“THE SECOND P” hits you from the start with a more hypnotic and dynamic performance compared to “WITHSTAND THA FIRE,” pushing its bizarreness to a new level.

The same chaotic, abstract energy K2 Cocky delivers on the track is reflected in the visuals, which hit you with everything at once—blending adventure and madness through rapidly shifting shots. These feelings dominate the song, merging quirkiness, curiosity, and an infectious energy all in one.

The melody K2 Cocky dictates is raw and harsh, keeping the listener engaged with every new layer of its glitchy, droney sound that lingers from the artist’s first whistle.

Truthfully, you can’t even fully pin down the track’s genre—it teeters between alternative hip-hop, shimmering loops, and experimental elements. The video mirrors this unpredictability; rather than going for a polished aesthetic, K2 Cocky leans into a glitchy, mesmerizing vibe paired with a pounding, distorted sound that feels warped yet free-flowing.

I really admire his frenetic delivery throughout the track, which he reinforces later in the music video with all its psychedelia and noise. From scenes that seem straight out of an American block to the graveyard gives the track this raw and unpolished feel.

Score/Good: To sum it all up, K2 Cocky’s “THE SECOND P” is crazy, and off-kilter, yet the straightforward energy he brings to the track is both memorable and fluid, emphasizing eerie intensity. This track is a strong addition to the original SOCIAL STUDIES, reinforcing his signature sound but in a bigger, more unhinged context.

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JVKE is a new pop artist from Rhode Island, and is also a master in the new subgenre Cinematic pop – a kind of pop with a lot of synths and cinematic, lush, strings. His hit song golden hour peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Charts, and his debut album this is what ____ feels like (Vol. 1-4) peaked at 40 on the Billboard 200. It has been at least six weeks since his latest release, so let’s have a listen to his new single.

We can first hear his dreamy voice with a synth guitar at the background. Also noticeable is the tuning – 432hz, which was also used in golden hour and a whole lot of other songs. This gives his music an “old feeling”, or a style more like Tin Pan Alley, with the clinky-clonky piano.

After the short intro, we hear the Verse I. I really feel that his lyrical skills have improved over these years. The Verse I is filled with lush synths, and we can also hear him singing those difficult leaps. The First Chorus is the same as the intro, but adding a few more verses. After that, we can hear an inversion of the accompaniment of golden hour. I really like the mention of golden hour in his songs, and this isn’t the first time he did this.

After this bridge, we can hear the Verse II. This time he added a beat under the new golden hour inversion accompaniment. Then there is the pre-chorus, where he hits some pretty high notes. JVKE is the master of high notes, as you can hear them in this is what slow dancing feels like. His control is just amazing.

Finally, there is the second chorus, which is a mash-up of all the elements in the song. He usually does that in the second chorus. What’s NOT usual is missing of the usual long outro. But I also like how the song just fades away.

SCORE/Outstanding: If you are looking for dreamy and happy songs, you have come to the right place! Pretty will make you “float” after you listen to it!

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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Born George Kusunoki Miller on September 18, 1992, in Osaka, Japan, to a Japanese mother and an Australian father, it’s wild to think this is the same guy who once had the internet in stitches as Filthy Frank. His career kicked off in 2011 on YouTube, where he launched the channel DizastaMusic, creating absurd, comedic content featuring characters like Filthy Frank and Pink Guy—think rap songs, rants, and bizarre skits that exploded in popularity, even sparking the viral Harlem Shake craze in 2013.

Back in 2017, he ditched the comedy mask for music, starting with lo-fi beats that quickly evolved into something deeper. By 2022, with this release, he’s carved out a space all his own, mixing haunting melodies and slick production into what I’d call a masterpiece of modern melancholy.

What makes SMITHEREENS work so well is how it pulls you in, whether you’re after something to wallow in or just a spark to feel alive. Starting with “Glimpse of Us,” a slow, piano-driven gut punch that climbed to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a fragile, yearning quality that sticks with you. This is followed by “Feeling Like The End,” setting a dark, simmering tone with heavy bass and resigned vocals.

Then “Die For You,” bringing a rich, layered sound with synths swelling around tender yet desperate lyrics. “Before The Day Is Over” layering soft piano with an achingly personal plea with a few cinematic synths.

“Dissolve” throwing in a hypnotic, almost eerie vibe, “NIGHT RIDER” cruising with sleek, nocturnal energy, “BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO” keeping things raw and experimental, “YUKON (INTERLUDE),” a quick, chaotic jolt of glitchy energy that shakes things up, and “1AM FREESTYLE” closing it out with a loose, introspective late-night feel. I’d call it excellent—perfect for anyone who loves music that hits hard and doesn’t let go.

Joji’s got this knack for blending dreamy, atmospheric vibes with raw emotion, and it’s all over this album. It’s short, sure, but every track lands like a carefully crafted moment, from the aching simplicity of “Glimpse of Us” to the restless edge of “YUKON.” Even if I grew up on more classic sounds, this won me over—it’s honest, it’s striking, and I can’t get enough of it.

One thing I like about SMITHEREENS is that everyone can enjoy and resonate with the music, or cry with the music, because he uses universal languages of heartbreak and sadness. The only thing that I thing lacks in this album is the diversity of style. I find every song pretty much in the same gloomy mood, which, if you listen long enough, could make you quite sleepy.

SCORE/Excellent: If you want a soundtrack for late nights or heavy feelings, this album is it., SMITHEREENS delivers.

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This single purports to be an EDM dance track, So let’s have a listen …

On first listen, I could definitely hear this EDM Dance track in an LGBTQ or straight nightclub with vibrantly colored strobe lights beating in time with the music. I’m not a particularly a fan of auto-tuned voices, but it is done particularly well in this dance track. “Call no more, I’m done for sure.”

The track kicks off with a hypnotic vibrating keyboard riff that reminds me of a musical waterfall. There are a lot of repetitive lyrics in this song, but the voice is very engaging. The artist’s look, if not also AI, reminds me very much of Orianthi, without the guitar. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Sounds like programmed drums and MIDI keyboard parts, but the beat is hypnotic and very danceable. “If you want to know how to win my heart.”

Lots of 16th and 32nd notes. An audible warble in the beat which adds to the track’s hypnotic feel. I enjoy the twisted sound of the second voice that comes in later in the track. Personally, I’m not sure this singer needs all the over-the-top autotune, but it is a fitting stylistic choice for this popular genre of power-pop/EDM dance. Find the nearest dance floor!

SCORE/Excellent: Being LGBTQ (all those, lol) myself, I have ventured into many a gay nightclub, including the legendary Starck Club in Dallas back in the day, and several EDM dance clubs in Europe, and this single very much captures the sound of that vibrant dance your ass off the environment. I see lots of sweaty dancers in this artist’s future. If you like hypnotic dance grooves, this track is for you! Much love, Beth

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HinnRYK and their new album It All Comes Alive is a solid demonstration of how things would look with a couple of more personally funky tweaks. Who is HinnRYK, essentially?

They are a musical duo from Iceland who emerged onto the scene in 2024 with a vibrant blend of funk, pop, R&B, and rap. This band comprises two talented musicians—The Baron, residing in Iceland, and Daniel Gray, based in Norway. Their music draws inspiration from a variety of genres and generally defies categorization.

With what seems to be a debut record, It All Comes Alive continues from the very first seconds to do what they do best: dive into infectious grooves, soaring melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics. However, my main question remains: is this record as genre-challenging as it was promoted?

Yes, absolutely.

The intro track, “She’s A Zero,” first gives you a taste of the catchy, rhythmic pop-like hook that transitions into a more formidable sound with some introspective rap delivery that catches and loops you inevitably into its hook.

“She’s A Zero” is not the only example that indicates how diverse and multi-dimensional the sound of this album is.

It All Comes Alive is not afraid of vulnerability or melodic moments, nor is it afraid to be direct and raw. The duo experiments with their sound, leveraging both their strengths and weaknesses from one track to the next. However, one thing is clear from track to track: the rapping is top-tier.

The energy of the vocals ranges from snarling to haunting on tracks like “Land Of Dreams,” which is simply exceptional. Even more notable is how the rapper’s style is not confined to one single type of beat, as is often the case with many rappers.

Furthermore, it is quite refreshing to hear more Scandinavian influence in the music nowadays, especially in their rapping ventures. The bouncy yet, at times, minimalistic production showcases more than needed, seamlessly expanding the narrative. Somehow, all these different influences—ranging from indie rock to pop-rap—give the band a new signature style that remotely reminds you of Twenty One Pilots, yet with understated soft beats that easily get you into that toe-tapping movement.

A blend of authentic tones and timeless influences feels cinematic and immersive, even though the tracks don’t always share a consistent sonic direction. The only thing uniting these tracks is the curiosity and authenticity you get from the artists, and the charm of tunes like “This Error,” which brings a brooding, introspective sound.

With 12 tracks on the record and a runtime of 41 minutes, the duo also delivers some empowering and dynamic sounds—among my favorites on the record are tracks like “Let Me In,” which is simply breathtaking, offering a hypnotic and expansive feel that stands out as a highlight. The Baron’s vocals on some of these hooks are charming, greatly complementing Gray’s impressive wordplay. Performances like “Let Me In” or “Not My Game” are moments where The Baron shines as brightly as a young star.

Going through such a concise and diverse tracklist, it’s hard to pinpoint any significant failures. Both members execute solidly, providing a very decent debut record that blends mainstream appeal with expansive, challenging sounds in one package. If I had to define what this record tries to achieve, I would say it’s an attempt to create a unique fusion of diverse influences that take pop-rap in an intriguing direction.

While I may not dig into some of the cuts toward the latter part of the album—tracks that feel a bit too soft and slightly less dynamic and energetic in their delivery—this doesn’t take away from the numerous advantages this album offers or the potential these guys truly have. I feel this record demonstrates that the duo can deliver an insane mix of layered, contemplative, and sometimes minimalistic sounds that feel both relatable and lush.

Score/Excellent: These guys prove throughout the record that they can make music in every way they want, achieving an immersive and excellent experience that is incredibly intricate.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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After a quite mixed reception of singles that Abel teased throughout the roll-out, the emotions and expectations surrounding the project were quite uncertain. Whether you heard a synth-pop, pop-rap inspired “Timeless” with Playboi Carti or “Sāo Paulo,” which finds itself in a subpar mix and a cheap imitation of Funk Madelāo, The Weeknd himself did not really participate in the roll-out either, barely promoting or supporting the theme of ‘Rebirth’ or ‘Death,’ which seemed to be the central topic of the record. All those factors combined, my expectations for the record were truly low, as The Weeknd was not really hitting the mark at some points during the roll-out.

However, with Hurry Up Tomorrow now here, were my expectations and worries valid?

Absolutely not.

Funnily enough, none of the singles serve as a clear indication of what the record sounds like. Hurry Up Tomorrow is where The Weeknd tries to combine elements from his career one by one and implement them into one solid foundation—whether it is the synth-wave production on “Wake Me Up,” combining the darkness and brightness of Abel’s previous records, or “Open Hearts,” which jumps fully into the dance-pop scene predominant on Dawn FM.

Some of the other performances on tracks like “Baptized In Fire” or “Cry For Me” remotely evoke what you might find on Kiss Land or Beauty Behind The Madness.

Is it to say that Abel’s new record doesn’t bring you anything new?

No, again.

The Weeknd’s latest record fills the sound with such colors that you might have never expected to hear or see, pushing vibrance and darkness right onto you. Abel easily builds up the suspense in various ways throughout.

On “Reflections Laughing,” the singer chases flashes of light with his harmonious vocals that transition into a luxurious guitar loop foreshadowing the darkness.

I am glad to see that Abel doesn’t solely pursue hard-hitting bangers like on “Timeless” but rather adds another layer of dynamic, gruesome yet empathetic sound. For example, “Given Up On Me” immerses you in a raw and brooding beat that abruptly transitions into gentle classic R&B with chic touches.

Furthermore, despite creating an immersive, curated elegance with sporadic bursts of raw energy, Abel delivers a dual sense of emotion throughout the record. Whether it is the mournful, cinematic part of “Wake Me Up” that later becomes ethereal, dreamy pop, or “Big Sleep,” which adds a nice touch of psychedelia and bizarreness to the record’s stability by bringing up the accumulated tension once again.

Throughout all these years, Abel has been one of the best at building tension and then striking with the most epic and exciting resolutions. This record is no exception.

Abel easily navigates through the diverse sounds he has developed throughout his career on this album, jumping from melancholy to crescendo-driven monumental sound.

Another thing to notice on this album is its direction and how well-collected and produced the record sounds. Despite my earlier criticism over sluggish single choices and uninspired music videos for these songs, the album gives you an absolutely unmatched idealism.

Every feature seems fitting, and while not excessive, they showcase the strong and experimental sides of everyone on it. For example, Travis delivers an insanely pitched deep voice on “Reflections Laughing” that was not showcased before—something absolutely contrary to the recent “4X4”—or the delicate yet striking touch of Lana Del Rey on “The Abyss.” I also feel that this is the record where Abel most embraces a fusion of hip-hop/trap influence with synth accompaniment, and if with “Timeless” I wasn’t a huge fan, something expansive like “Enjoy The Show” featuring Future works perfectly.

This record is also a good demonstration of where The Weeknd and Mike Dean really went at it; you can easily feel the dominance of distinctive synths. Lately, Dean’s mixing wasn’t on the highest echelon. However, here there is simply nothing to pick on regarding Dean’s mixing—except for sometimes louder instrumentals on “Cry For Me,” where Mike steps away from the “watered down” mix.

So, while Hurry Up Tomorrow is an undeniable masterpiece that immerses you in the unforgettable, cinematic warmth of music, it is still hard to crown it as the best of the new trilogy. The strong advantage the previous two records have for me over this new joint from Abel is simply the length. While After Hours clocks in at 56 minutes and Dawn FM at 52 minutes, Hurry Up Tomorrow exceeds 80 minutes. The new record certainly offers an extensive range, and considering it is Abel’s final The Weeknd album, that is actually advantageous. However, due to such an extensive track list, I had trouble remembering every song because the experience felt so smooth yet prolonged. The feeling of tension was omnipresent, but distinctiveness sometimes gets lost in such a wide range of songs.

So, the length is probably my only complaint, as it brings up issues with the album’s cohesiveness and its distinguishing sounds compared to previous records.

And, well, I still absolutely dislike São Paulo.

Score/Outstanding: To sum it all up, Hurry Up Tomorrow is a beautiful piece of art that confidently and cinematically closes out The Weeknd’s career. Its rhythmic waves, alongside the wavy aesthetic of the record, create a mind-blowing experience. It is gentle, expansive, rich, nostalgic, and experimental. It has all the attributes of The Weeknd’s perfect record, and, to no one’s surprise, Abel executed it perfectly.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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There aren’t too many revivalist acts of this time period, to my knowledge, but it is a trend that is growing. As the years go by, we want to bring back sounds that are closer in our consciousness compared to things ‘beyond our time’. Today’s act comprises of a release that delivers exactly that, with a couple of surprises.

Who is it? Well, it is MJayNumberOne, a producer and rapper from Hartford, Connecticut. He presents us with his newest release, titled ‘SUMMERtime POPsicles‘, an apt title for an album filled with summer pop, hip-hop, and R&B influences. This project is meant to celebrate youthful energy, summer vibes and motivational themes.

Critics besides us here at Music Review World have lauded the album for its ‘dynamic production’ and infectious energy. Bubbling with tracks that are described as entertaining, it’s also a celebration of upbeat energy. The album’s highlights are the tracks ‘Summatyme (Oh Yeah)’ with its carefree and fun vibe, ‘No Regrets’ showcasing his vocal delivery, and ‘While I’m Young/#Work’ being a standout motivational track with a focus on hard work and ambition.

MJayNumberOne himself describes this album as a testament to resilience and creativity, so let’s enter his spunky, exciting and fun-loving musical universe.

Unfortunately, upon the first few minutes of the album, it’s clear that this album suffers from some shortcomings when it comes to mastering, style and just general production. The sound selection is quite unpolished, with the vocals sounding honestly quite muffled and not in harmony with the rest of the track. A lot of refining honestly needs to be done in order for this album to pass through industry standards today. There is an interesting arc in trying to add minor and dissonant nuances to a song otherwise marketed for a good time and party, as it shows a level of musical variability within a compositional perspective, but overall, it just doesn’t gel. Vibes can be enough to salvage poor production, but I feel like someone of my generation would not be able to let it pass through. In the second track of the album, you can hear a very MIDI-esque sound selection when it comes to the strings. The bass salvages the track, and it presents a different style. A darker, edgier rap style. It’s interesting, but once again, needs to be rectified with mastering and the levels of the track.

I do not want to turn this review into a long seance of beratement, as that is not conducive to me, the artist, or even you, the listener. However, I find it concerning that only one song, Bad Girl, can stand the test of professional proficiency. And even at that, the muffled tone of the co-vocalist is quite apparent, with the mastering not done well enough to merge with the song. The co-singers within many of the other tracks have had their voice very poorly mastered, in a way that almost makes me wonder if they recorded their sung segments with an aged smartphone and somebody just mashed it in between the stems without thinking about the audio quality.

I know as a musician it’s very easy for one to think that all you need to do is mix the sum of your experiences, preferences, and ability into music, market it to people who you think would love it, pay certain other websites to give you a biased, positive review, and go off of that ephemeral high from thinking that your music vibes well with yourself and to some other people. It’s also easy to write this off as just a bad review from a pessimist. I make music too, but one thing no one has ever come to me with is a critique of the levels of the instruments of my songs or mastering. These grave flaws within this release are not pointed out for one to mock, I think it’s a serious matter and needs to be analysed and heeded with the utmost objectivity for MJayNumberOne to even break out into the mainstream, or the underground, in this day and age.

Another thing I’d have to say is if you intend to do a revivalist act of certain sounds with the intent of bringing back older musicians’ styles you need to add your own creative twist to it. You need to make it compelling and study the current market of music. That’s one key factor that I think is utterly missing within the ethos of this album- there is zero intent to make it original or niche enough to this time period. There’s elements of mid 2000s Kanye, there’s vocal quirks emulating will.i.am from 2005, but that’s just not enough.

Think of the song ‘Push 2 Start’ by Tyla for example. It takes the essence of wanting to make a party song from the 2000s (as evidenced by the influences in the music video) but morphs it with good mastering, good panning, excellent vocals, and musical quirks from today mixed with some chord structure similarities and motifs from early 2000s Afrobeats. In that sense, you can perfectly execute the style of music you’re doing without worrying about the poor effort detracting one from the message. Without keeping up with not only music but technology and mastering standards, you’re going to be left out in this time period. I write all of this, not to incite war or sorrow, but as a wake-up call to MJayNumberOne. I seriously hope you evaluate your musical releases without a negative emotional reaction and wonder why it’s being treated like a Turquoise Jeep Records release instead of a standalone piece.

Score/Mediocre: ‘SUMMERtime POPsicles’ unfortunately disappoints with its array of poor and aged sound selection, poor mastering, and methodically outdated style of music. It has potential if one took the time to master every single instrument and polish the vocals, but truthfully, it upsets me to see a body of work this unpolished.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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Glass in the Garden is a psychedelic rock album and more straight ahead 60’s psychedelic rock than the more modern psychedelic shoegaze sound of their Swiss namesakes. I love that this new album was mixed and mastered by Xeff Scolari and Spencer Kennedy to sound more like an original psychedelic rock album from the late 60s / early 70s. It is not overly compressed to max volume like most of today’s records.

The band’s new album “Glass in the Garden” is now available on Bandcamp:

The album’s first song “Is” reminds me a lot of 60s bands Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane. Christine Walden’s vocals are just made for this genre (60s psychedelic rock). I interviewed Christine for this article. She described her motivation behind the lyrics in this song as “no matter what has happened to us in the past, all we have is now.”

The second song “Please (Don’t Fall Asleep” is filled with the same trippy-ness with a swirling lead guitar solo underneath Christine’s period-perfect vocals. “We are all stuck in the illusion of death, there is no death, only transformation.” The third song This Is the City reminds us that this is a cruel world, where is the kindness? “I’m on the street now” and it’s a “cold, cold world”. Nice bridge in this song followed by a heavily wah-ed out guitar solo. Christine describes her intent in writing this song as “every city is the same, it’s all about the mighty dollar, we’ve lost our light and forgotten how to love each other.” Having been homeless myself, I can very much relate.

The fourth song Cab 23 floats wistfully. It’s “a love song, basically,” about the insanity of love.

49 Miles, the fifth song on the album, starts off with a driving bass riff by Lisa Sharry, and a nice psychedelic guitar. “I’ve lost a lot of friends, this song is an homage to a very dear poet friend who I recently lost,” Christine said about the song. With it’s memorable line “He’s talking to the angels, and I miss you …” this song is pure 49 Miles of psychedelic rock!

The next song is the album’s title cut “Glass in the Garden” which Christine describes as “how I feel about our earth. We have become slaves to the machine and we’ve forgotten where everything has come from and we’ve lost respect for the earth” The song starts with a quick psychedelic electric guitar riff followed immediately by a nice acoustic guitar progression. Christine’s vocals, with Lisa Sharry adding backing vocals, fit effortlessly into the song’s simple and elegant instrument bed. “Love is just a whisper distance away, can you hear?”

The seventh song Hand on the table has a really nice chorus guitars riff under catchy chorus “I put my hands on the table, I feel my heart beating.” The verse has a really nice bouncing bass riff. One thing I love about this band is that most all of their songs have catchy sing-along choruses. A definite songwriting coup. Christine describe this song as “a love song too.” The eighth song Same Sky, “we’re under the same sky” is “another love song to everyone.” You’ll be singing along with the chorus on this one. Very nice acoustic guitar solo in the middle.

The final song on the album Don’t Break Up, Don’t Break Down paints quite the picture and political statement: “War has been in the oceans and on earth since the beginning of time, and I hope that we can make it through this if we don’t break down. I’m an idealist, but I hope we can find a solution as a species.” Starting with a simple guitar riff this song reminds me most of Buffalo Springfield with its singalong chorus “Don’t Break Up, Don’t Break Down” and talking of bombs falling on the UK. This song is passionate plea for the world’s citizens to “Wake Up!” and “see, feel, be the future.”

SCORE/Excellent: If you’re looking for authentic new music that perfectly captures the original sound of a psychedelic rock album from the late 60s, this band fills that bill. Their new album “Glass in the Garden” is mixed and mastered to replicate the sound of band’s from that era. Their new album is filled with very catchy sing-along choruses punctuated by understated, but masterfully crafted instrument beds. Everything is in its place and nothing is out of order. If you’re into psychedelic rock as a modern genre, or just crave the old-school less compressed mixing/mastering of bygone eras,  then don’t pass up this new album by The Widdershins (US).

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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The album begins with “riviera”, which already gives you a vision as to what the album is going to sound like from here. The bass playing is one of the dominating factors throughout the entire, always making its presence and keeping the pace of each song. Whether it’s overt or more hidden in the background, just know that the bass is working to keep things moving. The other dominating factor is the layers of keyboard sounds. As a keyboard player, I have to give every inch of my respect for what the work that was done on this album.

Speaking of work, this album does not include the type of virtuosity that you would expect to hear in a jazz album, which Dilemma has been open about. But of course, playing really fast and changing time signatures every 30 seconds doesn’t make a jazz song, does it? What I hear in this record is a lot like what the post-rock artists were doing in the 90’s and 2000’s, in which they focused more on mood and timbre rather than chords and shredding. Dilemma doesn’t use his instruments for solos or to show off in any capacity, but rather to layer everything together so that all the elements of the song compliment one another.

However, I will have to admit that I do have issues with the record. Now, I must preface this by saying that I did like all of these songs to an extent. My main issue is the length of most of the tracks. Obviously, for those who know me, I love long songs, many over the 10 minute mark. But, as I always say, you need to justify a song’s length, unless you want to be stuck in musical purgatory where you’re forced to listen to a 30-minute live version of “Dazed and Confusion” (yes, that exists). Songs like “riviera” and “baby blue” were the only ones I felt that were perfectly timed. The others, especially “abyssinian”, could’ve been cut short about a few minutes. It really just got a kind of a while, which disappoints me, as I really do love the atmosphere that the record was trying to create.

Regarding specifics about the other songs, I’ll be brief.

“style & substance” picks up the pace a little bit, which I find to have the best keyboard playing on the entire album. “abyssinian” is a bit similar to the last, though a little more funky this time around. “baby blue” is my second favorite song on the album, feeling it to be the most unique. However, my ear did rightfully catch something, that the piano melody is nearly identical to the one on “Alone (reprise)” by Wee, which was sampled by Freddie Gibbs on his song “Scottie Beam”, you can’t miss it. However, mistake or not, it’s a catchy melody.

“mystique” is another good song that lives up to its name, as Dilemma knew how to get the mood straight for it. Some of the record’s best keyboard work can be heard here as well. The percussion elements of the song are also really good and hard to resist. Lastly, I find “innuendo” to be quite good for an ending, especially with the way the orchestral sounds moved throughout the song’s runtime.

All songs ranked on a scale of 0-4:

1. riviera – 4
2. style & substance – 3
3. abyssinian – 3
4. baby blue – 4
5. mystique – 3
6. innuendo – 3

SCORE/Good: I really wanted to give this a higher grade, but again, some time management would be worth looking into. Other than that, I found this to be a really cool album. This really proves that you don’t need to be a virtuoso musician to create a great vibe, even one that may make you want to move at times. I want to see more material from this project in the future and I will look very much forward to review them, so best of luck!

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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Before we go into the track, let’s quickly run down the crew members to highlight each one of them. So, on the vocal part, we have the starry voices of Isabella Coulstock and Mark Johnson, who also play a responsible part in the instrumental part of the song. For the saxophone part, we have the captivating execution from Angus Cousins, and for drums, bass, keys, and production, we have Paul Midcalf.

Each member is already either a prominent face in the music domain or a rising star. For example, Isabella’s performances on many shows and festivals include opening for Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra on several tour dates, as well as Nell Bryden, Nick Heyward, and The Who—her first arena show supporting them at London’s O2. Mark Johnson, the group’s second vocalist, doesn’t waste time either and has already started to gain global acknowledgement.

With a small recap, I feel as if we are ready to finally jump into the track, its intricacies, and get the first taste of the MRC release.

As a person who has not heard the original before and was exposed just to the cover first, I must say I am impressed.

Isabella Coulstock’s beautiful balance of vocals, certain charisma, and mystery in her voice captivates the listener from the start. Her vocals are so tenderly balanced on the track that whenever you hear the additional background instrumental, it nicely bolsters her strong vocals. The track’s softness and atmosphere slightly shift to more extravagant elegance when Mark Johnson enters the song, giving it another layer within. Also, it is very hard to undermine Angus Cousins, who accompanies his crew members in the most classy and smooth way possible.

Talking about the instrumental of the track: it is simple. It is distinguished and entertaining. The softness and gracefulness of the drums from the start ideally complement both singers throughout the song. The luxurious sound that we become accustomed to so fast on the track doesn’t stop till the end, as we are continuously exposed to those sophisticated piano keys and stylish saxophones that feel like a nice cherry on top.

Overall, the track’s majestic sound, with the splendid implementation of both vocal parts and melodic ones, makes you instantly fall in love with the band and the chemistry between them.

Score/Excellent: As I said before, I am nothing but impressed. Perfect execution all around the place, from the instrumentals to the vocals. The band aims at this rich and elegant sound, which they achieve seamlessly. I am really looking forward to hearing more from them in the future, as this was lavish.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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The post The Midnight River Crew (feat Isabella Coulstock) – I’ve Seen That Movie Too (Elton John cover) (Single Review) appeared first on Music Review World.