Review: Taylor Swift – Evermore

Craig Manning Dec 14, 2020

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Taylor Swift’s folklore was one of 2020’s few saving graces. For myself and many other Taylor fans, the songs on that album were a salve to sooth some of the heartbreak and disappointment of this year. Even the discourse around the songs was a welcome distraction from all the bad things happening around us. That the album would never have come to exist, likely in any form, without the pandemic is one of the only positives in this remarkably net-negative hellscape we’ve been living in since March. So when Taylor announced that she’d be dropping a sequel album called evermore last Thursday, it felt a bit like lightning striking twice. The first album was a sepia-toned autumnal beauty shot through with the wistful strains of a dying summer—in 2020’s case, a lost summer. Released two weeks out from what could be the loneliest Christmas many people ever experience, evermore promised to be folklore’s wintry twin: a cold-weather soundtrack full of snow-strewn backdrops, frosty windows, and solitary reflections. Taylor positioned the album as her gift to everyone else for her 31st birthday, but it’s more like alternative Christmas music in a year when playing the usual celebratory Christmas tunes seems bizarre or even profane. Tis the damn season, folks, and Taylor Swift is here to get you through it.

Adam Grundy Dec 14, 2020

The world needs more bands like Foxy Shazam. With their unique blend of charisma and theatrics in their music, there isn’t a single uninteresting moment on their latest LP called Burn. The band has always had a flair for the theatrical and glam elements of the 70’s rock era, but they really go for their full-fledged modern take on that era of music with their latest album. With some songs teetering on the edge of Queen, to David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin all thrown into the mix, the band is more than capable of creating a record that pays direct homage to past artists, while still making the end result feel fresh for newer audiences. Their eccentric front-man Eric Nally took the majority of the songwriting and vocal duties on the album, but there is plenty of new elements to Foxy Shazam’s evolution as an artist. The album was recorded remotely with members of the band working in three different studios, yet the end product feels as cohesive as if the band were in the same room creating this music simultaneously.

Jason Tate Dec 14, 2020

Shawn Mendes has the number one album in the country this week:

Shawn Mendes scores his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his latest studio effort, Wonder, bows atop the tally. The set earned 89,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 10, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Drake

Jason Tate Dec 14, 2020

Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have covered Drake’s “Hotline Bling.”

Jason Tate Dec 14, 2020

The New York Times:

The gas station incident is at the heart of the lawsuit that says Mr. LaBeouf, 34, abused FKA twigs physically, emotionally and mentally many times in a relationship that lasted just short of a year. Her aim in coming forward, she said in an interview, was to explain how even a critically acclaimed artist with money, a home and a strong network of supporters could be caught in such a cycle.
“I’d like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency,” FKA twigs, 32, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, said.