Kendrick returns with a new off his new album, which I can only describe as "Sit down, be humble." update: video has since been released!! Watch below:
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Everyone has memories of when they first became infatuated with a band and I am not any different, but the way I got hooked on Gorillaz is a bit weird. It all started when my jazz teacher back when I was a tween decided that "Dare" was an appropriate song to which to choreograph a dance. No, it wasn't because the lyrics were inappropriate (they're not), but more an issue that we were a bunch of suburban girls raised on the top 40 hit of the early 2000's and any deviation was seen as "uncool". As expected most people were not having it, but I was loving it; awkwardly dancing along to the electro pop vibes and having myself a good time. Fast forward three albums later and I am still here enjoying myself, but this time to a slew of four new tracks off their highly anticipated album Humanz. The tracks include: "We Got The Power (feat. Jehnny Beth)", "Ascension (feat. Vince Staples), "Andromeda (feat. D.R.A.M.), and "Saturnz Barz (feat. Popcaan)." Watch the music fantastically bizarre video for "Saturnz Barz" below: Little did we know that when we were dancing along to Lorde’s euphoric post-breakup anthem, we would all be quietly crying to her new introspective ballad a week later. While “Liability” is a “strange little sister of [Melodrama]” and not an official single, it gives audiences a better understanding of how deeply personal Melodrama is shaping up to be. In “Liability,” Ella metaphorically dances to the ballad of her own design, grappling with fame and the alienation that accompanies it. Lyrically, it finds Ella somewhere between feeling disdain towards those who regret “dancing in her storm” and wrestling with painful self awareness, both of which are apparent as she sings "They say, 'You're a little much for me/ You're a liability/ You're a little much for me’/ So they pull back, make other plans/ I understand, I'm a liability.” The only leeway she gives in terms of outside control is the simplistic melody of a piano with hints of organ. Taken together, they perfectly illustrate the melancholy of finding comfort in self-love in the face of isolation, and more broadly, in the chaos of life Green means transcendence to Lorde, a synesthete, whose first new single in 3 years centers around post-heartbreak limbo through the lens of a night out. The narrative of "Green Light" begins harmlessly enough, describing performative acts such as applying makeup or ordering drinks, but rapidly spirals into aggression towards past indiscretions and innocuous betrayals, as heard when Lorde snarls "She thinks you love the beach, you're such a damn liar." Lorde's nuance and strength as a writer allows her to deftly capture the feeling of how certain places or things can easily set someone off despite one's best attempts to move on. However, instead of falling victim to her anger and grief, Lorde decides to embrace them. This gives way to a cunning refrain as she taunts her ex through a skittish falsetto: "Those great whites, they have big teeth/ Hope they bite you/ Thought you said that you would always be in love/ But your not in love, no more". As Lorde becomes more playful, metaphorically and literally embracing "new sounds" in the pre-chorus, so does the melody: the tempo quickens and house pianos are brought in on full display. The build up of both emotion and sound has been leading up to what ultimately can be describe as a leave-it-all-on-the-dance-floor chorus, which serves as catharsis for Lorde as she pleads for her "green light" that will allow her to move on from heartbreak. Although Lorde ultimately doesn't reach her "green light" during the duration of the song, the listener has full faith that she will reach it eventually, having found pieces of euphoria in grief. |