Pop Recap - February 2020
Artists covered: Angelica Garcia * BTS * Christine & The Queens * Justin Bieber * Oh Wonder
The delayed release of this Pop Recap is exclusively due to the chaos that Covid-19 has caused, so I implore you all to be safe during these trying times. Aside from the delay of this post's release, I should actually have more time than usual to work on my blog and as a result I can promise I'll be covering Tame Impala's new album soon, but not today. Anyway, hope you enjoy my recap of five significant pop albums in the recap for February...
"Cha Cha Palace"
Angelica Garcia
28th February 2020
Spacebomb
An eccentric collection of J-pop tinged reggaeton and indie makes for one of the most fun pop albums of the year so far.
Angelica Garcia introduces herself as an intoxicating presence right from the get-go, establishing her formidable personality as someone who can make a song go past its quirky title, and with such short song lengths this is an especially impressive feat. I like to think of this album not as fractions but purposefully cut slices of Angelica's thoughts and feelings, the blasts of energy never letting up as her bombastic stylings shift from the burning indie rock of "It Don't Hinder Me" to the East-West fusions of the electropop smashes "Jícama" and "Guadalupe", two of my personal favourites from this diverse and defiant record.
As the album progresses, the themes Angelica explores become clearer as they crystallise before your eyes as her messages against racism and sexism come to fruition through her empowering and confrontational lyrics that come to prevalence on the huge-sounding "Guadalupe" and on the sly following track "Lucifer Waiting", a mashup of her more Latin pop influences with the edge and grit of her indie side; it's certainly a song that shows off her melancholic exuberance, an oxymoron that encapsulates her character throughout this album perfectly.
Aside from a few slightly redundant interludes, there's not a real miss in the tracklist and I find myself enjoying the exciting mix of styles a whole lot with every listen to this fantastic album. Regardless of the genres she's embodying or the influences she's emulating, Angelica delivers some of the best interpretations of modern pop music that earns her a place alongside the likes of Charli XCX or Rosalía, at least in my eyes. Just because this is the most obscure album here, don't let yourself overlook it.
8.5/10
Best Tracks: Jícama; It Don't Hinder Me; Guadalupe; Lucifer Waiting; Valentina in the Moonlight; Agua De Rosa; Penny in my Back Pocket
Worst Tracks: The Big Machine
"Map of the Soul: 7"
BTS
21st February 2020
Big Hit
I...I'm not quite sure why I'm covering this album. It's an hour and sixteen minutes of generic boyband songs that don't exactly need more attention than they already have. This is quite possibly the most successful artist in the world right now, and listening through this album it's both clear and baffling as to why.
Squeaky clean production mixed with almost nocturnal beats and big pop choruses is an obvious and yet fundamentally flawed sound, primarily due to how thin the percussion and frustratingly deep-yet-unsubstantial the basslines and kicks are, opting for the trendy loud and low but not at all punchy sound that has defeated the point of having a low bassline. On top of all this, the album is filled with excess other noises and effects that could be described as ear candy, but that I'd prefer to call frequent little misfires, due to how underweight the background guitar solos and synths can be. Perhaps one of the most annoying songs that finds itself flawed in many of these departments would be "Interlude: Shadow", a track that I feel would do better had it been produced and performed by completely different people... although now it seems I've crossed the line into wishful thinking.
One thing I have to give this album is that for a boyband it's surprisingly relevant. If you look back at One Direction, the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC, they may have been insanely popular but they never tried to emulate the trends of the time. Perhaps this key difference is what has allowed BTS, a boyband who rarely don't pander to trends, achieve such a widespread level of fame. Aside from the obvious trap-pop, there's an abundance of reggaeton style beats here amongst the hip-hop and I suspect that's in part why BTS is so unbelievably huge.
I have to give credit where credit's due, because whilst I may have never enjoyed a BTS project before this, on Map of the Soul: 7 I find myself immediately sucked into the faux-grandeur and sparkly sheen of the explosive "Intro: Persona", a track from last year's EP that I wish I'd payed more attention to. Following this is the catchy "Boy With Luv", a stupid fun song that my 2019 self would be furious at me for liking. In fact, looking through the tracklist I can identify at least eight songs that I enjoy listening to - a shame then that the album has 20 tracks. If only they had slimmed down the tracklist, removing some of the more insufferable moments and cut things down to a more traditional length; there would be easily enough highlights to carry it to greatness.
From the cheesy but undeniable serving of sugary pop on "ON" to the surprisingly intense rapping on "UGH!", this album boasts BTS's best work yet; it's just a shame that it comes alongside an overwhelming portion of unnecessary filler. I now have to run and hide because BTS fans are terrifying and they will slaughter me for not worshipping these pretty Korean boys.
5.5/10
Best Tracks: Intro: Persona; Dionysus; ON; UGH!
Worst Tracks: Make It Right; Interlude: Shadow; Friends
"La vita nuova"
Christine and the Queens
27th February 2020
Because Music
A sleek EP of fresh new songs from Christine and the Queens (aka Chris) that takes the great songwriting and mixing from her last album in a more engaging direction.
Taking an overview of Chris's work, I would struggle to call myself a fan. After all, I find both of her albums pretty tedious listens outside of a few core tracks that blow me away, and this was the main problem preventing me from really getting into either records. After her transcendent pop feature on Charli XCX's "Gone" last year however, I was incredibly hopeful to see what direction she'd take her music next. Much like 2018's self-titled Chris, this is only really an update on her typical synthpop sounds, albeit with a much more consistent quality when it comes to the experience as a whole.
Listening through La vita nuova, it strikes me that really not a lot has changed to warrant such a positive response from me, as Chris continues to deliver captivating and emotional songs that rely on you enjoying the slightly cheap yet impactful drum machines that propel the atmospheric synths and washed out atmosphere that all too often lacks a distinct lead other than Chris's own voice to drive the songs forward. Something on this EP feels different though, because whilst all these elements remain prevalent, there is a certain level of mastery and control that for me is weirdly reminiscent of the sleek control Zero 7, Sia and José González had on the former's album The Garden in 2006. Whilst the musical direction is completely different, there are certain parallels in the execution of these sounds and it makes for the best work that Christine and the Queens has put out yet.
8/10
Best Tracks: People, I've Been Sad; Je disparais dans tes bras; Nada; La vita nuova; I disappear in your arms
Worst Tracks: Mountains (we met)
"Changes"
Justin Bieber
14th February 2020
Def Jam Recordings
I don't want to sound too hopeful but this might just be the album that kills Bieber's career.
Justin Bieber, as a performer, has never had much personality. It's the reason he's been featured on so many dance singles, the reason he's stayed in the spotlight for so long even after countless stupid actions and the reason that the title and framing of this new album is the most blatantly fake thing he's ever done. Justin Bieber never changes, he's still the same irritating preteen that was introduced to us over a decade ago with his terribly average song "Baby". Of course, there has been the odd instance of Bieber showing the illusion of change, such as on his last album way back in 2015. On Purpose, his performances were as mediocre as ever, but the songwriters and production team were at their very best. The Biebs has had five long years since that album, so surely Changes is his most mature and well-executed record to date...right?
WRONG! On Changes, Bieber has opted for bland trap pop with negative amounts of personality (if that's even possible) where every one of the sixteen tracks sound like the Spotify playlist fodder they were intended to be. How can a star as huge as this leave such little impact with his music? At least Justin Timberlake's comeback in 2018 had the decency to be actively bad, whereas Bieber straight up fails to be anything other than ignorable and irritating (if you force yourself to actually listen to the music). Sliding through a track like "Second Emotion", without the bar telling me where I am in the song I would have absolutely no reference: the beat is an endless loop, the verses and choruses blend into one slog of nothing and Travis Scott delivers his all time worst guest verse. Essentially, there's almost nothing to distinguish one bar of the song from another, and this is a problem the entire album suffers from.
When he dropped lead single "Yummy", the internet went into meltdown and people were calling it the worst song ever. They were wrong. For as mind numbingly dull and (ironically) flavourless as it is, there's nothing distinctly atrocious about it. Now, the second single "Intentions" on the other hand has a whole lot wrong with it - namely, the lyrics. Across the album, Bieber's cowriters dish out some of the absolute worst, most direly dismal and pathetic lyrics of this guy's career. With someone like Bieber, that says a lot. With a song like "Intentions", those lyrics include such profanities as "stay in the kitchen, cooking up, cut your own bread". Does Justin Bieber realise we're living in the 21st century where women can exist and work outside of the kitchen? I get that this song is supposed to show Bieber's worship of his wife, but it's so derivative and insultingly poorly written that all I can do is cringe.
Conclusively, and to the surprise of absolutely noone, I can confirm that Justin's latest album is beyond insignificant, without a single saving grace and yet also honestly without a lot to specifically hate on other than the tedious affair that is listening to this non-entity. Don't listen to it for your own sanity, and don't listen to Bieber when he demands his fans to stream his music on repeat to cheat the system. It's so worthless I feel completely justified in giving it such a low score.
3/10
"No One Else Can Wear Your Crown"
Oh Wonder
7th February 2020
Universal
Unfortunately, Oh Wonder have taken more steps towards the undistinguished on their latest and worst album.
In the past, Oh Wonder have been a band I could rely on for a fantastic, heart wrenching pop ballad here and there, as well as a healthy helping of bouncy singles that carry otherwise uninteresting albums. Three albums into their career and it feels as though they've run out of ideas, energy and passion, despite members Josephine and Anthony officially being in a relationship now. Of course, from the misleading depth and fervor of lead single "Hallelujah" I had my hopes up that it would be an improvement over 2017's Ultralife, but that wasn't to be.
From the forgettable but thoughtful opening track "Dust", a moment of rare interest for me on the record, we're greeted to some existential themes that I wish were present throughout the album in place of the two-dimensional happy-in-love narrative threaded throughout almost every song in frustratingly obvious and generic lyrics that don't show off any of the duo's previous flare for the catchy and unique when it came to writing. Of course, it's when they don't stick to this formula that Oh Wonder find themselves either at their best or worst, the contrast being best displayed with the aforementioned "Hallelujah" and the single "Happy". In the former, Josephine's determined lyrics and euphoric delivery paired with the duo's brightest and most ambitious instrumental makes for a phenomenal single, whilst the latter is a showcase of basic lyricisms that fail to convey anything, not helped by a messy arrangement of obnoxious strings and a generic poppy beat.
Dotted throughout the tracklist are a handful of perplexing songs that miss the mark entirely, attempting to channel different styles and ultimately failing to bring diversity or intrigue to a boring album. One track that comes to mind is "How It Goes", a so-so emulation of the trendy electropop and jazz fusion that sounds as though the duo spent waaay too much time listening to The 1975's "Sincerity Is Scary" last year (and to be fair, so did I - it's a great song), but this is a rip off I do not care for. Another painfully drab moment is the timid "In And Out Of Love", the song that wins the prize for the track with the least presence on the album. It's not like Oh Wonder can't do ballads either, just look to the emotive "My Friends" or the introspective "All We Do" from albums past as some of their best songs. No, this song is just inferior and inconsequential, the feeling I get from this album as a whole.
Overall, this isn't bad but there's very little to praise about this slog of minimalist alt-pop. Oh Wonder have always felt small, and on Ultralife they succeeded in expanding their sound in a presentation of what did and didn't work about their music. For the most part, it seems as though they've decided to explore the sides of their music that worked the least on that album, and there's not a lot to even care about as a result on No One Else Can Wear Your Crown. Unfortunately, it sounds to me like Oh Wonder forgot to put their crowns on for this album.
4/10
Best Tracks: Dust; Hallelujah
Worst Tracks: Happy; In And Out Of Love; Nebraska
---
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you're all alright amidst the chaos of the world right now. Not sure about you, but Covid-19 gets a strong 2/10 from me - keep clean and please stay safe.
---
"Cha Cha Palace"
Angelica Garcia
28th February 2020
Spacebomb
An eccentric collection of J-pop tinged reggaeton and indie makes for one of the most fun pop albums of the year so far.
Angelica Garcia introduces herself as an intoxicating presence right from the get-go, establishing her formidable personality as someone who can make a song go past its quirky title, and with such short song lengths this is an especially impressive feat. I like to think of this album not as fractions but purposefully cut slices of Angelica's thoughts and feelings, the blasts of energy never letting up as her bombastic stylings shift from the burning indie rock of "It Don't Hinder Me" to the East-West fusions of the electropop smashes "Jícama" and "Guadalupe", two of my personal favourites from this diverse and defiant record.
As the album progresses, the themes Angelica explores become clearer as they crystallise before your eyes as her messages against racism and sexism come to fruition through her empowering and confrontational lyrics that come to prevalence on the huge-sounding "Guadalupe" and on the sly following track "Lucifer Waiting", a mashup of her more Latin pop influences with the edge and grit of her indie side; it's certainly a song that shows off her melancholic exuberance, an oxymoron that encapsulates her character throughout this album perfectly.
Aside from a few slightly redundant interludes, there's not a real miss in the tracklist and I find myself enjoying the exciting mix of styles a whole lot with every listen to this fantastic album. Regardless of the genres she's embodying or the influences she's emulating, Angelica delivers some of the best interpretations of modern pop music that earns her a place alongside the likes of Charli XCX or Rosalía, at least in my eyes. Just because this is the most obscure album here, don't let yourself overlook it.
8.5/10
Best Tracks: Jícama; It Don't Hinder Me; Guadalupe; Lucifer Waiting; Valentina in the Moonlight; Agua De Rosa; Penny in my Back Pocket
Worst Tracks: The Big Machine
"Map of the Soul: 7"
BTS
21st February 2020
Big Hit
I...I'm not quite sure why I'm covering this album. It's an hour and sixteen minutes of generic boyband songs that don't exactly need more attention than they already have. This is quite possibly the most successful artist in the world right now, and listening through this album it's both clear and baffling as to why.
Squeaky clean production mixed with almost nocturnal beats and big pop choruses is an obvious and yet fundamentally flawed sound, primarily due to how thin the percussion and frustratingly deep-yet-unsubstantial the basslines and kicks are, opting for the trendy loud and low but not at all punchy sound that has defeated the point of having a low bassline. On top of all this, the album is filled with excess other noises and effects that could be described as ear candy, but that I'd prefer to call frequent little misfires, due to how underweight the background guitar solos and synths can be. Perhaps one of the most annoying songs that finds itself flawed in many of these departments would be "Interlude: Shadow", a track that I feel would do better had it been produced and performed by completely different people... although now it seems I've crossed the line into wishful thinking.
One thing I have to give this album is that for a boyband it's surprisingly relevant. If you look back at One Direction, the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC, they may have been insanely popular but they never tried to emulate the trends of the time. Perhaps this key difference is what has allowed BTS, a boyband who rarely don't pander to trends, achieve such a widespread level of fame. Aside from the obvious trap-pop, there's an abundance of reggaeton style beats here amongst the hip-hop and I suspect that's in part why BTS is so unbelievably huge.
I have to give credit where credit's due, because whilst I may have never enjoyed a BTS project before this, on Map of the Soul: 7 I find myself immediately sucked into the faux-grandeur and sparkly sheen of the explosive "Intro: Persona", a track from last year's EP that I wish I'd payed more attention to. Following this is the catchy "Boy With Luv", a stupid fun song that my 2019 self would be furious at me for liking. In fact, looking through the tracklist I can identify at least eight songs that I enjoy listening to - a shame then that the album has 20 tracks. If only they had slimmed down the tracklist, removing some of the more insufferable moments and cut things down to a more traditional length; there would be easily enough highlights to carry it to greatness.
From the cheesy but undeniable serving of sugary pop on "ON" to the surprisingly intense rapping on "UGH!", this album boasts BTS's best work yet; it's just a shame that it comes alongside an overwhelming portion of unnecessary filler. I now have to run and hide because BTS fans are terrifying and they will slaughter me for not worshipping these pretty Korean boys.
5.5/10
Best Tracks: Intro: Persona; Dionysus; ON; UGH!
Worst Tracks: Make It Right; Interlude: Shadow; Friends
"La vita nuova"
Christine and the Queens
27th February 2020
Because Music
A sleek EP of fresh new songs from Christine and the Queens (aka Chris) that takes the great songwriting and mixing from her last album in a more engaging direction.
Taking an overview of Chris's work, I would struggle to call myself a fan. After all, I find both of her albums pretty tedious listens outside of a few core tracks that blow me away, and this was the main problem preventing me from really getting into either records. After her transcendent pop feature on Charli XCX's "Gone" last year however, I was incredibly hopeful to see what direction she'd take her music next. Much like 2018's self-titled Chris, this is only really an update on her typical synthpop sounds, albeit with a much more consistent quality when it comes to the experience as a whole.
Listening through La vita nuova, it strikes me that really not a lot has changed to warrant such a positive response from me, as Chris continues to deliver captivating and emotional songs that rely on you enjoying the slightly cheap yet impactful drum machines that propel the atmospheric synths and washed out atmosphere that all too often lacks a distinct lead other than Chris's own voice to drive the songs forward. Something on this EP feels different though, because whilst all these elements remain prevalent, there is a certain level of mastery and control that for me is weirdly reminiscent of the sleek control Zero 7, Sia and José González had on the former's album The Garden in 2006. Whilst the musical direction is completely different, there are certain parallels in the execution of these sounds and it makes for the best work that Christine and the Queens has put out yet.
8/10
Best Tracks: People, I've Been Sad; Je disparais dans tes bras; Nada; La vita nuova; I disappear in your arms
Worst Tracks: Mountains (we met)
"Changes"
Justin Bieber
14th February 2020
Def Jam Recordings
I don't want to sound too hopeful but this might just be the album that kills Bieber's career.
Justin Bieber, as a performer, has never had much personality. It's the reason he's been featured on so many dance singles, the reason he's stayed in the spotlight for so long even after countless stupid actions and the reason that the title and framing of this new album is the most blatantly fake thing he's ever done. Justin Bieber never changes, he's still the same irritating preteen that was introduced to us over a decade ago with his terribly average song "Baby". Of course, there has been the odd instance of Bieber showing the illusion of change, such as on his last album way back in 2015. On Purpose, his performances were as mediocre as ever, but the songwriters and production team were at their very best. The Biebs has had five long years since that album, so surely Changes is his most mature and well-executed record to date...right?
WRONG! On Changes, Bieber has opted for bland trap pop with negative amounts of personality (if that's even possible) where every one of the sixteen tracks sound like the Spotify playlist fodder they were intended to be. How can a star as huge as this leave such little impact with his music? At least Justin Timberlake's comeback in 2018 had the decency to be actively bad, whereas Bieber straight up fails to be anything other than ignorable and irritating (if you force yourself to actually listen to the music). Sliding through a track like "Second Emotion", without the bar telling me where I am in the song I would have absolutely no reference: the beat is an endless loop, the verses and choruses blend into one slog of nothing and Travis Scott delivers his all time worst guest verse. Essentially, there's almost nothing to distinguish one bar of the song from another, and this is a problem the entire album suffers from.
When he dropped lead single "Yummy", the internet went into meltdown and people were calling it the worst song ever. They were wrong. For as mind numbingly dull and (ironically) flavourless as it is, there's nothing distinctly atrocious about it. Now, the second single "Intentions" on the other hand has a whole lot wrong with it - namely, the lyrics. Across the album, Bieber's cowriters dish out some of the absolute worst, most direly dismal and pathetic lyrics of this guy's career. With someone like Bieber, that says a lot. With a song like "Intentions", those lyrics include such profanities as "stay in the kitchen, cooking up, cut your own bread". Does Justin Bieber realise we're living in the 21st century where women can exist and work outside of the kitchen? I get that this song is supposed to show Bieber's worship of his wife, but it's so derivative and insultingly poorly written that all I can do is cringe.
Conclusively, and to the surprise of absolutely noone, I can confirm that Justin's latest album is beyond insignificant, without a single saving grace and yet also honestly without a lot to specifically hate on other than the tedious affair that is listening to this non-entity. Don't listen to it for your own sanity, and don't listen to Bieber when he demands his fans to stream his music on repeat to cheat the system. It's so worthless I feel completely justified in giving it such a low score.
3/10
"No One Else Can Wear Your Crown"
Oh Wonder
7th February 2020
Universal
Unfortunately, Oh Wonder have taken more steps towards the undistinguished on their latest and worst album.
In the past, Oh Wonder have been a band I could rely on for a fantastic, heart wrenching pop ballad here and there, as well as a healthy helping of bouncy singles that carry otherwise uninteresting albums. Three albums into their career and it feels as though they've run out of ideas, energy and passion, despite members Josephine and Anthony officially being in a relationship now. Of course, from the misleading depth and fervor of lead single "Hallelujah" I had my hopes up that it would be an improvement over 2017's Ultralife, but that wasn't to be.
From the forgettable but thoughtful opening track "Dust", a moment of rare interest for me on the record, we're greeted to some existential themes that I wish were present throughout the album in place of the two-dimensional happy-in-love narrative threaded throughout almost every song in frustratingly obvious and generic lyrics that don't show off any of the duo's previous flare for the catchy and unique when it came to writing. Of course, it's when they don't stick to this formula that Oh Wonder find themselves either at their best or worst, the contrast being best displayed with the aforementioned "Hallelujah" and the single "Happy". In the former, Josephine's determined lyrics and euphoric delivery paired with the duo's brightest and most ambitious instrumental makes for a phenomenal single, whilst the latter is a showcase of basic lyricisms that fail to convey anything, not helped by a messy arrangement of obnoxious strings and a generic poppy beat.
Dotted throughout the tracklist are a handful of perplexing songs that miss the mark entirely, attempting to channel different styles and ultimately failing to bring diversity or intrigue to a boring album. One track that comes to mind is "How It Goes", a so-so emulation of the trendy electropop and jazz fusion that sounds as though the duo spent waaay too much time listening to The 1975's "Sincerity Is Scary" last year (and to be fair, so did I - it's a great song), but this is a rip off I do not care for. Another painfully drab moment is the timid "In And Out Of Love", the song that wins the prize for the track with the least presence on the album. It's not like Oh Wonder can't do ballads either, just look to the emotive "My Friends" or the introspective "All We Do" from albums past as some of their best songs. No, this song is just inferior and inconsequential, the feeling I get from this album as a whole.
Overall, this isn't bad but there's very little to praise about this slog of minimalist alt-pop. Oh Wonder have always felt small, and on Ultralife they succeeded in expanding their sound in a presentation of what did and didn't work about their music. For the most part, it seems as though they've decided to explore the sides of their music that worked the least on that album, and there's not a lot to even care about as a result on No One Else Can Wear Your Crown. Unfortunately, it sounds to me like Oh Wonder forgot to put their crowns on for this album.
4/10
Best Tracks: Dust; Hallelujah
Worst Tracks: Happy; In And Out Of Love; Nebraska
---
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you're all alright amidst the chaos of the world right now. Not sure about you, but Covid-19 gets a strong 2/10 from me - keep clean and please stay safe.
---
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