ÁTM-Music

 On March 20th, CMT aired a documentary about the start and origins of the country band, Midland . The 45-minutes-long documentary films the band back in 2014, when they decided to leave everything and spend 11 days on the Sonic Ranch music studio to record some songs they had been writing. The idea of being a band was not formed yet :they weren't even signed. It was more like a three friends' reunion after living in different parts of the country for years, far from each other. The result of those recordings is The Sonic Ranch , which starts with one of the band's best songs, Fourteen Gears . It was previously included on their second album, Let it Roll . It's an on-the-road love letter and it paves the way for a more calm and placid sound. The band leaves all the risk and debauchery of their image as the 21st Century Honky Tonk American Band to get into this pleasant journey of tunes.They also leave all the cheating songs and focus on a deeper search of love and trust

 Zara Larsson published her long-awaited second album last Friday. After some years dropping singles, her second chapter is out.  The album begins with the underrated Love Me Land , released in July. It is the best introduction to the record: It introduces you to a dreamy universe, with Zara's powerful vocals and a pure bet for Dance-pop and Electropop.  However, the second track breaks that magic. It's pop-R&B and it counts with the feature of Young Thug, as a commercial appeal (like the Ty Dolla $ign feature on her previous album). Talk About Love isn´t bad but the album creates a universe in the start that should have been preserved. Alongside WOW and Ruin My Life , these feel the most american songs, with trapbeats and mixing it with R&B. They completely separate from the rest.  The third song is an UK potential hit and it includes a choral part in the chorus, like Dua Lipa's IDGAF or Levitating . The truth is that the record has stellar pop moments, like her

 After her hit, I Hope You're Happy Now (ft. Lee Brice), which made her win a CMA Award, Carly Pearce is back with an EP of 7 songs. The first single of the project was Next Girl , written by Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally and Carly hersef. It is uptempo, fast and funny , with some clever lines referencing her ex songs' lyrics and with a teaching effort to warn the 'next girl' . Inspired by women of country (Reba, Patty Loveless...), the song is a cool breeze to mainstream country and brings back some bluegrass touch that connects with Carly Pearce's childhood and origin of her love for the country music genre.  The rest of the songs of the EP remain much sadder, focusing on heartbreak from a thoughtful perspective, like in the title track, where she thinks about the year 29, when your life is usually on track, you're young and, at the same time, closer to reach certain maturity. The percussive  Messy talks about the difficulty of moving on, as Day One does too.

 Dua Lipa released on February 11th the reedition of her second album 'Future Nostalgia', called 'Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition'. The world was expecting some tracks to dance to, but, when the tracklist was revealed, something changed. Dua lipa decided to include a bunch of bonus tracks that sum up her latest collaborations, from Fever (ft. Ángele) to One Day (ft. JBalvin and Bad Bunny).  Ángele's collab already was far from the album concept, being much darker and far from the disco influences. The Miley Cyrus collab is probably the most similar to the Future Nostalgia record, both remembering the 80s. However, what's the reason for including One Day on the record? A pop-reggaeton track, with no references to the 80s, no disco vibes. The inclusion of these collaborations has made the reedition rely on other people names and it makes you think that they had to search songs to fill the record. The reedition also includes some new songs and the single, W

  Morgan Wallen has released today his highly-anticipated album. The record, with 30 tracks, includes some of his hits, like ' 7 summers' or ' More Than My Hometown' . His new single, premiered yesterday with a live performance ,is 'Sand In My Boots' . It is the first song of the album and is one of the best. It addresses elements of country living  ( that will repeat along the record) in the background of a sweet  love story.  The project has got some songs that match the title and the subject of  it, the danger, like ' Warning' , ' Neon Eyes' or even  'Living The Dream'  . They pretend to feel dark and that is brought by some beats and a more close to rock sound, but it frecquently make the songs lose their country sound, with the exception of ' Outlaw ' (ft. Ben Burgess, who also is cowriter of some songs), with some word play ('It takes a hell of an angel'). The album succeeds in tender love songs like the mentioned

  1. Imploding The Mirage - The  Killers.  This album has an incredible way to capture immensity and euphoria (of finding trust,love and unavoidable faith), as it is shown in  the wild synths on My Own Soul's Warning (with Bruce Springsteen's influenced vocals) and Dying Breed . However, it is also able to draw peaceful joy , like in the serene 'Blowback'. The record is an enchantment and delight of finding a new way full of authentic feelings, excellently brought to music. Maybe that belief in authenticity and powerful love is what we needed this year.  2. Foolish Loving Spaces- Blossoms.  The Stockport band succeeds in their complete and finest analysis of love, which makes you swim through alt -rock ('Your Girlfriend' and 'Like Gravity') and pop perfection ('Oh No (I think I'm in Love)' and 'Swimming Brain') .  3 . After Hou rs-The Weeknd. An unexpected bet for pop without leaving R&B . His admiration for 80s pop came just in t

 Kali Uchis released on November 18th her second studio album, 'Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios)' , her first one almost completely in Spanish. Singing in Spanish and embracing her latin origins have always been present in her projects, as in Isolation , where she featured  Reykon for the track ' Nuestro Planeta'. The latin spin that fills up most of Kali's recent music was first shown on ' Solita', produced by the famous reggatón producer, Tainy  and not included on the album. Kali Uchis has been giving us clues since she covered Don Omar's  'Pobre Diabla' and La Lupe's 'Qué te pedí ', featured on the album. These covers show the two trends Kali is following on her latin pop view: Classic Reggaetón vibes and Latin Soul , approaching to more traditional latin music. The first track is ' La luna enamorada ', an unexpected bolero. Kali has been observing smartly her childhood tunes and latin music,and that is shown on this

Ariana Grande released her sixth album last Friday. She had shared previously the first single, 'Positions ', a guitar-sampled track with a trap-pop beat ,which she started using in Thank u,next . The record opens  with ' Shut up ', a statement to her haters with a 'Don't-worry-bout-me' message.  ' But I just end up loving life '  , Ariana sings in Just Like Magic. S he has found happiness and it shows in the record, but, actually, the beauty and complexity in the album are seen in the songs with some feeling or emotion,or anytype of internal debate. The record splits into easy, simple songs about Ariana craving for sex with trap beats and autotune (34+35/' six thirty ') or  her new era of happiness,like when she sings her morning routine (Just Like Magic) and great pop songs. For example, ' My Hair', with its retro and 90s diva vibe (includes brilliant whistling) talking in a sutile suggestive and sexual way.  'Pov' recruits

 Last Thursday Michael Kiwanuka was announced as the winner of the 2020 Mercury Prize. After the big announcement, Michael performed ' Light' on Later...with Jools Holland  .  Early this week, Michael talked to the Mercury Prize's Youtube channel about the inspiration and the making-of the album. Based on 70s Black Music, Michael is not afraid of embracing his roots, his heritage. He is confident like never before. That is why the album is called ' KIWANUKA'.  There is some kind of joy on the record, shown in ' You Ain't The Problem ', an ode to confidence and persistence on being true to yourself . African drums melt with the alt-rock spirit (emphasized with warm vocals, such as in ' Rolling ') that exists throughout the whole album and a raw honesty in the lyrics. There is also time for searching hope  ( I've Been Dazed) in a religious way and for delicious piano-ballads-interludes.  'Hero' addresses Black Lives Matter.  The reviv

After a five years hiatius , Ellie Goulding finally dropped her new album, Brightest Blue .  Despite the incredible success of Delirium (2015), it seems like Ellie did not feel herself in her last album. In an interview with The Guardian , she describes it as  “ A damn good pop album – maybe not an Ellie Goulding record.” . In this one, she wants to make the world know who she is. This project is a double album, with two sides. The first one is Brightest Blue, her most vulnerable record yet   , and the other one is ' EG.O' , kind of alter ego side , with her most commercial songs and the one that contains the biggest features.The record is a liberation for Ellie Goulding , who really wants to show her true music, but , in the same time, she is tied to her mainstream artist condition and to the label demands . That explains the second size, titled EG.O, that contains most of the features and the most commercial and chart-successful tracks of the record. Presented as her alter

 Back in January , Blossoms published their third album, Foolish Loving Spaces. The album comes months after the release of Your Girlfriend , the first single of the project . Blossoms told Radio X in a Track by track of the album , that they planned to do three different albums with the almost 25 songs they have written . The money it would have cost , made Blossoms choose to release only one album and , by this time, they had also the first single, Your Girlfriend.   In the Track by track   Joe Donovan explains that the record , without being a concept album , could work as a love concept album. This reflects in Your Girlfriend . Tom wanted , as he explains in an interview to Radio X, to challenge himself as a songwriter and write about love in a different perspective. This time, Tom sings about a guy who is in love with a friend's girlfriend . This imaginary journey (cause it is not a real life experience) drives Tom to talk about the emotions that everyone could feel in this ty

During lockdown, Blossoms have been uploading covers or quarantine versions of their songs. What started like a way of keeping busy during quarantine, has developed into a complete new project  , which will be available physically by the end of the year.  Some of the covers were suggested by fans on Twitter, but others were chosen by the band . The first one I got to hear was the Frank Ocean cover of Lost. By this song, my two quarantine discoverements  were connected! It was followed by The Beatles' cover of Paperback Writer , which features in the playlist Tom shared that includes music he has been listening during quarantine . This is an amazing cover, nailed by the band .  Tom also  covered You're Gorgeous by Babybird, a song that he always sings by the end of   My Favourite Room , as he said on Twitter. The covers also include features. They joined Miles Kane for the Tame Impala cover of The Less I Know The Better   and Liam Fray (The Courteeners) for Please Don't ver

Apart from Frank Ocean, during lockdown I discovered Blossoms . The English band from Stockport was formed back in 2013, but gained relevance with their debut single, Charlemagne. With it,  they stated the synths' predominance that will remain in their songs and was in their first single, You Pulled A Gun On Me   . Tom Ogden's vocals and his special way of writing love stories made the rest and drove to the band earning a nomination for the BRITS awards . First singles ( You pulled A Gun On Me, Cut Me And I'll Bleed, The Urge  and Blow ) have Tom Ogden singing roughly, with great chorus to sing along and much rawer guitars than later on the band music. . In Winter Kiss  they demonstrate they can do great slow-tempo songs , sounding soft-pop, with an acoustic guitar base, which could have served for a country song. Some of these songs were included in their debut-self titled album (2016). Alongside with a half of new tracks. Throughout the album Tom sings about love in diffe

After successing with Chaleur Humaine,  her first, soft and vulnerable album, Christine and the Queens came back in 2018 with her second chapter Chris . The title is a true statement. She is not vulnerable now, she is fearless, confident, ready to embrace her sexuality, often playing with gender ambiguity. The record opens with Comme Si  ,a synth-pop track where she declares that this new persona ( Chris) has always been there (I've been there ,infectious). The second track is Girlfriend. This is a true affirmation of Chris non embracing a gender (Girlfriend/ Don't feel like a girlfriend/ But lover/ Damn, I'd be your lover)  alongside Dam-Funk's  vocals and his fantastic keytar that drives the song into a funky addictive piece. In The walker (video shot in Spain)   , while Christine searches for violence in her skin, her voice seems a little more vulnerable and sincere ( People politely smile to make sure I won't come any closer). Chris is not afraid of talking abo

It has been five years since Miguel dropped Wildheart . The album fuses R&B with rock but making it sound as Contemporary or Progressive R&B.  This is Miguel's most risky proyect. Musically, the rock sound separates the record from Miguel's others, but beyond of that , Miguel was trying to show who he was. He wanted to define himself artistically and that is clear even in the title ( Wildheart ). As he said in an interview to Aesthetic magazine in 2018 ' it’s about knowing what you want enough to actually do it' . This is Miguel pursuing what he wants until he finally reaches it. The record starts with ' a beautiful exit'  , a piece that acts as an interlude and since the firsts seconds shows how rock-influenced it is . The track captures the spirit of the title when he sings ' Don't ever sell yourself short, sell your sad things/ Accept the new, don't mangle on the past/ Believe yourself, trust your intuition/ You're here for a reason

I had been hearing a lot of time about Frank Ocean but never really got into his music. During the quarantine, I had the opportunity to discover and explore his two studio albums, Channel Orange and Blonde.   Channel Orange is a brilliant debut album. The first track ont the album, Start , contains ordinary life's sounds (laughs and chat notifications sounds) but then, a TV is turned on (as in  the End track, it is turned off) ,as the beggining of something and 90s videogames sounds appear, like Frank's childhood memories.  The second track, Thinkin Bout You, turns into a love and vulnerable ballad (most in the falsetto parts) , with Ocean talking (probably) about his first love. The falsetto parts are tender,show the inocence of 'thinkin 'bout forever', as a chi ld who confess a deeply believe.There is hope, a hope for reciprocity. In the non-falsetto parts (' No, I don't like you, I just thought you were cool enough to kick it'), Frank's tone i

The 1975 has released  'Notes On A Conditional Form' , the successor of 2018's 'A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships' . Since August, the band has been releasing singles, giving us a taste of the variety of genres that would be on the record: The punk anthem 'People' , which gots Matty Healy singing violently , as a warrior ; The retro-90s-dance track 'Frail State of Mind' , the 2000s pop-rock inspired love story 'Me & You together song' and the country influenced  'The Birthday Party'.  In april, they published 2 singles : Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America (ft. Phoebe Bridgers) showing the 1975 is unafraid of talking about controversial topics (homosexuality and religion) and If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know), their most commercial successful track yet (reaching number 14 on the UK Official Chart). This song gets back the usual topic on the last album, oline relationships, and has got a similar energy to It's Not Liv

The weeknd publicó el 20 de marzo su álbum 'After Hours' . El álbum sigue la misma dirección que se persiguió con el lanzamiento de sus dos singles en noviembre ('Blinding Lights' y 'Heartless'): Uno con influencia ochentera que ya se mostró en 'Starboy' y otro más R&B o trap, con MetroBoomin como productor. Al lanzarse primero 'Heartless' (dos días antes que 'Blinding lights') y ser el single de regreso, 'Heartless' tuvo mayor éxito inicial entrando directamente en el número 1 en las listas americanas, pero en las pocas semanas desde el lanzamiento descendió del top 10 estadounidense. Sin embargo, 'Blinding lights' ha sabido mantenerse a largo plazo en las listas de streaming, escalando en las listas europeas consiguiendo sus primeros números uno en países como Alemania o Reino Unido. La recepción de estos dos singles ha permitido observar la diferencia de gustos entre EE.UU. y Europa. Mientras Estados Unidos se d

El 27 de febrero publicó Christine and the Queens su EP  'La vita nuova' . Ese mismo día publicó una minipelícula en youtube que ofrecía videoclips de todas las canciones del EP (excepto de la bonus track 'I dissappear in your arms' ) rodado  en la ópera Garnier de París. El EP contiene 6 canciones, entre ellas 'People i've been sad' , la canción que ya públicó el 5 de febrero. La pieza que da título al EP es 'La vita nuova' , que supone el regreso de Chris a cantar en italiano desde 'Science Fiction' . Ambas comparten la base en la admiración de los ritmos disco setenteros que sonaron en Italia en esa época. Además en esta canción , Christine colabora con Caroline Polacheck , artista neoyorkina que describe la colaboración como 'dream collab'. La inspiración detrás de 'La vita nuova' se encuentra en la obra del mismo título de Dante Alighieri , donde se trata el amor platónico del escritor y Beatrice. De esa inspiración