Music spanning every genre is released daily, and it can be overwhelming trying to find what music speaks to you.
Four of the notable releases last month were Sincere by Khalid, Unaired (EP) by Hozier, F-1 Trillion by Post Malone and Short n Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter.
Each album included standout songs and moments that helped make them the most listened-to releases in August 2024.
Sincere by Khalid was released as an RnB song this year on Aug. 2 marking his first album release in five years, The lyrics explore themes of drug and substance use and abuse, love and loss.
Khalid uses a style of call and response throughout the album to create a cohesive story between multiple people. It gives a feel of multiple perspectives, which is quite refreshing in an album.
The standout songs on this record are track four, “It’s All Good” and track five, “Broken.” I found “It’s All Good” to have a lovely blend of vocals, an interesting melody and beat and thoughtful lyrics.
In the chorus, Khalid sings, “But it’s all good/’Cause you’ll just sell your dreams to someone who will believe you/And act like it’s all good,” which sums up the l experience of realizing that someone loves you because you listen to and affirm them.
“Broken” stands out to me because of how smooth Khalid’s vocals are — his voice soars throughout the track.
Despite standout songsthe entire album has a similar sound and a lot of the songs blend together. Khalid tends to reuse lyrics and melodies, which creates a very repetitive — but, in my opinion, good — sound. I give this album a 6/10.
Next, I listened to Hozier’s new EP, Unaired, which he released on Aug. 16. To me, this year is the year of Hozier.
The Irish musician released his third studio album Unreal, Unearth in August of 2023, and has since released two EP’s continuing the story of his pandemic experience through the lens of t Dante’s Inferno.
Unaired is an incredible edition to the Unreal, Unearth album. It features three songs, “Nobody’s Soldier,” “July” and “That You Are”, all of which are beautiful to listen to and thought provoking.
Hozier seamlessly blends chamber folk, indie pop, rock and soul to create a powerful listening experience for his fans. In addition to sound, the EP explores Hozier’s usual themes — socio-political activism and justice, connecting with nature, worshiping the people that you love.
The entire EP is worth the listen, with all three songs too spectacular for me to pick a favorite. While every song is well thought out, my favorite lyrics come from “That You Are.”
In the first verse, Hozier sings, “It’s the sound of it that brings me there/This city locked into the song of prayer/That finds no melody/Every moment of the working day/The twitching muscles in each step I take/The prayer is all of me.”
Here, Hozier describes a feeling of pure love and admiration that one can only strive to find in their respective interpersonal relationships. Hozier implies loving this person is an otherworldly and almost spiritual experience.
Unaired by Hozier is definitely worth a listen, and I would rate this EP a 9/10.
Post Malone’s newest album, F-1 Trillion, is Malone’s sixth studio album, but its his first foray into country music.
Malone’s venture outside his comfort zone made listening to this album a wild ride from start to finish. The album touches on a range of themes from substance abuse, to just some good old-fashioned country music fun.
I found a lack of thematic cohesion in the album, made up for only through the A-list collaborations on each track, which include Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs and Tim McGraw.
“Have the Heart” featuring Dolly Parton was my favorite song on the album. Structured like a duet, Parton’s and Malone’s voices blended together in such a beautiful way, and this added interesting melodic moments and depth to the lyrics.
While the lyrics of “Have a Heart” are nothing noteworthy, the pure fun and catchiness of this song makes it a hit. It’s upbeat and catchy, though it also contains a very interesting chord progression that gets stuck in your head instantly.
While I didn’t love the whole album — considering country music isn’t really my cup of tea — I adored this song and am excited to see what else Malone does within the genre. I would give it an overall rating of 6.75/10.
The last new album I want to comment on is Short n Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter.
Short n Sweet was released on Aug.23. While it’s a traditional pop album, some of the songs have a nostalgic country feel to them, making the sound intriguing.
This album twists themes of heartbreak and love from sad and depressing into insanely petty yet uplifting songs. My personal favorites are “Sharpest Tool,” “Coincidence” and “Dumb & Poetic.”
I enjoy the pre-chorus in “Sharpest Tool” because of the chord progression. The way it builds makes the listening experience top-tier.
“Coincidence” is also a great addition to the album because it has a 70’s-inspired sound. Reminiscent of soft rock, this song almost reminds me of Fleetwood Mac.
Overall, this album is a lot of fun. Some songs are a little annoying and repetitive, but for the most part this album is worth listening to, and I rate it a 7/10.
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