Lav's Music Corner

Lil Nas X is one of the newest and biggest stars in the world of contemporary pop and rap music. A few years ago he scored one of the all time most dominant summer chart hits with his breakout song Old Town Road  and has been teasing tracks on social media leading up to this debut album for almost two years. Earlier this year he broke potential one hit wonder claims with a trio of singles, two of which managed to be major chart hits. Review By Lav: I think it's worth stepping back and realizing just how meteoric the rise of Lil Nas X has been. I vividly remember when the news story broke that Old Town Road  wasn't eligible for the country music charts and my only thought being that I was surprised that a song I had only ever heard on Tik Tok was even scoring enough streams to chart anywhere. So clearly after he teamed up with Billy Ray Cyrus and the song became a mega hit the questions becomes is he capable of bucking the sonic aesthetics of his first big hit to become a caree...

Gorillaz are a virtual band that at this point really need no introduction. The project is spearheaded musically by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and visually by artist Jamie Hewlett and have been releasing music for almost 2 decades including some of the most essential fusions of indie, electronica and hip hop of the past 20 years. After releasing one of their least conceptual and most straight forward projects with 2018's The Now Now  the band is returning with a collaboration driven project that featured many singles leading up to its release. Review By Lavender: Like most people on Earth I love the music of Gorillaz. Damon Albarn is responsible for some of my favorite albums of the Brit Pop era and his creativity streak continued through one great Gorillaz record after another. Even on projects that lacked the bands usual poise like Humanz  and The Now Now  there were still plenty of great songs in the mix that showed off the bands consistency and creativity. Throughout ...

Lady Gaga is one of the biggest artists in the world by all measure. Since her 2008 single Just Dance  hit #1 on the Hot 100 Stefani hasn't looked back as she released one commercially successful album and single after another. Over the years she has transitioned from the world of electro dance pop she made her debut in towards the more folk inspired album Joanne  in 2016 as well as her huge part in the A Star Is Born  soundtrack a few years later. But with the teaser tracks leading up to Chromatica Gaga signified a return to her dance floor roots and takes a dive headfirst into the sound.  Review By Lavender: If you are around my age then you have not only grown up with the music of Lady Gaga but have grown up in a world where it was inescapable. From the nauseating Born This Way  to the creative but messy Artpop  and even to the genre shifting Joanne  commercial success has followed Lady Gaga like a shadow. While Lady Gaga hasn't put out a record I t...