Welcome to “Cut Through the Noise,” an entertainment column for the St. Louis Park Echo covering new music releases. Every week, a different Echo staffer takes on the role of writer, receiving recent single releases from various artists.
“Tough Luck” – Laufey ★★★☆☆
Released on May 15, “Tough Luck” by Laufey is a song full of calming, retro and classic notes. As soon as I hit play on the song, melancholy music started playing and I enjoyed how the song went straight into the lyric portion without having a long background music-based intro. Although the song jumped right into the lyrics, it was very repetitive and slow, sounding almost old-fashioned until about 40 seconds in. That is when the beat dropped and it started getting more fast paced, which is what saved this song. A strong lyric that was sung in this song was “you said I’d never understand the things that make a man a man. Tough luck my boy, your time is up, I’ll break it first, I’ve had enough.” I think that this is one of the main parts of the song since it connects with the title and is part of the more intriguing chunk of the song that is sung at a faster pace. The tempo was definitely a mixture of fast and slow. In the slower parts of the song Laufey sounded sadder, while in the faster parts she sounded more defiant and confident. This song definitely reminded me of something that would be played repetitively on the radio — a song that sounds good the first few times you listen to it but the more it plays, the more tired you get of it. After getting tired of hearing it over and over you’d forget about it, and then when you play it again a few months later, it would be like finding a new music gem. Overall, while this song can be slow and repetitive in some parts, I did enjoy it and it was surprising to hear the tempo pick up in some parts because my first impression of that song was that it would be slow the whole time. I would recommend this to people who like to thoroughly listen to the lyrics in songs and like music that they can sing along too.
“Bulletproof” – Jojo Siwa ★★☆☆☆
Jojo Siwa is most popularly known for her appearance on the show “Dance Moms” and her other music, such as “Karma,” released in 2024, and “Boomerang,” released in 2016. Her new song, “Bulletproof,” was released May 16 and is a song full of action and different tempos. This song started off almost immediately with a fast tempo and background music that sounded almost like pop and rock mixed together. The lyrics were sung in an oddly repetitive background pattern that reminded me of the tune of a nursery rhyme. This song was pretty mashed together, so I couldn’t understand what the lyrics were saying at all, but I did enjoy the tempo of the song. I think that the message Jojo Siwa is trying to portray through this song is to rise above your challenges and she meant for it to be a song about emerging stronger over your troubles. Although that was the message, when I listened to this song I just could not truly connect that message with the lyrics and background music almost overwhelming in a way. If you truly enjoy other songs by Jojo Siwa, I would recommend this song to you. For me, it did not live up to its full potential.
“Superman” – Morgan Wallen ★★★★★
“Superman” by Morgan Wallen is a song that definitely lived up to its expectations and had a great message. Wallen is known for being a very popular pop/country singer and this song definitely falls right into that genre. “Superman” is a portrayal of Wallen being a father and his attempts to hide his imperfections as a dad, though they still show through. This is shown in practically all the lyrics throughout the song, but one of my favorite verses of the song was “And when you ain’t a kid no more I hope you don’t think less of me. I try to hide my fallin’ short but you’re gonna see.” This lyric reflects the meaning of the song and how even though Morgan Wallen tries to hide his mistakes, his kid will still see them when he grows up. Another lyric that I liked in this song was “I do the best I can, but Superman’s still a man sometimes.” This reflects the title of the song and gives another hint to the true meaning behind the song. The lyric portrays Wallen truly trying his best but not being able to be perfect all the time, and compares it to how Superman is a hero but also just a normal person who makes mistakes sometimes. The tempo of this song was perfect, and I didn’t get bored at all. While this song had repetitive lyrics, they were sung in different voices, making it so that you are able to sing along and not get bored of hearing the same thing over and over again. I also really enjoyed the background music to this song because it really helped complement Morgan Wallen’s voice, as well as the lyrics that were sung. “Superman” is perfect for people who like music with a deeper meaning, who like to sing along to songs and who like country music with a bit of a faster tempo to ensure that you don’t get bored.
