Kelly Rowland Airs "Dirty Laundry" On Fourth Album

Former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland's first three albums were great. From the soul-rock of Simply Deep to the urban sounds of Ms. Kelly and the R&B and dance jams on Here I Am, Rowland ha always made great albums. The only issue with the albums in the past was Rowland's lack of writing on each record. While she wrote a few songs on each album, she rarely opened up and got personal.
On Talk a Good Game, Rowland's fourth disc she wrote every song with the exception of the first track, "Freak." Every song is personal and a piece of Rowland, the second single "Dirty Laundry" is more packed with emotional lyrics from personal experience than all three of her past albums. On that single Rowland opens up about an abusive relationship she was in and her relationship with bandmate and "sister" Beyoncé. The lyrics of the song are packed with passion and go along with a laundry theme.
"I was battered/ He hittin' the window like it was me, until it shattered/ He pulled me out, he said/ 'Don’t nobody love you but me/ Not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey'/ He turned me against my sister/ I missed ya," Rowland sings passionately during the third verse. That part of the song is particularly hard to listen to. A song with this much passion and honesty takes courage to write and release. This shows huge strength from Rowland and while there are no other songs as raw as "Dirty Laundry" although "Down on Love" and "I Remember" come close.
One of the standout tracks on the album is a collaboration with Beyoncé and Michelle Williams, Rowland's former bandmates, called "You Changed" The song has a great R&B rhythm and a verse each from Beyoncé and Williams.
Other highlights include "Freak" and "Kisses Down Low" which both pack a sexual punch. Another great track is the "Big Yellow Taxi" sampling "Gone" which features a guest appearance by Wiz Khalifa. The song is a breakup anthem that is sure to be a huge hit with the ladies.
While the album all but abandons the dance sounds featured on her last album, "I Remember" comes kind of close. Another highlight is the Pusha T assisted "Street Life" which showcases lyrics about the recession and gets a tad bit political.
While most of the songs are good some aren't up to par with the rest. "Red Wine" really doesn't go anywhere. It isn't a bad song, but it isn't as good as the rest of the songs on the record.
The album towards the end gets a tad bit repetitive and all of the songs sound the same, especially on the deluxe version. The songs are good, but the songs on the actual album are better.
The album is a great record and shows true growth for Rowland. This album will go down as her best record.

Fantasia Redeems Herslf On Fourth Album

Season 3 winner of American Idol, Fantasia released her fourth album Side Effects of You last week and it's great return to form after her third album Back to Me was very lackluster. After her first two albums Free Yourself and Fantasia were both great albums.
Fantasia released the single "Lose to Win" in January. The single was a decent song but it didn't look good. Then in April, a week before the release of the album Fantasia released the second single and best song on the album. "Without Me" which features Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott. The song features the three women going ham on lovers who have done them wrong. "What would you be without me," Fantasia sings during the chorus. The song is a mid-tempo R&B/hip hop and it's good to hear Elliott back in the booth.
The album has so many great songs. The title track which was written by Emeli Sandé is a great song about the codependency in a bad relationship. "Ain't All Bad" is a reggae inspired song about moving on from a breakup and on the rock and funk inspired "Get it Right" Fantasia seems to have discovered profanity for the first time. "Give the motherfucking drummer some," she screams during the breakdown. "So Much to Prove" continues the rock-laced sound of "Get it Right." Fantasia described the sound of the album as "rock-soul and that is what keeps going on the next song "Change Your Mind." The soulful track is laced with rock guitars and features a sassed up and sexy Fantasia. The next song, the VV Brown written "Lighthouse" is about shining bright and being yourself. The song has a rock sound as well and sounds like an outtake from Brown's catalog.
The album closes with some songs that sound like they could be off of early Fantasia albums. The sound on the closing three songs is soulful and emotional. The songs here shake off the rock swag of the middle of the album and get down the classic Fantasia.
Also this record is the first where Fantasia writes most of the lyrics. On her last record she wrote a few songs but on her first two she didn't write anything. "Ain't All Bad," If I Was a Bird," Without Me," "Get it Right," "So Much to Prove," "Change Your Mind," End of Me" and the bonus tracks "Haunted" and "To The Heavens" all give Fantasia a writing credit. This makes the album more personal.
Fantasia is back to her old form on this album and hopefully she can keep going and make more amazing albums just like this one.

Eve is finally back

Rapper Eve has been pushing back her fourth studio album since it's originally intended release date of 2007. Lip Lock will follow up her third album 2002's Eve-Olution. Before that she released her first and second albums, 1999's Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady and 2001's Scorpion. The latter featured Eve's best song and biggest hit "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" which featured Gwen Stefani and won the duo a Grammy Award.
In 2003 the rapper took some time off to star in her own television show and act in movies. She guested on songs by Keyshia Cole, Ludacris and Kelly Rowland and released her own singles "Tambourine" which featured Swizz Beatz and "Give it to You" which was a duet with Sean Paul both in 2007. Eve was later dropped from her label and Lip Lock was pushed back.
Then in 2012 Eve announced that she was working on a new version of her fourth record. The buzz single "She Bad Bad" was released in October and while it was a decent song, it was nothing compared to the greatness that was Eve. Things were looking bad until the rapper announced her single "Make it Out This Town" which features Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship.
The song is an uplifting song about not letting anything hold you back and keeping your head up through the struggle. The song sounds a tad bit like a Cobra Starship song with more hip hop. While the song isn't a classic, it is a great song that is sure to rejuvenate the hope in Eve fan's hearts that her new album will be worth the almost 11 year wait. Lip Lock will be released on May 14.

Top 10 most anticipated albums of 2013

It's about that time again. There are so many great albums coming out this year I could literally make a top 50 list but who has time to read that? Here are my top 10 most anticipated albums of 2013.

10. Otep-Hydra
Nu-metal band Otep have announced their sixth and final album Hydra. The album is a follow-up to their terrible fifth album Atavist. On that album front-woman Otep Shamaya got lazy. Writing lyrics such as "fist-fuck their face/ God doesn't care!" Shamaya's lyrics used to be poetic and aggressive but on their her last album it felt childish and clichéd. Amazon.com has previews of the tracks up and they sound good. The first single "Apex Predator" will be released on January 15, a week before the album is released. Hopefully Hydra is good so Otep can go out on a good note.

9. A Day To Remember-Common Courtesy
A Day To Remember announced the title of their fifth album in May and their single came out last month.  "Violence (Enough is Enough)" is a great song but it's nothing special. This hardcore band have set trends and other bands try to be them. Their past albums were classic and this one is sure to be as well.

8. Leona Lewis-Glassheart
Leona Lewis has never made music that is very exciting. Her ballads are touching and fantastic but an entire album of ballads can be boring. This is not true with her third album. It mixes in synthpop and dubstep into her soulful R&B sound. The album is already out around the world but it has yet to be released here in the United States. Although not a single the title track is a dubstep and house song about the end of a relationship. It's catchy, yet sad and beautiful. While some of the songs on her album aren't that great this song makes up for it. The album is set to release in the US this year.

7. Kelly Rowland-Year of the Woman
Kelly Rowland has always been very underrated. Her albums are amazing and she definitely makes better music than her former Destiny's Child band mates. While a few of her singles have been hits  Rowland gets the short end of the stick. She released her first single "Ice" featuring Lil' Wayne. Her new album is set to be a return to the R&B sound of her older albums. The album is due out sometime this year.

6. After The Burial-Haunt and Catalyst
Little information is known about the deathcore/metalcore/melodic death metal/progressive metal band's fourth album except this rumored title. If it's anything like their last album In Dreams we're in for a treat. On that album the band mixed in clean vocals with their eardrum assaulting instrumentation. The album is set to be released sometime in 2013.

5. Vanna-Untitled
Post-hardcore band Vanna are always good to release catchy and aggressive albums. The band are set to release their fourth studio album sometime this year and while all of their songs tend to sound similar, they're always good. This album will defiantly be opening up mosh-pits all year round. The album is to be released sometime this year.

4. Lady Gaga-ARTPOP
Lady Gaga is known for being out there. Her first two albums mixed so many genres together. Pop, house, rock, metal, hip hop, and dance all seep into her songs. Gaga never disappoints. The album doesn't have a release date. It is said to be due sometime this year.

3. Katy Perry-Untitled
Katy Perry is set to release her third album this summer and it's sure to be a great album. Her first two albums are pop classics and this one is sure to be a hit as well. The sound is said to be a little darker. Perry got divorced from Russell Brand and had a few songs off of her re-release dealt with that topic. Mostly a breakup leads to a great album. Adele's 21 and No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom are both classic breakup records. No release date yet on a single or the album but it's sure to be great.

2. Paramore-Paramore
Paramore have been recording their fourth record for some time now and it's finally going to be released on April 9. The first single "Now" is set to be released on January 22. Paramore always make great albums so this one is sure to be getting heavy rotation once released.

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Untitled
Yeah Yeah Yeah's third album It's Blitz was released almost four years ago. It lacked the punch of their first two albums. The new wave approach to the songs just wasn't as effective as their garage punk sound of their older music. Buzz for a song the band played live last year was good, one reviewer compared it to Florence and the Machine. Hopefully the band get back to their classic sound on this album.