Florence + The Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015) Before the summer of 2015 Florence + The Machine hadn’t released new music for four years, but their third album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful ended up being worth all the wait. It is evident that the band has evolved, and with this album they are better than ever before. How Big is, faithfully to the band’s style, full of beautiful melodies, grand arrangements, satisfying harmonies and lyrics delightful in their originality and darkness. But it also introduces a new edginess, guitar driven classic rock vibes that only add to the whole.

Some of the best moments include the drop in What Kind Of Man, the rising brass arrangement in the end of the title track, the sharply answering echoes of Delilah, the serene, meditative atmosphere created in St. Jude, and the transition from the title track to Queen of Peace. The tracks work wondrously as individuals, but this album still wholly manages to retain it’s feeling of uniformity, certainly of being an album and not just a bunch of single songs. This sort of duality is a feat the mainstream musical artists of today rarely manage.

What more, Florence + The Machine did not want to create music videos only for the singles, but also for other songs on the album. That decision pays off artistically as the videos certainly succeed in adding depth to the experience of the songs.

This album is a highly recommended listen to anyone who simply likes great music. It’s a pleasure to listen to every single time.

Listen: Queen Of Peace, How Big How Blue How Beautiful, Delilah

 

Lord Huron – Lonesome Dreams (2012)

Lord Huron is one of those bands whose music is perfect for a road trip, laid-back atmosphere and changing scenery. Their debut album Lonesome Dreams was released already in 2012, but it’s still a great listen. The largely acoustic-driven, indie folk tunes roll forward with ease, creating a light-hearted, adventurous atmosphere and painting pictures of snowy mountaintops, rugged coastlines, tangerine deserts, lush forests and clear lakes in the listener’s mind. With Lord Huron, it’s more about the music than the lyrics; the band is a master at creating moods.

Listening to this album, the song changes go almost unnoticed, as they seem to be more of a continuous story and sonic experience. The vocals, provided by various band members, are mysterious, choral and seem to come from afar; the instruments almost seem to just play themselves, that is how effortless everything sounds. The quality of the compositions and instrumentation, whether sounding like the waves of the ocean or the rustling of the leaves in a forest, stay high.

All in all, Lonesome Dreams is a pleasant listen concocted by skilled musicians. Highly recommended to anyone who likes delving into atmospheres – or, generally, anyone who likes good music.

Listen: Ends Of The Earth, Time To Run

 

Miley Cyrus – Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015)

After hosting the 2015 VMA’s, Miley Cyrus announced – without any previous promotion or confirmation – the independent release of her new studio album for free online streaming (the album is available on SoundCloud). This massive 92-minute splash of music is surprising, varying, crazy, honest and musical.

Today Cyrus might be known for her wacky antics rather than her earlier Disney good girl persona, but she’s never been as raw and real as on Her Dead Petz. The topics explored vary from her eponymous dead pets (specifically two songs, The Floyd Song and Pablow The Blowfish, are quite obviously named) to smoking weed, to veganism, to relationship frustrations, and so forth. Her authentic delivery and impressive vocals, respectively, are best realized in Pablow The Blowfish through her breaking voice and sobs, and in Twinkle Song through her frustrated belts of “what does it mean?”

Her Dead Petz is generally about musical, surrealistic rock ballads and features less of the radio pop sounds than on her previous albums. Of course, the album also has its share of expletives and absolutely wacky interludes. All in all, it’s rare to see a pop star like Miley Cyrus having such a total artistic command and freedom as she has been given on this album. It’s a fascinating listen.

Listen: Space Boots, Karen Don’t Be Sad, Twinkle Song

 

HalfNoise – Volcano Crowe (2014)

HalfNoise is the low-key project of Tennessean Zac Farro, the former drummer of Paramore. If you don’t like Paramore, fear not: HalfNoise sounds nothing like it.

Volcano Crowe is the full-length follow-up to the self-titled EP HalfNoise, released two years earlier. Recorded in New Zealand, the album’s vibes ooze the natural beauty and fairy tale surroundings of the Kiwi country. The genre could be perhaps called electronic-influenced folk or ambient indie rock; whatever the definition, the album evokes laid-back, visual atmospheres that are a call for adventure. It offers a sort of freshness, and vibes that could work for both facilitating energy and lulling one into an almost meditative state, while always retaining its signature sound. Furthermore, the album showcases Farro’s talent not only as a drummer, but also as a singer and songwriter.

After leaving Paramore, Farro has not only come to his own but become decidedly more hipster, and it shows in the music of HalfNoise. Whether that’s a good thing is up to individual interpretation. Coming from a Paramore fan: I think it is.

Listen: Mountain, All Sides, Coast

 

Adele – 25 (2015)

Hardly any album has been more eagerly anticipated than Adele’s follow-up to her critical and commercial smash hit album 21. Four years after it, 25 finally arrives and smashes pretty much every record in the record industry (pun intended). I could talk about the records, but the point is the music after all.

25 is one of those albums that gets better with time and with many listens. Luckily, those type of albums seem to be better in the long run; discovering new layers is always exciting and thus, the album won’t get old.

The intensity and satisfying chord progressions of the (admittedly, blandly named) song I Miss You is quite unrivalled, while When We Were Young is an empowering ballad ode to past youth that even the youth can relate to – and a song that has the potential to be the new social media quote cliché. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) is Adele at her “pop”est, but it still works amazingly well, while River Lea brings her twangy vocals really forward – and has a puzzlingly similar verse to Miley Cyrus’s Fweaky (though I’m not blaming anyone of anything here – I rather think it is an amusing and fascinating coincidence). The acoustic ballad Million Years Ago, on the other hand, has a melancholy vibe that almost begs for Finnish lyrics; this song could surely hit home in Finnish minds.

25 is definitely an album worth listening. However, due to the hype and high expectations, the first listen might seem like a let down; so be sure to listen it through a couple of times more before making judgments.

Listen: When We Were Young, I Miss You