ARIA New Entry Review: February 2024

"Praise Jah in the Moonlight" by YG Marley

Gahh, I have been watching this song blow up around the world and was hoping it wouldn't in Australia but it charted so I guess I will have to talk about it so here we go. YG Marley is an American singer songwriter whose mother is Lauryn Hill of The Fugees and his grandfather is reggae pioneer and legend Bob Marley which is why it pains me to say that I do not like this song at all. 

The vocals just sound messy and YG Marley's vocals do nothing to sell me on the song, it just feels like it is underproduced to a very large degree especially with all the noises around Marley's vocals...yeah, I am avoiding this one.

"Murder On the Dancefloor (Triple J Like a Version)" by Royel Otis

Oh. how to explain this one, Royel Otis are an Australian guitar pop duo from Sydney with thiis being their first appearance on the ARIA singles chart with a cover of the recently viral early 2000s smash "Murder on the Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and I just love this cover!. It sounds big and somewhat grandiose...it sounds like something I would have heard around 2005 or 2006 during the pop rock explosion that hit the charts than. The instrumrntal gives the song are sense of drama and scale. I dig it, good job Royel Otis.

"Texas Hold 'Em" by Beyoncè

When I heard that Beyonce was shifting toward country, I was cautiously curious, mostly because of the fact I knew that to some degree she likely did have some understanding of the genre given her upbringing but wary because of just how many acts in pop etc that have commodified country for a quick buck given how folk and country have become huge on the charts in recent years...that said Beyonce was raised in Texas and maybe an awareness of the country scene in Texas would be in built within this song.

Well yeah, this song blew me away when I first heard it almost to the point where I thought that maybe I am too easily impressed  with this sort of thing, put simply this song is a hoedown that is made for line dancing with that stomp clap rhythm and Beyonce showing she can still get down and have fun so yeah, this is easily one of the best songs to chart in 2024 and easily better than anything on Renaissance.

"Training Season" by Dua Lipa

Okay so with the album name and release date now set, we've got the follow up single and while its not quite as good as "Houdini", its still pretty, I do think the repetitive nature of the intro will absolutely annoy some people and it does make me hungry for pizza...lol. What stands out here though are the lyrics where Dua Lipa makes it clear that she is done teaching men how to treat her right and that from now on she will expect a man to know how to treat her right from the get go. Good song that just isn't quite great yet.

"Home" by Good Neighbours

So am I the only one who just started singing the Neighbours theme song upon seeing the name of this UK duo? It did make me laugh a bit and it made me feel better in saying that this song is absolute junk. Seriously whats with the strangely tinny vocals and the cold sterile production that doesn't give me the feeling of being home but rather at a hospital or in a prison. Screw this song!

Worst of the Month: "Home" by Good Neighbours

Best of the Month: "Texas Hold 'em" by Beyonce 

 

ARIA Singles New Entry Review: January 2024

"LeaveMeAlone" by Fred Again....& Baby Keem

So we're starting the new chart year with some Fred Again, this time he is teaming up with US rapper Baby Keem and we'll...I am not sure....I like the instrumental here with the piano and that driving bass groove but what stops me from digging the song is the vocal production that makes Baby Keem sound like he is in a blender or something! It's not precisely bad and there is MUCH worse here.

"One of the Girls" by The Weeknd feat. JENNIE and Lily Rose Depp

Can we all just forget that The Idol existed? The show was terrible and frankly, the music from the soundtrack ain't that much better with this being a case in point, the sterile production as The Weeknd croons about breaking a girl's skin and how he lovesit when she's submissive before a hook where Lily Rose Depp sings that there's no need for love...she just wants to be one of The Weeknd's girls....yuck...this is just toxically icky in so many ways....gross... next song please!

"Yes, And?" by Ariana Grande

So after four years, Ariana Grande returns with the lead single from her upcoming new album Eternal Sunshine which features an interpolation of Madonna's 1990 classic "Vogue" and...Rrally, Ariana? If a snap back at the critics is the best you can do for lead single where she cannot convincingly sell any genuine anger or give the production any sense of bite or menace is the best you can do than I am worried for this upcoming album, it's just another gummy dance pop song that coming from Ariana is really disappointing and a waste of a potentially great interpolation.

"Redrum" by 21 Savage

I don't think this is a hot take but I think 21 Savage is better on his own than when he collaborates with Drake etc, give him some good Metro Boomin' production and he can go OFF when he doesn't have to share that space so with this song being from his latest album American Dream I was hoping that we might have a decent song here...and yeah, 21 Savage does sound menacing as all hell with that vocal delivery and that outro just slaps! Ovetall good song...unlike...

"Thinkin' About Me" by Morgan Wallen

Why, of all the fucking Morgan Wallen songs to chart in 2024, did it have to be the absolute worst song that Wallen has ever made? The lyrics are basically that Wallen can't let go of his EX girlfriend to the point where he is wondering whether or not she is thinking about him while she's with a guy that's not him...its just pathetic...made worse by production that sounds so lifeless and downtuned, its a slog of a song to sit through...ughh.

"Beautiful  Things" by Benson Boone

Ugghhh, we're really going to give this dude another hit...come onnn, seriously? This one might be worse given it gives me "Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz vibes in the lyrics. Cute this ain't...next!

"Feather" by Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Carpenter is back and thankfully with a song that is a lot better than "Nonsense" but mostly because it sounds like an at home version of a sound Dua Lipa did better in 2020 on Future Nostalgia! It's not terrible by any stretch of the imagination but it's pretty forgettable.

"Never Lose Me" by Flo Milli

A chart break through, this time it's US R&B act Flo Milli and...I have to be honest here...this feels more like a fragment of a song and not a particularly  interesting or good one especially with that synth line that's not as interesting as Flo Milli's production team think it is.

"Saving Up" by Dom Dolla

Been awhile since we had an Australian hit and we've got it through Dom Dolla. I like this but holy shit, the vocals kind of annoy me,they sound kind of squawky and annoying but given everything else...I'll take it.

"Scared To Start" by Michael Marcagi

My goodness, are the new upcoming male singer/songwriters annoying or what? This song sounds like something Passenger wrote in 2013. I'll rant more about this song at the end of the year.

Worst: "Thinking About Me" by Morgan Wallen

Dishonourable Mention: "Scared To Start" by Michael Marcagi

Honourable Mention: "Saving Up" by Dom Dolla

Best: "Redrum" by 21 Savage