December 27, 2016

Immortal Reviews' Top 50 Songs Of 2016

December 27, 2016/ Dylan Yadav

Check out our Top 50 favorite songs from 2016.

September 24, 2016

Ariana Grande - 'They Don't Know'

September 24, 2016/ Dylan Yadav

Ariana Grande has been in absolute control of the pop world over the last year. Her album Dangerous Woman - see our review here - smashed all expectations and was a confident, fun, and all-around enjoyable pop experience. Her new song 'They Don't Know' is on the Trolls OST, and it's a really sweet track.

A lot of Dangerous Woman had a more serious vibe to it, or at least not deliberately silly. 'They Don't Know' is the perfect amount of sweetness and fun for a children's movie and a successful pop hit. The song is brought in my beatboxing provided by Justin Timberlake, who's track 'Can't Stop The Feeling!' from the soundtrack made big splashes upon its release. The instrumental is pretty understated, the bassline being the most prominent element of it. Snaps and a programmed beat make up the beat, while a few dinky synths come in for the pre-chorus, funky guitars brightening and fattening up the chorus. The production feels really tight here, too - it's perfectly mixed to be a pop sensation.

The song exudes love. Grande is singing about everything great about being in love. Her sweet, flowing melodies dance through a sunny sky and across rainbows while she sings "They don't know, they don't know, they don't know about us... They don't know about what we do, and it's true..." in such happy way. This song, as MTV put it, is what "putting rainbows, fireworks, and candy into a blender and pouring it into your headphones" sounds like. She becomes a little more serious and powerful in the bridge, which exudes a hip-hop flair, but it immediately kicks back in to the cheerful ode to love.

Ariana Grande knows how to make a good pop song. All of her singles are popular for a reason - not because she has a giant fanbase following her (well, that's part of it), but because she can make poppy, fun, and catchy tracks like it's no one's business. This song really shows that. If it was still summer, 'They Don't Know' would be blasting on everyone's car stereos. I guess we'll have to start taking autumn beach visits just so we can jam out to this track on the ride there.

Rating: 87 / 100

July 08, 2016

2nd Quarter Of 2016 in Music - Wrap Up

July 08, 2016/ Dylan Yadav

2016 is still rolling by, and the albums are getting more diverse. Here's what I've listened to over the last three months (April - June) and links to the albums I've reviewed.

5-Star Albums (8.5 - 10)

2-Star Albums (2.5 - 4)

None!

1-Star Albums (0 - 2)

Pierce The Veil - Misadventures: 1.5

Top Albums Of 2016 (so far)

Top Songs Of 2016 (so far)

Once again, thanks for reading our reviews and following us! :) There's a lot more to come. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page so you don't miss anything!

May 26, 2016

Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman

May 26, 2016/ Dylan Yadav

“Badass” is probably not the first word that comes to your mind when discussing Ariana Grande, but her new album may change that. Dangerous Woman is a confident, huge pop record that brings good-girl Ariana Grande to a whole new level.

The album begins almost deceptively. ‘Moonlight’ opens the record on a sweet key introduction followed by gooey vocals and light orchestration. This song is almost lullaby-esque, a quiet and sweet introduction to the album. ‘Moonlight’ doesn’t exactly embody the whole “danger” factor of the album’s title. It has some great vocal work and is by no means a bad song, but it doesn’t go with the record. After ending on a plethora of harmonies, the badass kicks in with ‘Dangerous Woman’. It starts similar quiet as the song preceding it, but explodes into a confident and threatening track. Ariana has some amazing belts throughout the track, especially at the end of the track, which is just fantastically huge. Ariana has lots of amazing vocal moments on the record: ‘Leave Me Lonely’ in particular, as a whole, is a stellar vocal performance. ‘Greedy’ is another stellar song on the record, which is driven by huge amounts of groove and soul (complimented by the giant harmonies on the track). Not to mention, the song is pretty much how my girlfriend and I act about our time together (I love you, Halli!). Ariana isn’t afraid to get a bit dirty on this record, either; ‘Touch It’ brings a personal and sensual touch to the end of the record, while ‘Everyday’ explores love as a drug (or just drugs in general, it’s pretty hard to tell with this one). The guest spots - which, honestly, I expected to be awful - weren't half bad, either. Nikki Minaj and Future both held their weight on their tracks, and in style. Future was actually interesting, for once! It's a miracle!

The downfall of this record is that amidst all of the great moments on it, more than half the tracks just have nothing going for them. Every track is different and infectious in their own right, but there’s just no big punch to them that, as a record that is to exude confidence and strength, just don’t help the album progress. The latter half of the album has a bunch of bland songs, including the closing ‘Knew Better / Forever Boy’ and ‘Thinking Bout You’, which was perhaps the worst decision for the album. Those songs are just so bland and average, it ends an album that started so strong on a disappointing note.

Dangerous Woman is definitely a big jam of a record, despite its shortcomings. There are lots of huge pop bangers on it that will dominate the airwaves soon enough. If only the album was more cohesive in its theming, could it be a real statement. Every track has it’s own charm (whether it be the cheesy guitar licks in ‘I Don’t Care’ or punchy chords of ‘Bad Decisions’) that gives this album personality, though. It can’t be faulted. It’s a good record, but no masterpiece.