The post Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” is an Electrifying Return to Form appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Lady Gaga described Mayhem as a “chaotic” and “genre-bending” record that helped her reconnect with a darker style of pop that put her on the map. She also told Rolling Stone that this album is imbued with her love for music – a diversity of genres, styles, and dreams, adding that “it leaps from one genre to another in a manner that feels almost corrupt.”
She lived up to these words on Mayhem, which sees her toying with synth-pop and dance-pop while also embracing the elements of disco, rock, and industrial-pop. The album’s lead single and opening track “Disease” does a great job encapsulating the album’s sound and themes, along with “Abracadabra”, which was met with rave reactions after hitting the shelves last month.
Many of the songs on Mayhem echo Lady Gaga’s previous eras and biggest hits, such as “Perfect Celebrity”, which sounds straight out of The Fame, and “Garden of Eden”, which is giving us major Born This Way vibes. Several songs also pay clear homage to some of Gaga’s biggest idols, including David Bowie-esque “Vanish Into You” and Michael Jackson-tinged “Shadow of a Man”.
The chart-topping Bruno Mars collaboration “Die with a Smile” closes the album, and it’s the only song that feels slightly out of place. It’s a great showcase of her vocal abilities, despite being in a striking contrast with the rest of Mayhem, which highlights the new heights Gaga is able to achieve by being the truest version of herself.
The post Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” is an Electrifying Return to Form appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Kendrick Lamar Rocked Our World With Epic Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Most halftime show performances consist of a medley of the artist’s biggest hits, but Lamar opted to go down a different route. His tracklist mostly featured recent hits, including songs from his freshly released album GNX.
Lamar didn’t rely on supporting acts to make his performance pop, but he brought a few guests along. His frequent collaborator SZA joined him for “Luther” and “All the Stars”, Hollywood superstar Samuel L. Jackson made a cameo as Uncle Sam, while tennis legend Serena Williams danced in the background during “Not Like Us”.
“Not Like Us” was definitely the highlight of the night, and solidified Lamar’s victory in his beef with Drake. The entire stadium sang along, while Williams did a crip walk in the background as Lamar performed this diss track, before wrapping up the halftime show with “TV Off”.
As for the Big Game itself, it was a night to remember for the Philadelphia Eagles. They scored an epic 40-22 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 9, while Jalen Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP.
The post Kendrick Lamar Rocked Our World With Epic Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Billie Eilish Makes Thrilling Return With “Hit Me Hard and Soft” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Just like Eilish suggested when she first announced it, her third studio album will hit you hard and soft, both lyrically and sonically, while journeying “through a vast and expansive audio landscape, immersing listeners into a full spectrum of emotions.”
Eilish never shied away from getting weird and experimental, but her talent to constantly reinvent herself shines more brightly than ever on Hit Me Hard and Soft. She’s constantly changing things up, sometimes even within a single song, and each risk she takes eventually pays off.
The first half of the album is definitely the softer one, and it kicks off with a reflective opener “Skinny” before serving “Lunch” and “Chihiro”, which are already shaping up to be its biggest hits. “Birds of a Feather” and “Wildflower” keep things tame, before Eilish delivers a major shift on the second half of the album.
“L’Amour de Ma Vie” perfectly captures what Hit Me Hard and Soft is all about, walking a fine line between different genres and themes for five minutes straight. She wraps things up on a melancholic note with “Blue”, revisiting some of the themes and lyrics that made this record what it is.
Eilish has given us another no-skips album with this 10-song collection that perfectly captures her growth. Hit Me Hard and Soft lives up to its name in the best way possible, and it sees Eilish pushing sonic boundaries while taking us to the depths of her soul.
The post Billie Eilish Makes Thrilling Return With “Hit Me Hard and Soft” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Will Make You Fall in Love With Country All Over Again appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Cowboy Carter has often been referred to as Beyoncé’s country album, but she makes it clear it’s more than that from the very first song. The album’s gospel-infused opener “American Requiem” sees her opening up about not feeling at home on the country scene, while also making it clear she’s here to put down roots.
Her rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” sees her bringing some of country’s overlooked Black female artists on board, but it’s not even the best cover this album has in store. Her take on Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene” created quite a splash, and her bold interpretation sees her standing her ground and warning the titular heroine to back off.
Beyoncé did a great job championing other artists on Cowboy Carter, and amazing collaborations are one of its strongest suits. She brought everyone from Dolly Parton and Linda Martell to Post Malone and Shaboozey on board, but the Miley Cyrus duet “II Most Wanted” is definitely one of its shiniest moments.
Needless to say, Beyoncé also shows the moment of brilliance all on her own. In addition to previously released singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, she gave us several more amazing songs that cement Cowboy Carter as a masterpiece, starting with “Bodyguard” and “Protector”.
At 27 songs, Cowboy Carter never feels too long, because they work in perfect harmony, seeing Beyoncé masterfully weave a story about country’s Black roots, paying homage to those who came before her and made this genre what it is. It’s a perfect reminder that there’s truly nothing she can’t do, and it’s another tour de force in her unmatched discography.
The post Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Will Make You Fall in Love With Country All Over Again appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Was Worth Waiting For appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Glass Onion takes us to a private Greek island, owned by the tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). He sends an invitation in the form of an elaborate puzzle to his inner circle, but their perfect holiday is disrupted by the arrival of Daniel Craig’s master detective Benoit Blanc. He quickly hijacks Bron’s make-believe murder mystery, making room for the real, much more compelling case to unfold.
Like with the first Knives Out film, one of Glass Onion’s strongest suits is its A-list cast. Janelle Monáe brings some gravitas to a rare comedic role, while Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, and Leslie Odom Jr. round up the cast as Bron’s “disruptor” best friends, each one proving as the perfect pick for their respective characters.
The group’s dynamic, informed by their complicated shared past is one of the film’s driving forces. From Hudson’s washed-up supermodel to Bautista’s men’s rights activist, they’re all dependent on Bron and clear reflection of real-life celebrities and powerful figures occupying modern headlines and social media.
Glass Onion is a perfect satire for the Elon Musk era and does a great job deconstructing the myth of billionaire “geniuses” without hitting us over the head with the metaphor. At the end of the day, it also gives us what we came here for—a great murder mystery that only Benoit Blanc could solve, making us look forward to more adventures in Rian Johnson’s ever-expending franchise.
Rating: 4.5/5
The post “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Was Worth Waiting For appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is a Strong & Mature Record, But Not a Dream Come True appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Swift described Midnights as a “journey through terrors and sweet dreams” that will take us back to 13 sleepless nights that she lived through. By this description alone, it was pretty clear this record will walk us through some of her past eras, and she certainly delivered on that promise—which is both the strength and the weakness of this record.
Midnights starts off strong, with the synth-pop-inspired track “Lavender Haze”. Many of the future tracks continue this trend, either drawing inspiration from the singer’s past eras or addressing drama in her personal life, from “Maroon” and “Vigilante S—t”.
Midnights’ biggest weaknesses are songs that we had the highest expectations from. The lead single “Anti-Hero” is – once again – pretty polarizing, but we do appreciate Swift’s honest lyrics. “Snow on the Beach” ft. Lana Del Rey, while pretty poetic and dreamy, isn’t the sad-girl banger we’d expect from these two artists.
Luckily, Midnights offers some pretty brilliant moments in songs that will probably never find mainstream success, such as “Karma”, Mastermind”, and “Midnight Rain”. Swift’s maturity and will to experiment with different genres shine through, and 3am Edition offers 7 extra tracks—some as amazing as the 13 songs from the original album.
Loyal Swifties will be listening to Midnights on repeat in the weeks to come, but casual listeners won’t find too much to latch on to here. This album is a pretty great return to synth-pop for Swift, but the lack of bangers in the vein of “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” or the escapist quality of Folklore and Evermore doesn’t make it as memorable as some of her past records.
Rating: 3.5/5
The post Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is a Strong & Mature Record, But Not a Dream Come True appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post The Weeknd’s Halftime Show Was the Most Epic Part of Super Bowl LV appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Unlike the majority of halftime show performers in the past, The Weeknd didn’t heavily rely on a flashy spectacle and grand gestures, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a great performance. He did it without any supporting acts, with a group of bandaged dancers in red jackets to keep him company.
With strict safety protocols in place, the Canadian singer let the music speak and performed some of his biggest hits, including “Can’t Feel My Face”, “Starboy”, and “The Hills”. The entire performance was an obvious nod to his latest album After Hours, and it featured the hit songs “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears”.
The Weeknd’s performances quickly led to an avalanche of memes on Twitter, mostly poking fun at his dazed and confused look. Viewers also had some hilarious things to say about his army of mummy dancers and sound problems, but it was all in good fun.
The post The Weeknd’s Halftime Show Was the Most Epic Part of Super Bowl LV appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is a Worthy Successor to “Folklore” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Just like its predecessor, this album has been announced only a few hours before it hit the shelves. The opening track “Willow” serves as the lead single, which proved to be a smart choice thanks to its lighthearted tone that will immediately draw you in and the visual connection to Swift’s previous self-directed music video for “Cardigan”.
Some of the songs from Evermore may feel like Folklore leftovers, but that’s not necessarily a flaw since the songwriting is still as strong as it gets. Swift once again joined forces with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, in addition to giving songwriting credit to her boyfriend Joe Alwyn.
Evermore features collaborations with The National and Bon Iver, but its brightest point is the crime-mystery inspired tune “No Body, No Crime”, featuring Haim. Swift wrote it on her own and crafted an amazing revenge tale that will take you on a wild ride in less than four minutes.
This album is filled with many more amazing gems that already led to dozens of fan theories, including “Champagne Problems”, “Long Story Short”, and “Dorothea”. They’re more alternative and folk-leaning than her usual pop flare, but that’s what we came to expect from her after Folklore.
Free from the expectations that have been weighing her down for years, Swift managed to give us not one, but two amazing new albums this year that push boundaries and transcend genres. With Evermore, she stepped even deeper into the woods and we’re ready to follow her wherever she goes next.
Rating: 4.5/5
The post Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is a Worthy Successor to “Folklore” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post “Happiest Season” is the Holiday Movie We Need Right Now appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Kristen Stewart takes on the role of Abby, who’s planning to propose to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) at a Christmas party at her family home. The only catch? Harper still hasn’t come out to her conservative parents, and they think Abby is just her platonic roommate.
The chemistry between Stewart and Davis is the strongest in the early scenes of the movie while the supporting actors do a much better job carrying the rest of it. Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy is as hilarious as always as Abby’s best friend, and Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza does a great job bringing some nuance to the role of Harper’s secret ex-girlfriend.
We’re used to Levy and Plaza doing a great job in each project they appear in, but the real MVP of Happiest Season is the relative newcomer Mary Holland. Surrounded by a cast of established actors, including Alison Brie, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, she manages to shine the brightest as Harper’s quirky sister Jane, who steals every scene she’s in.
Happiest Season falls into some of the common traps of “meet the parents while harboring a huge secret” trope, but it’s a genuinely enjoyable and charming Hulu original. The relationship between the two leads could’ve been better fleshed-out, but the movie makes up for it with its truly hilarious supporting cast, making this the perfect rom-com to add to your watch list this holiday season.
3.5/5
The post “Happiest Season” is the Holiday Movie We Need Right Now appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post The Strokes’ New Album is Perfect for Summer appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The album’s first single “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus” is a triumphant return to The Strokes’ signature indie nostalgic sound. It looks back to 80s pop and Julian Casablancas asks us: “And the Eighties bands, where did they go?” It’s this kind of nostalgia that is so perfect for the days where we are suck in our gardens or on our balconies. It’s a nostalgia that looks back to summer when we were hanging out with our friends and listening to the 80s indie tunes. This time around, Casablancas sings: “I want new friends, but they don’t want me.” The album may have been recorded long before the pandemic, but the nostalgic loneliness captured couldn’t be better timed.3
“Bad Decisions” is a simple song that sums up everything that The Strokes get right. The guitars are melodic and upbeat while the lyrics are somewhat bleak. Although Casablancas sings about 1970s Soviet Russia, the tone of the track is still relatable. This is why The Strokes successfully captivate such a wide audience. There is a simplicity and lack of pretense to their music that seems to resonate with mums and their teenage boys alike.
There are several other gems on the album. The closing track “Ode To The Mets” is a confident ending. The penultimate track, “Not The Same Anymore” fires shots at everybody. At first, it seems Casablancas is criticizing a lover only as the song progresses, he turns the blame inward. He candidly confesses: “And now it’s time to show up / Late again, I can’t grow up.”
All in all, The New Abnormal is a throwback album in more ways than one. It nostalgically looks back at the years when indie-rock was at its peak while also sharing the band’s more intimate reflection on their glory days. What sets the album aside is that the nostalgia is not too melancholic. It is the perfect balance between dreamy nostalgia and upbeat summer tunes. Essentially, while we come to terms with the new abnormal, this is the album we want to be listening to.
4.5/5
The post The Strokes’ New Album is Perfect for Summer appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” is an Electrifying Return to Form appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Lady Gaga described Mayhem as a “chaotic” and “genre-bending” record that helped her reconnect with a darker style of pop that put her on the map. She also told Rolling Stone that this album is imbued with her love for music – a diversity of genres, styles, and dreams, adding that “it leaps from one genre to another in a manner that feels almost corrupt.”
She lived up to these words on Mayhem, which sees her toying with synth-pop and dance-pop while also embracing the elements of disco, rock, and industrial-pop. The album’s lead single and opening track “Disease” does a great job encapsulating the album’s sound and themes, along with “Abracadabra”, which was met with rave reactions after hitting the shelves last month.
Many of the songs on Mayhem echo Lady Gaga’s previous eras and biggest hits, such as “Perfect Celebrity”, which sounds straight out of The Fame, and “Garden of Eden”, which is giving us major Born This Way vibes. Several songs also pay clear homage to some of Gaga’s biggest idols, including David Bowie-esque “Vanish Into You” and Michael Jackson-tinged “Shadow of a Man”.
The chart-topping Bruno Mars collaboration “Die with a Smile” closes the album, and it’s the only song that feels slightly out of place. It’s a great showcase of her vocal abilities, despite being in a striking contrast with the rest of Mayhem, which highlights the new heights Gaga is able to achieve by being the truest version of herself.
The post Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem” is an Electrifying Return to Form appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Kendrick Lamar Rocked Our World With Epic Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Most halftime show performances consist of a medley of the artist’s biggest hits, but Lamar opted to go down a different route. His tracklist mostly featured recent hits, including songs from his freshly released album GNX.
Lamar didn’t rely on supporting acts to make his performance pop, but he brought a few guests along. His frequent collaborator SZA joined him for “Luther” and “All the Stars”, Hollywood superstar Samuel L. Jackson made a cameo as Uncle Sam, while tennis legend Serena Williams danced in the background during “Not Like Us”.
“Not Like Us” was definitely the highlight of the night, and solidified Lamar’s victory in his beef with Drake. The entire stadium sang along, while Williams did a crip walk in the background as Lamar performed this diss track, before wrapping up the halftime show with “TV Off”.
As for the Big Game itself, it was a night to remember for the Philadelphia Eagles. They scored an epic 40-22 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 9, while Jalen Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP.
The post Kendrick Lamar Rocked Our World With Epic Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Billie Eilish Makes Thrilling Return With “Hit Me Hard and Soft” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Just like Eilish suggested when she first announced it, her third studio album will hit you hard and soft, both lyrically and sonically, while journeying “through a vast and expansive audio landscape, immersing listeners into a full spectrum of emotions.”
Eilish never shied away from getting weird and experimental, but her talent to constantly reinvent herself shines more brightly than ever on Hit Me Hard and Soft. She’s constantly changing things up, sometimes even within a single song, and each risk she takes eventually pays off.
The first half of the album is definitely the softer one, and it kicks off with a reflective opener “Skinny” before serving “Lunch” and “Chihiro”, which are already shaping up to be its biggest hits. “Birds of a Feather” and “Wildflower” keep things tame, before Eilish delivers a major shift on the second half of the album.
“L’Amour de Ma Vie” perfectly captures what Hit Me Hard and Soft is all about, walking a fine line between different genres and themes for five minutes straight. She wraps things up on a melancholic note with “Blue”, revisiting some of the themes and lyrics that made this record what it is.
Eilish has given us another no-skips album with this 10-song collection that perfectly captures her growth. Hit Me Hard and Soft lives up to its name in the best way possible, and it sees Eilish pushing sonic boundaries while taking us to the depths of her soul.
The post Billie Eilish Makes Thrilling Return With “Hit Me Hard and Soft” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Will Make You Fall in Love With Country All Over Again appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Cowboy Carter has often been referred to as Beyoncé’s country album, but she makes it clear it’s more than that from the very first song. The album’s gospel-infused opener “American Requiem” sees her opening up about not feeling at home on the country scene, while also making it clear she’s here to put down roots.
Her rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” sees her bringing some of country’s overlooked Black female artists on board, but it’s not even the best cover this album has in store. Her take on Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene” created quite a splash, and her bold interpretation sees her standing her ground and warning the titular heroine to back off.
Beyoncé did a great job championing other artists on Cowboy Carter, and amazing collaborations are one of its strongest suits. She brought everyone from Dolly Parton and Linda Martell to Post Malone and Shaboozey on board, but the Miley Cyrus duet “II Most Wanted” is definitely one of its shiniest moments.
Needless to say, Beyoncé also shows the moment of brilliance all on her own. In addition to previously released singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages”, she gave us several more amazing songs that cement Cowboy Carter as a masterpiece, starting with “Bodyguard” and “Protector”.
At 27 songs, Cowboy Carter never feels too long, because they work in perfect harmony, seeing Beyoncé masterfully weave a story about country’s Black roots, paying homage to those who came before her and made this genre what it is. It’s a perfect reminder that there’s truly nothing she can’t do, and it’s another tour de force in her unmatched discography.
The post Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” Will Make You Fall in Love With Country All Over Again appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Was Worth Waiting For appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Glass Onion takes us to a private Greek island, owned by the tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). He sends an invitation in the form of an elaborate puzzle to his inner circle, but their perfect holiday is disrupted by the arrival of Daniel Craig’s master detective Benoit Blanc. He quickly hijacks Bron’s make-believe murder mystery, making room for the real, much more compelling case to unfold.
Like with the first Knives Out film, one of Glass Onion’s strongest suits is its A-list cast. Janelle Monáe brings some gravitas to a rare comedic role, while Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, and Leslie Odom Jr. round up the cast as Bron’s “disruptor” best friends, each one proving as the perfect pick for their respective characters.
The group’s dynamic, informed by their complicated shared past is one of the film’s driving forces. From Hudson’s washed-up supermodel to Bautista’s men’s rights activist, they’re all dependent on Bron and clear reflection of real-life celebrities and powerful figures occupying modern headlines and social media.
Glass Onion is a perfect satire for the Elon Musk era and does a great job deconstructing the myth of billionaire “geniuses” without hitting us over the head with the metaphor. At the end of the day, it also gives us what we came here for—a great murder mystery that only Benoit Blanc could solve, making us look forward to more adventures in Rian Johnson’s ever-expending franchise.
Rating: 4.5/5
The post “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Was Worth Waiting For appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is a Strong & Mature Record, But Not a Dream Come True appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Swift described Midnights as a “journey through terrors and sweet dreams” that will take us back to 13 sleepless nights that she lived through. By this description alone, it was pretty clear this record will walk us through some of her past eras, and she certainly delivered on that promise—which is both the strength and the weakness of this record.
Midnights starts off strong, with the synth-pop-inspired track “Lavender Haze”. Many of the future tracks continue this trend, either drawing inspiration from the singer’s past eras or addressing drama in her personal life, from “Maroon” and “Vigilante S—t”.
Midnights’ biggest weaknesses are songs that we had the highest expectations from. The lead single “Anti-Hero” is – once again – pretty polarizing, but we do appreciate Swift’s honest lyrics. “Snow on the Beach” ft. Lana Del Rey, while pretty poetic and dreamy, isn’t the sad-girl banger we’d expect from these two artists.
Luckily, Midnights offers some pretty brilliant moments in songs that will probably never find mainstream success, such as “Karma”, Mastermind”, and “Midnight Rain”. Swift’s maturity and will to experiment with different genres shine through, and 3am Edition offers 7 extra tracks—some as amazing as the 13 songs from the original album.
Loyal Swifties will be listening to Midnights on repeat in the weeks to come, but casual listeners won’t find too much to latch on to here. This album is a pretty great return to synth-pop for Swift, but the lack of bangers in the vein of “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” or the escapist quality of Folklore and Evermore doesn’t make it as memorable as some of her past records.
Rating: 3.5/5
The post Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” is a Strong & Mature Record, But Not a Dream Come True appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post The Weeknd’s Halftime Show Was the Most Epic Part of Super Bowl LV appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Unlike the majority of halftime show performers in the past, The Weeknd didn’t heavily rely on a flashy spectacle and grand gestures, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a great performance. He did it without any supporting acts, with a group of bandaged dancers in red jackets to keep him company.
With strict safety protocols in place, the Canadian singer let the music speak and performed some of his biggest hits, including “Can’t Feel My Face”, “Starboy”, and “The Hills”. The entire performance was an obvious nod to his latest album After Hours, and it featured the hit songs “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears”.
The Weeknd’s performances quickly led to an avalanche of memes on Twitter, mostly poking fun at his dazed and confused look. Viewers also had some hilarious things to say about his army of mummy dancers and sound problems, but it was all in good fun.
The post The Weeknd’s Halftime Show Was the Most Epic Part of Super Bowl LV appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is a Worthy Successor to “Folklore” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Just like its predecessor, this album has been announced only a few hours before it hit the shelves. The opening track “Willow” serves as the lead single, which proved to be a smart choice thanks to its lighthearted tone that will immediately draw you in and the visual connection to Swift’s previous self-directed music video for “Cardigan”.
Some of the songs from Evermore may feel like Folklore leftovers, but that’s not necessarily a flaw since the songwriting is still as strong as it gets. Swift once again joined forces with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, in addition to giving songwriting credit to her boyfriend Joe Alwyn.
Evermore features collaborations with The National and Bon Iver, but its brightest point is the crime-mystery inspired tune “No Body, No Crime”, featuring Haim. Swift wrote it on her own and crafted an amazing revenge tale that will take you on a wild ride in less than four minutes.
This album is filled with many more amazing gems that already led to dozens of fan theories, including “Champagne Problems”, “Long Story Short”, and “Dorothea”. They’re more alternative and folk-leaning than her usual pop flare, but that’s what we came to expect from her after Folklore.
Free from the expectations that have been weighing her down for years, Swift managed to give us not one, but two amazing new albums this year that push boundaries and transcend genres. With Evermore, she stepped even deeper into the woods and we’re ready to follow her wherever she goes next.
Rating: 4.5/5
The post Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” is a Worthy Successor to “Folklore” appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post “Happiest Season” is the Holiday Movie We Need Right Now appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>Kristen Stewart takes on the role of Abby, who’s planning to propose to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) at a Christmas party at her family home. The only catch? Harper still hasn’t come out to her conservative parents, and they think Abby is just her platonic roommate.
The chemistry between Stewart and Davis is the strongest in the early scenes of the movie while the supporting actors do a much better job carrying the rest of it. Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy is as hilarious as always as Abby’s best friend, and Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza does a great job bringing some nuance to the role of Harper’s secret ex-girlfriend.
We’re used to Levy and Plaza doing a great job in each project they appear in, but the real MVP of Happiest Season is the relative newcomer Mary Holland. Surrounded by a cast of established actors, including Alison Brie, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen, she manages to shine the brightest as Harper’s quirky sister Jane, who steals every scene she’s in.
Happiest Season falls into some of the common traps of “meet the parents while harboring a huge secret” trope, but it’s a genuinely enjoyable and charming Hulu original. The relationship between the two leads could’ve been better fleshed-out, but the movie makes up for it with its truly hilarious supporting cast, making this the perfect rom-com to add to your watch list this holiday season.
3.5/5
The post “Happiest Season” is the Holiday Movie We Need Right Now appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The post The Strokes’ New Album is Perfect for Summer appeared first on OMG Check It Out !.
]]>The album’s first single “Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus” is a triumphant return to The Strokes’ signature indie nostalgic sound. It looks back to 80s pop and Julian Casablancas asks us: “And the Eighties bands, where did they go?” It’s this kind of nostalgia that is so perfect for the days where we are suck in our gardens or on our balconies. It’s a nostalgia that looks back to summer when we were hanging out with our friends and listening to the 80s indie tunes. This time around, Casablancas sings: “I want new friends, but they don’t want me.” The album may have been recorded long before the pandemic, but the nostalgic loneliness captured couldn’t be better timed.3
“Bad Decisions” is a simple song that sums up everything that The Strokes get right. The guitars are melodic and upbeat while the lyrics are somewhat bleak. Although Casablancas sings about 1970s Soviet Russia, the tone of the track is still relatable. This is why The Strokes successfully captivate such a wide audience. There is a simplicity and lack of pretense to their music that seems to resonate with mums and their teenage boys alike.
There are several other gems on the album. The closing track “Ode To The Mets” is a confident ending. The penultimate track, “Not The Same Anymore” fires shots at everybody. At first, it seems Casablancas is criticizing a lover only as the song progresses, he turns the blame inward. He candidly confesses: “And now it’s time to show up / Late again, I can’t grow up.”
All in all, The New Abnormal is a throwback album in more ways than one. It nostalgically looks back at the years when indie-rock was at its peak while also sharing the band’s more intimate reflection on their glory days. What sets the album aside is that the nostalgia is not too melancholic. It is the perfect balance between dreamy nostalgia and upbeat summer tunes. Essentially, while we come to terms with the new abnormal, this is the album we want to be listening to.
4.5/5
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