Some unexpected new music has graced my ears over the past few weeks, so I want to talk about it!
Twenty One Pilots
“Next Semester” – The second single off of twenty one pilots’ upcoming album is drastically different compared to the lead single, but I’m hear for it! The variety reminds me a lot of how Vessel sounded, and I can only hope we get more variety with the rest of the album. Given that it’s meant to be the last album in this “timeline(?),” it would make sense if we end up with songs that could have been plugged into any one of those albums. Though the video depicts the band playing in some underground punk venue, the song itself is rather upbeat, which also goes against what the lyrics are saying. I believe this is Tyler Joseph’s very honest recollection of a time he tried to commit suicide in the past, but thank goodness to that dude yelling at him to get out of the road. A second listen of this song definitely gave me all the goosebumps.
AWOLNATION
“Panoramic View” – I think this is a return to form for the band, as I couldn’t help but think of some of the slower paced songs we got from albums like Run and Here Come the Runts. While this song wasn’t a home run for me, I can always appreciate the more sincere side that AWOLNATION has to offer. Aaron Bruno’s vocals are downright angelic, and that’s no exception here. Admittedly, I wasn’t really in the know of what’s going on with the band these days, but apparently an album is scheduled to come out sometime this summer, so I look forward to hearing everything else. And of course, if they happen to have some headlining shows in the fall, you know I’ll be there.
Empire of the Sun
“Changes” – I mean, last year seeing these guys live was the peak of my love for them, but I am so excited to be getting new music almost eight years after their last album! I hope this new single isn’t a one-off and we don’t hear from them again for another few years, but the re-set of all of their social media seems to be a promising sign. This new track has such a stupendously groovy bassline and I found my toe tapping the entire time. While the chorus doesn’t jump out as much as some of their other work, this is a solid song to come back to. I didn’t quite understand the music video, but I was also just happy to see Luke and Nick together in a clip again. I hope there is more to come soon!
Glass Animals
“Creatures in Heaven” – This is an interesting choice for a lead single, but then again, I think Glass Animals have always marched to the beat of their own drum. Only thing now is they’ve got some more fans in tow. After radio silence for the past several years, the band took to the socials last week to drop announcements for a new single, new album, and tour all at once. Given that I have never seen these guys live before, I am itching to get my hands on a ticket. I’m sure you’ll be getting a review from me about it later this year. Anyway, back to the song. While I didn’t find too much remarkable about the beat of this song, I really liked the cadence of the vocals. This is a bit of a heartbreak song, and given what I read, it sounds like the rest of the album might follow suit. I don’t know if that means a slower album overall, but I’m down for something new.
Cage the Elephant
“Good Time” – This song is so freaking fun. And so not what I’m used to hearing from these guys! The music was punchy and the lyrics were spit out almost in a spoken word format, though slightly more musical. And hearing anyone over 20 say “get lit” will always make me laugh, but I think that was the point they were trying to make. Though the band makes no appearance in the official music video, seeing cut together clips of people dancing or just being weird from the 70s or 80s was quite fun to see as the backdrop of this particular song. Only a little over a month now to go before the rest of the album drops and I can’t wait to hear it!