Here are three more albums reviewed in brief, because sadly I’m too busy with less interesting things to write anything longer at the moment.
Måns Zelmerlöw – MZW (Listen)
As I’m sure you’re aware, I think Måns is a fab popstar, and I love his MF entries, but his last album was quite average in my opinion. There were some good songs, but Cara Mia was miles ahead of them all. I’m pleased to say that MZW is a bit better, but the difference isn’t that remarkable. There’s certainly nothing on the same level as Hope and Glory, but that’s not really a big criticism because that song is, after all, quite incredibly amazing. I suppose the problem with Måns is that I know he’s capable of so much more. There are some ace tracks, though – Rewind will please fans of Danny-esque dance-pop, Forever is a jolly slice of Eurocheese, and Home could make a good second single from the album. My favourite, however, is the lovely mid-tempo album closer, Hold On.
Maia Hirasawa – Göteborg vs. Stockholm (Listen)
I love And I Found This Boy, Hello Saferide are one of my favourite bands, and I think Maia is a very ace and lovely lady. However, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never been able to work up the bother to listen to her debut album Though I’m Just Me in full. The songs just aren’t engaging for some unknown reason. They don’t have the pizzazz of Hello Saferide’s. I managed to listen to the first half of Göteborg vs. Stockholm, and it was nice, but I couldn’t tell you now what any of the songs were like. I still feel the fault is on my side rather than Maia’s, and one day I hope I will properly listen to her albums and get into them. Hopefully you’ll have better luck than me!
Taylor Swift – Fearless (UK Edition) (Preview tracks)
I always thought Taylor was dreadfully boring until I heard her msot poptastic song, You Belong With Me, performed (awfully) on American Idol. A few days later I chanced upon the Digital Dog remix of Love Story on Radio 1’s Friday Floorfillers show. I couldn’t believe how good it was. I downloaded both songs and have listened to them several times a day ever since. This newfound obsession encouraged me to go back to Taylor’s other hits, and I found that they were pretty good, now that I’d got into Taylor fan mode. When my mum expressed a love for Love Story, I decided to buy her the album for Mother’s Day, and copied it for myself. I must say, I love it. All the songs are charming, and many tell stories which really endear Taylor to me. She seems lovely on TV as well. Even her annoying face no longer bothers me (much)!