Category: Music Reviews

Megan Brownell social media editor  

In 2019, childhood boy band lovers were surprised with the Jonas Brothers making a comeback, and later released their first album back, ‘Happiness Begins’.  

The album quickly shot up to number one on the charts, accompanied by a number one single, ‘Sucker’ which was number one for four weeks. This was a great comeback single in itself. It was spunky, showing off their growth as they have gotten older, but keeping their old touch to it.  

‘Cool’ was the second single released on the album. While this single peaked at 27 on the charts, it is still a great song. I really enjoyed this one when it first came out, there was so much excitement around them having more new music, and leading into a new album and comeback tour. The song came out in April 2019, and led into being the perfect summer song, with a great pop beat that was catchy.  

 Moving down to track three, ‘Only Human’, which is one of my top three favorites on the album. The song contains a story of how he’s ‘only human’ and makes mistakes while accompanying a nice upbeat track that makes you want to dance.  

While the album starts off fun and upbeat, track four ‘I Believe’ starts to slow it down. While still faster paced, it is slower than the first three and you quickly fall in love with the lyrics. The lyrics are fantastic in this song, showing so much love to a woman that he believes in it all.  

The album contains all sorts of songs, from love songs to breakup songs. ‘Used To Be’ is one of those breakup types of songs. It keeps a similar beat from ‘I Believe’ while expressing his feelings about how he feels after a breakup with someone he really loved.  

As you move down the 14 song tracklist, they provide a mix of slower and more upbeat songs that one second make you have deep feelings, to dancing it out in the next.  

Track 11, ‘Strangers’ is another one of my favorites. It starts off slower, picking up speed going into the chorus. This song screams summer driving down a back road, it is so fun to sing loudly and have good vibes alone or with friends.  

‘Hesitate’ is my favorite track out of all of these. This showed so much growth from their younger selves, and showing the love for all of their wives since all were married at the time. I love the emotion they put into singing the song, but the lyrics are what really make it shine. I love songs that show how much love someone has for their partner, and they did an excellent job of producing that.  

‘Comeback’ is the closer to this album, being more of a slower song to finish it off. While I enjoy the song, I feel like ‘Rollercoaster’, which is the track before, is a better closer. Rollercoaster has that vibe that is more ending like, almost like finishing on the best note you can.  

Overall though, even five years later I still really enjoy this album especially of the nostalgia I get from their comeback moment. I give it a 9/10, having so many strong and fantastic songs that made for a great album. 

Megan Brownell social media editor  

For this week’s music review, I decided to go with one of the more underrated Taylor Swift albums. Evermore is a great album, though it doesn’t go up high in my album ranking, it is a fantastic album that many people don’t appreciate.  

The album was another surprise drop by Swift during the pandemic, coming out on December 11th. The album quickly shot up to number one on the Billboard hot 200, with all 15 songs charting on the 100. Willow went number one and stayed there for three weeks.  

Willow was a great album opener. It brought with it those folklore vibes, showing being its sister album. It was slower, having that interesting beat. It’s not a bad song, I just think that since it was a leading single it got a little overplayed. I love the song live, as Swift has fun and interesting choreography with the song on tour. She wears a fun cape and they play with orange orb looking balls, and of course any song is better when you hear it live.  

Moving on down to Swift’s infamous track five, ‘tolerate it’ takes its place. I love this song, it sits in my top three on the album. But, I have to owe the live performance to why I love the song now, and I wish I always appreciated it as much as I do. It is an incredible song that throws out the pains of being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t appreciate your love, they only tolerate it. I think the bridge is what really makes this song, getting angry at the partner, yelling out that emotion.  

Swift wrote some more story-like songs on evermore as well, which gives us my favorite of those, no body, no crime. The story of the song is about her friend Este, who randomly disappears one day, and her husband is acting very suspicious that we had something to do with it. So Swift’s character then supposedly ‘kills’ the husband, and blames it on his mistress. It is a super fun song and the story ties you in even more.  

Later down the track list, comes another one of my favorites and more sentimental ones. ‘Marjorie’ is written about Swift’s grandmother, who passed away when she was little. It is a song that those who have lost a loved one can easily relate to, having lyrics of ‘I’d think you were talking to me now’, ‘the autumn chill that wakes me up’.  

Swift also released a deluxe version, with songs ‘it’s time to go’ and ‘right where you left me’. Right where you left me is one of my all time favorite Taylor songs. It is so fun to sing and listen to, having a mouthful of lyrics that I really enjoy. The song is all about feeling like you can’t move on from something, being ‘still at the restaurant’.  

Overall, I still give evermore a 9/10, being a great album but there’s a few songs on the album that I am not a huge fan of. I think the other songs make up for them though, showing how deep and beautiful Swift’s lyrics can get.  

Megan Brownell social media editor 

During the excitement of the superbowl on Feb. 11, Beyonce excited fans everywhere by announcing her new album in a commercial, which will be part two to her Renaissance album coming out on March 29. The first part of Renaissance came out on July 29, 2022. The album instantly shot up to number one on the billboard charts, and stayed there for two weeks.  

One of the songs, ‘Break My Soul’ hit the top ten chart, starting at number six when it first came out, and shooting up to number one in the whole albums first week.  

Beyonce did release one single before the album, which was ‘Break My Soul’. I enjoyed this song, it had great lyrics and was super fun and upbeat. For me, it gave me classic Beyonce vibes, one of those songs that comes on at a party that is just iconic, and the whole group gets bumping to it.  

To open the album, Beyonce put ‘I’m That Girl’ as track one. I thought this was a very good album opening track. The second the song starts it has this quick beat repeating ‘these mother****ers ain’t stopping me’ ,which for me instantly told me this album was going to be great. It made it instantly want to jam out, and showed me how fun the song was.  

Moving down to track three, ‘Alien Superstar’. I enjoyed this song, it kind of had a different funky beat, but I liked it. I found it fun to want to dance and jam out too, and adding to it Beyonce’s voice sounds amazing in the chorus.  

Moving down the tracklist, a lot of her songs are fun danceable ones. Each one is unique in their own way, having different sorts of lyrics while providing its very own fun beat. Each one made me want to start dancing, and I very much enjoyed some of the funkier beats.  

Out of all of these fun songs, I think my favorite would have to be ‘America has a problem’. On her world tour, this song’s opening has an iconic moment, starting with an interesting beat, repeating the title before breaking into a beat with a fun dance break from the queen bee. What I enjoy is that even when Beyonce starts singing, that beat continues and it makes me want to dance through the whole three minutes.  

To end the album, Beyonce chose ‘Summer Renaissance’. This song showed the same fun, different beat, kind of like a song that you will hear at the beginning of a movie. I am not sure how much of a fan I am that it is the closing track, I do like how it is similar to all of the songs, but when it ends it shocks me that it’s the end of the whole album.  

Overall, I enjoyed this album. This was my first listen and I am honestly surprised I hadn’t listened to it yet. It was fun, every song made me want to dance and Beyonce sounded incredible in every song. I give it a 9/10, and will be excited to continue listening to it and really enjoy the songs.  

Megan Brownell social media editor  

Taylor Swift surprised Taylor Nation yet again with the annoucement of her upcoming album: The Tortured Poets Department. With the track list already relased, I’m preparing for her release by listening to Folklore. Because of this, I have found a new love for the album and decided to review its beautiful lyricism this week.  

This album was released back in July 2020 and the album shot up to the number one album in the first week, and stayed at number one for eight weeks. She also debuted three top ten singles, with ‘cardigan’ at number one, ‘the 1’ at four, and ‘exile’ featuring Bon Iver coming in at six.  

This was a different kind of album for Swift, more of indie vibes that showcased incredible poetry writing.  

The album opens up with ‘the 1’. It has a great beat and fun lyrics I love to sing along to. The song references a relationship, unknown if this happened to Swift or not since folklore is a lot of story like songs that did not actually happen. ‘The 1’ references how a past lover could have been the one, talking about why it didn’t happen. This song also opens the folklore set on the era’s tour, and those opening beats are so fun and exciting, leading into both the album and its era at the show.  

Cardigan comes in next, the single that debuted at number 1 on the billboard charts. This is one of the songs that plays into the ‘love triangle’ about James, Betty, and August. Folklore is fun made up stories Swift wrote to pass the time in quarantine. The other songs that play into it are ‘Betty’ and ‘august’. All are great songs, making an interesting story about a boy who messed up and lost the love of his life, in Taylors words.  

My two favorites on this album are ‘my tear ricochet’ and ‘exile’. ‘My tears ricochet’ is a deep felt song that just brings up pain and singing this song is what cures it. The song is about struggling in a relationship, and it is displayed beautifully. After knowing how long Swift struggled in her past relationship with Joe Alwyn, now fans speculate folklore songs were real and about her and Joe. ‘Exile’ is a songwriting masterpiece to me, and her and Bon Iver sound incredible. This is another song voices the hardships of being in a relationship going south, and cuts your deep listening to it.  

Towards the end, the songs get super slow and emotional with ‘peace’ and ‘hoax’. Both have such deep lyrics that pass slowly with the music.  

She also came out with a bonus track, ‘the lakes’. This is the main song that leads back to Swift’s new album, with its lyrics ‘take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die’. It too is a beautiful song, with that indie feel that makes it fun to sing loud too.  

Overall folklore is an incredible album. This gets no skips from me, but two songs that I have to be in a certain mood for but still heavily enjoy when I do listen to them.  The stories and gut wrenching lyrics bring this to a 9/10 for me, only being brought down by those two sometimes skippable songs. I would recommend giving it a listen and connecting to these beautiful songs.  

Megan Brownell social media editor 

Instead of reviewing an album, this weeks music review will pertain to two singles working as ‘diss tracks’ both directed at two of the best female rappers in the indsutry. Including Megan Thee Stallion’s single, Hiss and Nicki Minaj’s single, Bigfoot.  

How did this feud begin? Megan released ‘Hiss’ where one of the lyrics contains, “ “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law/ I don’t really know what the problem is, but I guarantee y’all don’t want me to start,” Megan’s Law requires sex offender registrys to be public information, but how does all of this turn into a feud? Fans of both artists made the conlcusion that the lyric was directed towards the one and only Nicki Minajs’ husband, Kenny Petty, who is a regiestered sex offender.  

Hiss was released on Jan. 26 and has hit bumber 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 for its first week.  

Some claim that Hiss was not orignally released to be a diss track, however, when Minaj relized there was a ‘diss’ on her husband, she took to social media. Minaj went live on Instagram, announcing that she would be releasing a new song titled Bigfoot.  

Let’s first discuss Megan’s song, Hiss. Personally, I enjoy Megan Thee Stallions music, and this was the perfect diss track with her style of music. I loved the intro, it made me know it was going to be an entertaining song.  

It contained that regular Megan flare, a fun beat and her normal rap lyrics. I loved the song, no matter the meaning behind it.  

Moving towards Minj’s song and its release. While some could argue that Hiss was not directed at Minaj intentionally, no one could claim that with Bigfoot. First, the title is an obvious hit towards Megan as she was shot in the foot in 2020. The single was released on Jan. 28, and has not been out long enough for a Billboard placement.  

Personally, listeners can tell the song was written quickly to respond to the fighting. At a first glance, the beat and intro makes it seem like it’s going to be a good response, but as the song goes on, I found it hard to listen to.  

The music and lyrics ease in, but then she gets pouty with her voice, which quickly starts to go downhill from that. There was a mix of her usual rapping style, then a sudden switch to a slower cadence and odd lyrics. 

Overal, I expected more from Minaj. The worst part about the song was the last minute. Minaj freestyled with no beat in the background. Minaj discussed how she loves who does support her and how Megan should be “careful” because there’s other stuff she won’t want out.  

Overall, I think Megan Thee Stallions song was best, earning an 8/10. But for Minaj, I did not enjoy it and cannot see it being a song you can jam out to like her normal music. I had to give this one a 2/10, as there were still some good parts but so many bad ones that shot down its potential.  

Megan Brownell social media editor  

For this week’s music review, I wanted to throw it back a little and review Harry Styles debut solo album, ‘Harry Styles’.  

This album came out in May 2017 after his band One Direction announced a hiatus in 2015. Two other members of the band, Niall and Zayn began their solo careers before Styles, and yet, he is arguably the most successful solo after the band breakup.  

Styles first released his debut single, ‘Sign Of The Times’ in April, and not to sound dramatic, but this song changed my life. I was 13 at the time, getting ready to head into high school, hearing this song for the first time was incredible. It’s a slower song, and kicks up in beat once you get closer to the end. It is also a longer song, around 5 minutes full of emotional lyrics that tie you into the song. Even now I still resonate with this song and it has such a deep meaning to it.  

That was the only single from the album, and a good choice from Styles. The rest of the album came out a month later, and held up to the standards of the first single. The album houses only 10 tracks, but all 10 are great in their own way. Track one is ‘Meet Me in the Hallway’, a slow song that as well kicks up the beat once you get to the chorus. This isn’t the strongest song to open with but it aids a nice transition into it.  

Moving down to track four, ‘Two Ghosts’. This probably switches off and on with ‘Sign of The Times’ as my favorite on this album. This song has a mid tempo, slowing it down a little after fast paced ‘Carolina’. The lyrics are another fantastic showing, talking about how he feels distant from an old love, wondering what it is like to have your heart beat, reminiscing on who they used to be. Fans also speculate this song is about Taylor Swift, back from when the pair dated in 2012-2013, as he used lyrics like ‘red lips’, as well as referencing his infamous white shirt that Swift mentioned in her song ‘Style’.  

‘Kiwi’ is another song to be talking about, being the most dance worthy, fun beat song on the album. The title does not make any sense, as the song talks about a relationship and the big phrase in the chorus, “having your baby, it’s none of your business’. It is super fun, and has made the setlist for every show Style has done, containing a fun dance break he does with one of his band members, as well as closing every show after the song with his iconic ‘whale’ water blow in his goodbye.  

The album ends just as it started, with a slow love type song, ‘From The Dining Table’. This is another title that I personally don’t understand, but the lyrics are beautiful. The song is all about missing an ex, with lyrics such as ‘even my phone misses your calls,’ ‘maybe one day you’ll call me and tell me that you’re sorry too’. I like this song to end the album as it provides a strong finish. 

My personal rating of the album is a 9/10, as it took me some time to love all of the songs. I would say it’s skipless there are one or two I need to be in the mood for to enjoy. This was a great debut album and set up his success for years to come.  

Megan Brownell social media editor  

To kick off the new semester, I wanted to start off with a music review with an album I myself haven’t listened to a lot of. On Dec. 8, Nicki Minaj released her newest album, Pink Friday 2. While I do enjoy Minaj’s music, I haven’t sat down and listened to her new music until now.  

Overall from my first full listen, I enjoyed the album. I probably wouldn’t listen to the full album multiple times for my taste, but I know that a lot of these songs will become frequent in party playlists. Many are fun, upbeat, and are what you think of when you hear a Nicki Minaj song. That is my favorite part of the album, is that iconic touch that will make a room go crazy when it comes on the shuffle.  

The album itself debuted on the Billboard hot 200 at number 1 after its first week, and debuted 14 songs on the hot 100 list. The highest song was ‘Everybody’ featuring Lil Uzi Vert, at 26.  

Starting the album off, the opening song is ‘Are you Gone Already’. I was surprised, as it started off slow and I recognized the song as Billie Ellishes ‘when the party’s over’. I thought I had clicked on the wrong song first, then I realized it was a part of the song. It was a weird start to the album in my opinion, as even though Minaj has used different songs to remix before like ‘Anaconda’ which was released in 2014 and based off of ‘Baby Got Back’ by Sir Mix A Lot. The song itself though was more slow, which strayed away from her typical sound. 

Moving onto track three, FTCU was a prime song that when I heard, I could just know it is a Minaj type song without knowing directly it was hers. It was a fun, hype type of song that I know I would have fun dancing to if it came on at a party.  

As you go down the tracklist, it mixes between party songs and slower songs. Though slower songs aren’t what I specifically think of when I think Nicki Minaj, they were really enjoyable to listen to. These slower songs helped the album flow more.  

After a full 22 song tracklist, the album ends with ‘Just The Memories’. It was a somewhat slower song, with a good beat. I felt like it was a great way to close out the album, being slower than some others songs while keeping that Nicki type lyrics and fun to it.  

My favorites are probably ‘Needles’ and the now iconic ‘Super Freaky Girl’. ‘Needles’ was a tad slower song, but the beat was strong. ‘Super Freaky Girl’ has been out for some time, and is another song based on a different song, ‘Super Freak’ by Rick James. It is fun and danceable, and also had a trending dance on TikTok. 

After my listen, I give the album an 8/10, as it had some good listens, a few not so great, but kicked it up a notch with fun exciting listens. I think this is a good album to listen to, and maybe get ahead of knowing the lyrics to the next generation of party songs.