April showers bring May flowers– and new music! From ballads to pop anthems, this month’s lineup of releases features new ground for a few artists, and seasoned perfection from others.
Lizzy McAlpine, ‘ceilings’ singer, released her third studio album, “Older” on April 5, 2024. It is simultaneously gentle, heart-pounding and intense, following the sound of nostalgia and growing up. McAlpine has learned a few lessons throughout her life and she’s ready to teach what she knows of love and heartbreaking disappointment. It’s an easy listen throughout and while not heavy on the ears, paying attention for a few moments leaves a knot in your throat. McAlpine has a way of conveying the most emotion not only through lyrics but through her voice. It’s light, dramatic, angry and sympathetic when it needs to be, highly reminiscent of “Give Me A Minute.“
The album opens up with “The Elevator,” dreamy but packs a punch when it needs to. It lays out the next few songs for the listeners, “Can we stay like this forever?/Can we be here in this room ‘til we die?/I think we can make it/I hope that I’m right.” We feel the yearning through her tone but the inevitability through her words. There is rarely a happy ending on this album despite the primarily upbeat production, and often a feeling of passive-aggressiveness that is so common throughout McAlpine’s work.
On the closing track “Vortex,” she demonstrates frustration and tiredness at her partner’s actions, “Someday I’ll be able to let you go/Someday you’ll come back, and I’ll say no.” The singer/songwriter doesn’t know what love is anymore, but she is determined to figure it out. Sick of settling, McAlpine is desperate to grow “Older.”
An 80s-inspired synth album was not on the radar for Conan Gray fans, but he delivered despite minimal experience with that sound. Oddly enough, his new album “Found Heaven” seems to be exactly where he flourishes. Released on April 5, 2024, following five singles, Gray is experimenting with his sound and where he excels. The previous blueprint for his music was often heartbreak ballads but with the passing of his time in the industry, the songwriting on this album corresponds excellently with the production and first-time listeners of the album would never know that this is his first in this style.
“Found Heaven” opens with the title track painting a vision of darkness and self-reassurance. “Don’t be scared, little child/You’re no demon/There’s a God in the sky, don’t believe him.” It sounds vaguely haunting but highly danceable– a theme common on this album. Gray is often known for his pop-songs that sound fun but are not so much anymore when looking at his lyricism. Stand-out tracks include “Fainted Love,” “Miss You,” “Bourgoiseses” and “Winner.” The first three are skilled in their catchiness and wittiness. Gray has honed his vocal ability greatly since his start in music back in 2018. “Winner,” however, stands out for a different reason. It is one of the only tastes of vulnerability featured. It talks about home life for Gray and his relationship with his family being full of anger, and there is often a track or two featured about this dynamic on an album of his, but this song feels special. It feels like closure all-throughout the aching and longing of Gray’s voice. Despite this, he’s demonstrated growth and happiness and he himself claims that he’s “Found Heaven.”
Contrary to the electronic feel of Maggie Rogers’ previous albums, “Don’t Forget Me” hones in a more acoustic rock sound that she dabbles in from time to time across albums. Released on April 12, 2024, this roller-coaster of emotions leaves the listener basking in the summertime and crying their eyes out a few songs later. It sounds fresh and new, but a Rogers’ album always makes the listener feel that way. With a voice similar to that of Jewel or Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, Maggie Rogers’ took the music scene in the palm of her hands with her debut back in 2019 on “Heard It In A Past Life” and is consistently delivering classics. That being said, this album is lacking in a key factor: cohesiveness. The choice of production being scattered and uncoordinated from each other may have been on purpose, but it makes for a bit of a choppy listen. “Surrender” felt a little more personal and easy to listen to because it flowed primarily well due to the similar production along the album.
This doesn’t take away from the quality, however, which is exquisite as a Rogers’ album always is. She has a knack for pairing catchy pop melodies with melancholy lyrics and it makes for memorable songs every time. There are no specific stand-out tracks due to each having their own motive and uniqueness, all worth a listen just for their own specialty. Not only this, but her voice is full of a confidence and sharpness that was missing on her previous album. “Surrender” felt like reeling back from something new– “Don’t Forget Me” is wise and accomplished, and suffice to say, we won’t be forgetting Rogers anytime soon.
The undeniable star of this month has been the incredible Taylor Swift with her brand new double-album “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY” released on April 19, 2024, but maybe not because of the album. Swift has had her fair share of shocking lyrics but this album takes the cake with twists, turns and questionable choices. Critics either love or hate this album and, admittedly, this has been the most turmoil an album of hers has created in quite a long time; but why? This is an album that needs to sit before it’s digested fully. It was similar for her album “Midnights,” which people were quick to mark bad reviews for when it had come out, but this is a game that Swift has played many times, and she knows exactly what the people will say. Despite this, she makes music from the heart.
This album has its fair share of hard-hitters along with some not-so. “So Long, London” is arguably one of her weakest Track Five’s, but the emotion is present and the point gets across perfectly. Tired, burnt-out but reminiscent. We recall sounds from “evermore” and “folklore” often on this album, with a witchy and ominous aura that shows she knows more than she lets on.
However, despite it being so, “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” is an excellent album of grace and perseverance on its own. Oftentimes people accuse Swift of hoarding her songs with buzzwords that have little meaning, but what’s that mean about the listener? She’s shown, on numerous occasions, cohesive songs with wordy lyrics. Another story people enjoy stringing is that Swift often victimizes herself. “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” faced some black-lash due to the quite over-the-top metaphors for the way that the music industry has treated her. At the end of the day, however, music is art and nobody but Swift can say how her experiences made her feel— the critique of emotions in music is tiresome and old.
Some fantastic tracks from the standard album are “Fortnight (Featuring Post Malone),” “But Daddy I Love Him,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “Clara Bow.” Off “THE ANTHOLOGY,” some stand-outs are “The Black Dog,” “The Albatross,” “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” and “The Bolter.”
Becton fan Victoria Hernandez-Garcia expresses her opinion, “This album was so unexpected. It is so refreshing and nothing like I’ve heard before. 31 songs is a lot for any artist… you can tell each song that she curated was hand-picked with the lyrics and instrumental. She has the dream team with Aaron (Dessner) and Jack (Antonoff). You can always count on them to come up with the most beautiful songs.”
Hernandez-Garcia shared that her favorite songs are, “Florida!!! (Featuring Florence + The Machine),” “Fortnight,” “So Long, London,” “The Prophecy,” “So High School” and “Guilty As Sin?”
Not only were some fantastic albums released, but many single tracks were as well– see below for some tracks you should check out. We’re ecstatic to see what next month holds!
April 5 – Glad You Did by Sasha Alex Sloan
April 5 – Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan
April 5 – Cat’s Cradle by Flower Face
April 5 – Good Time by Cage The Elephant
April 19 – HERicane by Lucky Daye
April 19 – (Cover) Karma Police by Pierce The Veil
April 24 – Talk is Cheap by Dr. Dog
April 24 – Hang In There by Maya Hawke
April 26 – Bad Dream by Wallows
April 26 – (EP) Beep Beep Repeat by Isaac Dunbar
