Greyson Chance - Homerun Hitter - Single [Review]

American singer and songwriter Greyson Chance is set to release his next studio effort Palladium fairly soon (to the best of my knowledge, a concrete release date has yet to be revealed), and "Homerun Hitter" makes for the album's third single following the title track and "Athena" (both reviewed here). "Homerun Hitter" starts off very softly, with Greyson softly humming over a gently strumming acoustic guitar, and the melody in the verses is chillingly beautiful, with Chance singing in a somewhat higher register that occasionally drifts up into falsetto. The song takes a somewhat surprising turn, however, when it suddenly becomes a bit more upbeat in the chorus (which sets it apart a bit from the first two Palladium singles): "...'Cause I thought you were the homerun hitter, the cherry that never bitters..." I love the rhythm of the chorus, and I, in fact, think that this might be my favorite song of the three singles so far. While I don't know for sure, I suspect that "Homerun Hitter" was inspired, at least partially, by Greyson's ex-boyfriend Ben, with whom he broke up not too long ago. Chance has even commented on the song's meaning, saying, "'Homerun Hitter' is... a cold splash of water to the face. It represents that moment of looking at yourself in the mirror, unsure of what to do and where to go next. Sometimes you can be in love without it being the right love." Not only does he directly refer to being in love, that feeling of not knowing where to go next is definitely a relatable feeling after a relationship ends. Like "Palladium" and "Athena," this is a very open, honest, and vulnerable Greyson Chance, and I am definitely looking forward to hearing what the rest of the album has to offer. I seem to recall Greyson saying that this would be the final single released before the album drops, so we will hopefully get a release date and tracklisting soon!

Within Temptation - Don't Pray for Me - Single [Review]

"Don't Pray for Me" is presumably the fourth single from Dutch metal band Within Temptation's upcoming eighth studio album (the title of which has not yet been revealed). The string of new singles began two years ago with "Entertain You" (reviewed here) and continued with "The Purge" (reviewed here), "Shed My Skin" (reviewed here), and now "Don't Pray for Me." While all four songs are great songs in their own rights, I do think that "Don't Pray for Me" might be my favorite. Like the band's last album Resist, there is somewhat of a futuristic synthy sound to it while still maintaining a heavy metal weight to it. (The music video even has somewhat of a futuristic sci-fi feel to it, as does the music video for Resist's lead single, "The Reckoning.") The song also features a persistent choir motif throughout which I love because I really love symphonic rock and metal, and it brings me back to the days of The Heart of Everything (my second favorite Within Temptation album next to Resist) when songs like "The Howling" and "Final Destination" brought in theatrical aspects such as a choir. Close to the end of the track, we also get frontwoman Sharon den Adel's haunting chanting in a higher register than most of what she offers on the rest of the song, also a signature sound that brings me back to the band's earlier days. The song's meaning is definitely up for interpretation (as is typical of Within Temptation's style of songwriting as their lyrics are sometimes rather cryptic and open-ended), but I personally interpret it as being about overcoming strife and hardship relying on no one other than yourself: "In hell is where I stand," Sharon declares in the second verse. "It's where I find my inner strength." Speaking of the lyrics, I definitely have to tip my proverbial hat to this song's lyrics because I think that this song makes for some of the band's best lyrics to date, and I especially love the line, "For my confessions, I don't need a church." As I said, it, to the best of my knowledge, is still unclear whether these four singles released over the last two years are standalone singles or are the first four singles from an upcoming studio album, but I am definitely hoping for the latter and am hoping that the band makes an announcement about the next album soon!

Lady Gaga - Hold My Hand - Single [Review]

Whereas Berlin offered up "Take My Breath Away" in 1986 for Top Gun, current pop sensation Lady Gaga released "Hold My Hand" earlier this year specifically for the film's sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. (In fact, not only did she release the song alongside the movie, she also helped write the film's score!) The song is a bassy power ballad that eventually brings in electric guitar reminiscent of '80s rock, and the track as a whole reminds me a great deal of Faith Hill's 2002 album Cry (especially the title track and "Unsaveable"), and while I do really like it, I can't say that it's Gaga's best work to date. It just feels kind of like a generic power ballad to me lacking in the unique creativity at which Gaga usually excels. (It's also a tad annoying to me how Gaga is seen artfully slamming away at a piano in the music video, yet I don't hear any piano in the song, so if it's there, it has to be buried deep.) With that being said, however, her vocal delivery is powerful to say the least, especially in the song's chorus. (Love her or hate her, you can't deny that Gaga has pipes.) The lyrics of the song remind me a bit of Gaga's 2017 song "The Cure" as both songs are from the perspective of someone offering to be a source of comfort for someone going through a rough time: "So cry tonight," she belts out in the chorus, "but don't you let go of my hand. You can cry every last tear. I won't leave 'til I understand. Promise me; just hold my hand." As is the case with a lot of music and, for that matter, art in general, the song is open to more than one interpretation. As Gaga herself states, "When I wrote this song for Top Gun: Maverick, I didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we've been living in... I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other - a longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life's heroes... This song is a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time." With that explanation offered, it's easy to see how she might have drawn inspiration not only from the film but also from recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, making it even more culturally meaningful.

Greyson Chance - Palladium - Single / Athena - Single [Review]

Greyson Chance will soon be following up his Trophies EP with a new album titled Palladium and has so far released two singles from it - the title track and "Athena." "Palladium" is very beautiful, featuring somewhat of an alternative rock Imagine Dragons meets Passion Pit vibe to it. Acoustic guitar and piano dominate the track along with Greyson's mid-register vocals, softly and gently fluttering throughout the track. (I absolutely love his vocals on this track; I would even go as far as to say that this is some of his best vocal work to date.) He also, in the latter half of the track, shows off his range by rising into falsetto in the song's bridge. The song is beautiful not only sonically but also thematically, as it is from the perspective of someone who yearns to be a specific person's protector and guiding light: "I just wanna try to protect you," Chance declares in the song's chorus, "like your skin protects your blood... and if I ever let you go, then my whole kingdom's done." Commenting on the song's meaning, Greyson has stated, "The song is inspired by an ancient Greek myth I had researched when I was in college studying archaeology. When I was writing the lyric, I thought of how the myth relayed back to my own life. Palladium is about protecting the most sacred parts of yourself, which in this case, is my creativity as an artist. Throughout my entire career, I have been told what my music should sound like." This is interesting because that very much makes it a song about self-love (as is his song "Bad to Myself"), but the beautiful thing about music and art in general is that, much of the time, it is open to interpretation and can therefore also be regarded by someone as a love song directed toward someone other than yourself.

In keeping with the theme of Ancient Greece (which will perhaps be the theme of the album overall?), the second single released thus far from Palladium is titled "Athena." "Athena" is a tad more upbeat than "Palladium" and also features electric guitar, but it is still in more or less the same vein, again sounding like a soft rock track reminiscent of Imagine Dragons or The Lumineers. Once again, though, I really love Greyson's vocals here. He seems to be striving to experiment a bit with his tone and his range, and I am here for it. (He almost doesn't even sound like himself in the verses, but he sounds great!) Of the song's meaning, Chance has commented, "'Athena' is all about letting go and surrendering to love... Athena is a God mainly associated with love, but she is also so much more than that. In many myths, Athena appears stubborn and hardheaded. In past relationships I've exhibited those same traits, and even more unfortunate ones too. For me, Athena is about recognizing those faults, and acknowledging that every person needs love... they key is just being open to it." I think that it is also worth mentioning that Athena is also known as the goddess of wisdom, so, in the song's chorus, when Chance pleads, "...Where is Athena? God damn it, I need her," he is very likely also asking for the wisdom needed to open himself up to love. The theme of the song reminds me of a line from his song "Low" in which he sings that "I think I'm ready to hear 'I love you.'" As previously mentioned, "Athena" features electric guitar, and that aspect of it reminds me so much of Jack's Mannequin, especially their song "Spinning" which even got stuck in my head after listening to this. I adore both of these songs, and if they are harbingers of what's to come on Palladium, then this is likely going to be Greyson's best album yet.