Let's see what these new songs have in store for us today.
Fall Out Boy - Heartbreak Feels So Good
After the first single from the upcoming album felt like a return to a glory age, this song reminds us that every nostalgia trip is a bit of an illusion. This song is the so-called bridge between the band's two eras, which is what Patrick Stump envisions the album as being. It doesn't take things as far in the pop/electronic direction as the band went, but it does pull us away from the guitar-driven emo I love so much. That musical bed in the verses isn't a sound I really enjoy, and the lack of power means the chorus doesn't have the same bite when it comes in. This is a very tame song, albeit one with a very pleasant melody. It's decent stuff, but I'm expecting more from them than merely being ok.
Redemption - Seven Minutes From Sunset
Have you ever had a sense of musical deja vu, where you sweat you've heard a new song before? That's what I was getting from this second Redemption single. Things were going along fine, albeit slow in getting to the point, but when we finally got to the chorus, oh man. Tom didn't even get to the end of the first line before I was having that odd sensation, and by the time the song was over, I realized what I was thinking. The song's immediate impression was exactly the same as "Damaged", one of the singles from "The Art Of Loss". After that, it was hard to think of the song in any other context. I keep hearing the previous song, and I like that one a lot better.
A Light Divided - Inhale/Exhale
There is a right way and a wrong way to experiment with your sound. A Light Divided show us the right way, using their latest single as a vehicle to play with electronics and new sounds, but doing so as a way to provide extra dynamics for when the chorus kicks in with all the power and hook as ever before. The band has the ability to play into the aggressive nature of Jaycee's voice, riding the edge between singing a sweet melody and shouting for our attention. She has mine, for sure. I've regularly gone back to their "Choose Your Own Adventure" album, and have been eagerly waiting for more since the "Radio Silence" single. Now that it's here, the waiting has been worth it.
Jax Hollow - Wolf In Sheepskin
Can you ever hide who you truly are? Wearing a costume might be easy, and we can put on affects for a while, but in time it seems inevitable we will reveal ourselves as actors. Jax Hollow's new chapter begins with this realization, asking if she is too much to handle. That is an interesting question, because like the titular metaphor, the song is playing a role. With a slow bluesy cadence, the luscious guitar tone is allowed to reverberate through the mix, letting the note choices ring. When the key section to the song arrives, the harmonies ditch the blues for an almost 60s pop vibe, and Jax's vocal strains with an echo of Sheryl Crow. But why the disguise? The wolf tells us she is "first step hedonism", but the guitar never rips into a fiery solo to bear its teeth. That will have to wait until after we've been lured in.
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