30: Album Review

Since May of 2019 when Adele made a social media post about her 30th year, fans across the globe (me included) waited for a new album. After speculation it would come in 2020, getting delayed, and plenty of teasing moments of her name trending on social media, Adele finally released the first single, “Easy On Me”, from her new album 30 back in October 2021. This also came with the announcement that her new record would drop on November 19th. I knew I would be in LA that day and while there I made sure I stayed up long enough to listen to the new record that dropped at midnight EST. From the brief run through that night, I realized this was Adele’s most musically diverse album yet.

Adele’s albums are usually pretty predictable – heart breaking ballads and occasionally a bop like “Rolling in the Deep”. This album had a mix of all of it plus some tracks that sound straight out of the 40’s or 50’s. There’s a track that adds an electronic flavor to her repertoire with “Oh My God,” one of two bops from 30. You also get some classic 19 era Adele with “Cry Your Heart Out.” The album is different, but it works.

I pre-ordered the album a few weeks earlier because I knew I wouldn’t be in town to grab it right away. I got the Target version which included 3 exclusive tracks, “Wild Wild West,” “Can’t Be Together,” and a version of “Easy on Me” with Chris Stapleton. Honestly I’m glad I got it because I really dig “Wild Wild West” and especially “Can’t Be Together.” Both songs could have easily been on the standard version of the record.

Overall, I don’t think this is Adele’s best album. I like that she diversified her music a bit and I like some of it, maybe even most of it, but I just wasn’t into all of it. 21 and 25 are tough to beat too. 30 does have several songs that will be Adele faves for years to come though. “Easy on Me” is the perfect first single. “I Drink Wine” is so relatable and I still can’t get over “Oh My God” and “Can I Get It.” The point is even if this album isn’t my fave it’s still going to be massively successful, because even if it’s not the best, it’s still Adele and she’s the best. She’s a superstar. She can definitely get it and I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to get enough.

Coachella Band Preview: Rex Orange County

This is my last week in Mexico and I have to say it’s been a great run. It’s always an exciting time to start the year, but I think all of us here are aware of the unofficial name of the Mexico runs…the Coachella pregame. Now that we’re halfway through February, Coachella is officially on the horizon. I’ve realized one thing while preparing for Coachella down in Mexico. It’s that there’s no better artist to prep for Coachella with down here than Rex Orange County.

At just 21 years old, Alexander O’Connor, aka Rex Orange County, is an indie pop artist from Grayshott, England. He got his moniker from a nickname he received growing up, “the OC”, based on his last name “O’Connor”. While growing up he was in the school choir and also learned to play drums. Because of his drumming talents, he attended the BRIT school, whose alumni include Adele, Amy Winehouse, and King Krule. Beyond the drums and singing, he’s also a self-taught pianist and guitarist.

In 2016, Rex Orange County self-released his first album bcos u will never b free on SoundCloud. The album release brought him some attention from Tyler the Creator. Rex eventually worked on a few of Tyler’s tracks (“Boredom” and “Foreword”) on Flower Boy. He released his second album Apricot Princess in 2017. That year he also released one of his most popular songs to date “Loving Is Easy” in collaboration with Benny Sings. His most recent album Pony was just released in October and Rex Orange County is currently touring in support of the album.

Rex Orange County’s music comprises a lot of different genres, combining hip-hop, R&B, pop, and indie music. His tracks range from feeling very vibey and Cali-influenced to hip-hop tracks and soulful R&B sounding vocals. He definitely defines post-genre indie music.

This year will be Rex Orange County’s first Coachella. He plays Friday. He’s high on the bill of artists and very well known amongst youth so I’d expect to see him on the Main or Outdoor Stages. Expect a huge draw for this young Brit’s first Coachella. Also expect some pure Coachella vibes from some of his songs. Here are a few you should know:

1. Loving Is Easy
2. Best Friend
3. Sunflower
4. UNO
5. 10/10
6. Corduroy Dreams
7. Television/So Far So Good
8. Pluto Projector
9. Happiness
10. Untitled

Coachella Band Preview: Declan McKenna

Another week down and three more to go! Anticipation is building at a strong pace for me right now, as I’m sure it is for many others. The Coachella Valley is soon to become a mecca for festival-goers as it has almost annually since 1999. That means your time to prep by listening to this year’s acts is rapidly decreasing. So without further adieu, this week I’m previewing an artist who came on to the scene around 2015.

Declan McKenna is a British musician/singer/songwriter. At just 19, the young artist will be playing his first Coachella this spring after dropping out of last year’s festival, but he’s not new to the festival scene. He has gained plenty of recognition in the UK since winning Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition in 2015.  Along with Glastonbury, he has played Lollapalooza and Reading and Leeds Festivals among others.

After winning the talent competition in 2015, McKenna signed a record deal with Columbia records and released singles until the release of his debut EP Stains in March 2016. His second EP Liar was released two months later. His debut album What Do You Think About the Car? was released this past July. Each of his releases include his hit single “Brazil”, which he wrote as a political protest song about FIFA (soccer/football’s governing body) and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. All three releases also included his song “Paracetomal”.

Declan McKenna plays indie rock music. As a young developing and emerging artist, his sound is still growing though, so you might hear other styles of music in his songs too. To me, his sound is comparable to another British indie rock band, The Kooks.

I first heard of Declan McKenna from Spotify. I found his song Brazil on a playlist in 2016. When the lineup dropped this year, I recognized him from that song. Since then though, I’ve listened to some of his other stuff. I enjoy his music. He’s got some solid tunes. Although he’s been around for a couple years now, he freshly released his debut album less than a year ago and he’s been highly praised as being the next big thing on the British music scene. So he’s definitely worth checking out this year at the festival.

Declan McKenna plays on Saturday this year. Saturday’s lineup is pretty stacked in my opinion, so I’d expect McKenna to play an early to mid afternoon time slot. Another reason to expect him to play then is that he’s also not billed very highly on the lineup poster. Of course it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be able to plan out who you’ll be seeing at Coachella, I highly recommend checking out this kid. Here’s a few songs you might want to know beforehand:

1. Brazil
2. Paracetomal
3. Isombard
4. Bethlehem
5. Why Do You Feel So Down?
6. The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home