{"id":13592,"date":"2017-03-01T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T17:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=13592"},"modified":"2017-02-28T10:12:39","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T18:12:39","slug":"new-music-revue-amber-run-defeat-obstacles-khodara-soars-wyclef-jean-flops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2017\/03\/01\/new-music-revue-amber-run-defeat-obstacles-khodara-soars-wyclef-jean-flops\/","title":{"rendered":"New Music Revue<\/em>: Amber Run defeat obstacles, Khodara soars, Wyclef Jean flops"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Amber Run
\nFor a Moment, I Was Lost
\n<\/i>(Dine Alone Records)
\n4\/5<\/p>\n

British pop-rock group Amber Run flesh out their sadness on their second full-length. It\u2019s strongly driven by misty electronic music, muddied guitars, and haunting vocals, reflecting what they\u2019ve been through: since their first album, their record label dropped them, and their drummer left the band.<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s songs manage to touch on each individual aspect of the split, whether it be anxiety (\u201cInsomniac\u201d), loneliness (\u201cIsland\u201d), or depression (\u201cWhite Lie\u201d).<\/p>\n

The album is cohesive, with polished instrumentals running throughout the production. Despite the sombre mood, Amber Run manages to keep me listening by concentrating certain sounds in certain songs. For example, \u201cInsomniac\u201d maintains a more upbeat pop feel, driven by the bass and chiming keys, while \u201cHaze\u201d sparks digitized harmonies to life.<\/p>\n

My one qualm is the length of the album. The tempo slows down toward the end, making the later songs drag. The band doesn\u2019t switch sounds up too dramatically, maintaining a strictly pop-rock sound, with electronic features for good measure. Cohesion reigns over variety with this album.<\/p>\n

The entire album isn\u2019t all blue\u2014there\u2019s a fighting spirit running underneath. From the pulsing drumbeats to the ethereal background vocals, Amber Run\u2019s For a Moment, I Was Lost<\/i> shows a hunger despite the circumstances. With an album like this coming out of the band\u2019s hardships, it won\u2019t be long before their lost moments are forgotten.<\/p>\n

-Felicia Santarossa<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Khodara
\nBillie
\n<\/i>(Independent)
\n4\/5<\/p>\n

Khodara can build a feeling. On her new EP, Billie<\/i>, she breathes sticky sugar and sweet molasses while waltzing on the points of the percussive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnxious,\u201d the album\u2019s shiniest gem, gives a feeling of being dragged gently through her vocals, while the title track takes on a milky fog. On helium, she\u2019d be Duffy; if she\u2019s already on helium, she\u2019s Sade. Regardless, she definitely has that something special that makes people take notice.<\/p>\n

Riding the train of jazz-influenced pop serves Khodara well, but I wonder if it\u2019s the best choice for her. I\u2019d like to see her really push with her voice next time around and lean a little less on the instrumentals. After two EPs in a few short months I don\u2019t doubt an album is on the way, and I\u2019m sure that it, like this, will be worth the listen.<\/p>\n

-Jayden Grieve<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Wyclef Jean
\nJ\u2019ouvert<\/i>
\n(eOne Music)
\n2\/5<\/p>\n

Best known as a member of \u201990s group The Fugees and for his subsequent solo career, Wyclef Jean has been out of the limelight since his unsuccessful run at becoming president of Haiti in 2010, followed by a scandal surrounding his failed charity organization.<\/p>\n

Jean is back with J\u2019ouvert<\/i>, which features 10 tracks that don\u2019t connect with the listener. Jean raps about his musical career and accomplishments in the reggae- and bass-fuelled \u201cThe Ring.\u201d It fails to really excite, as listeners won\u2019t relate to Jean\u2019s boastful tale of making hits and rich friends on their way to the top.<\/p>\n

This is a mostly mediocre reggae\/hip-hop fusion album with forgettable lyrics. Even appearances by Young Thug and Walk the Moon can\u2019t elevate this album to anything approaching must-have status.<\/p>\n

-Patrick Newman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amber Run For a Moment, I Was Lost (Dine Alone Records) 4\/5 British pop-rock group Amber Run flesh out their sadness on their second full-length. It\u2019s strongly driven by misty electronic music, muddied guitars, and haunting vocals, reflecting what they\u2019ve been through: since their first album, their record label dropped them, and their drummer left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-march-1-2017"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13596,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13592\/revisions\/13596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}