Tea Time

GENRE: soft rock Hmm, I have a profound attraction to this song, and I can't quite explain why. It's a pretty mild rock song, with a longer-than-usual length. It feels a like slow burn. It feels like you've lit a small candle at your desk. The muffled sounds of the guitars, the singer's lower register, the extreme reverb, it's a weird, drawn-out concoction that seems to work. I feel like this song was written to get you lost in the sounds and passion of the artist; maybe I could describe it as desensitizing? What I mean by that is that the rhythm guitar stays there the entire time without fail. While comfortable, it's almost mind-numbing to a fault, so much so that it sort of drowns out the synth solo. And honestly, that was a conscious decision given the rest of the song. Overall, the entire instrumentation is slightly distorted and the composition is quite simple and beautiful, giving way to a twisted, tense experience. Rating: 8/10

GENRE: soft rock It's not because of the most recent Elton John movie that I'm listening and writing about this. This song happened to show up in passing, and it turns out to be Sir Elton John. It's been a while since I've listened to anything new by him. Most people know the classics and greatest hits, but it's still mind-blowing to know that he's written so much material throughout his career. In this song, you've got a pretty monotonous lyric, b lue eyes... , that it kind of rubbed me the wrong way by the end of the song. The chord progression is interesting though, with ominous and haunting passing chords between the usual poppy chord progression. Since the 80's though, our sound and preference for music has grown. For me, this timbre just seems a bit stale to me. The plain drums, the piano, and synth sound is a little to thin for my tastes. It's somewhat similar to Lionel Richie's works. Rating: 5/10

GENRE: acoustic, soft rock spaghetti I can't remember how I discovered this person, but I'm so glad I did. She's a Chinese artist that mainly sings in English. Even more, I just found out that she's the daughter of Faye Wong , which is even cooler considering that Faye is the premiere artist featured on Final Fantasy VIII's soundtrack. I've been listening to a lot  of Leah's work, and I have such a huge appreciation for how different her songs are from song to song. Sometimes, she incorporates a more funky and poppy influence, as seen in My Days, or a more experimental approach as seen in A swim in the love that you give me . Not only does that speak to the creative juices that flow in her head, but also serves as a testament of making music for music's sake. No matter the medium, her message can be disseminated. I'll admit, because with other artists I can get fatigued by just how their styles stagnate over the course of their career. David Bowi...