{"id":136,"date":"2018-09-14T11:15:02","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T15:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/?p=136"},"modified":"2018-10-16T09:53:53","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T13:53:53","slug":"summer-music-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/summer-music-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Music In Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paul Holtz and Holden Miller<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Republic Records<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sweetener<\/em>: After years of searching, Ariana Grande has found her true voice. Sweetener<\/em> is an extraordinary pop album, radiating with newfound love and a smile along the way. Sweetener<\/em>, Grande\u2019s first album since the 2017 bombing at her Manchester concert, feels more real and bold than any of her past work. Perhaps because tragedy has a way of revealing our true selves, the 25-year-old singer finally allows herself to just take things as they come. She doesn\u2019t force the heart-wrenching emotion of it all into tearful ballads and message-heavy anthems, but instead lets the low-key joy of the title track radiate across the album. The best parts of Sweetener<\/em> have her looking for hope and stumbling upon the glow of new love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Columbia Records<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hive Mind<\/em>: The fourth album from this R&B collective is a peak example of their combined power. It simplifies and shores up the Internet sound with soft-focus blues, plush arrangements, and deep-in-the-ground grooves. The beats are unique, more boldly defined, and yet they still have the capacity to bleed into each other. \u201cThey gon\u2019 get us to come together,\u201d a chorus of voices repeats on the album\u2019s opening song, each time louder than the one before. And just as the title implies, they are more in sync here than ever. Hive Mind<\/em> is a funkier and more upbeat approach to an album than the Internet\u2019s last three, making it an easy and go with the flow kind of album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Domino Records<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Negro Swan<\/em>: Blood Orange\u2019s fourth album focuses on black depression, sketching his anxious alt-pop, progressive R&B, indie hip-hop, downtempo rock, and spacey chillwave into a minimalist sound. Negro Swan<\/em> captures the scattershot, jittery, anxious, and depressive feeling of what it\u2019s like to be a marginalized person at a toxic and retrograde moment in global culture and politics. \u201cNo one wants to be the Negro Swan,\u201d he laments on \u201cCharcoal Baby.\u201d Adrenaline-pounding dance beats like the ones found on Freetown Sound\u2019s propulsive \u201cBest to You\u201d or \u201cE.V.P.\u201d don\u2019t show up here. Instead, the album sounds more like a downcast mixtape constituted from helter-skelter sounds, sketched-out musical ideas, and conversational interludes. It is a departure from his earlier work, but it mirrors the political and hostile climate many people of color are living in now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Epic Records<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

ASTROWORLD<\/em>: Travis Scott\u2019s third album is arguably his strongest to date. His skill as a curator helps sculpt a sticky, humid, psychedelic world with sparkling production and odd pleasures in every song. The album takes its name from a since-shuttered amusement park in his hometown of Houston and it often resembles a humid day spent at a carnival: sticky, sweet, crowded, and packed with cheap thrills that still feel a tad overpriced. As far as trippy-sounding hip-hop goes, Scott is operating at something of a gold standard here, out-hallucinating fellow stylist A$AP Rocky\u2019s own recent blotter-blotted efforts. \u201cPsychedelics got me goin\u2019 crazy,\u201d he lolls over the spooky and beautiful \u201cStargazing.\u201d It is the epitome of the Travis Scott experience. With it sounding like a normal trap album, but also light years ahead of its competitors, ASTROWORLD<\/em> is an album to become a blueprint ready to be copied for newer rappers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo courtesy of Warner Bros Records<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Swimming: <\/em>Mac Miller’s fifth–and, the hip hop community was shocked to find, final–studio album, Swimming<\/em>, shows his true vulnerability as he opens up to the audience about his past relationships, struggles with drug abuse, and his passion for music. Since his death on Friday from a suspected overdose, the album seems both prescient and ironic. He begins the album with the deeply relaxing, comfortable intro \u201cCome Back to Earth\u201d–as if it were Miller\u2019s invitation to sit back and enjoy the show. Even though the Pittsburgh born-and-raised rapper had recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, singer Ariana Grande, who is currently engaged to comedian Pete Davidson, this is not a breakup album. He only reflected on specific experiences with his past relationships–some of which, but not all, seem directed at Grande. But the overall message remains introspective. In the 6th song, \u201cWings\u201d, Miller says, \u201cTrust is a problem, never knew how\u2026 Yeah, that’s why I keep to myself\u2026 Get what I need, and I be out.\u201d He ends the album looking back at his success and influence, explaining that, with plenty of trial and error, he has learned to handle the stress that accompanies fame. Miller\u2019s sudden death last weekend was especially surprising to his fans. All in all, this is a great album and the groovy and rhythmic beats never cease to disappoint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After years of searching, Ariana Grande has found her true voice. Sweetener is an extraordinary pop album, radiating with newfound love and a smile along the way. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-style"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2018-2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}