Thursday, January 14, 2016

FRESH OUT THE BOX: Conrad Sewell, Lady Leshurr, M.O, Panic!, Simon Curtis, & more...


For those who are new to the class,
Fresh Out The Box is a weekly (usually) rundown of great, just released music. Basically, I'm doing the heavy-lifting of listening to everything for you. ;)

The first tally for 2016 includes one of my fave up and coming girl groups, a Pop Prince, and a The B-52's-sampling jam. Are you ready?

AUDIODAMN! - "Radar" (listen here)
Fun and funky. "Radar" in particular is a falsetto-soaked bop. The whole AudioDamn! EP is worth your perusal.

THE BEATLES - "Come Together" (listen here)
Have you heard of this great new group? They're everywhere lately. (Pause for Sarcasm.) The Fab Four's catalog finally hit digital streaming over the Christmas holiday and people are calling this move a huge endorsement for Spotify and it's ilk. Read into that as you will...

BIRDY - "Keeping Your Head Up" (listen here)
More uptempo and full-bodied than her previous hit "Skinny Love". If you're a fan of Sia or Florence + The Machine, give it a try.

CONRAD SEWELL - "Who You Lovin"
The MJ vibes are strong. If you love The Weeknd's "In The Night", this is a must listen.



DAVID BOWIE - "Let's Dance" (watch here)
RIP. :( I could pick a handful of songs but in terms of my overall, absolute, hands down favorite -- it's gonna be this one.

J SUTTA - "Damn! (I Wish I Was Your Lover)" (watch here)
The former Pussycat Doll Jessica Sutta has re-branded as J SUTTA and has recently offered up her cover of the 1992 Sophie B. Hawkins classic.

KRISTINIA DEBARGE - "Problem" (listen here)
Remember Kristinia? She won everyone over with her pop smash 2009 "Goodbye". Post-radio hit, she's still been hustling and finally saw some traction this week with the release of her EP, Thinkin Out Loud.

LADY LESHURR - "Queen's Speech 1"
This UK rapper is a lot of fun. Her Queen's Speech EP is a collection of freestyles in the vein of a mixtape with more new material on the way. Her cadence and delivery set her apart in a saturated market. Think Nicki Minaj at her comical best mixed with Missy Elliot's flair for the surreal and Lady Sovereign. It says something that I'm not much for hip hop but I can't stop playing this EP.



M.O - "Love The Most (feat. THE HEAVY TRACKERZ)" (listen here)
A bit of a departure for one of my favorite up and coming girl groups but still great all the same. An ode to all haters tryin' to steal attention from your significant other on the 'Gram.

NATALIE COLE - "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (listen here)
RIP. :( To this day, I can't listen to this song without a smile on my face. Still can't get that quick poetry flow bit at the end, either. Natalie is an icon who will be sorely missed.

PANIC! AT THE DISCO - "Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time"
Panic!'s new album is due out soon and -- I never thought I'd be saying this in 2016 -- I can't wait. This new hype release has an unexpected sample in The B-52's "Rock Lobster". It's safe to say they're feeling encouraged by Fall Out Boy's breakthrough mainstream template ("Uma Thurman", anyone?) and I'm not complaining. This..."LA Devotee"..."Hallelujah"...the Death of a Bachelor album seems solid.



SIMON CURTIS - "Brainwash (Super 8Bit Heart Version)" (listen here)
Yes! Our Prince is back! Simon unleashed an unexpected gift for fans via iTunes & Spotify with the release of Super 8 Bit Heart, a collection of remixed/revamped tracks previously featured on his official solo debut album 8 Bit Heart, released back in 2010 (read my review of it here).

TROYE SIVAN - "Heaven (feat. BETTY WHO)" (listen here)
We're gonna be seeing a lot of Troye's name in 2016. This exquisite midtempo features another should-be-everywhere artist -- Betty Who.

WET - "All The Ways" (listen here)
Shimmering and super-singable chorus alert.

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