Best of 2009: January #4 - #1

And who came out victorious in January? Find out for yourself after the jump.

#4: Varsity Fanclub - When You Were Mine

When You Were Mine was one of the songs leaked just before the supposed January release date of Varsity Fanclub album. After the album was delayed, the band experience the exit of a member and still no album release. Ho hum. The song is very 'American' if I were to describe it and the only downside of this number is the way too long intro. Other than that, brilliant song, brilliant band - GET THE DAMN ALBUM OUT ALREADY! All these American boybands are so lazy. Hahah.

#3: V Factory - Love Struck

And the American boybands keep it coming. Love Struck was a favorite among the blogs this year and I personally adore the damn song. Actually, it sounds like something that would work in kpop if they sped it up and added a complicated dance routine. Great melody albeit the slightly boring instrumental but I do think that V Factory have good, solid vocals. Not like NLT who I think have the best vocals of the pack but good enough.

#2: Spectacular Cast - Everything Can Change

(See my review of the Spectacular! Soundtrack)

I know Paul is gonna love me for putting this in but it is also thanks to his constant gushing over Spectacular earlier this year that I just HAD to give it a try. LOVED it. Hahah. Everything Can Change was the song that I honestly really listened to for days after I reviewed the album and just couldn't get enough of no matter how hard I tried. I forgot about it over the course of my earlier kpop addiction but gosh, this is a brilliant, BRILLIANT song. Hahah. Nickelodeon knows how to make a good soundtrack! Hahah.

And my favorite song from January is?!?!

#1: Lucie Silvas - Fall For Something Real

(See my initial review of the song)

Lucie Silvas has one of those voices that I just can't stop listening to no matter how crap the song is. Thankfully for my ears though, the girl puts out some of the most brilliant songs - this is no exception. Very soulful and the melody carries the entire thing but the guitar part is very cool and the emphasis on the drums adds another dimension to the song. What the crap has happened to her since this? Can't seem to find anything.

The Spectacular OST

I've seen Simon Curtis around blogs and stuff but I never really paid attention to him. I cannot believe it took me a Nick movie to take notice of this guy, I mean come on. Nick movie or no Nick movie, I think he's pretty darn awesome(I've heard a minute of his stuff! haha.. that's how good he is..). Obviously there are three other main cast members but all the attention seems to be on this guy, even if it won't and will never be on the HSM level.

As I'm writing this I haven't exactly listened to the whole album yet but I'm at eight of twelve tracks so I'm pretty close.

From what I've heard, it's like a mix of Britannia High and HSM. It's got that maturity and Gary Barlow-y sound of Britannia High but it's got the commercial and American sound of HSM. Actually now that I'm thinking of it, there are some hints of Hairspray in it, On The Wings of A Dream is like the mix of all three, I love it.

It sounds like all these other stuff but it's not a direct copy, not a clone. You listen to one song and you know it's a song Nick had a hand in then you listen to the rest and slowly you hear all these influences buried in the songs. It's not an album dependent on the movie as well, I listened to it just like I'd listen to any other album.

I have this thing on iTunes that if I really, really like a certain song on an album I'm listening to and it catches my ear after one listen, I put a five-star rating on it and usually after I listen to an album about three or four tracks come out with that rating and they're usually my favorites. With this album though, I don't have any clear favorites and less favorites, I've put five-star ratings on all the tracks I've heard so far, an extremely good sign!

OK, so I'm at the last song now and the only track I really don't like is Eye Of the Tiger, mainly because I really don't like the song to start with. The rest are stunning, brilliant and every other word I use to describe songs like those.

I don't have time to break the whole album down track-by-track(that'll be extremely long and redundant!) so I'll just breaifly talk about the best of the already amazing.

Dance With Me is very I Dream/S Club 8-ish, from the instrumental, the melody down to the vocals. I love the song, the melody's brilliant. It's extremely catchy and it's got a very Brit vibe to it. Lonely Love Song is very show-y, sounds like something straight out of an updated Hairspray or some Broadway/West End production. The melody's also really amazing, I love it! haha.

Your Own Way is very pop/rock-y, undeniably Nick and it can work for both genders, I can imagine a Nick band like KSM singing it. It's very catchy as well, something you can easily bang your head to. For The First Time is the required ballad on the album, and it's not like Breaking Free, it's more Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now(the Same Difference one..)-ish.

Just Freak is like a Female version of something like Getcha Head In The Game and it's got that dance-y vibe that Dance With Me has. On The Wings Of A Dream is like the climax, the 'My dreams are coming true' song. I love the melody, very sing-along-able. Things We Do For Love is like Lonely Love Song, it's very show-y, a nice end to the album.

If I was to pick just one song from this album to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be Everything Can Change. It's that empowering song plus the Nick sound plus the rock elements and a killer melody. I'm dead serious, this is the most gorgeous melody in the whole album(OK, maybe it's tied with two other songs but still!), and I think it's a very trailer/ad-worthy song.

So, to sum up the album:
Best Track: Everything Can Change and On The Wings of A Dream are tied!.
Better Tracks: Everything else..
Least Favorite Track: Eye of the Tiger. Not a very big fan of covers.
THE RATING: 4.9/5, Eye Of the Tiger ruined the flow of the album for me...

YAY! I finished my first new album release review of the year! haha. YAY!

EDIT: That's it, I'm addicted. I hate this. haha, I don't. I love it! FINALLY, something new that I actually adore, I was beginning to wallow about the lack of new albums. haha. End edit.

I'M BAAACK!

OK, so I said I'd take a week break but I actually just slowed down on the posting. This was a happy week for me music-wise(DO NOT ask about how my Math 8A and 8G exams were, DO NOT.), mainly because of quite a few new stuff I've discovered and some old sought-after albums finally found. hmm..

• I know I ranted about RedOne recently but I can't help myself, their new song is AMAZING. I'm dead serious. I know the formula is too obvious and repetitive and they can't manipulate it well yet but it's a pretty darn good formula. Jada's American Cowboy is actually quite good, but the title kinda sucks. Oh, and the girls kind of sound like Lady GaGa as well during some parts.
• Speaking of Lady GaGa, I heard somewhere that her next single is Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) but only in Australia and New Zealand. Hmmm. I do like the song. haha.
• There's a new Leona unreleased track out called Stay, and it sounds a lot like a song someone from the Natalie generation would put on an album. You know, the piano-backed R&B ballad plus the thin, airy voices? Yeah. It doesn't actually go anywhere but the melody's nice. Nothing special or ground-breaking though.
• I'm now officially addicted to a Liberty X song, No Clouds. Not in the 'I like it, it's good' then I won't listen to it for the next few months kind of way, I ADORE IT. And it's all I've been playing today(OK, maybe not but it sure seemed like that!) but I haven't gotten sick of it. It's pop, I think that's the best way to describe it. Think a less sanitized Same Difference plus an early 2000's R&B girl group song. BUT, the melody's so addictive that I was actually singing it after like 2 plays. Will have to review it sometime this weekend.
• There's a new Lady Sovereign song out and may I say, I'm liking her new image much more than her old one. She's like Lily Allen mixed with Lady GaGa, at least that's what So Human is telling me.
• Calvin Goldspink, yes Calvin from S Club 8, posted a couple of songs on his MySpace and I'm loving them! I must say though, he sounds nothing like he used to(as if I actually heard him.. OK I did but it's just an excuse 'coz I kind of forgot what he sounded like during the I Dream era..) and the songs are amazing! Think an edgier sounding, smoother-voiced James Morrison.
• I'm addicted to another of these Chris Brown unreleased stuff, Takes Time. It's very commercial, I can imagine it on the ad for some kind of family-related product. I don't know, I think. haha. I love the melody though, even if the song itself is kind of short(2 minutes?).
• I've got a hold on a not so good copy of the Spectacular! soundtrack, am listening to it at the moment and I'm liking what I'm hearing. Will review it this weekend.
• I know it's all over the place but Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You has a video AND is number one in the US! Yay! I think that they're trying too much to re-create Since You've Been Gone with the video and all(look at it, it looks almost exactly like SYBG!), but it's something they'll never, ever, NEVER be able to do. Since You've Been Gone defined the generation and although I do think that this is a brilliant song, it's not as good.

Hmm.. I guess that's it, will get to the reviews now! haha.

ooooooohhh..

Not a big Nick fan, I think Disney makes the more commercial songs but this is just brilliant:

Me like.. haha.