By Vanessa Nason, News Correspondent
Quarter four has finally arrived, a time where record companies push their most highly anticipated albums of the year, just in time for the bustle of seasonal holiday sales.
Newcomer Lorde, ex-Disney superstar Miley Cyrus, current reigning princess of pop Katy Perry and alternative heavyweights Arcade Fire have each decided to storm the music industry with their return to the charts – bidding the question, “Who will end up on top?”
“Bangerz”
Coming in at number four on Billboard’s September list of top summer songs, “We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus gave us a preview of the highly anticipated album finally released on Oct. 4.
“Bangerz,” the result of executive producers Cyrus and Mike WiLL Made It collaborating with other successful producers like Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and Dr. Luke, is a complete revolution from Cyrus’s older work. Gone are the pop beats mixed with a country twang, the lyrics about a simple girl from Tennessee dealing with her “tummy turnin” and “feelin’ kinda homesick” while traversing the streets of L.A. With “Bangerz,” there is raw emotion.
There are lyrics drawing from the break off of her engagement with actor Liam Hemsworth. And there is a more adult version of Cyrus. From the smooth lyrical sound of “Adore You” to the fast-paced, more hip hop influenced “Love Money Party,” Cyrus pours her heart into this album.
But with this behavior comes criticism. Mikey’s new lewd image was clearly shown my her performance at the VMAs, and a quick look at the reaction footage of the crowd shows just how unprecedented new Miley is, and poorly received she is to some. Her new album even comes with a parental advisory warning.
The obvious stray from the wholesome Disney-inspired image is a continuation of something Cyrus began in 2010 with her third studio album “Can’t Be Tamed.” Between drug references and a more explicit image overall, the new Cyrus is hardly recognizable when compared to the old, but she says it’s all part of growing up. She aims to distance herself from her past, explaining over and over that she is no longer the 16-year-old children’s TV star. With “Bangerz,” she’s achieved exactly that.
“PRISM”
Although released in the shadow of 2010’s wildly successful “Teenage Dream,” “PRISM,” Katy Perry’s fourth studio album, did not disappoint.
Her bubbly, California girl personality shines through once again with catchy upbeat songs you can’t help but sing along to. Perry’s music still reigns as the go-to, fun pop music; the kind you’d blast on sunny summer days while driving to the beach with your friends.
Even Perry’s experimental tracks on PRISM, such as “Dark Horse,” do not detract from the overall feel. If anything, it cements her position as a pop princess. “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J (of Three 6 Mafia) produced by Max Martin and pop producing megastar, Dr. Luke, opens with a beat that manages to meld trap music and typical lighthearted Perry beats. These, of course, are then combined with her powerful vocals, creating what’s sure to be a hit.
Perry is a superstar, and the album shows no less than that.
“Pure Heroine”
Lorde’s debut studio album, “Pure Heroine,” is just what you would expect the rest of the album that “Royals” came from to sound like. It’s a perfect display of her beautiful, chilling vocals and synth-y beats. Its sound is reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, whom she cites as an influence, but still manages to remain powerfully unique. No surprise, really. Could you expect anything less from the artist whose lead single soared to the tops of charts in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and here in the US, where it hit and stayed at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 (making her New Zealand’s first solo artist to have a number one song in the US)? Oh, and she’s 17. The artist was signed to Universal when she was 13, after her friend’s father sent Universal A&R scout Scott Maclachlan home recordings of her singing. Four years later and she’s topping charts in multiple countries, and producing an incredible album. If “Pure Heroine” is any indication of what we’ll see later on, Lorde’s future looks extremely bright.
“Reflektor”
If there ever was an album that perfectly represented its band, “Reflektor” would be it. It’s the perfect showcase of Arcade Fire’s unique ability to pull from places you’d never imagine and make it work.
Keep in mind that this is an indie rock band that manages to add obscure instruments like the glockenspiel and hurdy-gurdy to their music, so the sounds and influences of their fourth studio album should not surprise.
“Reflektor” draws from the 1959 film “Black Orpheus,” Søren Kierkegaard’s essay “The Present Age,” and Haitian rara music. If you read that without listening to the album, you’re probably very confused. But, somehow, it all works.
After visiting Haiti for the first time, frontman Win Butler discussed how he was opened up to a whole new musical influence, a new sound he never considered, and this permeates the entire album, most notably on “Here Comes the Night Time.”
Die hard fans of arcade fire might not like the new sound. If you’re searching for the old Arcade Fire, “Reflektor” is the wrong place to look. New fans and old ones with an open mind are welcome, but to those whole fell in love with “The Suburbs” or “Neon Bible,” and are looking for more of that, be warned: you might not like what you hear.
Although it may be made from the most obscure mix, “Reflektor” still captures Arcade Fire’s one-of-a-kind sound and beautiful lyrics. It’s ambitious and heavy with influence, but never once strays from the band’s rock roots which listeners love — love so much, in fact, that the band won an Emmy in 2011 for their last album, “The Suburbs.” Originally set to be released on Oct. 29, the album was leaked early by Rollercoaster Records in Ireland. In response, the band released a high-quality stream of the entire album set to footage from “Black Orpheus.” This is a band that can roll with the punches. This is a band so artistic, it finds influence in every corner of the globe. And this is an album that reflects just that.
