Maroon 5-"V" Review

By the fall of 2014, Maroon 5 had completed its evolution (or devolution, depending on how you look at it) from a blue-eyed soul/rock quintet to glossy pop act, featuring Adam Levine's shirtless body. Previewing the bands fifth album, simply titled "V", they released lead single "Maps", a track so similar to Nico and Vinz's "Am I Wrong?" you would think that Levine had eavesdropped on the recording sessions. That, or maybe our favorite shirtless heartthrob is more aware than he's been letting on. In short, that's the statement that "V" implicitly makes: Maroon 5 is a band of the times. So when pop music shifted from the butt-shaking EDM of LMFAO and Justin Bieber to the indietronic flavors of Lorde, the retro R&B Justin Timberlake hauled in with "The 20/20 Experience", and the arrival of Austin Mahone re-contextualizing the Backstreet Boys for the modern era, Maroon 5 took note of these more tasteful styles, and thus, Adam put his shirt back on. Whereas the grotesque "Overexposed" pushed his band's vulgarity to the limit, "V" is a more stylish affair. Electronics remain present, either to provide ambient noise or a low-synth wobble of "Feelings", a standard drum-kit makes its long-awaited return to a Maroon 5 album on the half-way point "Leaving California", and besides the plain pop song "Maps", its successor "Animals" also plays off the energetic pop blueprint. This one-two jolt of pop may have been designed to get the album started with vigor, but it's not particularly interesting, either. It's not until the third song, the industrial-flavored "It Was Always You", when "V" becomes more than just a singles-n-filler collection. Elsewhere, the lite-EDM track "Coming Back for You" offers some low-key relief from the tried and true practices of channeling Justin Timberlake channeling Michael Jackson. "Sugar", for example, plays off of "Off the Wall"-styled disco, complete with vocal hiccups and falsetto. And when the songs don't pay homage to MJ, then Austin Mahone becomes the cornerstone, with teeny-pop "Unkiss Me" and "New Love" included in the mix. This seemingly unholy hybrid of retro meets modern may not be the best theoretical construction of an album, but it holds up surprisingly well. It's oddly satisfying, too, when the closer "My Heart is Open" rolls around, Gwen Stefani blends her vocals with Adam's to complete a song that's neither retro nor modern, just happily no-nonsense singer-songwriter stuff. All of Maroon 5's signature album traits remain in tact: no songs over four minutes, Adam Levine at the fore, and music that exists pleasantly in the background as well as on the radio. It's just too bad that not one song on "V" actually sounds like Maroon 5. 

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Maps                      2. Animals                  3. It Was Always You

4. Unkiss Me              5. Sugar                      6. Leaving California

7. In Your Pocket       8. New Love               9. Coming Back for You

10. Feelings                11. My Heart is Open

Ariana Grande-"My Everything" Review

Ariana Grande made history with "Yours Truly", her debut album released almost exactly a year ago, when it debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming only the fifteenth solo female artist to top the chart with a debut album. The honor validated her status as one of pop's most engaging performers, even if the album responsible didn't offer a signature sound. Sure, it featured alot of Grande's voice, and even threw in a couple of catchy, fizzy pop tunes, but overall it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. Its mix of lite-Hip/Hop, R&B, and breezy pop didn't sustain well in the mainstream, and seemed quite outdated by the spring of 2014. Already proven to be a masterful strategist, however, Grande released the Iggy Azalea-assisted "Problem", a sassy pop track produced by Britney's hit maker Max Martin. It showed a sexier side to the Nickelodeon star, like Cat Valentine graduating from high school and venturing into an adventurous college life. Of course, Grande wants to be seen as more than a character on TV, and much of her sophomore album, "My Everything", is built upon this foundation. Gone are the doe-eyed R&B tunes and in their place stand a hodge-podge of EDM, Pop, Hip/Hop, Soul, and a couple of piano ballads for good measure. Unfortunately, what Grande decided to keep from her last record was a ridiculous amount of guest-appearances, mostly from rappers, none of which make the most of their verses (excepting the aforementioned Iggy Azalea). Also in-tact is the laundry list of songwriters and producers all trying to make Ariana Grande stand above her peers as pop's reigning princess. Perhaps this wouldn't have been a problem if the quality of musical coherence and lyrical grace were favored over throwing the kitchen sink at the listener and seeing which songs were hits or misses. Obviously, the rap-assisted songs are mostly misses, some quite frankly embarrassing ("Best Mistake" ---ironic, huh?---and "Hands on Me" being the worst offenders), while the songs with an EDM-twist are bearable (Zedd producing the best cut "Break Free"). The filler in between present some nice ideas, but too often sink into mediocre R&B-blandness, not too far off the track from "Yours Truly". Standing out amongst the murk is "Love Me Harder", a song that pulsates on a sultry groove while The Weeknd provides the only good guest appearance here. The undercutting theme of severing ties from an old-flame is long forgotten, since "My Everything" covers far too much ground to be coherent, it cannot find its way through all the hooplah. Ariana Grande is a fine singer, with a technical skill far exceeding her pop peers, but for the second time in a row she has failed to show anything more beyond potential. She certainly can't be billed as the innocent sweet girl that sang "Yours Truly" anymore, but "My Everything" also does not fulfill its purpose of separating her from that persona. And that's highly unfortunate, because "My Everything" had all the potential in the world; it just didn't know how to use it.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Intro                                    2. Problem                                       3. One Last Time

4. Why Try                             5. Break Free                                  6. Best Mistake

7. Be My Baby                        8. Break Your Heart Right Back    9. Love Me Harder

10. Just a Little Bit of Your Heart    11. Hands on Me      12. My Everything