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 as writer, reviewing recent single releases from a variety of artists.

‘Heaven on Earth’ — Kid Cudi ★★★★★

Rapper Kid Cudi released his new album, “Man on the Moon 3”  Dec. 11. The album consists of 18 tracks with features from Phoebe Bridgers, Trippie Redd, Pop Smoke. The song “Heaven on Earth” starts with a unique beat followed by a bass drop that leads into Cudi’s first verse. Cudi’s lyrics throughout the song continue to impress me. The creativity in Cudi’s lyrics makes it timeless. The listener could hear the song multiple times and pick up on different meanings within the lyrics. His flow is super smooth which makes the whole song fly by because each verse sounds so natural. Cudi has a fairly low voice, paired with the beat makes a nice contrast but still makes the song sound cohesive. Due to the contrast, “Heaven on Earth” has a really unique sound and tone. Cudi sings the chorus which offers a good break between verses. It allows the listener to process his previous lyrics and take in the song as a whole. I’m more than satisfied with “Heaven on Earth” and the album as a whole.  

‘One Whole Day’ (ft. Wiz Khalifa) — Dixie D’Amelio ★★★☆☆

TikTok star Dixie D’Amelio released her second pop single “One Whole Day” Dec. 4. The song starts with a very good beat that carries throughout. However, the lyrics that follow are quite lackluster. D’Amelio has a young fan base, so in that regard, the lyrics are very simple to understand and catchy. The song also has too much autotune, making D’Amelio’s voice fall flat. Ultimately the lack of creativity in the lyrics makes the song boring and repetitive. On the other hand, I found Wiz Khalifa’s verse to enhance the song. His lyrics are much more interesting to listen to. Khalifa’s verse ends with the beat dropping and D’Amelio having a strong ending. He’s an artist that’s been in the industry much longer than D’Amelio, and his experience shows. Having Wiz Khalifa on the song was a smart idea from D’Amelio’s team because it makes her music more credible. Overall the song isn’t a bad start to D’Amelio’s music career. The song has a good beat, but the dull lyrics make the song unentertaining and repetitive until Khalifa’s verse. 

‘Willow’ — Taylor Swift ★★★★★

Taylor Swift released her newest album, “evermore”  Dec 11. “evermore” has 15-tracks with collaborations from Haim, Bon Iver and The National. The song “willow” starts with a lovely melody on the guitar. Swift’s voice is soothing and complements the guitar very well because it sounds calming, yet there’s still a lot of power behind her voice. Swift’s newest album reminds me of her country roots, which is quite nostalgic. I really enjoy that she’s bringing her old sound back in a sense. I wasn’t a huge fan of her intense pop phase. However, Swift’s older music was classics for me growing up and I’m pleased that she released an album with a similar yet more mature sound. The harmonies throughout the song sound super pretty. They have a really high pitch which adds to the strength of Swift’s voice. The metaphors in her lyrics make “willow” captivating to listen to. The song has a fantasy sound like there should be gold dust falling around Swift. I was very pleased with “willow”.