Arts & Culture

TEST SPINS | Neon Trees: ‘Habits’

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When one thinks of pop-rock band Neon Trees, their mind likely goes in one of two directions: either they think of “Everybody Talks,” the 2011 smash hit single off Picture Show, or “Animal,” the catchy track about trying to turn a friendship into something more (with disturbing cannibalistic overtones) off debut album Habits. I fall into the former category, but recently heard “Animal” on the radio, which got me thinking; I haven’t quite forgotten about Neon Trees over the years — I’ve heard both the aforementioned songs countless times, and experienced a brief period of time when Habits’s “1983” and the 2015 single “Songs I Can’t Listen To” were on my playlist — but despite enjoying a few of their songs, I’ve never really felt compelled to dive into their discography. This week, I decided to listen to Habits to figure out why the rest of the album hadn’t reached the same level of success as “Animal” and whether I had been missing out. The record starts out with “Sins Of My Youth” which establishes the album’s theme pretty quickly with the opening line, “I’ve got these habits that I cannot break.” It’s an upbeat, typical pop-rock track, but I can’t help but feel that the lyrics don’t match this buoyant sound. Here, singer and keyboardist Tyler Glenn confesses the things he did when he was younger to his partner, hoping they will stay together post-reveal.

Arts & Culture

TEST SPINS | Adele: ‘21’

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Hearing any Adele song, even one of her more recent ones, fills me with a particular sense of nostalgia. Her voice holds so many memories for me — singing along to “Someone Like You” with a friend in middle school like I had any idea what the lyrics meant; watching her, absolutely spellbound, at my first ever concert as she performed 25 and being shocked by the sheer number of curse words flying out of her mouth in between songs; spending an entire period in high school listening to 30 because my teacher could not accept that no one in the class had listened to it yet (it was released eight hours before class started). Despite the fact that her whole discography is able to draw such intense reminiscence from me, 21 has always stood out for some reason, and I chose to revisit this record to determine why. “Rolling in the Deep” is undoubtedly one of Adele’s most iconic and instantly identifiable songs. Her deep, thunderous voice makes this song all-consuming; the echo effect emphasizes the power of her voice, and her message, even more.

Arts & Culture

TEST SPINS | Billy Joel: ‘Glass Houses’

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I know what you’re thinking: Glass Houses (1980)? Not The Stranger (1977), or 52nd Street (1978), or even Piano Man (1973)? I get it — those are his most popular records and contain some of his most iconic songs. But I’d like to make a case for Glass Houses. In a scathing 1980 review of the album, Rolling Stone’s Paul Nelson wrote: “Joel sings in a voice that’s pushy and bossy and whiny at the same time, like a rush-hour bus driver bawling out his hapless, weary passengers.” He went on to say that “his material’s catchy…but then, so’s the flu.” I’ll admit, Glass Houses is an interesting take on the development of rock and roll music.

Arts & Culture

TEST SPINS | Lifehouse: ‘No Name Face’

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“Hanging By A Moment” by alternative rock band Lifehouse has always been a summer staple for me. When it popped back up in my musical rotation this season, it hit me: while I’ve listened to Lifehouse before, I’ve never actually listened to any of the other songs that accompany “Hanging By A Moment” on the album, No Name Face (2000). This was both the impetus for this review and my new column, “Test Spins,” where I will review older albums ranging from the classic to the obscure. I’ll admit, I am somewhat of a Lifehouse novice — my knowledge of the band is mostly limited to their 2005 namesake album and the aforementioned “Hanging By A Moment” — so I was interested to hear No Name Face in full. It did not let me down.