Jake’s Take’s New Music Reviews: Week of August 26, 2016

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

Welcome to another exciting edition of Jake’s Take: New Music Reviews!

We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get this party started.

Glory by Britney Spears

Britney Spears has been one of my all-time favorite pop music artists since I was first introduced to her music when I was in Mrs. Huyser’s fourth-grade class at Indian Valley Elementary School. I have seen her go through her ups and down and several of her songs such as “You’ve Drive Me (Crazy),” “Stronger,” “3,” “Til the World Ends,” and “Scream & Shout” are a permanent part of my workout playlist.  After conquering Las Vegas, Britney has released her ninth studio album: Glory. Gone are longtime collaborators Max Martin, will.i.am, Dr. Luke, Shellback, and Stargate and in are the next generation of hitmakers such as Cashmere Cat, Sterling Fox, E. Kidd Bogart, Nick Monson, and the superb teams of Justin Tranter & Julia Michaels and Mattman and Robin. This new generation of songwriters and producers have guided Britney into a new era of excellence that blends numerous musical genres such as R&B, EDM, and dance pop together into a spectacular album that will satisfy both the Britney Army and music lovers.  I hope that Britney returns to the road to promote this superb album.  Welcome back, Britney! We have missed you so much. A-

Tracks to Download: “Private Show,” “Clumsy,” “Man On The Moon,” “Hard to Forget Ya,” & “Do You Want to Come Over?”

 

Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway by Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand remains one of the most talented performers of all-time. Throughout out the 2010s, Ms. Streisand returned to performing live with two tours-2012 to 2013’s Barbra Live and 2016’s Barbra: The Music, The Mem’ries, The Magic; released a 2010 design book called My Passion for Design and recorded four studio albums.  For her fourth studio album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, Ms. Streisand invited some of Hollywood’s heavy hitters such as Jamie Foxx, Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Jackman, Seth MacFarlane, and Anne Hathaway to record some of the Great White Way’s iconic anthems.  Listeners will be very impressed with Foxx, Jackman, McCarthy, and MacFarlane’s vocals, but the true revelations off of this album are Alec Baldwin (“The Best Thing That Ever Happened”), Daisy Ridley (“At the Ballet”) and Chris Pine (“I’ll Be Seeing You/I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”).  Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway is one of Ms. Streisand’s finest duet albums and is a splendid bookend to her 2014 duet album: Partners. Bravo, Ms. Streisand and to all of her celebrity vocalists who made this album extremely memorable. A

Tracks to Download: “At the Ballet,” “The Best Thing That Ever Happened,” “Anything You Can Do,” “Pure Imagination,” & “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”

Dig Your Roots by Florida Georgia Line

Country’s favorite bro duo is back with their third studio album! While Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley wrote eight out of the 15 tracks, the duo trusted songwriters such as Busbee, Rodney Clawson, Hillary Lindsey and Zach Crowell to hash out the remaining tracks. Overall, the album sounds so much better than 2014’s haphazard known as Anything Goes. Both Hubbard and Kelley have matured their sound by mastering their craft and improved on their songwriting. Several of their standout tracks such as “Life is a Honeymoon,” “H.O.L.Y.” and “God, Your Mama, And Me” will not only appease millennial fans but also reintroduce them to several impeccable acts such as Backstreet Boys and Ziggy Marley. Excellent job, guys! B+

Tracks to Download: “Life is a Honeymoon,” “H.O.L.Y.,” “Island,” & “God, Your Mama, And Me.”

 

A Hundred Summer Days by The Rebel Light

One band that I have been following over the past couple of years is Los Angeles-based quartet The Rebel Light. Made up of vocalist Will Steil, guitarist Jarrett Steil, percussionist Brandon Cooke and bassist Austin Turner, this group has gotten exponentially better with every piece of music that they put out. They have filled the void that iconic Californian band and legendary rock group the Beach Boys left behind. Their songs are filled with hope and will listeners in a good mood! Congrats, guys! A Hundred Summer Days is my Album of the Week! A+

Tracks to Download: “Strangers,” “Where Did All the Love Go?,” “Hard to Believe,” “Summer Haze” & “Afterlife.”

“Missin U” by Usher

Breaking news! This September, Usher is going finally to release his long awaited album, Hard II Love, on September 16.  To kick off his latest album, Usher released his new single: “Missin U.” This single is Usher at his finest.  His velvet vocals and fantastic charisma just ooze off of this song.  I am very excited to see what Usher has in store for us in a few weeks. A-

 

“Wild Love” by Cashmere Cat featuring The Weeknd & Francis & The Lights

In addition to playing a role in producing Britney Spears’ new album, Cashmere Cat has been working on his new music. “Wild Love” features an intriguing approach to using the synthesizer and pitting voices against the machine. While this track introduces Francis and the Lights to listeners, The Weeknd shines as his voice is put to the test. While “Wild Love” might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Cashmere Cat might be the new voice when it comes to Avant-garde EDM. B

“10 Times Out of 10” by Amy Guess

Jake’s Take always prides itself in introducing emerging artists to readers! Electronic pop singer Amy Guess’ “10 Times Out of 10” is a catchy ode to the 1980s and is ready to be played at clubs all over the country. I am very surprised that this song has not been picked up on Top 40 radio stations because it is very radio friendly. Amy has a strong vocal presence, and I also believe that she has a healthy future in the music industry. Congrats, Amy! “10 Times Out of 10” is my Song of the Week!  A+

I do not own any of the clips that are featured in this article. They belong to the artists and their respective record labels.