Pre-album singles "Julia" and "Teen Spirit" had me so hyped, and while the latter didn't make the final cut, unfortunately, they were a great indicator as to what to expect from New Jersey-native SZA's debut. The songstress expanded on her signature sound, consisting of light trap-esque beats paired with an airy vocal delivery, and crafted a smooth and sparkly full-length record around the concept. While the trap influences are not as prominent as in the singer's earlier work, they still define the album wholly and make it stand out amongst other PBR&B girls' long-players (which 2014 provided quite a few of, actually).
Standouts: "Julia", "Warm Winds (feat. Isaiah Rashad)",
"Childs Play (feat. Chance the Rapper)"
Kyla La Grange – Cut Your Teeth
Kyla La Grange's sophomore effort was more or less a pleasant surprise. I had never heard about her before and actually found out about Cut Your Teeth through some dubious music blog. Eventually, I decided to check it out due to the singer's stylish hair colour (Judge me). What I got was basically a collection of -- mostly bittersweet -- pop songs with quite a lot of replay value. The title track's opening lines ("Didn't I warn you not to?/ Didn't I warn you good?") almost seem a bit ironical, considering how thoroughly catchy and recommendable the album is.
Standouts: "Cut Your Teeth", "Get It", "I Don't Hate You"
Broods – Evergreen
These guys were so quick with their album, like, real quick. They only just put out their self-titled debut EP this January, the album eventually following in early October. Although I couldn't help but take them as some kind of Lorde parody act after hearing lead single "Bridges", I soon grew to love and appreciate them. The similarities are solely musically, anyway, and that also comes as no surprise, seeing how the two share the same producer.
Standouts: "Mother & Father" (Give this one a listen, seriously), "Bridges", "Never Gonna Change"
Admitebily haven't heard any of these albums, but Broods sounded familiar, so I listened to the standouts you chose and wow! The Lorde similarity is definitely there, but that's not a bad thing. They seem to have a really solid stand on what they represent as writers, while putting it out there with a soothing, almost tranquilizing beats. Going to give the rest of their album a listen now.
Edit: L.A.F and Bridges is even better the second time around.
The font you chose for the numbers are so beautiful. Which one is it?
Thank you! It's called Futura Bold, you can find it here.
Quote:
Originally posted by posh
Admitebily haven't heard any of these albums, but Broods sounded familiar, so I listened to the standouts you chose and wow! The Lorde similarity is definitely there, but that's not a bad thing. They seem to have a really solid stand on what they represent as writers, while putting it out there with a soothing, almost tranquilizing beats. Going to give the rest of their album a listen now.
I'm glad to hear that! "Mother & Father" really is one of my favourite songs of the year. Most of their album has a similar vibe, but I think it's really nice and gives the record some cohesiveness. I like the cover quite a lot, too!
The Metronomy album was good but they've had better things.
wow! The Lorde similarity is definitely there, but that's not a bad thing. They seem to have a really solid stand on what they represent as writers, while putting it out there with a soothing, almost tranquilizing beats. Going to give the rest of their album a listen now. 
