Leo's Music Library

Tinashe – Songs for You ☆

With a 6-second interlude consisting of purely the words, “All these songs for you baby, you know who you are,” listeners know that this collection of songs come from a personal place. The release of Songs for You was a monumental and euphoric moment for singer/songwriter/dancer/producer/actress Tinashe. For years, her former label RCA held her back creatively and promotionally. In February of 2019, she split with the label — something she was happy about. On November 21 of the same year, Tinashe released Songs for You. Although her fourth studio album, it marks as her first independently released album. Within these 15 tracks (featuring artists such as MAKJ, Ms Banks, 6LACK, and G-Eazy), Tinashe’s full creative control is evident. She is able to experiment with and blend genres, from pop to R&B to hip-hop and more, to create a project that cannot be defined by a single genre. There is at least one song on this project for everyone! Three tracks on this album (“Cash Race,” “Link Up,” and “Know Better”) contain an extra song/part within them, which are great additions. In fact, some of these songs are from her mixtape Nashe that was shelved by her former label RCA. Songs for You received a lot of praise and positive reviews, a feat that truly paid off considering Tinashe stuck with her true vision, unfiltered by label interferences. Some highlights from this album include the bad-bitch-anthem “Link Up,” the sweet “Life’s Too Short” about getting back together, and the emotional yet optimistic dance track “Save Room for Us.” Overall, Songs for You is a solid project that has its fun and vulnerable moments and shows us that unfiltered art shines the brightest.

☆ Rating: 8.5/10 ☆

FKA twigs – MAGDALENE ☆

MAGDALENE is the sophomore album released by English singer FKA twigs and is, in my eyes, one of the best albums from 2019. It came out on November 8, 2019 with the music video for the lead single, “cellophane,” being nominated at the 2019 Grammy’s for Best Music Video. This album is the personification of immense heartbreak and sadness. FKA twigs explores these melancholic topics whilst creating theatrical and avant-garde performances that feature masks, pole-dancing, and sword-dancing and a wardrobe full of extravagant dresses. Due to this, MAGDALENE as a whole is more of an art form and an experience rather than just an album. Sonically, twigs blends classical, electronic, and avant-pop. The album has production credits ranging from Skrillex to Jack Antonoff to twigs herself. In the beautifully composed track about relationships, “home with you,” twigs announces, “Mary Magdalene would never let her loved ones down. I didn’t know you were lonely; if you’d have just told me, I’d be home with you.” Then, there is the upbeat and sweet song “holy terrain” which has twigs searching for a lover who is capable of following his heart and treating twigs as she deserves; Future provides a guest verse as where he states his state of vulnerability and reassures his love. The gut-wrenching “mirrored heart” is about finding a lover who is a reflection of yourself, something twigs says she does not have. The song follows as twigs wonders if her lover really ever loved her and how, despite this, she will never give up on him. This album beautifully explores and describes twigs’ experiences with depression, heartbreak, and loneliness while using an iconic biblical figure to symbolize divine femininity and the effects of having someone else write your own story, as what happened with Mary Magdalene.

☆ Rating: 10/10 ☆

Charli XCX – Pop 2 ☆

The first piece I will talking about here is my favorite body of work of all time! Pop 2 is the fourth mixtape by English pop artist and songwriter Charli XCX. It was released on December 15, 2017. Pop 2 is a futuristic, auto-tuned, and robotic journey that enlists a wide array of next-level producers [A. G Cook, SOPHIE, umru, EASYFUN] and collaborators [Carly Rae Jepsen, Kim Petras, Tove Lo, Pabllo Vittar]. This mixtape was pivotal for Charli XCX as it helped her to discover a newfound love for songs stacked with guest verses, a stronger sense of confidence, and a sound that is uniquely Charli and helps put her at the forefront of changing pop music. This is evident in multiple music critics and even Charli herself deeming her and this mixtape as the “Future of Pop.” I love all the collaborations Charli has here because they all stem from genuine friendships and respect for one another as artists. Nobody was brought on in hopes of creating the next #1 hit. Rather, Charli has brought along her all her friends to take us on a ride with sharp and unexpected twists and turns. However, one piece is constant throughout this entire mixtape: the use of autotune. Charli is able to use autotune as an artistic tool that enhances her vision and sound. One of the mixtape’s highlights is the action-packed “I Got It,” with verses from freaky rappers Brooke Candy and cupcakKe and Brazilian drag queen, Pabllo Vittar. The song keeps building up a chant of dozens of I got it’s until the song’s booming conclusion. Then, we have “Unlock It” which features German pop princess, Kim Petras, and Korean-American rapper, Jay Park. This bubbly track sounds like it comes from a universe full of rainbows, pink clouds, dreams, and Sailor Moon. The final song, “Track 10,” is surely the most experimental track on the mixtape, and, surprisingly, is a remix of a previously unreleased XCX song. This song is a journey as it features grand production, robotic glitches, and self-realization which make the track sound as if a singing android has come to realization of her own humanity, concluding this forward-thinking mixtape. Other highlights from this mixtape include Charli’s flute-like high notes in “Lucky,” Caroline Polachek screeching like a banshee in “Tears,” and a “Boom Clap” ringtone interlude in “Delicious,” a nod to Charli’s major hit from 2014. Overall, this mixtape is unlike anything I have ever heard and I believe helps push the boundaries of what pop music can be.

☆ Rating: 10/10 ☆

The First Post ☆

Hey hi hello, this is Leo and this is my first ever post here ☆ So, basically, I am going to write my thoughts and impressions about some of my favorite albums, mixtapes, and songs. I will try my best to incorporate various artists and genres, but the music I will mainly be writing about will be pop. I will dive into every body of work and give an in-depth analysis on the sound, vision, and context surrounding the artist and album. Well… that’s it for now! Music is one of my favorite things ever. I spend hours upon listening to music, so I am very excited to start writing down my detailed thoughts on it!