Vroom Vroom EP: an album review

Artist: Charli XCX

Release: 26 February 2016

Producer: SOPHIE

Genre: bubblegum bass, experimental pop, trap, electronic

Label: Vroom Vroom Recordings

Length: 12:19

So Skrillex is popular now, that's a shame. With what can I annoy the neighbours if I don't have Skrillex's dubstep. Because what he does now is making tamed beats for JUSTIN BLIEBER. We need a new voice, somebody polarizing and experimental who makes great music. Somebody like SOPHIE.

So, last year a producer, SOPHIE, became hugely popular because of his production style and uniqueness and caught the attention of Charli XCX, for whom he produced this album. Now, as a joke I thought that Charli XCX after making a synthpop album and a pop-rock album will make an experimental hip-hop, trap inspired album. I was totally right on that.

So now, as somebody uninformed and dumb I listened to this EP without any background and thought that was a piece of shit but after I listened to it a couple of times I really like it. I almost love, it is bound to be a very very polarizing review but yeah I'll defend it any day. It is really good in my opinion.

1. Vroom Vroom

Charli's rapping is so cringe worthy, and all the build-up is destroyed by the pre-chorus and OMG the Vroom Vroom effect is so bad and that "Beep beep" is just laughable. But this song is so perfect in all it's messiness. This is the hardest hitting song on the EP besides Trophy.
Quotable: "Beep beep, so let's ride" 
Track rating: 10/10

2. Paradise ft. Hannah Diamond

The "Charli XCX ft. Alvin & The Chipmunks" comparison is really warranted. Hannah Diamond is a fantastic singer, why did they feel the need to use the chipmunk voice effect? Though the effect is really irritating, it isn't too long the song really sounds indeed like Paradise. The drop is absolutely amazing, Hannah's verse is so sweet, and the beat was such an organic build-up and the outro is wonderful.
Quotable: "Tonight, we're in paradise/Soaring through the sky/Seeing pink and white/Yeah, we can make it right" 
Track rating: 9.5/10

3. Trophy
The beat is reminds me of the beat of Run the World (Girls), which I hate A LOT. But this song is actually really awesome. It is a banger (strange that this EP has more bangers than the album titled as Bangerz). This build-up of the pre-hook is so up lifting, and the beat that runs throw the verses is so hard-hitting.
Quotable: "Your B keep it bink and we bossy/Hey, it's like I told you, song number one" 
Track rating: 10/10

4. Secret (Shh)
Finally we have the album's closer.  And it isn't as good as the others (maybe because it's co-produced by somebody else). This is more subdue and more sensual, not as hard hitting as the others or as fun as the others, but indeed still great.

Quotable: "No one gets to know 'bout, shh" 
Track rating: 8.5/10

Overall, on Friday I hated this EP, and in two days I came to the conclusion that I think it is actually awesome. Yeah, you may hate the album but you still need to agree that this is very much to strange for you. It is an experimental genre. I'm sure people hated thrash-metal in the '70s as well.

Stream it, download it or buy it?: Stream it, if you enjoy what you hear go buy it because this kind of genre needs support.

Best songs: Vroom Vroom, Trophy, Paradise
Worst song: Secret (Shh)
Album rating: 9/10

The Hills: a song review

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye or the artist known as The Weeknd is a Canadian R&B and Soul singer who found success by working with artists like Drake and Ariana Grande. The Weeknd is one of the "new" big things of this year, for better or worse, he had 4 Top 20 Billboard Hits this far and to be honest I'm not that happy about that. The Weeknd has this style of singing that really annoys me. The Weeknd made it into the charts with Love Me Harder aa good song which all the good parts are attributed to Ariana Grande contribution, then with Earned It a song that I actively dislike probably more than I should only because of the very bad video, then The Hills a song I will discuss in a few seconds and then finally Can't Feel My Face that I really like because of a very Michael Jackson vibe and the fact that is on the better range of The Weeknd's voice, but has a few problems that are attributed too the questionable lyrics. Now that I got that out of the way we can start praising this song because I really like it.

First of all I love the sound, aggressive, industrial, a perfect fit for the Halloween and how the base kicks in with the hook. It makes a great contrast with the high pitched auto-tune voice of The Weeknd. It has a great atmosphere that makes you feel uncomfortable. It has a monstrous feel to it that just feels huge.

But does the sound match the lyrics?

"Your man on the road, he doin' promo
You said, "Keep our business on the low-low"
I'm just tryna get you out the friend zone"

OH, YES! The context makes everything, it's about picking up somebody's girlfriend and it helps that he isn't bragging about that.

"Found out I was comin', sent your friends home
Keep on tryna hide it but your friends know"

Instead he's telling the story of how he's done it and not going off with that he continues the story.

"I'ma let you know and keep it simple
Tryna keep it up don't seem so simple
I just fucked two bitches 'fore I saw you
And you gon' have to do it at my tempo"

But the hook is the key element that holds this song together for me.

"I only call you when it's half past five
The only time that I'll be by your side
I only love it when you touch me, not feel me
When I'm fucked up, that's the real me
When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, yeah
I only call you when it's half past five
The only time I'd ever call you mine
I only love it when you touch me, not feel me
When I'm fucked up, that's the real me
When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, babe"

Where The Weeknd practically screams what the girl is to him and how genuinely awful he is. And it works. Because he isn't holding anything back, he isn't excuses, the topic is ugly so the song sounds ugly. It all has to do with the context and the framing.

This song reminds me of Love Me if Love Me was good. Love Me was awful because Wayne frame himself as the good guy. He was sleazy but still everybody loved him.

Overall I really like the song and the guy really gets better and better. One of the best hit songs of the year this far and it really makes me want to check out more from The Weeknd.

(I would like to thank to MalaCritico and TheDoubleAgent for being major inspirations for this review.)

Beauty Behind the Madness: an album review (review to come)