Archive | September, 2024

Nilufer Yanya – My Method Actor

28 Sep

My Method Actor is a consistently solid album that desperately needs something more. I don’t think there’s a single song here that doesn’t hold up to a fairly high standard. Everything here is good music to a fault and that fault is monotony.

She’s got a good groove in “Call It Love” for instance. She has a stellar voice that she doesn’t overuse and it’s very easy to let the song carry you. The same can be said of the gentleness of “Faith’s Late” or the excellent fuzz of “Like I Say” and “Method Actor” but they all fade very easily into the background. My Method Actor ends up very competent and very listenable but unfortunately also very forgettable.

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Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet

18 Sep

Sabrina Carpenter has charisma that can only be measured in gigawatts. You expect a pop star to be likable, Carpenter is exceptional. There are few flaws that such tremendous personality cannot paper over and Short n’ Sweet does nothing to really test that.

I didn’t like “Espresso” the first time I heard it. It’s not the most interesting pop nor is it the most well done. It’s a decent KPop song done by a white singer, but the current crop of KPop is exceptional and it’s hard to put “Espresso” best to “Super Shy” and not have it suffer.

It’s just so easy to like Sabrina though. She always looks like she’s having fun. She plays very well with the camera. I really enjoy the “Death Becomes Her”-styled video for the quite fun “Taste”.

The music does let her down a bit though. She tries a lot of things and does none of them well. “Bad Chem” also tries KPop but doesn’t even manage the standard of “Espresso.” “Good Graces” takes from some of the better Grimes, “Dumb and Poetic” is a bad Taylor song, “Slim Pickins” is weak country and “Nonsense” is a weak Ari song and a terrible rap showcase.

Sabrina Carpenter clearly has the DNA for superstardom and is always worth watching. Her music needs to catch up with her though and until she picks a lane, it’s hard to see how it will.

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Heems – Veena

14 Sep

We’re getting more Heems exposure than anyone could have expected. It’s not too surprising that it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

He has some fascinating pieces in this album. Trying NY Drill in “RAKHI” is great. The old school NY rap in “DAME” is fun. That could be a Biggie beat. “MANTO” doesn’t have the best flow but Vijay Iyer is top notch in it and the jazz and rap intermingling is excellent.

However, the interludes are terrible. The rolodex stunting is gauche. “RIGHTEOUS” cannot end fast enough. His Juhi Chawla bit is terrible. Firstly, it’s over-explained for a white audience. Secondly, it’s absolutely baby’s first Bollywood movie. Put it together and it’s painfully shallow.

When an album’s music is largely forgettable, the bits that stand out need to sparkle. There are some songs well worth the listen but there’s too much that grates as well.

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