Diamonds & Dancefloors by Ava Max
Heavily influenced by the likes of Lady Gaga and 80's dance pop, think Cathy Dennis, this album is solid standard fare dance pop. A bit long at 14 tracks the running time is still below 40 minutes. You can easily find songs to pull off here for a dance mix or a workout mix, but there isn't much on here to bring you back to the album over and over.
This is Tyler Hubbard's first solo album. He's been a part of Florida Georgia Line, a very successful country duo, since 2012. It's a long album at 18 tracks and similar to Ava Max is pretty standard fare stuff, this one is just country standard fare. Nothing on here of too much interest, but you can find a few good songs for a driving mix.
Let's Start Here by Lil Yachty
OK now this is not standard fare, this is more in the lines of experimental R&B similar to what we've been getting from artists like FKA Twigs. OK I know I've been complaining about standard fare stuff, but I'm also not too crazy about experimental stuff. I find this more interesting than the standard fare stuff, but it doesn't mean I'm going to come back to it over and over again. For me when I listen to experimental music like this I'm looking for those moments where the experimental touches the standard and you get what I think of as unique music. There are moments on here that really work and so I found this to be an enjoyable, if challenging, listen. With his lyrical voice and his playfullness with melodies, I think Lil Yachty has the potential to do something really special. For me this album is a step in that direction, but not quite there.
I'm working this afternoon to a Who concert from today in 1976. Upon further review, I still really, really like "Substitute."
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