Lana Del Ray - the face of what's to come?

When I first heard Lana Del Ray's hit tracks, 'Video Games' and 'Born to Die', I fell in love. In love with her lyrics, voice, meloncholy tone, image, oh all of it. So when her album 'Born to Die' was released yesterday, I immedeatly downloaded it.
Many of her songs, I have to admit, have a very similar sound. There is no variety, and therefore, some tracks seem to blend, without a real stand out track. Thats not to say that each track, when taken individually good.  Lana does something different with music. And the thing she does which is different, ironically, is that despite seeming edgy and different from other female artists, shes quite traditional. While some sounds in her music are modern, many ring of an older era. In 'Million Dollar Man' parts of the song could have been taken from a singer in the 30's or 40's, while other songs such as 'Off to the Races' seem to have a slight ring of Kate Bush.
Lana's lyrics are very meloncholy, and seem to ring of love. Sometimes I'm unsure of what Lana is doing. She doesn't seem very full of 'girl power' when she sings lyrics like 'This is what makes us girls, we don't stick together because we put love first'. Is she part of the sisterhood at all? or maybe, is she simply speaking a secret truth. I think there is a lot more to Lana. Her music wouldn't put me in the party mood, it is laid back, it is deep, and yet also refreshing. While it can seem repetitive, I never the less enjoy what she's bringing to the music scene.

Top Tracks from 'Born to Die'

1. Video Games
2. Born to Die
3. Blue Jeans
4. Summertime Sadness
5. Dark Paridise

A Flash Flood of Colour

Enter Shikari are back, and it would appear, are back with a vengance.
I'll admit, I'm a pretty big Shikari fan. Most people i've met however, say they prefer their newer stuff to their older stuff. I have to say I never agreed. I love their first two albums; Take to the Skies and Common Dreads, but as much as I love the fact they incorporate dubstep and electro into their music, I wasn't a big fan of Tribalism, when they really took the dubstep direction. I felt their first two albums were much more what you expect from Shikari. So, with this new album, I felt that it would maybe continue to go further from their routes and take that dubbier direction. How wrong was I?
This album really has a classic Enter Shikari sound, a sound of them going back to their routes, yet at the same time continues to be progressive. This album marks a step up for the post-hardcore band. This album is so much clearer, mixing screamo, metal, electro, dubstep, trance, basically doing what Shikari do best. And they do it amazingly well. Beyond all of that, they stress their message. This is a band who aren't just 'in ir for the music'. They have a strong political message which they stress through their lyrics, and is carried with their energy. This album makes an incredibly powerful statement.

Top 5 Tracks

1. ...meltdown
2. pack of thieves
3. Gandhi mate, Gahndi
4. Hello Tyrannosaurus, meet Tyrannicide
5. Search Party

Skrillex's new EP

So I haven't posted a blog post in a while, but it is a new year, filled with lots of new music and new tours, as well as a new years resolution to make the most of this blog a lot more. I'm going to aim to write a new post at least once a week.
Talking of tours, i'm very excited about going to see Skrillex in Bristol in February, so I wanted to write about his latest EP 'Bangerang'. It's an ok record, but i'm going to be completely honest, I was a little disappointed on the first listen. After the success of 'Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites' I was expecting something more adventurous. Bangerang is still good, still breaking the rules as you expect from Skrillex, and still with lots of dirty beats. BUT I do think after the first EP, Sonny Moore has let himself down slightly. No screams through any of the songs of 'oh my god' or 'call 911 now' before bringing out the big guns... the beats are good but are built up to, rather than just coming out of the blue and taking the wind out of your sails, like with the first EP. Its almost as if Skrillex has been asked to err, tone down.
Having said all that, i'm not dissing the record. While it may not be quite as controversial as the first EP, it still is classic skrillex. It still makes extremely good listening to for all dubstep fans. I especially like 'Breakn' A Sweat'  and 'Kyoto'. 'Summit', which features Ellie Goulding, is a lot more toned down to Skrillex's usual material, but in this way it is quite refreshing, and worth a listen.
So, give this new EP a listen, it really is worth it, but when I go to see him live in February, i'll still be looking forward to listening to 'Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites' and 'First of the Year' much more.