Writer and metal musician Otep is set to release her eighth studio album KULT 45 on July 27, 2018 and recently released "Shelter in Place" (the album's second single), and this song is just as politically charged as its preceding single "To the Gallows" (which I reviewed here). I knew that Otep's follow-up to Generation Doom would be an angry response to the heartbreaking fiasco that was Donald Trump's Electoral College victory in November of 2016 (since she was probably the most fired up celebrity against Trump that I personally witnessed during the election process), and it doesn't look like I will be disappointed, as both singles so far take a stab at him in one way or another. ("To the Gallows" is much more direct, but "Shelter in Place" targets the NRA, which Trump fully supports. "Shelter in Place" even mimics a line from "To the Gallows": "Blood on your hands, blood on your suit..." ) Even the album title is likely a reference to Trump, as he is the forty-fifth POTUS. The song features slamming heavy guitar with Otep's signature rapping on the verses. It's a considerably short song, running at only two minutes and thirty-eight seconds, but it definitely does not need to be any longer to get its point across, anger directed toward people who care more about people's rights to own assault weapons than they care about keeping children safe: "Hey, hey, NRA," Otep anthemically chants near the end of the track, "how many kids did you kill today?" This is such a poignant and relevant issue right now because the number of massacres occurring in the United States seems to constantly be on the rise, and the perpetrators so frequently use guns such as AR-15s, guns that have the capability of firing hundreds of rounds per minute. Political activists such as David Hogg (who witnessed friends of his being gunned down at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018) have called people to action, trying to put a stop to this type of senseless killing by demanding that lawmakers put stricter gun control in place. "Shelter in Place" marks two songs in a row that feature the political energy of memorable Otep songs such as "Rise, Rebel, Resist" and "Confrontation," so we are most likely going to get an album chock-full of songs like that, which, as I said, due to the result of the 2016 presidential election, is not a surprise. Bring on July 27th!
Troye Sivan's song "Dance to This" is the latest (and fourth) single released from his sophomore studio album Bloom, set to be released on August 31, 2018. When Sivan released the first single from the album - titled "My My My!" (which I reviewed here) - I wasn't all that impressed, considering it to be one of the weakest songs of his career so far, and I think that I like "Dance to This" even less. "Dance to This" features guest vocalist Ariana Grande, and I should offer the disclaimer that I have never really been much of a fan of Ariana Grande, which could be affecting my opinion of the song a bit. The song opens with sultry and somewhat twangy synth (which is the most interesting part of the song) repeated throughout the song. The verses, which are rather dull melodically (as is the chorus), are backed by a generic drum machine, and even the track's lyrics register to me as generic and uninteresting. The song seems to be from the perspective of a couple (or at least two people who are just falling for each other) who has grown tired of partying and clubbing and wants to go home and dance together privately. (Dancing being used as a euphemism for sex is quite honestly overworked and exhausted.) As for Grande being featured, I, as I said, am not very enthusiastic about it, and that is for two reasons: (1) I, as previously stated, am not really a fan, and (2) this kind of feels like the time when Sivan released an updated version of his song "WILD" with guest vocalist Alessia Cara, which, given the fact that Cara is female, kind of erased the gay identity of the song. It has been reported that Bloom will express Sivan's identity as a young gay man very poignantly, with the album being a lot more sexual in nature than Blue Neighbourhood, so sharing a sexual track with a female vocalist doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me; it seems to be playing it safe. While I am undoubtedly looking forward to the album being released, my hope is that "Dance to This" is not a sign of what to expect from the songs that we haven't yet heard, as I would definitely refer to it as the weakest song of his career thus far. It is simply flat and generic, which is really unfortunate considering the fact that the indie sound on Blue Neighbourhood is anything but.
