OmenBoy - Die Die Die - Single

Several months ago, I wrote a poem that I titled "Drowning City." I sent the poem to who was, at the time, my best friend. He is a pop/hip-hop musician, and he loved the poem and said that he wanted to use it as a song, which he did. He surprised me one day while we were in the car together by playing the song from his phone, and I was so ecstatically happy. I couldn't believe that my words had been set to such a great pop track. When he ended up releasing the corresponding album, Letters to My Crazy, I felt that the song, which he had retitled as "Die Die Die," was the strongest track on the album, and that is not a selfish thing to say; I mostly felt that way because of its melody, and he came up with the melody, not me. I decided that I wanted to share this song here because even though he does have a website where you can download his latest two albums, the song is not available there anymore. He rereleased Letters to My Crazy and omitted the song from the tracklisting. Check out the track here, and let me know what you think!

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Panic! at the Disco, & Weezer - Live at Constellation Brands, Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center [Saturday, 6/25/16] [Review]

Seeing Panic! at the Disco live has been on my bucket list for years. Panic! is one of my favorite bands, and many years ago, it seemed so unfair when my younger brother got to see them alongside blink-182 when he wasn't even really that big of a fan of Panic!. I am finally able to let go of that burning jealousy, though, as I have now seen them myself. When a close friend invited me to the show, I was originally under the impression that it was just Panic! and Weezer performing, but I still enthusiastically took her up on the offer because, as I said, I am a big Panic! fan. I soon learned, however, that Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness would also be playing, and I was then even more excited, as I have been a fan of Andrew for eight years or so now. I, in fact, saw him while he was still with Jack's Mannequin back in 2008 in Syracuse, and it was a great show. I am a casual fan of Weezer; they're hardly one of my favorite bands, but I do appreciate and love a handful of their songs.  I was most excited about Panic! because I hadn't seen them before, and I was not even slightly disappointed. (Well, I might have been a little bit disappointed that Brendon didn't perform "Build God, Then We'll Talk," but I digress.) The bottom line is that I am so happy that I went to this concert; I had a fantastic time with friends and was treated to a fantastic show.

I have been to many concerts that did not start on time or started much later than I had expected because of opening bands that I hadn't been expecting. This was not the case with this show, though; Andrew McMahon started his set at 7:00 sharp, and he was, as I expected, a great performer and very entertaining. As was the case when I saw him in 2008, he could not sit still; he bounced up and down off his seat as his fingers joyously played his piano. He also frequently stood on the piano, occasionally causing a discord of sound as he even stood on the keys. It's always clear when Andrew performs that he's happy to be alive and is having a good time. He even walked through the audience and was, at one point, only about ten to twenty feet from me. I tried to get a picture, but it was too fast. My only complaint about Andrew's set is that it wasn't long enough. I believe that he only performed seven songs, and consequently, even though I had been hoping that he'd play some classics, "Dark Blue" was the only old song that he performed. That was an amazing performance, though, and it almost brought me to tears as it brought me back to 2008 when I first discovered Andrew, and most of 2008 was, for the most part, a simpler and happier time for me. Andrew performed:

1. All Our Lives
2. High Dive
3. Canyon Moon
4. Fire Escape [a new song that I hadn't heard before]
5. Dark Blue
6. Synesthesia
7. Cecilia and the Satellite

I really could have done with his set being longer and Weezer's being shorter, but I am just happy that I got to see Andrew a second time.

Something else that I really liked about this show is that not a whole lot of time was spent preparing in between sets. I have been to some concerts at which the time in between sets was a good forty-five minutes or so, and that was not the case here. I don't think that we waited much longer than twenty minutes, so fortunately, after Andrew's performance, I didn't have long to wait until Panic! began their (or I guess that I should technically say his since it's really more of a solo project now) set. Although the setlist was missing a few numbers that I would have liked to have heard, it was pretty solid. It was as follows:

1. Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time
2. Vegas Lights
3. The Ballad of Mona Lisa
4. Hallelujah
5. Time to Dance
6. Emperor's New Clothes
7. Girls/Girls/Boys
8. Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
9. Nine in the Afternoon
10. Crazy = Genius
11. Miss Jackson
12. Golden Days
13. Bohemian Rhapsody
14. LA Devotee
15. Death of a Bachelor
16. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
17. This Is Gospel
18. Victorious

I was, as I said, hoping to hear "Build God, Then We'll Talk," as it is one of my favorite songs from Panic!. I was also hoping to hear the song from the new album, "House of Memories." Beggars can't be choosers, though, because I was just so happy to be there and to finally see Panic! live, especially after the Death of a Bachelor album, which is one of my favorite Panic! albums alongside Pretty. Odd. Highlights of Brendon's set included "Time to Dance," "Emperor's New Clothes," "Girls/Girls/Boys," "Bohemian Rhapsody" (of course), "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," and "Victorious." 

If Brendon Urie knows anything, it's how to put on a good show. He's a natural performer. He moved from one end of the stage to the other and never seemed to run low on energy. He even expertly performed a backflip at one point, and he's so multi-talented; he played piano, guitar, and drums during the show. I am also pretty sure that I wasn't the only one who felt that the show got even better once he took his shirt off. Brendon is, after all, a beautiful human being. I even met a guy at the show who told me that Brendon makes him question his sexuality. It was somewhat of an educational experience for me, too. Regarding Andrew's song "Cecilia and the Satellite," I always wondered who Cecilia was, and Andrew explained that Cecilia is his daughter. Before Brendon performed "This Is Gospel," he dedicated it to Spencer Smith, who used to be in the band. I knew about Spencer but didn't know that he left the band due to an alcohol and drug addiction. Brendon referred to him as his best friend, which was really touching. Not only was Brendon himself amazing (especially with the awe-inspiring high notes that he reached like I've never heard from the studio), so was the stage design. Inspired primarily by art deco, the stage featured a lot of browns and yellows but also, during certain songs, was extremely colorful with blues and pinks. A lot of the design was inspired by the sketch-like appearance of the Death of a Bachelor cover art, which made a lot of sense considering the fact that that was the album that he was primarily promoting with this tour.

Once again, there wasn't a terribly long wait until Weezer came on. Weezer's setlist was as follows:

1. California Kids
2. Hash Pipe
3. My Name Is Jonas
4. (If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You To
5. Jacked Up
6. Pork and Beans
7. Troublemaker
8. Perfect Situation
9. Thank God for Girls
10. Beverly Hills
11. Dope Nose / Back to the Shack / Keep Fishin' / The Good Life / Surf Wax America
12. Undone - the Sweater Song
13. King of the World / Only in Dreams
14. Island in the Sun
15. Say It Ain't So
16. El Scorcho / Buddy Holly (Encore)

The songs that I knew well, like "Pork and Beans," "Perfect Situation," "Beverly Hills," "Island in the Sun," and "Buddy Holly" were exciting to see/hear live. One of the highlights was "Thank God for Girls." The band featured a slideshow of photos of strong, influential women, including Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, and even fictional characters like Daenerys and Brienne from Game of Thrones. The end of the performance even featured a rainbow flag. The stage design was very bright and colorful and featured mostly a beach theme; they even had beach balls being passed around the arena at one point. The only real complaint that I had with Weezer was that they didn't seem too zealous to be there. They didn't interact with the audience at all, and most of their set seemed very stiff and rehearsed. I know that sets obviously are rehearsed (they have to be), but as opposed to Andrew and Brendon, both of whom were full of energy and seemed excited to be performing, Rivers especially didn't show much enthusiasm, barely even cracking a smile throughout the set. I was also not allowed to bring my book-bag into the show (which I had wanted on hand to carry my wallet, the band merchandise that I had planned to buy, etc.), and we later discovered that that was Weezer's rule. The show, overall, was fantastic. I had such a euphorically memorable time that I won't ever forget!

Garbage - Strange Little Birds [Review]

If Garbage has ever been good at anything, it's at making fantastic, catchy rock music, and the band's latest effort, Strange Little Birds, is no exception. The album's art definitely demonstrates a cat theme, so the title is a bit odd, but it comes from lyrics from the song "Even Though Our Love Is Doomed": "Such strange little birds devoured by our obsessions." Although I don't think that I like Strange Little Birds quite as much as I like the last album, Not Your Kind of People, I do definitely really love it, and it's one of my favorite Garbage albums to date. The album opens with "Sometimes," which really feels like an intro at less than three minutes long. The song, to me, speaks of wanting to be in control because you've reached a point at which you feel confused and maybe even helpless. That control could even come in the form of learning from being abused. The song features a soft and slow intro featuring piano and strings but picks up a little bit with a pulsating beat. Even after the beat comes in, though, most of the song is fueled by the piano and strings, making it one of the softest songs on the album. The song abruptly ends and moves into the heavy anthem "Empty," the album's lead single. "Empty" is, as I said, pretty heavy and sounds like an alternative rock song from the '90s. I love singing along to this catchy chorus and really relate to the song, as it speaks of never feeling good enough and finding validation from someone else, consequently becoming obsessed with them. "I'm so empty," the chorus declares. "You're all I think about." It's a great anthemic song and is a real highlight on the album.

As opposed to "Sometimes" being rather short at under three minutes long, the third track on Strange Little Birds is well over six minutes long. "Blackout" is, in fact, apparently the longest Garbage song yet, as in spanning across the course of their career. The song is a midtempo rock song that has an '80s vibe to it, both with its instrumental production and its vocal production. There are also wordless vocals in the chorus that remind me a lot of The Cranberries, another female-fronted rock band that rose at around the same time that Garbage did. I lyrically liken the song to "Let It Go" from the Disney film Frozen, especially regarding its chorus: "Try not to think. Be cool. Be calm. Be fake. Dumb yourself down. Numb yourself out. Fake it 'til you make it break." A Frozen fan may be reminded of the line "Conceal; don't feel" from "Let It Go," the film's most popular song. The fourth track on the album is another highlight for me. Titled "If I Lost You," the song is a downtempo, trip-hop song that reminds me of a combination of Depeche Mode, Dido, and Goldfrapp. The song speaks of being so in love with someone that you can't imagine your life without them: "Sometimes, I believe that I might die if I lost you." I know from experience that this is a very dangerous feeling, but it is also a very human feeling that many of us experience throughout our lives. One thing that I really love about "If I Lost You" is that it takes me right back to the '90s.

"Night Drive Loneliness" is not only a highlight on the album for me but is even my top favorite song on the album. Although considerably more reserved, it reminds me a bit of the opening track from Not Your Kind of People, "Automatic Systematic Habit," in that it has an industrial, Marilyn Manson-esque sound to it. I love this song not only because of its industrial sound but also because of its lyrics. I unfortunately don't yet have a car (it's well beyond my budget), but one reason why I am really looking forward to having one is because I imagine taking drives to be therapeutic for my occasional depression and anxiety, and this would be a perfect sounding song to have jamming during the experience. "My night drive loneliness comes again and again," Shirley Manson confesses. I love this song so very much and hope that we will be treated to a music video for it. I think that the sixth song, "Even Though Our Love Is Doomed," was the second song for the band to release from the album, although it is not technically a single. The song is a midtempo alternative rock song that is fueled primarily by plucked strings and carried through by Manson's low, breathy voice. The song doesn't really get louder until close to the end when it finally gets heavier. The song speaks of wanting to fight for someone even though they're very likely not meant to be together. "I need to understand why we kill the things we love the most," Manson laments.

"Magnetized" picks up the energy that dwindled down after "Blackout." After an electronic, atmospheric opening, Manson asserts, "I'm not in love," although by the end of the song, I definitely get the impression that she is trying to convince herself of that more than anything else. The chorus doesn't really go anywhere lyrically, as it keeps repeating "I'm magnetized," but there is a lot of weight in the verses: "You bring your light; I'll bring the pain. You bring your joy; I'll bring my shame." I believe Shirley to be saying that her attraction to this person is intense and that she probably does love the person but can't admit that because she is broken and would be opening herself up to the previous song's doomed love. The energy stays at approximately the same level with "We Never Tell," the album's eighth track. The song is an uptempo electro-rock song about being inseparable from someone and wanting to set an example of love for the rest of the world: "Let's give 'em something to remember, something to talk about on their telephones, on their couch at home." "So We Can Stay Alive" is another electro-rock song but has a really strong, pulsating drive to it that punctuates the heavy, persistent guitar riffs that energize most of the song. As an English professor, I certainly appreciate the song's use of alliteration, such as the whispered "victor, vanquish, valour" and "lust and love, our lives..." Shirley has said that the song is about using our impending mortality as fuel to live the best lives that we possibly can. Although not as long as "Blackout," the song is rather lengthy at about exactly six minutes long.

"Teaching Little Fingers to Play" is probably my second favorite song from Strange Little Birds following "Night Drive Loneliness." The beginning of the song sonically reminds me a lot of Madonna's cover of "I Want You," and like "If I Lost You," it sounds very trip-hop-esque. The song sounds like it might be making use of a keyboard. What I love the most about the song is its beautiful chorus; Manson's lilting notes independently assert that "I'm all grown up... no one around to fix me now... Doing it my own way..." The final song on the standard edition of the album is "Amends," an epic industrial rock song at six minutes long. The song, to me, speaks of wanting closure from a person who has deeply hurt you. The most poignant lyrics for me are "It's what you do; don't make it right. Matter of fact, it's called revenge. Cut off your nose to spite your face. It's pretty cruel shutting me out." Present on "Amends" is definitely a woman scorned who wants answers. "...I know it's not my place," she says, "to tell you how to live your life, but to forget somebody's sins is divine..." This is sheer lyrical power and is a great closing track, especially with its epic instrumental break more than halfway through. Although the standard version ends there, the vinyl features an additional song, titled "FWY," an abbreviation of "Fucking with You." It's a shame that it's only available on the vinyl because I don't have a record player and don't plan on buying one anytime soon because vinyls are very expensive, but I did have the pleasure of hearing the song thanks to a YouTube uploader.

"FWY" also makes a great closing track. It starts on a low orchestral note, sounding very much like it might work as a James Bond theme (which, of course, Garbage has done before with "The World Is Not Enough"). "FWY" is a very slow track, with a very downtempo beat. It's definitely the slowest song on the album, although it does get louder and heavier a little more than halfway through. This is, in some ways, a continuation of "Amends," as it is addressing a man who has cheated on her. "FWY" is much more sad and tragic, though, as Manson places some of the blame on herself: "I want you to know I will always love you. I need you to know I forgive you. I want you to know that I was also to blame. I was never easy to live with back then." Cheating is never, ever okay, and I don't think that someone who has been a victim of it should have to apologize for it. The song is extremely explicit, as the titular lyric is talking about literal fucking, as in having sex. "You said there was no one quite like me," Shirley points out. "Coming inside me felt like coming home." This is another song to which I relate on a visceral level, and I really love the song and its trip-hop sound. I so wish that it were on the CD. In conclusion, however, I love Strange Little Birds. It effectively captures the dark side of falling in and being in love, and I love its trip-hop influence and its electro-rock sounds. It's definitely one of the best Garbage albums to date, as many Garbage fans have been seeming to agree.

Nick Jonas - Last Year Was Complicated [Review]

After an apparently torrid breakup, ex-Jonas Brothers member Nick Jonas got to work on his second (although technically third, including 2004's album Nicholas Jonas) studio album, Last Year Was Complicated. Something that I have often debated is whether or not pop music generally conveys heartbreak in a meaningful, believable way, and as much as I love a lot of pop music, my stance is that it usually does not. Pop music is generally out mainly to make money, so deep, impactful, and raw stream-of-consciousness style music is generally sacrificed for short, memorable, and catchy hooks. This was the main problem that I had with Gwen Stefani's latest effort, This Is What the Truth Feels Like; most of it feels like a generic pop album about lovey-dovey euphoria and sexual attraction when it had been teased as being a response to her divorce from Bush and Institute frontman Gavin Rossdale. I was gleefully happy, however, that Nick's Last Year Was Complicated is a wonderful exception. Nick's lyrics are brutally raw and honest, and he doesn't pull any punches regarding how it feels to lose someone whom you love(d). The songs are catchy but not at the expense of being superficial. The album streams through a lot of moods and emotions, but just about all of them are related to a relationship ending, which does tend to involve a lot of emotions - sadness, despair, loneliness, anger, and, of course, a sense of newfound freedom and strength. I think that Last Year Was Complicated captures all of these feelings effectively.

The album opens with "Voodoo." I do wish that there were some sort of soft intro to the song because it rather abruptly opens the album with a beat. The song has a middle-eastern influence and is a fast-paced electropop dance song. Lyrically, the song is somewhat similar to "Chains," the opening track from the previous self-titled album. He compares the hold that a woman has over him to voodoo, as if she can abuse him in one way or another but keep getting him to come back to her. He finally declares, however, that "I ain't fuckin' with your voodoo." It sort of has a dark sound to it, which is very different from the second track, "Champagne Problems." "Champagne Problems" is an upbeat electropop song sort of similar to something that Calvin Harris might produce. The most telling lyrics of the song are probably the following: "How did our clothes end up on the floor? Didn't we just break each other's hearts? Didn't you have one foot out the door? Better to fall in love than lose. Wish I didn't have to choose." The song is about being at the end of a failing relationship but being afraid of ending it. The speaker tries to reason that the problems in the relationship can probably be solved with alcohol, so he decides to try to extend the relationship by drinking with his partner. It's not much happier lyrically than "Voodoo," but it is happier sonically. Once Last Year Is Complicated hits its third track, titled "Close," however, it reaches its softest point thus far.

"Close" is the album's leading single and features vocals from Tove Lo. It is a synthy low-energy pop song, and Nick has said that it is a very personal song (as he has also said of the album in general). What I love about the song is that it calls attention to the infallible nature of the phrase that many of us have probably heard: "I need some space." The speaker reasons that "space is just a word made up by someone who's afraid to get too close." I have found myself that whenever someone, especially a lover, says that they need space, it usually means that they are growing uncomfortable in your presence for one reason or another and want to end the relationship. The same is true of the phrase "Let's take a break." Rarely do "breaks" ever end. I do, as I said, love the lyrical nature of this song because not many musicians really seem to call attention to this subject, and I also love the chorus of this song because it's melodically beautiful and catchy. The fourth track is "Chainsaw," which is the album's second single. Nick has apparently said that he considers "Chainsaw" to be the most personal song that he has ever written, and it is about wanting to destroy everything that reminds him of his ex-lover (a feeling that I understand all too well). In the music video, Nick walks around a deserted home and experiences a flood of memories with his ex-lover before finally burning the house down, an obvious analogy to finally moving past that part of your life. It's somewhat downbeat, but the chorus is really catchy, and it's one of my favorite songs from the album.

The fifth track picks up the pace a bit with "Touch," a song during which Nick could potentially remind one of JT with his high register. The very beginning of the song might also remind one of Nick's days with Nick Jonas and the Administration with its acoustic intro. Although the acoustic sound drives nearly the entire song, once the song gets past its intro, it's also driven by an R&B-esque beat. This is one song on the album that one could argue deviates from the breakup theme and instead defers to the aforementioned theme of sexual attraction. It it not a rough transition in my opinion, however, because the fact that it demonstrates a desperate desire for this woman suggests to me that it could be from the perspective of someone who is missing the spiritual and sexual connection that he had with his ex-lover (similar a bit to the track "Under You"). The song's lyrics are extremely suggestive in its chorus: "I go from touchin' you with both hands, babe, to touchin' you with no hands... That's my favorite way of touchin' you." It is (definitely intentionally) a double-entendre, as it could either mean that he enjoys touching her spiritually and on a mental/emotional level and could also mean that he enjoys having sex with her. It is deliberately ambiguous and deliberately intended to convey both meanings. It isn't necessarily one of my favorite songs on the album but is catchy enough, and I appreciate it.

The sixth track is one of my favorite songs. Titled "Bacon," the song is an uptempo pop-rock track, and it demonstrates a sense of newfound freedom and independence. "The one thing I love more than being with you, and that's no ties, no drama in my life," he asserts. He declares that when he gets up in the morning, he decides to "throw some bacon" on because he is now free to do so. (Bacon is, of course, a symbol of indulgence, as it tastes good to most but is terrible for your health. I am vegetarian and consequently don't eat bacon unless it isn't real bacon, so I don't necessarily relate to the specifics of that, but I do to the overall message.) The song features vocals from Ty Dolla $ign. His part, which is really more R&B than it is rap, doesn't destroy the song since it is rather short, but it is rather unnecessary. The seventh track is titled "Good Girls" and is melodically and sonically a highlight. Lyrically, however, it is culturally problematic and controversial, as it could easily be interpreted as a patriarchal grasp on how women should behave. The chorus asks: "When did all these good girls decide to be bad, dancin' up on the table gettin' back at your dad?" If a woman is behaving in a sexually suggestive way, then it must be because she's doing it because of her father, a man. Another aspect of the song that bothers me is that it contradicts itself. Nick sings that "sexy isn't just what you see...," but then during Big Sean's part, the song says that "I just want a bad girl tonight and a good girl for life." This part simply demolishes any attempt that Nick might have been making at being socially conscious.

I don't think that Nick is a deeply sexist person (although others have argued otherwise because of his big single "Jealous"), but that song is very misguided. Nick, when he was with the Jonas Brothers and when he was with Nick Jonas and the Administration, used to demonstrate himself as completely clothed and never made sexual references in his songs. In fact, he and his two brothers wore purity rings. Once he became big as a solo artist, however, the clothes came off, and the sexual references went on. I don't think that there's anything wrong with that (for some people, that is liberating), but who is calling attention to that? He has gone "bad" himself but is only calling attention to girls who have gone "bad." We do, unfortunately, live in a world where most cultures harshly judge women for being sexual but consider it expected and even natural for men. That aside, however, it's probably time to move on from that discussion and continue discussing the album. I am quite honestly not going to spend a lot of time talking about the next two tracks, "The Difference" and "Don't Make Me Choose," because they are low points on the album and are kind of, in my opinion, throwaways. "The Difference" is a midtempo soulful pop song about responding to a woman who is resisting the way that she feels for the speaker out of fear, because of the way that she has been treated in the past. "Don't Make Me Choose" is a slow R&B track. It is lyrically a callback to "Champagne Problems," which declares that it is "better to fall in love than lose. Wish I didn't have to choose." "Don't Make Me Choose" similarly pleads that his partner not "make me choose between my love and my life."

The tenth track is titled "Under You" and is the song to which I was most looking forward. Last October, I had the pleasure of seeing Nick perform live, and he performed "Under You," teasing it as a brand new song that would be featured on his upcoming album, which, of course, ended up being Last Year Was Complicated. I loved the song when I heard it and couldn't wait for the studio version. "Under You" is an upbeat pop-rock track that might remind one of Taylor Swift's "Style," at least in its verses. The song lyrically speaks of regretting letting a lover go, and it is, of course, sexually suggestive (as is its title) in its chorus: "...I'll never get over, never get over not getting under you." It's one of my favorite songs on the album and might even be my top favorite. I also really like the eleventh track, although it's quite a deviation from "Under You." "Unhinged" is a very slow piano ballad and is lyrically heartbreaking and beautiful. The speaker sings of feeling broken and consequently being afraid of falling in love. "Every sway just breaks me a little, and I know you can't take this back and forth. It's not safe for you in the middle. When you close that door, you'll see it's unhinged; it's just like me." It's a beautiful song, one to which I can definitely relate, and I honestly think that it would have made a much better closing track to the standard version of the album than the actual closing track, "Comfortable," does.

The standard edition of Last Year Was Complicated closes with "Comfortable," which is another low point for me. It's a midtempo song with a relatively standard R&B beat. Also in the mix are synths and piano, making it fairly interesting. There is a spoken verse by Allen Iverson, which is, quite honestly, terrible. I am not even going to spend any more time talking about this one because it really is kind of a throwaway and certainly, as I said, doesn't really work as a closing track. There is fortunately a version of the album sold exclusively at Target with three extra tracks - "Testify," "When We Get Home," and "That's What They All Say." I really like "Testify," a song that is somewhat musically similar to "Under You." The chorus is really catchy, although it could potentially be that substandard deviation to which pop music often defers even when it's inappropriate, as it is a song about how great love is and how amazing that falling in love feels: "Make me want to testify... that love's too good." "When We Get Home" is a downtempo duet with Daniella Mason. This is a highlight on the album because of Nick's vocals; I love his vocals on this album, which are different than most anything that he's done before. At certain points of the song, he sings in a nasally register, which sounds really great from him. "That's What They All Say" is a much better closing track than "Comfortable." It's relatively uptempo but has the grand-scale sound of a closing track, such as when Nick's voice is multilayered and harmonized in the chorus. The song is a funky rock song about brushing off negative criticism and turning pain into music. Even the theme makes for a great closing track!

I bought the Target edition of the album for the benefit of the three extra tracks, but the international release of the album also features three additional tracks, but all three are previously released. Featured are "Chains," "Jealous," and "Levels." Although it would have been nice to have "Levels" on the album since, as far as I know, it has never been released physically, "Chains" and "Jealous" are tracks 1 and 2 on Nick Jonas, so I don't understand the purpose of including those. It would be understandable if the songs were re-recorded, but they're not. In closing, however, Last Year Was Complicated is a really great album. It isn't flawless all the way through (as it does, as I said, have a few low points), and I also wouldn't say that it's better than Nick Jonas, but it's a strong album that, in my opinion, effectively conveys the many feelings that one tends to experience alongside a broken heart. I don't mean to rag on pop music because I listen to a lot of pop music, but as I said, I don't find that it usually conveys that effectively. It is almost as if pop artists and/or record labels are afraid to release breakup albums, and I can give a perfect example of why. Not long before Gwen Stefani released This Is What the Truth Feels Like, an old friend of mine said that because of the divorce and because of the mellow album cover, he "was so afraid that it was going to be a downer." What that translated to for me was, "I was so afraid that it was going to be real instead of upbeat and lovey-dovey." Nick, however, manages to release a breakup album that effectively conveys a sense of loss and rarely breaks character, and I definitely applaud him for it!

Lacuna Coil - Delirium [Review]

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a fan of Lacuna Coil. I have been for about a decade now, ever since picking up a metal compilation from Hot Topic and hearing "Daylight Dancer" on it. I have been closely following the Italian metal band's career ever since, and Delirium, the band's eighth album, is the latest release. What I have always loved about Lacuna Coil is their ability to blend male and female vocals. Although this is not necessarily unique (other bands such as Nightwish, Sunterra, Theatre of Tragedy, and Epica have been doing it, too), they do make one of the first bands from whom I heard that. I liken them to my favorite band Evanescence (although Evanescence is fronted only by Amy Lee) because of their ability to blend heavy riffs with theatrical sounds. I also tend to relate to their music, which speaks of an assorted variety of subjects such as self-loathing, lost love, and losing faith. Delirium, as the title suggests, is somewhat of a concept album in that it it deals with facets of insanity and mental instability. In the haunting opening track "The House of Shame," for example, Andrea angrily, in his typical gruff manner, declares that "You're the reason I'm feeling so deranged." This song is epic metal, with a soft choir opening and closing the track and a killer guitar break a little more than halfway through. Cristina's opening to the refrain - "Why always staring into the light? If I don't hide inside the darkness, you'll be compromised..." - is, as I said, hauntingly beautiful, so much so that it brings tears to my eyes. Cristina really challenges herself vocally on this record, going places that she never really has before, as this part sounds almost operatic. "The House of Shame" is one of my two favorite tracks on the album.

I also really enjoy the second track, titled "Broken Things." It has the energy of an opening track, although "The House of Shame," with its aforementioned choir opening, works much better. "Broken Things" is consequently placed perfectly on the album. The best part of this song is the anthemic chorus, when Cristina and Andrea sing: "1, 2, 3, the count of your lies..." The song is lyrically pretty simple, at times reminding me of "Daylight Dancer" from Comalies: "As you keep smiling inside, you cannot be afraid of your destiny. All the walls you've built around..." It seems to speak of feeling like you have to live with your metaphorical insides being broken due to past trauma. The third track is the title track and is quite honestly probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, just because the hook doesn't really go anywhere; it just repeats the title over and over again. The fourth track on Delirium is titled "Blood, Tears, Dust," and I love Cristina's refrain here: "Can you believe this, my friend? I was empty and broken inside. She came to save me from the storm." Both lyrically and vocally, it's incredibly powerful. Cristina, like in "The House of Shame," sings in a higher register than she normally does, and she sounds, in a word, amazing. "Downfall" is the fifth track and starts on a quiet note that quickly picks up and gets loud and heavy. This is another one that doesn't do a whole lot for me. It does have a really awesome guitar break break more than halfway through, but one the whole, the song doesn't really make much progress. The refrain isn't particularly catchy, but lyrically, it's pretty meaningful, as it seems to be about clinging onto someone because of how lonely and dark that your life feels.

I briefly mentioned before that I ultimately have two favorite songs on the album. One is the opening track, "The House of Shame," and the other is the sixth track, "Take Me Home." The song starts off sounding very disjointed and has a very dark, creepy sound that reminds me of the remix of "Trip the Darkness" that fans were treated to on the Underworld Awakening soundtrack. There is a children's choir chanting "Big train down the track. Tick-tick, coming back. It's time. Jump on board. There is room for many more." It sounds really creepy and reminds me a bit of the rhyme from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Interestingly, Cristina revealed in a Spotify commentary that it isn't actually children that were used for the part; it's their own voices distorted. The chorus of this song is ridiculously catchy. Over distorted guitars, Cristina sings, "Sit with me. I'll take you for a ride. Tick-tock time, it will be so fine. Tick-tock time, it will be so fine. Stay with me. I'll take you for a ride. Tick-tock time, we will be all right." I simply love this song; it's not only one of the best songs on the album, it's one of the best songs that Lacuna Coil has ever done. The seventh track is titled "You Love Me 'Cause I Hate You" and starts with Cristina singing in a nasally voice. The song becomes one of the heaviest on the album by the chorus, when Andrea roars the title of the song. This is another song that I unfortunately feel doesn't really go anywhere in its refrain; the title of the song is repeated (like "Delirium") along with "everything but love." Although it isn't one of my favorites, however, I can definitely see it being a future single. It has the energy that I think could really fit a music video very well, but unfortunately, there currently is not a single music video, except the lyric video for "The House of Shame," from the album.

The eight track is "Ghost in the Mist," which I guess is technically a promotional single since, along with "The House of Shame" and the title track, it was released prior to the album's release. Although I am sure that it is a total coincidence (especially since it isn't similar enough to have been copied), the riff at the very beginning reminds me of a faster version of the riff from the beginning of "Until the End" by Breaking Benjamin. It's a moderately heavy song with a moderate tempo, which is carried primarily by Cristina's voice in a low register. The song's chorus is decent enough but is not a highlight for me. I do like the ninth track, "My Demons." It's somewhat of a softer one, although still fueled partially by heavy guitars and Andrea's growl. The melody of Cristina's refrain, however, is quite beautiful, and once again, she climbs, quite successfully, to some higher notes. Like many songs on the album, there is also a memorable guitar break more than halfway through. "Claustrophobia" is one that doesn't really go much of anywhere melodically, but I love the lyrics, such as: "Claustrophobic hate starts a chain reaction if it doesn't kill you" and "Why, why don't you try? Time is over. When I'll be gone, you will be suffering for me." I think that the next track, titled "Ultima Ratio," closes the standard edition of the album. By far, my favorite part of this song is Cristina's bridge, sung in a low register: "Inmate out. Time to rack him down. Never ends. Lock him back down inside his cell!" The refrain is also lyrically and melodically great: "Save me before I fall apart," Cristina desperately pleads. "Come closer to me while I'm still alive. It never ends." With its powerful lyrics and powerful sound backed by strings, it is a decent closing track, but, of course, the deluxe version doesn't end there.

The deluxe version of the album starts with "Live to Tell," a cover of the 1986 Madonna song of the same name. I am a really big Madonna fan, and Cristina said in an interview years ago that Madonna was a big inspiration for her, so I have really been looking forward to something like this. Unfortunately, however, I was kind of let down. The song's content is a perfect addition to the album, as it fits the album's theme of mental instability. "Live to Tell" seems to tell the story of someone who witnessed and/or experienced something traumatic but inexplicably (perhaps out of shame or fear of being judged) keeping it a secret even into adulthood. There are parts of the song, however, that are melodically unrecognizable because they are so drastically changed. I have no problem with a band drastically changing a song and making it their own, but this is a Madonna classic, and it almost seems wrong. By far, the best version of this song is the version that Madonna performed on her Confessions Tour. Next on the deluxe version is "Breakdown," another one of my favorites. I love the chorus of this song, during which Cristina powerfully sings in a higher register, "Embrace the pain that breaks me down." A little more than halfway through the song, Cristina wordlessly chants, calling back to the band's 2006 effort Karmacode. I think that this song probably sounds the most like a closing track. The final song on the album as a whole is "Bleed the Pain," another song that doesn't do much for me and doesn't really work as a closing track. I do like the underlying strings, though, playing a melody reminiscent of the Broken Crown Halo lead single "Nothing Stands in Our Way." The album is, overall, decent, and I really like its theme, but it's probably one of my least favorite Lacuna Coil albums, if not my least favorite. There are some unforgettable gems here but also a lot of throwaways that don't sound like they come from a band from whom I am used to hearing much better.