Pop Blitz 4/6/11

Noah & The Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.
I've been very much enjoying this band's reinvention as a slick, melodic aor rock act. This isn't one of my favorites from the album, but it's got a laid-back nostalgic sound. B+

Usher - More
Usher delves even further into club sounds, and this is one of his strongest singles in years. It's very Taio Cruz, which means it's gonna sound old fast, but for now I'm enjoying this. B+

Pitbull - Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)
Empty calories. I'm not a fan of the heavily distorted vocals that make up the chorus to this. Pitbull's part is passable, but I don't think this is all that memorable. C

Alexis Jordan - Good Girl
There's something refreshing about Jordan's simple, airy pop. The drums on this are fantastic, but on the whole it's not as strong as her debut. The chorus is pretty strong, though. B+

Mumford & Sons - The Cave
Melodically, this is like a slowed down version of their last single. It's a nice, strummy, Summer-sounding single. Very pleasant, but I'm already a little sick of it. B

Willow Smith - 21st Century Girl
Not a bad song, necessarily, but the delivery is very annoying and the lyrics are just ridiculous given who the singer is. Give this to Rihanna, switch it up a bit, and it could be pretty good. B-

The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness
Their much-lauded return to form kicks off with this pleasant, jangly single. They've had stronger, for sure. I love the sound of it, but there isn't really much of a hook beyond the guitars. B-

Pop Blitz 10/22/10

Black Eyed Peas - The Time (The Dirty Bit) Okay, so it's basically just a cover track of the Dirty Dancing song with some obnoxious sound effects (and even worse rapping) in between. Lazy, which wouldn't be so bad if this was listenable. D

Take That - The Flood
A strong comeback, with a lot of Robbie time. It's as majestic as modern radio pop gets, with a huge chorus and "sing it from the mountain tops" verses. Not quite as good as Patience was, though. A-

The Wanted - Heart Vacancy
Another boyband... from an old to new. The Wanted had a surprisingly excellent debut single. This is less excellent and far more in keeping with the genre, but it's pleasant enough. Still, they should be doing better.C+

Duck Sauce - Barbara Streisand
My god, the things they make songs out of these days. Take a riff from an old Boney M song and repeat a name over the top and that's it. Literally, that's it. It's a testament to how strong the riff is. Without that, this would be nothing but a name. B

Pet Shop Boys - Together
It's always nice to hear something new from PSB. On first listen, I wasn't sure if this was more of a hit or a b-side, but it's grown on me. The layered chorus is gorgeous. It's a very dense dance track with a lot to listen to. B+

Ke$ha - We R Who We R
Well, she's got a formula and she's sticking to it. If you've heard any of her songs, you'll know what this sounds like (maybe with a little of Taio Cruz's Dynamite thrown in). It's a dreadful concoction she's got going on. Lowest common denominator. (but still not as bad as that BEP song) D

Willow Smith - Whip My Hair
The whole Smith family nepotism thing drives me insane, so I came into this already annoyed. I just find it all a little creepy and... lifeless, somehow. This song was long-rumored to be a Rihanna track and thank god it wasn't because it's irritating as hell. Whatever happened to melody with some staying power? D+