First Listen: New Releases for 16 July
Artist : Willow (a.k.a Willow Smith) Album : lately i feel EVERYTHING Quick Thoughts : Willow (Smith), daughter of Will and of the hair that whips back and forth, has a very aggressive, Poppy-meets-hyperpop (...hyperpoppy?) effort here that is surprisingly impressive and effective. It's a nice gamble of sorts for an artist that could have a lot of success staying in a pop starlet lane. This won't be for everyone, and I think that's at least partially the point, but recruiting folks like Cherry Glazerr and making things loud and aggro worked for me. Songs of Note : "Gaslight," "Come Home," "¡BREAKOUT!" Artist : John Mayer Album : Sob Rock Quick Thoughts : It's easy to forget that John Mayer's debut album, Room for Squares (20 years old now!) was actually really solid. Mayer is a great guitarist and a solid songwriter, but also often comes across as an example of rock excess. Sob Rock not only leans into it with the Richard Ma...