Lady Gaga and Big Sean highlight new albums
While this week didn’t produce any albums that truly shined, which can be attributed to pushed-back release dates as opposed to lack of talent, there is plenty of notable music to review.
Sophisticated Lady · Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett put out an album of old jazz standards by composers such as Gershwin, Porter and Berlin. Cheek to Cheek features such classic numbers as “Anything Goes,” “It Don’t mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” and “Cheek to Cheek.” – Courtesy of New York Daily News
Starting off with releases last week, Big Sean and Lady Gaga (with swinger legend Tony Bennett) both made news for separate but equally relevant projects. Big Sean last week signed with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s recording company, and then released four powerful tracks with production credits ranging from Mike WiLL Made-It to Kanye West.
The four tracks are just a taste of what Big Sean has in store and are sure to blow up in the coming weeks. Most notably, the Kanye West and DJ Mustard-produced track entitled “I Don’t F-ck With You” showcases both the production team’s talents in blending old classics into new hits (a Kanye West trademark) and Big Sean’s strong handle over his lyricism. Though there is no official release date for any Big Sean album on the horizon, rest assured whenever the young Detroit artist does release something, it will be a highlight of the year.
Lady Gaga made news this week by releasing Cheek to Cheek with the legendary Tony Bennett, a crooner with 17 Grammys and multiple platinum albums under his belt. Although the album is all covers, it is a departure from Lady Gaga’s usual style and is a refreshing take on some classics that have been adored by generations. Featuring tracks originally written by artists such as Duke Ellington (“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and “Sophisticated Lady”), the collaboration is a light, warm-hearted homage to a previous era in popular music. Gaga sounds almost unrecognizable from her usual efforts as she strips away the bells and whistles to showcase her amazing vocal talent, and Bennett is a star as always, making this album a must-listen.
There are more big releases coming this fall, with new material from The Game, SBTRKT, Steve Aoki and Weezer all set to drop in the next month, and since there are singles from each of these albums already out.
First off, veteran rapper The Game has a new album, Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf coming out in October that he has promised “will be another #1 album” according to a press release.
Originally titled Blood Money La Familia, the album has features from Tyga, Ty Dolla $ign, 2 Chainz, Soulja Boy and T.I. to name just a few, and the tracks that have already been released, “Or Nah” (not to be confused with the Ty Dolla $ign track of the same name) and “Bigger Than Me” are enough to put this album on every watchlist until its release.
SUBTRKT, an experimental U.K. artist who made waves with his self titled first album in 2011, has a new one dropping on October 7, entitled Wonder Where We Land. Six tracks out of 15 have already been released, and the sophomore effort is already impressive. SBTRKT has an interesting group of collaborators, notably Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and A$AP Ferg. The tracks with these two artists, “New Dorp. New York” and “Voices In My Head” have already been released, and both showcase the experimental talent that made SBTRKT popular. “Voices In My Head” features a verse by A$AP Ferg that has almost no backing track at all, and the minimal perspective makes Ferg’s rap all the more impressive. Overall, this album is another one to watch out for, as Wonder Where We Land will be nothing if not original.
The next on the list is Steve Aoki, and the electronic artist is coming on strong with a two-part album, Neon Futures I & II, that features a slew of artists from all across the music spectrum. This might be the only album that features Machine Gun Kelly, Will.i.Am and Fall Out Boy, and it is a must-listen for that reason alone. On top of that, “Delirious (Boneless),” the main single off the album, peaked at number 9 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic chart, giving this album a boost right out of the gate. Hopefully, the rest of the tracks on Neon Futures I live up to the hype.
Lastly, and most importantly, is Weezer’s new album, Everything Will Be Alright In The End, which is the band’s first work since 2010’s Hurley. Weezer has kept relatively the same sound since they began in 1994, and this album promises more of the same. After 20 years of making music, lead man Rivers Cuomo still has plenty of material to work with, and it’s exciting to hear new music from the veteran rockers. So far two tracks have been released as singles, and they are a testament to Cuomo’s lasting style, being as comfortable on this new album as they would on the first album, The Blue Album. “Back To The Shack” is also reminiscent of the same old Weezer lyrically, as Cuomo sings of “Rockin’ out like it’s ‘94.” If you’ve ever been a fan of Weezer, this album will be more of the same, and that’s a good thing.
Matt Burke is a sophomore majoring in film production. His column, “Notes on Notes,” runs Thursdays.