REVIEW: Leona Lewis's I Am

Rating: ★★★★ | B+

Leona Lewis is back, and she's got a fire under her feet. The UK X-factor winner has been largely ignored by the US market since her smash single "Bleeding Love" topped the charts for seven weeks in 2008, spurring her debut album, Spirit, to eight million in sales worldwide. Her follow-up, 2009's Echo, sold just 200k in the United States, and her third, 2012's Glassheart, failed even to crack the Billboard 200.

On I Am, Lewis faces this trend like a fighter, and goes a long way toward finding herself in the process. "First, it was heaven, everything roses and fire" she sings on the album's open track. On the second, she writes "I tripped and I stumbled, watched my world crumble. Sometimes you eat dirt, you live and you learn." And she has. "I'm a little wiser, reaching higher. It's a battle but I'm a fighter." Now, she's "coming back with the thunder." "This voice was getting loud, and it just wouldn't give in, cause I was made to sing."

"Stand By You" (Rachel Platten)

Listen: Stand By You » Rachel Platten

Fresh off her top 10 smash "Fight Song," Rachel Platten delivers the second blow of a one-two punch. If this is not another hit, I will be shocked.

"Power" (Leona Lewis)

Listen: Power » Leona Lewis (Spotify)

Ready for a short break from alternative music? No one could deny that X-Factor winner Leona Lewis is a vocal powerhouse. I can't say I've loved much of her work post "Bleeding Love" in 2008, but this chill (yet emotive) track from her upcoming album I Am is pretty nice.

"Livewire" (Oh Wonder)

Listen: Livewire - Oh Wonder

Oh Wonder are a London-based songwriting duo that has been releasing a track a month for the past year. Their eponymous debut album was released this week, of which "Livewire" is the romantic opening track.

REVIEW: Halsey's BADLANDS

Rating: ★★★ | B

Halsey has perhaps the most buzz of any new pop artist this year. A viral self-starter, she was offered a deal by Astralwerks, an electronic imprint of Capitol Records, less than 48 hours after executives first heard her work. Now, with only one EP and no real "hit" yet to her name, she has almost 750k followers on Instagram and was this year's most-tweeted-about artist at South by Southwest. Every date on her spring 2015 solo tour sold out in less than 30 minutes, and over the summer, she drew crowds as an opening act for arguably one the most popular alternative-pop groups of the decade, platinum-selling Imagine Dragons. She has a tone to her voice that is reminiscent at times of Alanis Morisette and Amy Winehouse, two of her idols, and a lyricism that rivals both.

On the opening track of her debut album, Halsey appears to acknowledge some of this hype. "I'm heading straight for the castle, they want to make me their queen" she sings, noting that "now my neck is open wide, begging for a first around it." She's "sick" and "tired" of the attention already, as well as those who would try to control her. On "Hold Me Down," she sings about selling "her soul to a three-piece" who "told her she was holy," but refers to the demons inside herself as the real danger. These tracks suggest a girl struggling to adapt to a new environment, or rather, to keep from losing herself in the process.

"What Do You Mean?" (Justin Bieber)

Listen: What Do You Mean? - Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber may not be the most likable of musicians, but it is difficult to find fault in his breezy new single. Produced by the Biebs himself, as well as by "Boyfriend" collaborator MdL, "What Do You Mean?" introduces a more adult sound for the once-teen pop star. Bieber's new album is due November 13th from RBMG/Def Jam Recordings, and will feature collaborations from Rick Rubin, Kanye West, Skrillex, Diplo, and Poo Bear, among others.

SPIN THIS: "Breathe Me In" by Laura Welsh

SPIN THIS: "Burning Doves" by Mikky Ekko

Check out Mikky's new album, Time.  Just about every track is fantastic, so more will probably featured on this site over the next few months.

SPIN THIS: "What Kind of Man" byFlorence and the Machine

Welcome back, Florence.  We've missed you.

SPIN THIS: "Thinking About You" by Andrew Allen

ALBUM REVIEW: X (Multiply) ~ Ed Sheeran

X (Multiply) is a solid follow-up to Sheeran’s debut, + (Plus), retaining much of the songwriter’s signature vibe while only fleetingly sounding like a retread. The lead single, “Sing,” is the most familiar—the track is essentially “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” Part 2, even duplicating the melodic/rhymatic structure at points (compare “sobering up we just sit on the couch, one thing led to another now she’s kissing my mouth” to “I haven’t got a house plus I live on a couch, so you can be the lyrics when I’m singing them out”). But the self-homage feels clever rather than lazy.

It’s not always easy to identify what Sheeran is singing about, but his lyrics are occasionally powerful (I especially like “put your faith in my stomach,” from “I’m A Mess”). The songwriter's greatest strengths are his melodies and his fantastic instrument, a dexterious voice that sounds natural rapping on “Take it Back” (“I’m not a rapper, I’m a singer with a flow”), crooning in beautiful falsetto on “One,” or belting out twisty, tricky runs on “I’m A Mess.”

The songs on Multiply are all radiofriendly (that sexy, threatening hook on “Don’t”!), but nothing here screams #1 Billboard smash or Grammy Song of the Year. Which is fine—few artists will ever achieve that type of success.  But Sheeran is capable; indeed, he’s already been nominated for Song of the Year once, for “The A Team” in 2013. The album has its fair share of serious ballads, but Sheeran feels less invested this time around. “Photograph” and “Bloodstream” are delivered in remorseful tones, but they come off sleepy rather than emotional. Those looking for another “A Team,” “Small Bump” or “Lego House” may be disappointed. “One,” the romantic opening track, and the end-run beginning with heavily-rapped “The Man,” are probably the most heartfelt of the new set. Overall, it’s a very good album, certainly among the best in the pop realm this year. But fair or not, Sheeran must be judged in relation to not only his competition, but himself.

Rating: ✭✭✭✭ (A-)
Best songs: One, I’m A Mess, Don’t, The Man, Thinking Out Loud, Afire Love.

SPIN THIS: "You Can Rely On Me" by Jason Mraz

SPIN THIS: "Don't Kill the Magic" by Magic!

SPIN THIS: "Leave the Night On" by Sam Hunt

SPIN THIS: "Heart And Soul" by Twin Atlantic

ALBUM REVIEW: Fire Within ~ Birdy

The rather sad theme of Birdy’s first fell-length U.S. release is longing—yearning for love, for understanding, for connection. “Wings,” perhaps the most familiar track in the set, is about great love frustrated by distance. “All You Never Say,” by contrast, is about distance felt in a very close relationship. Woven between are “Heart of Gold” and “Words as Weapons,” two songs about love being returned with harshness and envy, and “Strange Birds,” about feeling ugly and invisible.

These ballads make the album a little heavy, so it’s refreshing when a more positive, upbeat track like “Maybe” comes along. What truly saves the album, however, is Birdy’s optimism, which cuts at times weakly but persisently through the obstacles she writes about. The eleventh-hour track, “Shine,” seems to best encapsulate her—if you’ll excuse the triteness—Fire Within (“if the world gets you down don’t be afraid to wrestle it / if your heart tells you to then who are you to question it?").

Birdy has a great ear for a hook and a poetic sensibility. Her lyrics are direct yet insightful, refreshing these days, when many artists seem to think lyrics must be abstract riddles. Her melodies are fairly traditional singer-songwriter faire, but the haunting tone of her voice—reminiscent of alternative crossover artists like Ellie Goulding and Florence Welch—adds a richer, emotive quality than is heard from Birdy's pop and AC contemporaries, who often sound like little girls (I won’t name names). As her songs make clear, Birdy is a woman, and with this album, she has established herself as someone to watch for, and listen to.

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭ (A) 
Best tracks: Wings, Heart of Gold, Shine, All About You.

COVER: "How Will I Know" by Sam Smith

ALBUM REVIEW: A.K.A. ~ Jennifer Lopez

J-Lo's eighth studio album (how did that happen?) has received some pretty damning reviews so far (see here and here). I'm no J-Lo fan, but I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion, A.K.A. is perhaps the actress-dancer-singer's (in that order) most versatile and polished offering since her breakout over a decade ago.

J-Lo's always had the goods for pop superstardom. Good dancer. Good body. Workable voice. But apart from in the early 2000s, her on-paper potential hasn't translated to real-world quality. Her material has consistently been subpar, her delivery strained, and her personality off-putting. This album doesn't solve the personality problem, but it does contain a surprising number of legitimate pop hits, starting with the singles "I Luh Ya Papi" and "First Love," and continuing through the likely future smashes "Never Satisfied" and "Booty." Then there's the slightly cheesy but undeniably beautiful Spanish power ballad "Let it Be Me," on which J-Lo does her best impression of Celine Dion vocals (and, surprisingly, sounds pretty good).

As other critics have pointed out, there is a degree of lyric and thematic inconsistency within the album, but the same could be said of most pop albums in the iTunes age, and that's J-Lo in general -- the girl's an actress, and consistent with her ever changing celebrity persona, she'll play whatever part she feels like at any given moment. That's fine with me -- harsh as it may sound, I suspect "honesty" from J-Lo is probably not something that is going to advance her career or music very much. Maybe we'll get a better sense of who J-Lo really is in future work.  For now, I'm fine with this.

Rating: ★★★★ (B+)