Pop & Indie – Concert: 6/4 – Teddy Swims @ Mohegan Sun
Nick Jonas released the deluxe version of his latest album, “Sunday Best,” with two new songs and a live version of the album’s single. The first new song, “London Foolishly,” starts with a voice memo, and I love it when artists include things like that to give fans added insight. The song came to him when he couldn’t sleep, and he was simply inspired by London. “While You’re Gone” is the other new song, and I think it sounds more like a Jonas Brothers song than a solo one. I did enjoy it, though. Finally, the live version of “Gut Punch” makes me incredibly jealous of anyone in that audience. I really hope he tours for this album, but I think the Jonas Brothers might be adding new dates to last year’s tour.
Meghan Trainor released her second single, “Get In Girl,” from her upcoming album “Toy With Me”. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t like the singles from this album so far. I have really enjoyed Trainor’s music in the past, but this album is falling short for me right now.
Bleachers released their first single, “you and forever” off their upcoming album, “everyone for ten minutes.” I really enjoy Bleachers; they came out with a Christmas song last year that I really liked, and I think Jack Antonoff is one of the most talented people ever. Unfortunately, I feel like the backing vocals on this song make it a little hard to understand the lyrics. I really like how it sounds, but I honestly hoped I would like it better. I do look forward to the album and any additional singles.
“Girls Just Wanna” by Morgan St. Jean is a modern version of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” Lauper’s song is one of my favorites, so I love that it was sampled at the beginning. St. Jean talks about how women can be whatever they want to be, and what we really want is to feel safe. She also mentions how women do want flowers, but they also want to hold powerful positions. I really like how St. Jean approached this topic and used Cyndi Lauper’s iconic song to do it. This song came from her five-song EP “Girlhood.”
Oldies – Concert: 4/4 – War @ Foxwoods
Feb. 14, 1976 “Dreamboat Annie” by Heart (hard rock/folk rock)
It’s very fitting that I get to talk about one of my favorite bands on Valentine’s Day, and it’s even more fitting that Heart released two separate albums on Valentine’s Day through the years, the first being their debut album. “Dreamboat Annie” is one of the most attention-demanding debut albums I can think of, led by two strong front-women, and was the first step in their continued reputation as women not to be messed with in the rock industry. The Wilson sisters created something unique that floats between acoustic folk and hard rock, like the album’s opening song, “Magic Man.” It’s still one of my favorite Heart songs to this day, and the fact that it was the first song of Heart that the world got to hear is groundbreaking. I am further going to argue till I die that this song is all around perfection. The guitar riffs are incredibly controlled and hypnotic, and compared with Ann Wilson’s vocals, the two dance for the lead. Throughout the song, there are breaks for guitar solos and synth breakdowns, giving it a psychedelic blend that I am very fond of. This is a soft introduction compared to one of the most played songs of the mid ‘70s, “Crazy On You,” which completely explodes into an urgent rock after the rapid, intricate opening. The sisters explain that the story behind the song came from political unrest of the Vietnam War and the gas crisis, and trying to reconcile the unease with the excitement you’re supposed to have when entering adulthood. Ann’s vocal range is fully explored in this single album alone, from “Crazy On You” to light folk songs like the title song, “Dreamboat Annie,” and “I’ll Be Your Song,” and even songs that replicate the sound of Led Zeppelin, like in “Soul of the Sea.” and “White Lightning & Wine.” Heart has and still does perform several Led Zeppelin songs live in concert ever since they sang them in 2012 with John Bonham’s son, and that was the day the whole world, even Led Zeppelin, realized how much Anne’s singing resembled Robert Plant. It really comes out in demonstrations of her “whiny” style, featured in “Sing Child”, which I think has an underrated, deep guitar riff (like most Heart songs). Finally, “How Deep It Goes” is a look into a style of sensitive storytelling that Heart goes on to explore in albums like “Dog & Butterfly.” What makes this debut album so special is how balanced it is; it keeps the warm ‘70s production that is polished, but also intimate, emotional, and strong. There is a distinct feeling of exploration, self-identity, and also a longing for a world that was, for them at the time, vast and uncertain. Overall, this album was the perfect demonstration of the Wilson sisters’ potential; it’s about claiming your space in the industry without softening your personality to fit into stereotypes. I recommend “Crazy On You,” “Magic Man,” “Soul of the Sea” and the title track, “Dreamboat Annie.”
Feb. 15, 2000 “Bloodflowers” by The Cure (post-punk/ gothic rock)
After being completed in May of 1999, “Bloodflowers” by The Cure was pushed until February of 2000, because the record companies wanted to skip the hysteria of a release window at the end of 1999 or too early 2000, and was also presented as a “darkly romantic” valentines album. This album is also considered the concluding album in the trilogy of dark themes that was started by “Pornography (1982)” and “Disintegration (1989),” and in 2002, The Cure actually played all three of them in order and released them on the “Trilogy” DVD. While other musicians leaned into the Y2K culture of optimism about the future and digital world, Robert Smith leaned inward to his work and concluded a slow, heavy, and emotionally unresolved arc in the band’s history. The opening track, “Out of This World,” builds over time (like over 1:30 for every song on this album), a deliberately delicate and paced start to what Robert Smith initially imagined to be the conclusion of The Cure’s career, the final studio album. I think you can clearly see that intention within this song, reflecting on the height of his career, but finishing with the lyrics like “When we look back at it all…And I know we have to go, I realize, that we only get to stay so long…” The next song is the longest of the album, extending beyond 11 minutes in “Watching Me Fall,” proving that this album goes beyond commerciality, and purposefully cut out “shallower” songs they could promote as singles to replace them with their own belief of how the trilogy should come to an end. This theme is also very apparent in the song “39,” in which Smith refused to celebrate his 39th birthday and instead shut himself off from the world and wrote this song about losing your passion to change the world, which I think is very ironic considering how much The Cure did for music. In an interview, Smith went on to say that this is neither a good nor a bad thing, just commentary on introspection and accepting change, not giving up. The theme of this song contradicts possibly the majority opinion of the early 2000s as an era of hope, modernism, and technology helping people, and brings up a dissociation with yourself and the world around you, no longer being recognizable. “Maybe Someday” is the closest thing to a traditional popular Cure single, with a brighter hook to break up the melancholy. But even here, in the one song of hope, there is some purpose in the delivery being insincere, like you’re trying to convince yourself in your own head. The warmest song musically, “The Last Days of Summer”, is still very distant in its lyrics (obviously), but thematically it is talking about something that we all relate to: nostalgia. This sad version of nostalgia captures the fading happiness of the summertime, mixed with regret for how much time went by versus how much you actually did. But on the bright side, there is a lot of romanticism in this album, especially the song “There is No If…,” which describes a conversation of two lovers declaring love to each other, and saying “Forever mine… “If you die,” you said, “so do I”, you said… There is no if… just and.” And I personally am a huge fan of The Cure’s abnormal romanticism and ways of talking about love; this song still has a melancholic music to it, with the message being much greater. The concluding track and also the title track, “Bloodflowers,” is a conversation between a dreamer and a realist. The dreamer makes points like dreams never end, feelings don’t fade, there will never come a time to say goodbye, and these flowers never die. But Smith responds with the truth, that dreams always end, feelings fade, the time comes to say goodbye, and flowers always die. And the end of the song concludes with the fact that they believe different things, who are you supposed to trust? Who is the right one in that situation? How should you feel? The relationship between the two is unstable, and as he mourns, he lets bloodflowers fall. This is one of Smith’s and one of my favorite Cure albums because of its lyricism, and the fact that the overall message is someone who is dealing with the troubling emotions of finding out that all things must come to an end. There isn’t the same level of theatrical doom as “Pornography”, and it is less romantic than “Disintegration”, but it is grounded in Smith’s real adult dread instead of his youthful despair. I recommend “Bloodflowers,” “There Is No If…,” “Maybe Someday,” and “Out of This World.”
Feb. 15, 1980 “Ride Like the Wind” by Christopher Cross (pop-rock/ yacht rock)
As a song that a lot of people have heard, but possibly don’t know the backstory for, I thought this would be perfect to highlight. “Ride Like the Wind” was released as a debut single in 1980 and subsequently won five Grammy Awards for his 1979 self-titled debut album, and the song reached its peak at No. 2 for four consecutive weeks on the US charts, second to “Call Me” by Blondie. This song was specially dedicated to his former bandmate and the founder of the band Little Feat, Lowell George, who died in 1979. Cross, who was on LSD when he wrote the lyrics on a drive in Texas, envisioned a criminal who was on the run from being convicted (and hanged) for the murder of ten people and is therefore on the run to the Mexican border. This was in relation to the “outlaw” cadence that George possessed, and a nod to the free-spirited rock world. The contrast of it being a song about crime in the most upbeat, laid-back way is what makes it so unique. On the surface, this is just a smooth, radio-friendly hit, while deeper underneath, there is a subtle tension of fear and loss that Cross is dealing with. This album would later define the genre “yacht rock” of easy-listening, polished musicianship, open highways at sunset, all with a rock underbelly.
Country/Folk – Concert: 3/20 – Cass McCombs @ Space Ballroom
The third collaboration this pairing has done together, “Fear In God,” is probably my least favorite release from Avery Anna and Sam Barber, but that does not mean it is bad by any means. It just so happens that their two previous releases, “Indigo” and “Restless Mind” for Barber’s debut album, are two of my favorite songs ever. So naturally, when a brand new song has to go up against two of my all-time favorites in comparison, I probably won’t love it right away. I still think this song is very good, and I believe it’s a testament to how well the duo works together. They might be my favorite duo in country music right now, period. Their voices just work so well together, as you get the raspiness of Barber and the smoothness of Anna, and it makes for another great song all around. The two have been teasing this song for the last few weeks and then announced its surprise release yesterday. I’m curious if this will remain a single, or if it will make its way over to Anna’s third album, but if it were to, it would be the first one of their collaborations credited to her.
One of many singles for Luke Combs’ upcoming album, “The Way I Am,” “Be By You” is a song I’m a big fan of. This is another great love song in a line of many for Combs, including “Forever After All,” “Moon Over Mexico” and “Better Together,” and it hits the same or almost the same as all those.
I have put Tyler Halverson on the weekly before, for his collaboration with Parker McCollum on “Beer Garden Baby.” That song is included on his debut album, “In Defense of Drinking.” The 11-track album features a few of his previous releases, with six brand new songs. I’m not really sure why, maybe it’s the dark cover, or subtle alcohol themes, but this album reminds me a lot of Eric Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood,” in a pretty great way. Good album all around.
The third release from her upcoming album, “Be Her,” is a song I really enjoyed. Ella Langley did a pretty great job marketing the songs in the days leading up, including five Instagram posts in the last four days. This song is a bit more catchy than “Dandelion” in my opinion, and probably my favorite of the three releases so far.
Hip-Hop/R&B – Concert: 8/28 Pitbull @ Xfinity Theatre
Lil Mabu released a new single titled “sand in turks.” If you remember my take on his single “wanna feel,” which he released early October, I said it was slower than his more popular songs. This is the same case, and honestly, I’m so here for it. This song starts strong, maybe more upbeat than ‘wanna feel.” To be so honest, the background music sort of sounds like “Still Don’t Know My Name” by Labyrinth. After this release, people went to Mabu’s comments to say, “Wow, I didn’t know you could sing,” and honestly me neither. I truly loved this release, and I’m excited to see what will happen next with this Mabu era.
Brent Faiyaz released a new album titled “Icon,” which is his first album since “Larger Than Life,” which was released in 2023. This album includes 10 songs, which total about 33 minutes. Faiyaz took to his Instagram on Feb. 3 to announce the release of this album, which left fans in complete shock. After the release, fans are left divided. Die-hard Faiyaz fans are loving it, while others are saying it is his worst release yet. As a big “WASTELAND” fan, another Faiyaz album that was released in 2022, although “Icon” is not my favorite release by him, I did still thoroughly enjoy it. My favorites from this album so far are “four seasons.” “have to.” “other side.” and “butterflies.” yet there is not a song that I have disliked. Faiyaz is known for releasing deluxe versions of his albums, or as he phrases it, “CHOPPED NOT SLOPPED,” so I am very excited to see where this album leads next.
Victoria Monet released a new single titled “Let Me,” and I am obsessed. I was put on to her by a friend around April 2024, so I will always appreciate a good release from her. Although this single exudes her hot girl energy, her voice sounds so much more mature than it did in “Jaguar II,” which was released in August 2023. Monet released a few singles in 2025, after taking a slight break due to “unknown ongoing health issues.” These health issues caused her to drop out of Gov Ball 2024, which broke my heart. I am hoping that this banger release means more releases, and maybe even an album in the near future.
Another Gov Ball 2024 performer, Sexyy Red, and Key Glock released a single titled “Hang Wit a Bad Bitch.” Sadly, I am not sure how I feel about this release. To be honest, it seems like a slower version of most Sexxy Red releases, with nothing else to it. It just did not have the Sexyy Red personality and hype that her other releases give off. My favorite portion of this song is Key Glock’s verse. I do really think that he makes the single more exciting. Other than that, I unfortunately did not love this new release. Most of the song includes Red repeating “He wanna hang wit a bad bitch” over and over again. Hopefully, her next release gives off more Sexyy Red energy that is known and loved by her fans.
Rock/Alternative – Concert: 3/31 – Our Lady Peace @ Toad’s Place
Angel Du$t has released their sixth album titled “COLD 2 THE TOUCH.” The band is mostly known for being punk/hardcore and there are definitely clear elements of that in this album, but this album is really a big blend of different rock genres and is much less hardcore than I was expecting. There are definitely a few songs like the title track that sound like traditional punk, but there are also songs like “DU$T” and “Man On Fire.” They start slower and have more emotional sounds, a little bit more like grunge than punk, before they both pick up in energy later in the songs. This album also marks a revamped lineup for Angel Du$t, as the only constant member of the band has been lead singer Justice Tripp. Former members of the band, Daniel Fang, Pat McCroy and Braden Yates, are all now members of Turnstile, and Angel Du$t definitely have a similar sound. If you were a fan of Turnstile, I recommend checking out Angel Du$t.
The second single off the War Child Records charity album has been released, titled “Flags.” The song is a collaboration between Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C. and Kae Tempest. The song is piano-driven, and for any fans of Albarn, it definitely sounds more like his Blur music than Gorillaz. The track gives time for all three artists to have their moment and if you are a fan of any of the three, I think there’s something here that you will like. The song is an interesting collaboration between the three artists, and you can definitely hear elements of each of their individual works involved. Between this and the first single, “Opening Night” by Arctic Monkeys, it is beginning to look like “HELP(2)” will be full of great music.
DON BROCO have released the fourth single from their upcoming album “Nightmare Tripping,” with this one being the title track of the album. The track includes a feature from Nickelback, which leads the song to have a very interesting blend of sounds. DON BROCO have done very well in finding their mix of nu-metal, post-hardcore and electronica, and this track mixes that unique sound with the post-grunge and melodic sound of Nickelback to create something even more distinctive. It is hard to compare this song to other music because of that. The lyrics of the song talk about dreams and reality, and the boundary between them, with DON BROCO describing it as “when the paralysis demon holding you down forces you to confront what you’ve tried to escape by going to sleep.” The song is very emotional, and it is also a very interesting mix of the two bands’ sounds.
