Tea Time

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...

GENRE: rap, hip hop With Kanye slowly moving into a more electronic sound, it's nice to hear that some artists still produce the styles similar to College Dropout. I'm a big fan of that style of rap where the backing tracks consist of tried and true drumset grooves and darkly flamboyant, hip bass lines. You've even got that choir filling out the harmony that is otherwise absent in rap. As for the rappers themselves, I'm a big fan of MF Doom's style as well, so maybe I'll revisit him at a later date. I've always enjoyed the aesthetic that they've adopted: gritty comic book style characters with expressive lyricism. The lower vocal range is just a personal preference of mine as well; it adds just a bit more depth and meat to the spectrum. The ending section of the song, mimicking the aftermath of a bomb I guess(?), is a nice touch and further evidence of the creative and non-mainstream flexibility of these smaller rap artists. Luckily, CZARFACE just p...

GENRE: indie pop Following along the vein that is bedroom pop and atmospheric, nebulous indie singers, we find ourselves with Baybee. Compared to other songs that fall under this umbrella, the guitar work is more prevalent, which I can really appreciate. Otherwise, it's a by the books song consistent with the genre. There are a few cool elements here and there that involve the drums and guitars, but other than that, I don't foresee any particularly memorable phrases from this song. In short, it came and went. I enjoyed it though. Rating: 7/10

GENRE: folk gardettos  Sorry to break it to you, but I just can't not  write about the stuff I find from Phoebe Bridgers. Her stuff strikes an emotional core that doesn't get enough attention. Now, I don't know the entirety of the context behind the song, but you can tell that there's a shift in the warmth of the overall timbre of the song. From the instrumentation to the mixing, there's a homely feeling to the overall production. Again, Phoebe isn't too keen on making the backing tracks too complicated, usually consists of light, airy chords and melodies. It's really her voice that carries the bulk of her work. And that I can live with. I don't think I'd really have it any other way. Christmas Song  is just another example of the depth of her genre. Rating: 7.5/10

GENRE: jazz, big band Now, you may or may not get the reference here, and why I'm writing about this particular song on this particular day. But, the quality and integrity of the song itself remains the same. Written after the turmoil that was WWII, this song embraces a positive, optimistic, and romantic ending to what was one of the bleakest periods of time in our history. And frankly, I'm a huge sucker for this style of music, where a singer is backed up by a big band. The timbre and overall instrumentation gives me that feeling of that pseudo-nostalgia I've mentioned before. I guess the tone or style of music evokes that feeling of better times. Of course, it's disingenuous to think of it like that, because I imagine we only tend to remember the good times. Nonetheless, it's as real a feeling as any other. Whether or not it's a good thing is up to you. Back to the song though, the singer is perfectly fit within the time period.There's no better fitti...