So far 2020 has had some excellent new albums released that you may have missed!

This year The Pretenders released their new album ‘Hate for Sale’. The album was released on the 17th of july and falls into the Pop Rock genre. The album has eight songs with a very upbeat feel to it. The first two tracks on this album have a mid-70s vibe, and were created as a tribute to the first albums they ever released. As a whole, this album is more reminiscent of the group’s earlier days and a throwback to their early music. I would say that there are some songs on the album that potentially don’t quite fit with the rest of the album; such as ‘Junkie Walk’ as the lyrics to this song don’t fit together as well as the other songs on this album.  

If you’re into country music you might also enjoy Ashley McBryde’s new album ‘Never Will’. This album is made up of eleven songs and was released in early April this year. Ashley McBryde is a very talented singer and this album showcases this talent excellently. The tracks are complete with fantastic guitar solos, whilst also covering some compelling topics through the lyrics. An example of this is the song “Shut Up Sheila”, which talks about religion being forced upon people unnecessarily and not allowing people to live their lives in their own way.

John Legend also released his album ‘Bigger Love’ this year. The 16 song release is Legend’s seventh studio album and was dropped in June 2020. It’s an easy listen, however, arguably seeming at points very repetitive. The album includes four of Legends new singles, ‘Conversations in the Dark’, ‘Actions’, ‘Bigger Love’ and ‘Wild’ and really shows the versatility of John Legend’s voice. The songs on the album are upbeat and cheerful, which make them great for background music. ‘Actions’ is actually sampled from the Dr Dre song ‘The Next Episode’ but in a more calm and melodic way. Overall, it is an enjoyable album and, as always, stays true to his usual style of R&B music.

 

By KATIE DONALDSON