Monday, June 25, 2012

WGO: New Cuts from Far East Movement, Justin Bieber, Adam Lambert and more...

Summer is here -- the kids are out of school (you know who you are), the heat is downright unbearable and audiophiles like yours truly are spoiled rotten with the sonic overload of new tunage to spazz over (no, no - I'll get to KPOP in a second). You should all stand to be super impressed with the amount of (English-speaking) testosterone running in the veins of the records I've been spinning a lot lately. Without further ado...

FAR EAST MOVEMENT - "If I Die Tomorrow" (feat. Bill Kaulitz of Tokio Hotel)
FM finally unleashed their followup mainstream album in Dirty Bass on the back of their Justin Bieber-assisted single "Live My Life" (more on The Biebz in a few). The majority of the production was handled by Stereotypes (who took the reins for the main high points of Free Wired) and RedOne (well, they are on Cherry Tree/Interscope after all). The record features collabs with JPOP star Crystal Kay, Flo Rida, Tyga, my new found fave in My Name Is Kay and more but I'm most fond of this surprisingly viral dancefloor stomper. Even if Bill Kaulitz does steal the show with that searing chorus...



JUSTIN BIEBER - "As Long As You Love Me" (feat. Big Sean)
Nope, it's not a Backstreet Boys cover (although I'd be down for that mashup). OK - so, I'm not The Biebz biggest fan. I admit it. But when the material speaks for itself, it's hard to ignore. Just as Chris Brown, Jesse McCartney and (yep, you knew it was coming) Justin Timberlake before him had star-making moments, perhaps JB's Believe, released this past Tuesday is his. I'm not quick to call it his Justified moment just yet, although it's clear the Bieber has severe R&B leanings (I blame Usher), but he's learned a lot since blasting onto our radar screens "One Time" in 2009. Sure, there's some filler, but a lot of the disc surprised me by how listenable it is and more importantly how age-appropriate and genre-spanning it is. Bub - I may have underestimated your ability to step up to the plate. While "Boyfriend" and "Die In Your Arms" do little for me, "All Around the World" and "As Long As You Love Me" have been repeat offenders and "Maria," an ode to the crazy "fan" who accused him of being her baby daddy a la Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" (except sonically nothing like it) really creeped up on me. Bravo.



ADAM LAMBERT - "Trespassing"
I fell off the Idol train a few seasons back, but Adam's talent is kind of undeniable. His contribution to bold, brashy pop (the control! the confidence! the falsetto!) is so singable and hooky, it's a real shame he's not embraced more in the mainstream. The comparison's to Freddy Mercury are not unwarranted and the ire I initially felt upon hearing his debut single "For Your Entertainment" quickly dissipated once I heard the rest of the set. Sophomore record Trespassing is full of more scorchers including current single "Never Close Our Eyes" (co-written by Bruno Mars and Dr. Luke), but the title track immediately stood out long before I realized it was co-written and produced by Pharrell Williams. Get a load of that bassline...



GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS - "The Lion, The Beast & The Beat"
Epic and expertly crafted. It's basically three songs seamlessly woven into one. If the drums don't get you tapping your feet, the guitars will. If you love the bombast of Florence + The Machine, you really need to hear this one.




THE OMG GIRLZ -
"Where The Boys At?"
Unfortunate name not withstanding (Officially Miss Guided...really?), the trio who puts #OMGonERRthang return with their comeback single, midtempo "Where The Boys At?" It feels very much like a 2012 3LW (right down to the water/rain sequence...see L-Dub's "I Do (Wanna Get Close To You" -- although with more restraint on the sexuality, thankfully) with a Keri Hilson "Pretty Girl Swag" spin, which makes it much more listenable and less like a secret guilty pleasure for those beyond their high school years (see "Gucci This, Gucci That"). Trust - Pink-Haired "Miss Beauty" has some pipes on her...



EMELI SANDE - "Heaven"
The UK's most buzzed about new soloist recently just dropped her debut album Our Version of Events here in the States after winning a Brit, opening for Coldplay, and writing for a slew of UK popstars (Cheryl! Leona! Parade! Alesha Dixon!). It doesn't get better (at the moment) than her debut single, "Heaven", which went to #2 in the UK (although "My Kind of Love" and "Next To Me" come close).






2 comments:

Lilly said...

my friends did a cover of "as long as you love me" by the Biebs

Mel said...

Who? Send me links! :)

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