Welcome to “Cut Through the Noise,” an entertainment column from the St. Louis Park Echo covering new music releases. Every week, a different Echo staffer takes on the role of writer, reviewing recent single releases from a variety of artists.
“You Love Who You Love” — Zara Larsson ★★★★★
“You Love Who You Love” by Zara Larsson was released on Jan. 19 as part of her new album “VENUS” coming on Feb. 9. I had listened to a few songs off of her previous albums and liked their summer anthem mixed with pop princess vibes, and this song definitely embodied that style. It’s very upbeat and extremely catchy, perfect to blast in the summer-time with the windows down! The lyrics of the song are written coming from a friend to another friend who keeps coming back into a toxic relationship. This shows through the lyrics “I’m tellin’ you as a friend, what he’s putting you through is too much.” The backtrack is very bright and peppy, and the production was very good. I would definitely recommend this song for a summer playlist or dance party!
“Neon Pill” — Cage the Elephant ★★★★★
After a five-year hiatus, Cage the Elephant reentered the music world with a bang, releasing “Neon Pill” as a single on Jan. 19. I have been a casual fan of Cage the Elephant for a couple of years, and this song sounds very on theme with their older music. I was excited to hear that the song was in their usual style, as were many other fans hoping for new music from them. Matt Shultz’s voice shines and the background instrumentals are very parallel with their usual alternative style. The meaning of the song is speculated to have been about his paranoia during drug use, hence the lyric “Double crossed by a neon pill.” Listening to the lyrics revealed that this song is not only catchy and fun but also deeply important, especially to the band. I would definitely recommend this song to anyone that already enjoys their music as well as people that are trying to get into their style!
“The Conflict of the Mind” — AURORA ★★★★☆
Released on Jan. 18, “The Conflict of the Mind” was released as a single with another from AURORA called “My Blood.” From the start of the song, this song is very light and whimsical, which is very on brand with AURORA’s vibe. It’s a very chill, bedroom pop type song. She has a beautiful voice that is accentuated with layers of different melodies, and the use of production on the instrumentals creates a smooth style. The only thing that I didn’t love about it was that it felt a little repetitive, especially because the song was over four minutes long. This song has a very important meaning, though, about opening up to others around you when struggling with mental health or feeling the “Conflict of the mind.” I would recommend this to anyone looking for chill music, and I know I will be listening to more of AURORA’s discography in the future.
