Laura Welsh – Soft Control (Album)

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Laura Welsh - Soft Control (Album), music, Musica

There is a lesson to be learnt from Laura Welsh’s debut album, and that is not to give up in the face of barriers.

Over the past few years, Welsh has come up against a number of hurdles – including band break ups, relationship breakdowns and all the pain that comes with it – but with ‘Soft Control’, she proves that she has well and truly come out the other end ten times stronger. By fusing together the big vocals and production of Florence and The Machine, adding the soul of Alicia Keys and the songwriting of Adele, she has created a solid pop album that burns with a fierce feminine fire.

‘Soft Control’ is an honest, open and frequently powerful selection of electric soul-pop that has a warmth at its centre that radiates outwards in all directions. Welsh’s vocals are silky, but strong and incredibly well controlled throughout, marking her out as a fresh pop talent, and that is perhaps demonstrated best in the strength of the other artists who have worked with Welsh on the album.

Drawing in the likes of Dev Hynes, Jonathan Lipsey (Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse) and even John Legend for a duet on the astoundingly beautiful soul-filled ‘Hardest Part’, Welsh skillfully uses the influence of these other artists to enhance the essence of her songs and add a multi-dimensional feel to them.

Yet the real strength of ‘Soft Control’ comes in the form of Welsh’s ability to let her personal experiences shine through the lyrics. Songs such as ‘Ghosts’, ‘Breathe Me In’ and ‘God Keeps’ are big pop numbers, but at their heart there is an integrity that makes them relatable and real, where emotion bleeds in from all corners.

Fuelled by heartbreak, the songs translate a deep-seated pain into something that has universal appeal as it pulsates through its eclectic array of influences. ‘Soft Control’ is a carefully crafted debut that comes from a very real place and shows what can be achieved when you keep pushing forward.

Release Date:  March 9th, 2015

Tracklist:

01. Soft Control
02. Ghosts
03. Break The Fall
04. Unravel
05. God Keeps
06. Cold Front
07. Hardest Part (Feat. John Legend)
08. Still Life
09. Breathe Me In
10. Call To Arms
11. Hollow Drum

OVERALL RATING

3½ stars

Selah Sue – Reason (Album)

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music, Musica, Selah Sue - Reason (Album)

Reason is the second studio album by the Belgian recording artist Selah Sue. Distributed by Warner Music International, it was released by Because Music on March 26, 2015.

Tracklist:

01. Alone
02. I Won’t Go For More
03. Reason
04. Together (Feat. Childish Gambino)
05. Alive
06. The Light
07. Fear Nothing
08. Daddy
09. Sadness
10. Feel
11. Right Where I Want You
12. Always Home
13. Falling Out
14. Gotta Make It Last (Bonus Track)
15. Stand Back (Bonus Track)
16. Direction (Bonus Track)
17. Alone (Acoustic Version) [Bonus Track]

OVERALL RATING

4 stars

Tomomi Kahara – Hajimari no Uta ga Kikoeru (はじまりのうたが聴こえる; The Song of Beginnings Can Be Heard) (Single)

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Jpop, music, Musica, Tomomi Kahara - Hajimari no Uta ga Kikoeru (はじまりのうたが聴こえる; The Song of Beginnings Can Be Heard) (Single)

“Hajimari no Uta ga Kikoeru” is the 28th single released by Kahala Tomomi. It was released in two versions: a limited CD+DVD edition and a regular CD only edition. The title track was used as the ending theme for the second cour of the dorama special Suiyou Mystery 9.

Released Date: 2015.05.20

Tracklist:

1.Hajimari no Uta ga Kikoeru (はじまりのうたが聴こえる)

2.Dear Friend

3.Hajimari no Uta ga Kikoeru (Instrumental)

4.Dear Friend (Instrumental)

OVERALL RATING

4 stars

 

Zedd – True Colors (Album)

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music, Musica, True Colors, Zedd - True Colors (Album)

True Colors is the second studio album by Russian-German Grammy-winning electronic dance musician Zedd, released on 15 May 2015 by Interscope Records. The first single from the album, “I Want You to Know” featuring Selena Gomez was released on 23 February 2015. On 14 April 2015, Zedd released another track, “Addicted to a Memory” that features the group Bahari, that was released as a promotional single alongside the pre order of the album on iTunes.

“Beautiful Now”, featuring the guest vocals of Jon Bellion, was released on iTunes as the album’s second official single. The song was released on 13 May 2015.

Tracklist:

1. Zedd ft. Bahari – Addicted To A Memory
2. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – I Want You To Know
3. Zedd ft. Jon Bellion – Beautiful Now
4. Zedd ft. Logic & Ambassadors – Transmission
5. Zedd – Done With Colors
6. Zedd – True Colors
7. Zedd – Straight Into The Fire
8. Zedd ft. Troye Sivan – Papercut
9. Zedd ft. Botnek – Bumble Bee
10. Zedd – Daisy
11. Zedd ft. Echosmith – Illusion

OVERALL RATING

4 stars

Ann Sophie – Silver Into Gold (Album)

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Ann Sophie - Silver Into Gold (Album), music, Musica

Silver Into Gold is the debut studio album by German singer and songwriter Ann Sophie. It was released in Germany on 24 April 2015, through Polydor and Island. The album has peaked to number 82 on the German Albums Chart. The album includes the singles “Jump the Gun” and “Black Smoke”.

On 2 March 2015 she released the two singles “Jump the Gun” and “Black Smoke”. Ann Sophie was revealed as one of the ten undiscovered German artists competing for the wildcard spot in Unser Song für Österreich. She performed the song “Jump the Gun” and was selected as the wildcard winner after receiving 24.1% of the vote. She competed in Unser Song für Österreich with the songs “Jump the Gun” and “Black Smoke”. The latter of the two advanced to the final round of voting where it placed as the runner-up behind Andreas Kümmert and his song “Heart of Stone”. However, Kümmert later declined the opportunity to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest, and Ann Sophie was awarded with the chance. She performed in the final on May 23, 2015 at theWiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria with the song “Black Smoke”, scoring zero points after the voting.

Tracklist:

01. Black Smoke
02. Jump The Gun
03. I Don?t Know Where I?m Going
04. Lie To Me
05. Get Over Yourself
06. Still That Girl
07. Have You Ever
08. I Believed
09. See The Light
10. I Think It?s A Love Song
11. Changing Lights
12. Silver Into Gold

OVERALL RATING

3½ stars