Word: listening
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...into this country song—and as the song proceeds, dramatic harp and guitar cadences alternately build up and descend. Haunting vocal harmonies and forceful drum beats later give way to an Asian-inspired melody, rendering the song difficult to classify by conventional standards, yet still easy to listen...
...that Lifehouse’s sound or their songs are mediocre. Most of them are actually catchy and easy to listen to. However, “Smoke & Mirrors” lacks the boldness and initiative to be a truly impressive album, failing to incorporate new tonal or vocal elements from one song to the next. This musical complacency reveals itself as the album’s primary shortcoming. Rather than deviate from a formula which has provided some success in the past, the band instead choose to produce songs based primarily off of the same tried-and-true formula. There...
...much as each song seems to rotate on the axis of a strong chorus, the album as a whole hinges upon the success and appeal of one or two singles. “Falling In” and “Halfway Gone” establish themselves on first listen as the album’s peaks, and much of the rest of the album’s sound and subject matter mirror the highlights of these two songs...
...Smoke & Mirrors” is marked largely by a rinse, wash, repeat cycle of music with very limited tonal shifts, alteration in subject matter, or attempts at breaking the band’s music-writing norm. Taken individually, the songs are largely appealing and easy to listen to, but in the context of the record as a whole, many of the elements are lost due to mere repetition, a problem which plagues the album throughout...
Beyond his lack of interest in technical flourishes, Hsieh also differs from many DJs in his lack of interest in broad musical knowledge. “I feel like the Top 40 is the Top 40 because it’s fun to listen to. I don’t consider myself a musical connoisseur,” he said. For most DJs, however, negotiating the divide between the Top 40 songs that most partiers want to hear and the music that they themselves most enjoy presents a challenging and ultimately defining conundrum...