Adele Marie

After never hearing about Joyner Lucas before, I decided to give his album, 508-507-2209, a listen. I am not sure what I expected, I didn’t expect anything but a rap album, but I was given an album that seems to follow him becoming famous and losing his friends. The album is weaved together with a voicemail at the end of nearly every track and while listening to the album I was confused by this; however, it seems to me that the voicemails use the album to portray how easy it is to get caught up in a new fast lifestyle and lose not only yourself but your friends and family. Despite not being a fan of his voice, I am a fan of the voicemail concept- that is if I am anywhere close to right...

Maggie Rogers released her first full length album back in January of this year. Heard it in a Past Life is an album that takes us on a full exploration of her sound journey as we begin with folk inspired tunes to full out electronic/ pop bops, and she writes music about her personal experiences, in some cases with the help of her friends. It is an album that I did not like at first because I did not listen to its entirety, but once I did, I saw how good it is.

Ellie Goulding released her second studio album titled Halcyon back a long time ago when I was in middle school… she did the cool thing to do and released a reissue of the album including a few more songs the year after. Ellie wrote the album in a time of emotional distress and you can see it in the lyrics. The majority of the album reeks in sadness and dark vibes as she talks us through a lot of her troubled relationship, but as with any low there are a few ups. She does take a minute to be almost absurdly positive in a track and close us out with a simplistic song about not sleeping with the lights off… a pretty balanced album in my opinion.

Avril Lavigne is widely known for being angsty, rock n roll, and loud, but her self-titled album, Avril Lavigne, is a bit of an adventure… not in a good way. The album starts off pretty strong, I must admit, but when you start getting to the Japanese lyrics and the Sunshine song, and don’t even get me started on the country song… Most of the album is pretty good, but 2011 Avril and earlier is superior… I guess getting married makes you soften and get weird.

After releasing his debut album and singing alongside not only Logic but also Billie Eilish, our dear friend Khalid released his sophomore album Free Spirit. The album is a bit different than his first as it was a bit more upbeat and safe and this album brings in a bit of a heavier, darker, and even wiser lyric pattern as we follow him through his failed relationship and some personal songs about his anxieties and fears. If you like songs that are easy to get into and meaningful, this is definitely an album for you.

Katy Perry, the queen of teenage pop, released her fourth album titled Witness. The album was released about two years ago and focuses on mostly love and her ex lover(s). The album contains anthems about owning who you are and loving yourself while also containing fun disco pop sounds while including a rather crude tune about being a buffet. Despite the fact the album is overall a pretty good one, I must be honest and say it is my least favorite Katy Perry album and “Chained to the Rhythm” is the best thing on the entire thing… oops.

After being silent for nearly 10 years, the Jonas Brothers are back and ready to make music once again as a family, and we could not be any more excited. After five months of silence, the band of brothers banded together again in secret a year or so back and began working on the album and then surprised us with the release of “Sucker” a few days after being iconic kings. Happiness Begins is their fifth studio album and houses 14 songs. The song is a rollercoaster that follows their love for their wives, a few songs dedicated to them individually, follows them reminiscing about their lives, as well as a love letter to their fans to come back to them. The album is everything a fan could ask for, and maybe more, I was definitely not disappointed.

After years of being a Disney Star and living a double life, as well as being a bit of a pop (and pop punk) icon, Miley Cyrus took a break so that she could come back at us hard. She wanted to make it clear to us that she is a grown woman and she should be treated as such. She released her album Bangerz and did just that. Her album brings together all of her old sounds and styles and mixes them with new ones. This album was a big reason people were saying that she had gone crazy and was acting out; however, her licking a wrecking ball was a symbol for other things she was probably licking but showing that would be added to a much different website. This album was quite honestly a turning point for the young artist and the youth of today will never be the same since it came out.

Panic! At The Disco released their fifth album about three years ago, and the whole thing is a beautiful end to Brendon Urie’s Bachelor life before he married his wife, Sarah. The album takes us on a journey of him bidding his single life farewell, realizing his future with her, as well as a eulogy to himself. It also talks about growing older and celebrating yourself, even if you are a bad athlete, and more. Death of a Bachelor was a pretty good album for the band, and was also the first time the music was a majority Brendon Urie’s, but I guess with good reason.