The Mowgli’s debut album is one of the best albums of the year! (Album cover property of Island Def Jam Record Group)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Welcome to another exciting week of New Music Releases!
This week, Jake’s Take dives into new albums from the Mowgli’s, Kanye West and Kelly Rowland. Plus, I will also take a look at hot singles from Britney Spears and Gavin DeGraw.
Waiting for the Dawn by the Mowgli’s
One of Jake’s Take’s favorite bands, the Mowgli’s, has finally released their first full studio album. This is the same Southern California folk-rock sound that has surrounded this band since the first time they began their musical journey three years ago. Waiting for the Dream is a breath of fresh air that music lovers need between listening to all the manufactured Auto-tuned music that we have been hearing for years. The strong songwriting, beautiful instrumental and vocal arrangements and the great vocals will successfully transport listeners to Southern California. Here is to more successful albums in the future! A+
Tracks to Download: “San Francisco,” “Clean Light,” “Time,” “The Great Divide” & “Emily”
Yeezus by Kanye West
Days after the birth of his daughter, the Chicago MC released his sixth studio album. Throughout the album, Kanye West unleashed a tirade of powerful beats and bombastic lyrics that fans will eat up. Keep en eye out for cameos from Chief Keef, Daft Punk, Justin Vernon and Kid Cudi, who are sprinkled throughout Yeezus. Overall, this album is Mr. West’s explosive yet and will spark interesting conversations all summer long. A-
Tracks to Download: “On Sight,” “Black Skinhead,” “New Slaves,” “Hold My Liquor” & “Blood On the Leaves.”
Kelly Rowland’s fourth solo studio album: “Talking A Good Game” features a group of A-list collaborators and producers that turn out amazing tracks. (Album cover property of Republic Records)
Talk a Good Game by Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland’s fourth solo studio album showcases diverse tracks that range from R&B/Soul (“Kisses Down Low”), Hip-Hop/Soul (“Gone”) and Hip-house (“Freak”). This is one of Ms. Rowland’s most personal albums to date as she tackles some of her most important parts of her life including her relationship with Beyoncé and the frustrations with the music industry. Rowland’s album features her fellow BFFs Mrs. Carter and Michelle Williams plus an A-List of producers including Pharrell, The-Dream, Danja and Wiz Khalifa that makes this album…one of the hottest R&B albums of the summer! A-
Tracks to Download: “Kisses Down Low,” “Dirty Laundry,” You Changed” & “Red Wine.”
“Ooh La La” by Britney Spears
Britney’s back! “Ooh La La” shows the pop queen at her finest! Addictive vocal licks, a terrific dance pop beat and great lyrics from Bonnie McKee, J. Kash, Lola Blanc and Francisca Hall. In addition, the team of Dr. Luke, Cirkut and Ammo provided terrific production on the single making it the best song on the Smurfs 2 soundtrack. A
Gavin DeGraw’s sizzling single “Best I Ever Had” has the potential to conquer the charts this summer. (Album cover property of RCA Records)
“Best I Ever Had” by Gavin DeGraw
There is simply nothing like an uplifting Gavin DeGraw summer song! From Gavin’s superb lyrics to his incredible pop rock guitar arrangements, this will be playing on multiple Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio stations until the end of summer. A-
I do not own any clips that are featured in this article, they belong to the artists and record companies.
