bit holding it back. I think it's the vocals maybe being too loud compared to the production? Maybe it's the mixing? It's decent other than that, but it's annoying enough for me to drag it down. 7/10

The Way She Moves: It started as a bit of a boring more ballad-y moment, but it improved a lot. The vocals are being showcased here. It's a pretty good song actually. 8/10

Only Love: I thought this would be a bit of a boring guitar based song, but it's decent. It doesn't really super stand out to me, but it's a decent song. 7/10

Fake A Smile: Me when I Fake A Smile. Uh oh, is it a ballad? Not quite, but it's kinda...just there as a song. It's alright I suppose. 6/10

Get Out My Way: This sounds somewhat fresh to me, but maybe not in a great way? I think it's a bit annoying to me actually. It's okay yet again but nothing special sadly, but it could maybe grow on me. 6/10

Not Enough: It does feel like another somewhat generic song that I've heard a lot before, but that doesn't make it bad! It's pretty decent. The guitar works well.  7/10

Not The Same As Yesterday: It starts as a Mandatory Ballad, but it builds up after that, which I liked. The ballad part was not the best, but I quite like the rest of the song, it's got good vocals and good production. 7/10

Ghost In My Machine: It's a fine song, it's nothing I haven't heard before again but it's decent. 7/10

Everybody Knows: Definitely wasn't really feeling this song, although it's a piano based ballad it felt a bit off for some reason? It was not the best song to end the album on, it just feels...not as clean as it should be? May be intentional, but I don't know. Definitely not my favourite song. 6/10

Overall Verdict: This is a decent pop album! A lot of the songs feel like songs I've heard before from other artists, and it doesn't claim to reinvent the wheel, but that doesn't make it bad. Many of the songs are bops! However, it does lack in consistency, with enough of the songs being a bit dull, so it's not a consistently good album all the way through. Still, I can definitely see me listening to it again.

Singles:

Bon Iver - If Only I Could Wait (feat. Danielle Haim): What the hell was that intro? What the hell is this? It's kinda a mess of a song, I'm not sure what's happening. The production is really overpowering the vocals. I suppose the one saving grace of the song is that Danielle is on it. It's...kinda just wrong to me. I don't think that makes it bad but it's weird and I don't know how I feel exactly. 6/10

Bon Iver - Walk Home: If we're honest, it's kinda just boring. Not sure I needed the distorted vocals either, it didn't really do much. Now that I think about it, why am I even listening to Bon Iver? 6/10

Chappell Roan - The Giver: Unfortunately, I this this is kinda what I'd expect for a generic yet fine Chappell Roan country song. It's decent, but nor is it really that amazing? It feels somewhat muted, and it's somewhat hard to see how it lines up on an album with Good Luck, Babe currently. I think with more listens it's grown on me, but it's never going to be a favourite of mine. It's definitely giving something like asking AI to create a Chappell Roan country song. Also, screw the na-na-na-na bit. Same for the cringe ending lyrics. There's nothing majorly wrong with it (maybe a few mixing issues aside), but it just doesn't have the same IT factor as some of her other songs. 7/10

EMELINE - take it: I wasn't really feeling it until the beat came in more. This is a generic pop bop but it's a bop nonetheless! Good old synths never fail (except when they do). It's a bop and it delivers. 7/10

HAIM - Relationships: Weird vocal effects are really coming for me today, I did not like that intro. The production here is the main thing holding the song back for me, I'm not really a fan of it. Also, I don't like the almost childlike chants in the background at times. No thanks. There are elements of this that are fairly catchy, but it all comes crashing down. Not a fan of the stripped back moment, that was not necessary at all and ruined the momentum of the song. I did not need the switchup, it somewhat ruined the song for me as it was starting to grow on me a lot more. 6/10

JADE - FUFN (Fuck You For Now): This is a very good song. I don't think I'm the biggest fan of the starting section, which has...not the best production and takes a bit too long to get to its destination. However, the rest of the song is INCREDIBLY catchy good. The only big problem I have is with the layered vocals in parts of the song, which make it sound a bit too busy and messy in places. The bridge is catchy too! 8/10

Lil Nas X - BIG DUMMY!: This is maybe more promising than DREAMBOY with the more intense production for me. This is much better. He sounds much better on this track. It sounds so much better generally. 7/10

Lil Nas X - DREAMBOY: Poor start honestly. It's kind a stale ass song with some cringe ass lyrics that attempt to eat but fail. Don't need those different vocals either, or the chants. No thanks. That was a lame ass song. He can do better than that. 4/10

Lil Nas X - HOTBOY: The song the hype singles were paving the way for, and it delivers. The production is GREAT. The vocals at the start are somewhat annoying but it doesn't last too long. It is a bop, not one that pops your ears out but it sounds great! 7/10

Lil Nas X - RIGHT THERE: Could be another good song. I feel this production style fits him more. The song is another better one of his, and if he keeps to this style or makes it even better, that's where his future lies. 7/10

Lil Nas X - SWISH: Do we need cringe chants? This is lowkey a boring song again unfortunately, it's not really giving much. Katy Perry's nachos are safe (not that anybody wants them anymore). It's not awful but nor is it anything much 6/10

Litany - I Need a Man: Me too girl. But seriously, not really my thing. It's a very...I'm a ballad type of song. It's...fine? That's about it really. Nice vocals I suppose. Didn't really need the loud moment towards the end. 5/10

Lucy Dacus - Talk: I fear this is going to be a song I find fundamentally boring. I mean, it's fine? I'm not really sure it's for me, I'm sure Lucy stans will eat this up though. It does have interesting production elements to it, but again, not really my sound. 6/10

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco - Sunset Blvd: Oh, that was CRINGE! We did not need the "BIG, BIG, HARD... HEART". Cringe! And the song building up to that was just...not great either. Not that it's any better afterwards either. Now this almost is AI like, the vocals don't sound amazing, they are going through too many effects, and the production isn't great either. Did we need the whisper bridge? What is going on? This is a mess of a song. 4/10

Sugababes - Jungle: This is a bop! It starts strong and it continues throughout. The production is EATING! The chorus is maybe a bit disappointing to me, and it really strongly resembles a song I can't really recall right now. The rest of the song is great to me though! 7/10