The Veronicas' New Album “Gothic Summer” is a Bold Showcase of Versatility and Ingenuity

For Australian female pop band The Veronicas, a casual coffee date with longtime friend and legendary pop-punk producer John Feldmann brought about sparks of a bold idea. Without expectations, pressure, or definitive intention, that idea became the group's brand-new album, Gothic Summer. The twin sister duo call it a "dark comedy" of an album, which somehow can be described as classic, chaotic, and truly creative all at once.

Stand-out tracks: "PERFECT" "SAVAGE"

My favorites: "INVISIBLE"

"PERFECT" is the attention-grabber track that piqued my interest in Gothic Summer as a complete project when it was released as a single; it's classic pop-punk executed with the female flair that has made The Veronicas stand on their own in a genre full of male-dominated bands. There's a perfect balance of the maturity it takes to finally say "It doesn't matter who you were before/Cause no one's actually keeping score" while also unabashedly extolling "glitter dreams" and the societal pressures to be pretty, rather than authentic. This track also holds the best lyric of the whole album: "Falling in line can be fatal/I'd rather be a fucking mess than stable." Oh, there's nothing quite like pop-punk.

The electronic-punk influence on "DETOX" is as addictive and unpredictable as the relationship illustrated throughout the track. The cheekiness of The Veronicas' Australian accents adds to the pissed-off desperation of the bridge, where the relationship is so intoxicating that they go so far as to say "I think I've overdosed/I'm not dead but I'm coming close."

From the opening thrumming bass of "HERE TO DANCE," this one completely leaves pop-punk behind and taps into Dua Lipa-style dance-pop. Despite lyrical parallels to the preceding two tracks, "HERE TO DANCE" marks a shift in Gothic Summer. In an effort to be more carefree, it leaves behind the integrity of the style that The Veronicas have built their success on and pushes towards something new. "SAVAGE" also leans into dance-pop, but carries lyrical integrity that's stronger and more intentional, really emphasizing the theme of "Was it love or collateral damage?" This one is brutal yet cathartic, and the one-liner of "Got my jewellery on/But the bling on my ring finger's moved along" really drives the track home.

Both the 2000s-style pop that glimmers in "INVISIBLE," where The Veronicas shine vocally calling out "Can anyone else hear me?," and cinematic "RIBCAGE" are the production high point on Gothic Summer. The latter pairs piano ballad instrumentals and percussion synths to illustrate the passion and intensity of the emotion told through the song. The pinnacle of the track comes as it builds to its conclusion, as The Veronicas illustrate the growth that new love can inspire: "I'm feeling the pressure pushing my ribcage/Coming alive again/Because of you."

Despite its short tracklisting of eight songs, Gothic Summer starts to lose steam at its conclusion. As much as I wish the project had a satisfying resolution, chaotic "JUNGLE" and "PERFECT (Acoustic)" don't deliver on the expectations set by the front half of the album. As their first international release in a decade, The Veronicas deliver a versatile and diverse body of work in Gothic Summer. With a few shining gems and a devil-may-care attitude, the album pushes the boundaries just enough to please female pop-rock fans while also freeing The Veronicas to embrace a new decade of their career.

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: OBSESSED WITH SOME TRACKS

eternal sunshine, Ariana Grande

Between 2016 and 2020, absolutely no one was a bigger popstar than Ariana Grande; she released four full-length studio albums, headlined two international tours, took home multiple GRAMMYs, and smashed records upheld by legendary artists like The Beatles. It's now been three and a half years since her last album, Positions, and Ariana has been pretty quiet.

Now she's back and more radiant than ever with her brand new seventh album eternal sunshine. This project shows that Grande has grown in almost every aspect of her life in her time away. Lyrically, she's rarely been so honest, free, reflective, and undoubtedly sure of herself. This album marks her production debut alongside longtime collaborator (and producer legend) Max Martin. Her unparalleled vocal range has somehow gotten even stronger. The woman who has always dominated the art of the radio hit single has intentionally released all but one of the album's thirteen tracks together as a complete project, proving she can produce a concept album just as well as individual pop smashes. The 35-minute eternal sunshine album is concise, dynamic, and doesn't have a single skip. As Ariana herself put it in her interview on the Zach Sang Show, "There is nothing more to say and it's exactly what I wanted to make, so I'm going to let it be."

Stand-out tracks: "true story" "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" "i wish i hated you"

My favorites: "bye" "supernatural" "imperfect for you"

Most of Ariana's albums have begun with an intro track, setting up the themes and imagery of the album. eternal sunshine opens with "intro (the end of the world)," which sees Ariana posing the questions, "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?/Aren't you really supposed to know that shit?/Feel it in your bones and own that shit?/I don't know." From the start, she's ready to take accountability for her heart having doubts and take responsibility for finding what she longs for.

When the relationship is wrong, it's wrong-- and Ariana doesn't hesitate to get away in captivating "bye," which is an immediate reminder that absolutely no one does pop like Ariana Grande. The twinkling, carefree disco-style chorus confidently stating "Boy, bye/It's over, it's over/Boy, bye/I'm taking what's mine" starts the album flawlessly. For diehard fans, the likely reference to her own "No Tears Left to Cry" with the line "Not the first time I've been hostage to these tears" is another reminder that through all her pain and growth, Ari has never changed at her core. And while she's always been vocally sensational, this track soars above even her standards.

The "Saturn Returns Interlude" is perfectly placed, shifting from the pain of the relationship ending in "bye" and "don't wanna break up again." This spoken interlude is essential to the story of eternal sunshine, explaining that around 29 years old, the age Ariana was just before creating the album, "Saturn comes along and hits you over the head and says, 'Wake up'/It's time for you to get real about life and sort out who you really are." This leads into a tonal shift, as Grande reflects on the past with title-track "eternal sunshine" and then progresses towards her new, more assured version of herself. And she does self-assurance with undeniable power; not a single other pop star on the planet besides Ariana could deliver a track like "supernatural." From its atmospheric production, immersive vocal layering, and understated sexiness, "supernatural" sees Grande finally embracing her newfound freedom: "It's like supernatural/It's taking over me, don't wanna fight the fall."

Grande is no stranger to media speculation, particularly about her relationships, and "true story" insinuates that, for the media, she'll "play the bad girl if you need me to/If it makes you feel better/I'll be the one you love to hate, can't relate." But when it comes right down to it, she controls her own life and narrative, particularly when the successive track is "the boy is mine." The sultriest track on the album, "the boy is mine" makes it clear that Ari "take[s] full accountability for all these tears," but she couldn't care less what the rest of the world has to say, as long as she's got the relationship that she believes is "simply meant to be."

Lead single "yes, and?" honestly doesn't stand out from the full album the way many lead singles do. It blends in as a middle-of-the-pack track with just enough click-bait-able lyrics to bring Ariana back to the forefront of pop music after her three-and-a-half-year hiatus. Its placement in the tracklist is a sassy, conclusive farewell to caring about the opinions of those who don't know her.

The true heart of eternal sunshine comes in the three-track run of "we can't be friends (wait for your love)," "i wish i hated you," and "imperfect for you." Here, Ariana navigates the unavoidable trauma and heartbreak of homewrecker accusations and "rearrag[ing her] memories" and "rewrit[ing her] life" in an attempt to save a failing relationship (and marriage). But these things finally allow her to embrace the "messy" and "imperfect" new beginnings of finding new love, both romantically and within herself.

That question asked in the intro of eternal sunshine, "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?," finds its answer in the album closer "ordinary things (feat. Nonna)." Ariana emerges as metamorphosized, self-assured, grounded, and blissfully in love with her life. The love she feels "hit[s] like my biggеst fan when I hear what the critiquеs say." Unlike her persona from 2019's "7 rings," Ariana "don't need no diamonds, just your time." The last notes of the album close with a voice note of Ariana's joyful laugh in response to her Nonna answering her exact question: "Never go to bed without kissin' goodnight...And if you can't...You're in the wrong place, get out."

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: FULLY OBSESSED

SONG SPOTLIGHT: Luke Hemmings' New Lead Single "Shakes" is a Dreamy Journey Through Lonely Reverie

This article is cross-posted on Rock Insider Press: https://www.rockinsiderpress.com/p/luke-hemmings-new-lead-single-shakes-is-a-dreamy-journey-through-lonely-reverie.

Two and a half years out from his breathtaking solo debut album When Facing the Things We Turn Away From, Luke Hemmings has returned with"Shakes." The track is the reflective lead single from his upcoming second solo project boy, set to be released on April 26 on Arista Records.

A glittering, melancholy indie-alternative dream, "Shakes" sees Hemmings in a moment of seclusion, craving connection both with himself and those who console him. WFTTWTAF producer and co-writer Sammy Witte returns to Hemmings' second solo endeavor, aiding in audibly illustrating a cold, dark city night that moves at a faster pace than allows for the solace that Hemmings is yearning for.

"Shakes" opens with Hemmings seeking an escape from his own emotions in the blur of quickly-passing time: "Lost in the morning/Time starts to crawl/Can we share the lonely/If my heart is small?" But, when mixed with the withdrawal of anxiety, loneliness can bring about feelings of "melancholy:" the term that Luke used to define the full boy EP on his March 6 Instagram Live to celebrate the release of the single. The synthy piano-calm of the verse concludes with his last plea for a diversion from his pain: "Is it better to feel this/or feel nothing at all?".

Luke's growth as a songwriter and an individual is palpable in the second verse of "Shakes." He's now diverting from the themes of his band, 5 Seconds of Summer, on their earlier projects like 2015's Sounds Good Feels Good and 2018's Youngblood, which romanticized and rhapsodized over the glamour of the nightlife scene. Hemmings has now embraced his innate sentimentality by aspiring to hold on to something more connective than his young adult life: "Can't help but chase you/My butterfly/I wanna go out in my sleep now/So I don't feel no pain/The city seems to move on all the same."

The chorus of "Shakes" is a wistful haze of longing, with Hemmings' easy falsetto echoing "Honey, I just wanna be yours, wanna be yours/Inside your dreams tonight/Oh no, oh no/Can't shake this feeling." The atmospheric production leans into a sound defined by Hemmings' own "Saigon" and "Baby Blue," with impressive vocal layering and shimmering low-tone guitar synths. Later in the track, the slight lyrical switch to "Boy, I just wanna be yours" beautifully depicts Luke's building desperation and desire for emotional intimacy in his isolation.

For a first taste of what's to come on boy, "Shakes" is glimmering and heart-wrenchingly raw, with mesmerizing alternative production that has already become a staple in Hemmings' solo ventures. From its escapist verses to its uncertain conclusion, "Shakes" establishes Luke Hemmings as a master of existential musical melancholia.