Opeth - Sorceress

The masterminds of progressive metal are back once again. Opeth challenges new heights on their twelfth album Sorceress, continuing their exploration of a jazz and metal fusion.

Many would have claimed that the band was approaching its doom when vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt began to abandon his brutal screams in favor of being more melodically centered. That choice has only seemed to propel the band a step further into evolution, opening up the music to new heights and new places.

The clearest example of this new progression is the acoustic single 'Will O The Wisp' - our review of which can be found here. Åkerfeldt wanted a song with the capo up really high, placing it at the fifth fret to give the song a very glittery sound, as he explained. The simple, catchy melody is contrasted by the song's dark meaning, proven by the beautifully executed chorus that chants, "You're stuck to the failures of your life / Marred with the sorrows of your strife / And time it waits for no one / It heals them when you die / And soon you are forgotten / A whisper within a sigh." The blues solo at the end really adds a new dimension to it, resonating beautifully above the bright and somber acoustics.

The album continues with the experiments of its predecessor, 2014's Pale Communion, which dabbled in jazzy and bluesy textures. A lot of the record's creepy organ keyboards and jazzy, frantic arpeggios make a return on Sorceress. Pale Communion was bashed for these elements, but Sorceress seems to bring out the best of them. The jazzy distortion makes its return on the title track 'Sorceress', groove taking its place on the track to set the momentum of the record. There are lots of interesting guitar moments throughout the song, found between the thrilling heavy unrelenting powerchords of the choruses and their soaring, powerful vocals.

The creepy organs take a background roll in tracks like 'The Wilde Flower', the song instead capitalizing on wild guitar arpeggios to give it its niche. The jazzy grooves of the intro are soon transitioned into something darker and brooding, almost creepy and evil by its end. The quiet ending allows for a reprieve from the chaos of the track, transitioning beautifully into 'Will O The Wisp'. Jazzy textures return later on the album for 'A Fleeting Glance', in between the confident shouts of baroque-esque guitar licks.

The album prioritizes on darkness and evil themes instead of continuing an exploration of genre. The evil grumbles of the guitars in 'Chrysalis' serves as a crucial turning point for the album. Gone is the transition from Pale Communion into the present; this is where Sorceress really sets its own sense of purpose. The dark arpeggios of the song lead to a crazy solo that switches between guitars and wild organs at its core, it's seven-minute runtime proving to be a very providing track. Dark progressions continue in 'The Seventh Sojourn', a Middle Eastern-tinged instrumental track that feels like it's straight out of an Indiana Jones film. The mystery of the track provides a adventurous image, traveling the desert or jungle with a final destination in mind. 

The downside of this record is its lack of a thick climax. Most songs have big moments, ultimately ending in epic, climactic moments of their own, but in those huge endings there is a certain punch missing. The doom ending of 'Strange Brew' serves as an example - there doomy guitars get across their mood, but it lacks a crunch to give it a little extra evil. Is it the fault of seeking a cleaner melodic sound? The album doesn't suffer from it in an end-all way, but it missed out having a stronger impact upon execution.

What's great about Opeth is that they can do anything, and that's what Sorceress tells us. The band can combine metal, rock, melody, doom, evil, and jazz all into one epic fusion of progressive rock greatness. Opeth is a band without expiration date - they're like a fine wine, becoming greater as time goes on. Sure, their time as a truly heavy metal band are gone, but they've become so much more than that. They're no longer bound by genre - they're free to create as they want to.

Favorite Tracks: Will O The Wisp, Chrysalis, Sorceress, Strange Brew

Least Favorite Track: Persephone (Slight Return)

Rating: 84 / 100

The Weeknd - 'False Alarm'

The Weeknd is on his comeback grind. His new album Starboy is out in two months (November 25), and after releasing the eponymous track 'Starboy' featuring Daft Punk (see our review here), we were left wondering what the new album would have in store for us.

'False Alarm' is the follow up single, and it's a bit hard to swallow. Dynamically and elementally different from 'Starboy', it provides a different look on the record. The new song features a strong EDM influence, especially in the chorus, complete with singing in a panicked fashion "False alarm!" before distorted screams straight out of a Skrillex song lead back into the verses. The verses feature smooth vocals with a cheesy melody and various instruments, including synths and guitars.

This song doesn't raise much hype for the album. If anything, it polarizes it further. There was already confusion about how underwhelming 'Starboy' was, and it feels as though 'False Alarm' was not the correct answer to it. The song feels very uninspired and the chorus does not have the signature Weeknd feel. His music was so noteworthy because of his unique sexiness that resonated in each one of his songs. Both 'Starboy' and especially 'False Alarm' miss that aspect of him. The song is also plagued by trying too hard to fit into the EDM feel. It's reading out of a textbook what it means to be a pop EDM song, down to the siren sample in the intro. His melody feels lazy and completely uninspired, as well. The experimentation is appreciated, but this song doesn't have any direction.

Things aren't looking great for Starboy. Two underwhelming singles in, and it's becoming increasingly harder to look forward to the record. We'll see what the full record holds for us - hopefully more substance than the singles.

Rating: 65 / 100

Bon Iver - 22, A Million

Justin Vernon is a mastermind of folk. His work is critically acclaimed and is always a refreshing listen. Bon Iver, featuring Vernon and his band, is one of Vernon's most acclaimed projects, and their third album 22, A Million has been a long time coming for many fans.

Through three albums, Bon Iver has evolved quite a bit from their acoustic folk debut recorded in an isolated Wisconsin cabin. 22, A Million is a soulful, experimental record that treads away from the indie folk nature of his music and adds a more artistic, if not a bit polarizing. The droning synths of intro track '22 (OVER S∞∞N)' - yes, the track titles are batshit crazy on this album - mesh in a sweet and oddly strange way with the brass and bright strings in the guitar. While it misses the beautiful string outro found on the single release (see our review for that here), it still has that soulful flair.

Also released on the double single was '10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄', featuring more distorted electronica and creating a feeling for subtle chaos rather than a restrained beauty like the former track. In the same fashion as '22', the track is also missing an extended outro that brought back a sense of clarity on the single version. Right out of the chaotic demeanor of '10' comes the beautiful harmonies of a cappella track '715 - CR∑∑KS'. Vernon's pure vocals dance a captivating dance with the thousands of vocoded vocal lines that make up the track. This album generates its momentum from the soft moments, making something out of nothing in a beautifully simple manner.

This album isn't a full experiment; there are still traces of his folk roots throughout the album. '29 #Strafford APTS' has a true folky sound, piano and acoustic guitar swimming together in sweet melodies. The song does eventually build up quietly with the album's various methods of experimentation, ending with glitched out vocals as pure sing above bright guitars. '33 "GOD"' also has traces of his beginnings, focussing primarily on the piano track than the various elements going on around it. The album ends as softly as it began, but in a different fashion. '00000 Million' is a pure track with no gimmick. It's just Vernon singing over a reverberating piano track in a very soulful way, as if to send the album off on a spiritual note. 

The main portion of the record is, however, quite experimental and odd. Listen to the pulsing, robotic synth of '666 ʇ' as it counts down continuously over the song's play time. The glitchy guitars act as a compliment to the gentle electronics, Vernon's vocals singing falsetto as brass and string punches support his voice. The lyrics are pretty submissive to the tire of life. It's very accepting of an empty feeling, this meaning acting as a dark disposition to the seemingly warm song. '8 (circle)' features smooth choirs and flowing brass sections to make it a beautiful, soulful experience.

Bon Iver's new album may not be a departure from their sophomore record's sound, but it's certainly a retrospective effort all the same. 22, A Million offers a soulful, provocative experimental indie folk experience that no one else can really do like them. It's unique in its emptiness, as if James Black picked up a guitar and moved out to the midwest. The album's mystery is just as beautiful as its sound, and for that it should hold its ground confidently, regardless of progression. Bon Iver can do anything they want and still make something amazing out of nothing.

Favorite Tracks: 715 - CR∑∑KS, 22 (OVER S∞∞N), 00000 Million, 29 #Strafford APTS

Least Favorite Track: 21 M◊◊N WATER

Rating: 84 / 100

Weezer - Pinkerton

Some records must see the light of failure before their true colors truly shine. That's the story of Weezer's Pinkerton, the tragic tale of Rivers Cuomo's depression as a rockstar. The album was negatively bashed upon its release, but age has shown the album some love.

Countless people have dreamed of being a rockstar. Nearly everyone has. For Cuomo, the reality of that dream was a punch to the face. The life of a rockstar is a lonely one; surrounded by hundred of people who spend their thirty second conversations with you asking you to sign various parts of their body. The rest of the time is spent on a tour bus, waiting to get to the next city to repeat the process.

That monotony becomes boring and sad, so any glimpses of love and hope mean the world to the person going through that. Much of the album sees Cuomo singing on behalf of that premise; take 'Across The Sea', for example. Whilst writing the album, Cuomo was going through a lot. Extensive surgery to fix his shorter leg, physical therapy, and lonely nights whilst depressed at Harvard University, taking a class on classical composition. While at Harvard, a fan from Japan sent him a letter asking questions. This seemingly innocent outreach to him meant the world to him, as he ended up falling in love with this girl who he knew nothing about, separated by a continent and a the vast Pacific. The first verse lyrics even include some of the contents of the letter: "And you wanted to know / All about me / And my hobbies / My favorite food / And my birthday." When you're alone, the smallest gestures make the biggest impacts.

In the same way, those big impacts won't always be positives. Love often seems to be the cause of, or the tragic result of, this specific loneliness. A lust for it builds, and it takes over. The second half of the album discusses this idea: 'Pink Triangle' is about falling in love with the wrong person (in Cuomo's case, falling madly in love with a girl who turned out to be a lesbian), for example. There's also a bit of awkwardness in the attempts to find that love. See lead single 'El Scorcho', which has become a modern emo classic. It's about two people who are very much alike, Cuomo simply putting in a sweet put awkward way, "I think I'd be good for you / And you'd be good for me." The best lines are often times the simple ones - and there's no telling how many confused high schoolers have related to this one.

The album was originally rejected upon its release for being far more abrasive than the band's debut. It was, after all, a big style change at such a quick rate. The pop rock vibes of The Blue Album didn't transition over to Pinkerton. Instead, the album is brought in by the big, distorted riffs of 'Tired Of Sex', complete with an electrifying solo. Cuomo sings about the fun of life is being drained away by his rockstar life - particularly sex. The next song 'Getchoo' continues with  the powerful, distorted riffs with the lyrics seethe with jealousy.

There are moments on the record that do step away from the anger and distortion that made it less approachable. 'No One Other' is far sweeter, and while still not quite as agreeable as their debut sound, is has an overall sweeter sound as Cuomo sings about the girl meant for him, and how all of her flaws make her that much more perfect. 'Falling For You' is the same, if not a bit more energetic, appropriately discussing falling in love. The album's ending is 'Butterfly', the band's only commercially released acoustic track, which calls back to the story of the album's inspiration: the opera Madame Butterfly. The song is an apology to the character's - Pinkerton's - wife as he sees the pain and suffering he has caused her. This message is a bit different as Rivers sings it - it's less specific, and more of an open apology to everyone he has hurt along the way of life.

Pinkerton is a classic not because of its music, per se, but because of its message. There are few albums that can so accurately describe the confusion and emptiness of finding love. Weezer, or perhaps just Cuomo himself had written the album that the 90s truly needed - something that would resonate not with the angst-ridden or the madly in love, but the tragic souls caught between the two, and that's still what stands today. Pinkerton isn't the sound of a generation. It's the sound of part of our lives.

Favorite Tracks: Across The Sea, No Other One, Pink Triangle

Least Favorite Track: Why Bother?

Rating: 87 / 100

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Orphée

I believe I've made my obsession with Icelandic music clear in past reviews. Now, we delve into classical music from the country, in a beautifully scenic array of strings. Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has released his sixth album, Orphée - the first since 2008's Fortlândia. Combining beautiful symphonies with subtle ambience and electronica, Jóhannsson has crafted something special.

Creating classical music in the modern era is perhaps a bit of a contradiction. Still, however, it does make a statement. Modern classical music is full of expression and innovation. There's different things we can do with music today and different techniques. Most importantly, there are different experiences. Contemporary classical is all about giving the music a voice without speaking.

Orphée does exactly that. Instead of speaking, per se, it paints pictures. It creates motion in its movements and vivid details with each resonating chord. The first song 'Flight From The City' introduces the peaceful and imaginative pictures with its spacious piano and backing strings that build slowly with traces of electronica slowly pilling up behind them. 'A Song For Europa' is similar, creating a much starker experience with a greater feeling of isolation than wonder as a droning woman's voice sounds in an out-of-reach place.

The first thing you need to understand about Icelandic music is that it makes something out of nothing. The barren landscapes of Iceland are awe-inspiring, and that's clear in all of its artists. It affects people in different ways, and there's no one way to really define it. There is a core of isolationism in the music, though - when you listen, you feel alone in the music. It's you and your feelings - nothing else.

This album does a lot with that loneliness. It's a journey through the mysteries of Iceland - the volatile but incredible volcanoes in the dramatic organs and pulsing electronics of 'The Burning Mountain'; the grassy, barren plains in the electronic spirals and peaceful piano of 'By The Roes, and By The Hinds Of The Field'; and the grand glaciers in the dark string leads of 'A Deal With Chaos'. The imagery on the album is phenomenal. The dynamics of the deep basses, the high stings of violins, the cry of the pianos all working together in a tragic, captivating dance that invigorates your mind and your emotions.

Jóhann Jóhannsson is a modern genius. The layers and beauty of Orphée is stark and almost incomparable. The only complaint I have is that lots of tracks don't really resonate too deeply or don't have enough strength to them to really leave a lasting mark, but there is imagery in every corner of the record. The beautiful pictures this album paints are some you can never forget. Iceland is a beautiful mystery, as it proves again and again.

Favorite Tracks: By The Roes, and By The Hinds Of The Field; Flight From The City, Good Morning, Midnight; A Pile Of Dust

Least Favorite Track: De Luce Et Umbra

Rating: 80 / 100

Warpaint - Heads Up

Los Angeles' most crucial female indie rock outfit Warpaint are back with their third effort Heads Up. With two cult classic albums behind them, there's a lot ridding on this record.

Heads Up may not be another immediate cult classic, but it definitely has its initial charm. Every listen gets better and better. Intro track 'Whiteout' opens the album with cool melodies and some sweet clean guitar vibes. First track and we're already getting in the mood of a groovy and catchy experience. It's followed by 'By Your Side', a creepier and more brooding song with more haunting harmonies and an epic build to its dramatic ending, exploding with booming bass synths and crashing drum beats.

There's a lot of groove on this record, particularly in the bass - Jenny Lee Lindberg outdid herself on this record. The basslines are the highlight of many of the tracks on the record, becoming evident first on the album's lead single 'New Song'. The swirling synths are just background to Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman's harmonious vocals dancing with each other, Lindberg's bassline powerfully yet understatedly carrying the song through. The song ends with the bassline and synths, highlighting the life the bassline really gave it.

The bass becomes a very prevalent part of the music for the rest of the album. The deep bass carries 'Don't Wanna' through it psychedelic atmosphere, pairing with the synth. The funk of 'So Good' is carried and captured by its dinky bassline, and the minimalist picture of title track 'Head Up' features a higher energy bass track. It's not all about the bass, though: other songs have other highlights. The haunting melodies of "Don't let go, I need you now" build the jazzy, odd structure of 'Don't Let Go', the urgent acoustic guitar chords acting dynamically under the chill of the rest of the elements working in unison. Chilled guitar is what thrives in the electronically tinged 'Above Control', the beautiful harmonies accentuating it along with a driven beat. The acoustic guitar ending to the record 'Today Dear' is another strong moment, providing an atmospheric and retrospective moment on the heels of an otherwise exciting and challenging record.

If this album is missing anything, perhaps its variation. There's a lot of indie rock mixed with an electronic influence, but there is a little repetitiveness on the record. The lowest point on the record is 'Dre', which has little to offer except for an odd, experimental electronic vibe. There are cool concept on the song, but it could be a lot more fleshed out. It's an experiment that could've used more - that's the most negative comment on the album that I can give.

Warpaint does not disappoint on their third album. Each one of their records has something original and powerful to offer, and Heads Up is no exception. It may need more than one listen to truly appreciate, but its energy and strength is there. Another win for Warpaint, and another win for music.

Favorite Tracks: Above Control, Today Dear, By Your Side

Least Favorite Track: Dre

Rating: 84 / 100

Ryu - Tanks For The Memories

The wait is over. After years of work and hype, Ryu has finally released his debut record (excluding the "secret" 1999 record) Tanks For The Memories. Was it worth the wait, though?

The album opens up with a big sample - Pink Floyd's 'Hey You' being the basis of the instrumental. The sample fits pretty well in an odd way. The pleads of Roger Waters sound nice in between Ryu, Gravity Christ, and Divine Styler's verses. The track 'The One' follows up, full of questionable references, including calls to Street Fighter and CARS. It doesn't really give a great comparison to him being "the one," nor does the counting up from one to eight at the end... would it not have been better to count down?

The album lacks a lot of seriousness, and that's a problem considering how hard it tries to be serious. The goofy instrumental of 'Been Doin This' is funky, but the lyrics are just as silly and have no clear direction. Instrumental moments aren't all bad, though: 'Bottom Of The Bottle' features sweet, Japanese-film strings that add a lot of atmosphere to the track, the hip-hop beat creating a pretty sweet track. Jams is pretty solid on the track too.

This album is plagued by out of place, out of date styles. Revivalism or nostalgia is never discouraged, but it doesn't really work when the music reflects the mentality that it's still in the era in which this music is popular. The fans will enjoy, but there isn't much else to it. Evidence of this is seen in closing track 'I Did It Myself', which references Fort Minor: "For delf, for dolo, the wealth, the fame, the shows, the planes, the photos, the fans that still with me see me on DeSoto / Never heard of Fort Minor but they love Marco Polo." Ironically, in what is essentially a weak version of 'Remember The Name', he raps above a more modern instrumental with piano and poppier beats, but that line itself shows that he still thinks in that era. It is an older song, to be fair, but the point stands.

There are attempts to change that - 'Lap Of The Gods' with Tak and Celph Titled seems to try and channel Kanye West to mixed effects; the beat is good, so it can be excused to some degree. Other tracks try too hard to sound relevant, especially 'The Bumrush' wish is just plain silly. 'Who's Next (Move)' is somehow goofy and oddly aggressive all at the same time, and it doesn't fit well. There's just a lot of attempts at something that even Ryu doesn't seem to quite understand, and it resulted in a very confused album.

Tanks For The Memories is that awkward debut where an artist wants to look past it and move forward to the future. Hopefully, this means Ryu will head in a smarter, more refined direction. This album was years in the making, so let's see what comes from the next one. Maybe we'll see the real Ryu shine through, instead of this confused double and his friends.

Favorite Tracks: Radio Pollution, Bottom Of The Bottle

Least Favorite Tracks: The Bumrush, Who's Next (Move), Mantis For Lotus

Rating: 52 / 100

Kidneythieves - The Mend

Industrial music is often times very unrelenting. Its mechanic body moves in a synchronized array of pounding synths without emotion. That's what Kidneythieves exhibits in their new album The Mend, though there is a quite a bit of emotion; particularly worry.

The album was delayed by about a month following guitarist and engineer Bruce Somers who experienced a family crisis and was unable to master the album until the end of August, but the band knew that they wanted a masterfully crafted album. So they pushed back to release to allow for the album to be properly mixed for the best experience. The Kickstarter campaign that funded the record also played a key in wanting this album to be better for the fans than it was at that time.

Did the patience pay off, though? The results of The Mend don't really justify the time and money put into the record. It's a solid record, but it's nothing special, nor particularly exciting. It may be the nature of the genre that is always trying to live up to Nine Inch Nails, and of which few bans or artists have truly excelled in, but The Mend is just underwhelming as a whole.

It kicks off with 'Fist Up', starting creepily and leading into a thick, pulsing guitar riff that punches in and out to add dynamic to the track. Free Dominguez's melody is a bit odd, panicky and hysterical in the choruses but in a high-school cheerleader kind of way. It's a solid track otherwise. 'Codependent Song' shows that NIN influence on the genre; the bouncing synths and dramatic vocals shining through.

This album is plagued by missing something on each song. There's not one song that feels complete - they all seem lacking in some fashion. Many songs seem to be missing a sufficient low-end to balance out the high register guitars and bouncing synths. In fact, there really isn't a song that has a strong low end that empowers it. 'Kushcloud' has traces of bass in the wobbling, distorted synth, but it just doesn't quite hit that deep, low-end feel. Some songs don't even have an almost: 'Who You Are' is heavily reminiscent of the industrial/electronic scene of the late 80s and 90s. With that high synth, there really isn't any thick bassline - or any bass whatsoever - to hold down its foundations.

A lot of the slower songs had potential, too. There's interesting points of the record, especially when some of the aggressive imagery and reprimanding nature of the industrial genre is dropped for something more provocative. 'Migration' is the start of this trend, a swampy synth playing above a funky beat as Dominguez's melodies take the limelight. 'Let Freedom Ring' even takes up a poppier composure - and actually has a bass guitar, however underwhelming! - that features a programmed beat and uplifting melodies, powerful guitars giving it the punch that so much of the rest of the album lacked.

If anything, The Mend is an example of how important bass can be to an album. Kidneythieves may have made an important album for them, but that doesn't make it a good one. It was a long time coming and it unfortunately didn't live up to what it could have been. It missed vital components that would've taken it a single step further and by far a better album. All the tools are there - they just have to know how to use them.

Favorite Track: Let Freedom Ring

Least Favorite Tracks: World For Us, Living Like You Did

Rating: 53 / 100

Idina Menzel - idina.

Many would skip over Idina Menzel on the assumption that she makes music for Disney. This isn't necessarily unfair. The 'Let It Go' singer's fifth album, her eponymous idina. sounds like a collection of rejected Disney songs put to more universally acceptable lyrics.

The first half of the album truly feels like the music are just scrapped film songs. 'Small World' kicks the album off, her powerful voice being apparent throughout, but severely outclassing the weak instrumental. This problem resolves itself in the following track 'Like Lightning', yet the Disney vibe doesn't yet die out. By the time you hit 'Queen Of Swords', you're already sick of the album.

It's not until 'Last Time' that the music starts sounding like actual songs. The gentle piano dynamically backs up Menzel's somber and apologetic vocal performance, becoming one of the first genuine songs on the album. The song builds slowly with various elements, Menzel's voice becoming more passionate every time she sings "Don't let the last time I saw you / Be the last time." 'I Do' falls into the same hole, dynamic piano acting with a drum beat to back Menzel's growingly confident vocals about love. The harmonies soar prettily while they intertwine with each other, with strings and funky guitar adding a little extra touch.

That's where the good times on the record end, from a quality standpoint - in fact, it sounds like she's way too happy on the next few songs. 'Cake' is one of the strangest songs I've heard in awhile, and I'm not quite sure if there's some sexual innuendo hidden in those "I'm another man's cake" lyrics. She sounds like she didn't even care about the lyrics of 'Perfect Story' - the first verse is literally her reciting Jack & Jill. The acoustic guitar is nice, but trying to use the word "textbook" in an emotionally charged song just doesn't mesh well.

idina. is a soundtrack album. That's it's fault. There's only a few tracks that really stand out as real songs you would find on the radio instead of in a movie scene (specifically). Idina Menzel must've been trying to appeal to her already existing fanbase, creating an album that parents and children alike could enjoy for different reasons. To the average person, though, it doesn't really have much impact at all. Maybe it'll be a good starting point for Frozen 2.

Favorite Track: I Do

Least Favorite Tracks: Perfect Story, Cake, Queen Of Swords

Rating: 52 / 100

Skylar Grey - Natural Causes

Skylar Grey isn't a household name, but she certainly deserves to be - she's the mastermind behind some of pop's biggest hits as well as having quite a notable repertoire behind her. Some may remember her from her collaboration with Fort Minor in her Holly Brook for 2005's 'Where'd You Go', while others may remember her sexually suggestive collaboration 'C'mon Let Me Ride' with Eminem who was anything but "suggestive". 

What most people won't remember her for was writing such pop hits like Diddy's 'Coming Home', in which she is featured on, or Eminem's 'Love The Way You Lie' featuring Rihanna. Grey has a lot of talent in writing big, catchy tracks. Her new album Natural Causes isn't necessarily a pop sensation, but it definitely shows off her song writing abilities.

It begins with the hauntingly beautiful, robotic harmonies of 'Wilderness', an a cappella track leading into the creepy 'Jump'. Spidery guitars backing background vocals screaming like riots as she sings oddly calmly above the chaos of the song: "All I want to do is jump... No fear I'm floating." In the same chaotic scenario is 'Straight Shooter', taking over a hip-hop influence with a badass posture. Skylar Grey sings above a demanding and cavernous beat in an aggressive fashion here, a barebones cowbell being backed by the thicker, fatter bass synth and kick drum, as the chorus threatens, "I don't spit before I fuck it / Got a hand on my pistol in my pocket / I don't play nice, I'm not a shit talker / I'm a straight shooter now just give me the money honey."

There are some calmer and more retrospective numbers on the record, too. Single 'Come Up For Air' is an example. We reviewed it a few weeks ago (read that here), but its charm hasn't changed. The powerful drums are just a backing element of the dark storytelling, as Grey sings that she'll wait for her lover to come back even if they never will: "And even if this really is the end / I'm sure I'll be alone until I'm dead / Cause no one else will ever quite compare / To them it wouldn't be fair... If you're my Jack then I'm your Rose / And I promise I'll never ever let go." 'Real World' is a big, synth lead song, the sweet melodies backed by cavernous drums and big, bassy synths. The harmonies add a lot of level to the track, too. The acoustic number 'Moving Mountains' has very sweet and bright chord progressions and slowly building layers of choir synths and pianos leading to a satisfying end. Closing track 'Closer' features beautiful piano layers and sweet vocals in a cavern of sound. 

While much of the album showcases Grey's talent, there's still somethings that are left to be desired. One such example is the Eminem collaboration - 'Kill For You'. The instrumental is tinged with an old-school orchestra and a confident beat, but when Eminem comes in, it feels like a wasted opportunity. It's one of his only appearances this year - his song on the Suicide Squad soundtrack being the other time - and it's a pretty average one. It's standard Eminem, and the wording and delivery is great, it just feels odd above the instrumental and doesn't mesh well.

Many songs show potential but don't quite reach a high. Take 'We Used To Be Bad', which starts raw and folky and progressively builds up with walls of synths. It builds nicely and has sweet vocals, but after the big synth moment when it kicks in, it's pretty underwhelming. That initial rush quickly dies down. Other songs like 'Lemonade' are catchy, but get a bit overdone by the ending; I don't know how many times I can listen to someone say "lemonade" before the hype dies down, but this song definitely passed that limit. 'In My Garden' has odd, janky beats and a pretty strange vocal line that would work a lot nicer in a different scenario. The song begs for something darker, and Grey takes the odd-chord, dejected approach instead and it doesn't pay off. The same is true for 'Picture Perfect' - it's a lot of good ideas packed into one song but something about them doesn't quite fit together.

Skylar Grey continues to show her music making prowess in Natural Causes. It's not perfect - there are some places that there could be more, or have better cohesion, but overall its a solid record that showcases her talents. It outshines her debut by showing off a more experimental side, and hopefully the next album shows those elements all coming together to make something huge.

Favorite Tracks: Come Up For Air, Straight Shooter, Real World

Least Favorite Tracks: In My Garden, Picture Perfect

Rating: 75 / 100