The Lumineers

We all thought at one point The Lumineers were going to be a one hit wonder after releasing worldwide hit "Ho Hey," in 2012. But obviously The Lumineers are out to prove everyone wrong because the band's new album Cleopatra that released in 2016 is very very good. With multiple hits that are just dying for attention, this album has definitely put the band on the map. The music videos on this album are all connected to each other which is something I've never seen before. It makes the songs all the more entertaining and the message memorable. The Lumineers are a folk band based in Denver Colorado and released their self titled album in 2012 that went worldwide in 2013. The band had it's struggles after it's first album released but have come back strong in 2016 with the release of it's Album Cleopatra. As usual I will be giving a brief description and a rating of my four personal favorite songs from the album and giving the band an overview and a letter grade at the end. Let's get to it.

Sleep on the Floor

The 1st song and intro to the album. It tells the tale of a man trying to convince the love of his life to drop everything and leave with him.  He thinks she'll never leave if she doesn't go with him. As crazy as it sounds it is pretty romantic. The lyrics "Decide on me, decide on us," will forever hit me in the feelings. The song has a bit of folk and indie to it that maintains a rather pleasant positive vibe throughout and honestly only gets better as it goes. It is easily one of the best songs on the album and the love story that the music video portrays is truly one to remember. I find myself listening to it over and over, because of how catchy it is. It's amazing how simple this song is, but how great it is at the same time. Simplicity at its finest and I feel no other song on the album than Sleep on the Floor would fit for a better intro.  

My Rating for this Song

Listen to Sleep on the Floor here:

The Lumineers - Sleep on the Floor

Ophelia 

The 2nd song on the album, Ophelia displays impressive piano playing right off the bat that'll stay in your head for the entire day. Ophelia is so upbeat but is so calm at the same time. It's strange how that falls together but it just does. The story behind Ophelia is that Ophelia represents fame and the spotlight. The man in the story is reminiscing about Ophelia, meaning that he does indeed miss the fame and spotlight. But the overall meaning behind the story of Ophelia is that fame (Ophelia) will only love you for a brief moment and then it'll (she'll) be moving on. So basically this man missed out on his life because he was so busy hanging onto Ophelia that he missed the important things like true love and what's in front of him. 

My Rating for this Song

Listen to Ophelia here: 

The Lumineers - Ophelia

Cleopatra

The 3rd song on the album. As pleasant as this song sounds, if you pull the lyrics out on the side it's very very sad. It tells the story of a woman who missed out on the love of her life. Remember what I said about the songs being connected? Well I believe Cleopatra takes place after Sleep on the Floor. I'm not sure if it's directly after, but I do believe it is after. If feel like Cleopatra tells the story of how the woman's life would've been if she decided to take the route and opt out of leaving with her lover. the song honestly talks about nothing but regret, and I believe it was referring to the woman on missing out living her life with the man she loved. Tragic but at least the song sounds good!

My Rating for this Song

Listen to Cleopatra here:

The Lumineers - Cleopatra

Angela

The 5th song on the album. Angela tells the tale of a girl named Angela who is running away from her relationship mostly because she was young and fears commitment over all. The song is basically about her on the run and the adventure she has on her own. Although through the sites the views and all the experiences she realizes that nothing truly beats the feeling of being with someone that wants to be with you. The lyrics in the chorus "Home at last." represent her coming back to the man that truly loves her. It's quite the beautiful and sad song at the same time and the piano piece at the end is truly beautiful. 

My Rating for this Song

Listen to Angela here:

The Lumineers - Angela

Overall: 

The Lumineers were off the radar for awhile, and it's safe to say that after Cleopatra's release in 2016 the future is very bright for this band. With multiple hits on their sophomore album they've established themselves as a truly big time band.The Lumineers great sound and Indie genre seems to be America's answer to Mumford and Sons. The Playlist give The Lumineers a

Kaleo

It's 2017. A new year for the world, and a new year for music. The purpose of this blog is to give information and reviews about bands that are going to make some noise in 2017. On the top of the list and the first band we will be blogging about today is the Icelandic based band Kaleo.
In 2014 Kaleo made their way into the States after releasing their single "All the Pretty Girls", and more recently in 2016 the band released it's first major album "A/B." After carefully listening to the album it has really grown on me and has easily become one of my favorite albums. I find myself going back to it over and over, not because I'm one of those obsessed weirdos, but mainly because of lead singer Jokull Juliusson (We're just gonna call him JJ for now). JJ has a voice that leaves an impact effective immediately. The passion and aggressiveness in his voice is like something you've heard before but in reality you haven't. And it's something that honestly in my opinion will have an immediate effect on the music world, once this band gain's a little more popularity. Going back to the Kaleo's debut album "A/B", for the purpose of time and length, I've narrowed the review to my top four favorite songs from the album all of which will be provided with a link to listen to these songs. Let's get started.

Way Down We Go

The 2nd track on Kaleo's album A/B and is easily the album's most popular song. The song has made appearances in a variety of ways from the hit TV show's Supergirl, Suits and Netflix exclusive Orange Is the New Black to video game appearances such as the FIFA 16 soundtrack. Way Down We Go has a sort of dark jazzy and mysterious kind of vibe to it. It makes me imagine myself in a nightclub scene that has sort of a mafia/Devil's playground kind of vibe to it. The song starts off with a simple piano and JJ singing, and when the beat is dropped JJ gives you a small taste of what his voice can really do jumping to the chorus, but the true beauty in the song lies just after the guitar solo in the middle. JJ picks up the tone when it was thought to be untouchable at this point in the song. His raspiness and aggression demands this song to be heard over and over again on repeat. And more importantly his passion and forceful voice demands this song not to be forgotten.

My Rating for this Song:

Listen to Way Down We Go here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-7IHOXkiV8

All the Pretty Girls

The 6th song on Kaleo's album A/B, Kaleo's song All the pretty girls is one worth hearing. In my opinion the song itself is divided up into three sections. The first section being the intro which starts off with a mellow acoustic guitar and tells the story of a boy who is jealous of a certain “Samuel”, because Samuel gets all the ladies.(You go Samuel!) The second part continuing on with the mellow, kind of sort of depressing vibe picks up slightly and goes on with the narrator's story wishing to renew a lost love, or even to possibly find new love. This part's end is very important to the song because it builds up for the third piece. The third piece of this song is what makes it brilliant, from going from a cool, relaxed sort of Bon Iver kind of feel, Jokull Juliuson's change in tone can do one of two things, it can either send shivers down your spine or it'll make you tear. You can hear the disappoint and frustration in his voice because a said someone will not “lay him down.” The hope for the renew of a lost love in the heart shattering lyrics “I'll wait for you.” is what makes this song beautiful.  The desperation in JJ's voice truly is a work of art and is something music has never seen before. Bold as it sounds I stand by my statement completely. All the Pretty Girls is definitely the most different song on this album almost completely changing the bands genre itself, but it is easily the best song on this album. It's distinct difference from the other songs on the album proves the band's versatility to be successful and just makes you wonder....What on Earth are these guys going to release next? Although it may not be as popular as other hit single Way Down We Go, people tend to forget that All the Pretty Girls is what broke the barrier for a US record deal that brought Kaleo over from Iceland. It is the band's best song and will be their best song for a long time. It is definitely one worth listening to. You won't regret it, I promise.

My Rating for this Song:

Listen to All the Pretty Girls here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNwgOkl5nRY

Save Yourself

The 9th song on Kaleo's album A/B, and their newest single having just made their live music video for it awhile back on a beautiful iceberg setting somewhere in Iceland. This song is a very good song that I can very well see being played in things such as films and tv shows, it's very radio friendly and displays impressive vocals. But for some reason this song didn't stick to me as well as some other songs on this album. The one thing i really like about this song is the super mellow guitar solo in the middle that continues on throughout for the rest of the song, it's beautifully played and brings joy to my ears. The ending of this is also very impressive with JJ's powerful voice escalating. But other than that it's a typical love song if you ask me. It cracks my top four for the impressive guitar solo and the impressive vocals towards the end.


My Rating for this Song:

Listen to Save Yourself here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCi0RHLrauU

I Can't Go On Without You

The 10th and final song in Kaleo's Album A/B which starts off with a catchy whistle that definitely makes this song sound blues like. As you can guess it is indeed a love song. The lyrics "I can't go on without you," are repeated often throughout the entire song. What I like most about this song is that it picks up more and more each verse going from basically a soft blues like song to a more modern blues kind of rock. JJ's raspy voice and soulful sound is full of emotion and life. It almost makes you feel like he's singing his heart out for his lost love. It makes me want to bust out the alcohol and remember the one that got away in my life. Definitely some pretty powerful stuff. The song itself has a variety of instruments being played in the background that adds that drama that makes the song memorable. It's in sync all around from instruments to vocals and ending with that high pitched depressing whistle that also was the intro makes this the perfect song not to go out with a bang, but to go out with a purpose. 

My Rating for this Song:

Listen to I Can't Go On Without You here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNOdsvMke4

Overall:

In an honest review Kaleo is definitely a band to watch out for in 2017, they will bring blues rock back in a triumphant fashion. With a great sound instrumentally and such a unique vocals at their disposal the sky's the limit for this band. The band's proven versatility with "All the Pretty Girls", makes them a competitor in a variety of genres. The band also knows how to go back to it's roots with a bang with songs like "Way Down We Go" and "I Can't Go On Without You." Like I said earlier in this blog you can't help but wonder......What on Earth are these guys going to release next?

Letter Grade: