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.
“Wildflower”—Jordan Frye ★★☆☆☆
Jordan Frye released his upbeat, summer-coded song “Wildflower” on Jan. 3. This exciting track blended drums, bass and piano to give the song a sense of happiness and lightheartedness. This song sounds like it would play in the background of any shopping mall you go into, as it is fun, comforting and easy to follow. While the song is produced well, it is not very unique. It reminds me of music that would’ve been popular between the late 2010’s and early 2020’s because of its energetic drums and simple, repetitive lyrics. The recognizable music puts a spotlight on Frye’s voice, making the lyrics clear and understandable. Some lyrics that stuck out to me were from the first verse, “Driving four miles with the windows down, both hands in the air and our head in the clouds, don’t care where we’re going, but we’ll figure it out, figure it out, figure it out.” I liked this verse because it matches the song’s vibe, careless, open-minded and thrilling. Besides those lyrics, the chorus was simple, repeating the same few words repeatedly. While I believe this song is intended to be a love song, it is the type of song where you could relate to it in whatever way you prefer: romantically or platonically. Overall, this was a good song, but I could not see myself listening to it frequently because I felt it needed more depth since it sounded unoriginal and lacked complex meaning.
“Smile”—Morgan Wallen ★★★★☆
Morgan Wallen released his third single, “Smile,” on Dec. 31, 2024, as part of his fourth upcoming studio album. This bittersweet song dove into a girl’s smile and its meaning and authenticity to him. The lyrics were interesting and grabbed my attention from the start because of their complexity. The lyrics did a good job of showing versus telling, and I found myself trying to break apart the meaning behind the words to follow the story he was explaining. “If someone were to see this they’d think everything’s alright, at least we got a pretty little moment frozen in time” were the lyrics that stood out to me the most because they painted a picture of the reality that life is complex and things aren’t always what they seem. Aside from the lyrics, the song features beautiful guitar strums and lots of background vocals that bring them to life. It was a good blend of instruments that made the song feel very cohesive and put together. Overall, the song showcased Wallen’s beloved voice, making the song one that any Wallen fan would enjoy, especially when in need of a slower, sad song. As someone who is not very familiar with his music, I could see myself listening to this song on occasion.
“Party People”—Rose Gray ★★★☆☆
Rose Gray released her new single “Party People” on Dec. 31, 2024, ending off the year with an upbeat, electric song. This song reminded me of singer Charli XCX because of the familiar beat blended with synth sounds and likable but repetitive lyrics. Staying true to the title, the lyrics typically started with “party people…” making the song easy to follow and learn if you wanted to. A few lyrics that stuck out to me were “Party people, only ones I wanna trust, met you on the dance floor, hope you fall in love” because they are some of the less shallow lyrics in the song, which made it more enjoyable for me to listen to. The lyrics do a lot more telling than showing; the lyrics are super straightforward and there doesn’t seem to be some hidden story. Going off of that, it was hard for me to find a meaningful message in the lyrics, but I also recognize that this might not be the intended purpose of the song. Because of that, I wouldn’t say this is the type of music I would listen to often, but I could see it being played at an event as lively background music or enjoyed by people who appreciate this style of music. Overall, this song might not be the most unique song to come out of 2024, but it is very fun, energetic and guaranteed to liven up the mood.
