Nothing Without Love – Nate Ruess – Well Jack did it, so what’s to stop Nate? The difference is that when Jack moves away from fun. He sounds different (he becomes a power popper in the most old fashioned sense, and when Nate moves away from fun. he sounds like fun. without Jack. If that sounds like a slam, it isn’t. This is a big sound pop extravaganza of the first order. A great song, and an important one for Nate – A-
Somebody That I Used To Know – Seth Avett, Jessica Lea Mayfield – Running the “Justice For Elliott Smith” Facebook page (actually Alyson runs it but whatever), I get to hear a lot of covers of his material and the surprising thing is how protean it is, how easy it is to reflect yourself upon. This is a superb version of one of Smith’s most popular songs – A-
I Want You To Know – Zedd, Selena Gomez – The happily glam couple have released their first piece of beautiful music together, a somewhat bland slice of House – B-
Piece By Piece – Kelly Clarkson – Apparently we are getting the new album in segments, this segment is a well sung piece of country rock blandness. Sorry, not this time – C
No Room In Flame – Death Can For Cuties – Isn’t it time they changed their uber-emo moniker? If so, this song would be good under any name, best, by best I mean awake and swinging, sweetly melodic, you know what they normally aren’t, song in maybe ten years – B+
