Listen: Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know" ft. Kendrick Lamar
The OneRepublic of today is a far cry from the band that released Apologize ten years ago. Oh My My, their latest album, carries a more upbeat electrofunk vibe (Oh My My) interspersed with soaring ballads (Born, Fingertips), leaving us with a bunch of songs that could have very well come from bands like Coldplay or Maroon 5. For what it's worth, Oh My My works best when it comes to foot-stomping arena-rockers Kids, A. I. (ft. Peter Gabriel) and NbHD (ft. Santigold).
Bruno Mars is back too. This time with a retro-throwback of a track called 24K Magic that picks up bits and pieces from Treasure and Uptown Funk. So is John Legend's Love Me Now which sounds more like a pop-friendly version of All of Me. Both are okay, I suppose?
On the other hand, if you thought Lady Gaga's brush with psych-pop (aka Perfect Illusion) was forgettable, wait until you hear Million Reasons, a stripped-down twangy-folk ballad featuring Gaga's raw, searing vocals that do all the talking. It's emotional ("I've got a million reasons to walk away/ But baby, I just need one good one to stay."), yet one cannot shrug off the feeling that we have heard all this before.
Which brings me to Maroon 5's Don't Wanna Know. Jumping on the tropical house bandwagon popularized by Justin Bieber, Kygo and Major Lazer in recent years, the band delivers a fleetingly catchy song that will have you hooked to it for a while. But that's about it!
Bruno Mars is back too. This time with a retro-throwback of a track called 24K Magic that picks up bits and pieces from Treasure and Uptown Funk. So is John Legend's Love Me Now which sounds more like a pop-friendly version of All of Me. Both are okay, I suppose?
On the other hand, if you thought Lady Gaga's brush with psych-pop (aka Perfect Illusion) was forgettable, wait until you hear Million Reasons, a stripped-down twangy-folk ballad featuring Gaga's raw, searing vocals that do all the talking. It's emotional ("I've got a million reasons to walk away/ But baby, I just need one good one to stay."), yet one cannot shrug off the feeling that we have heard all this before.
Which brings me to Maroon 5's Don't Wanna Know. Jumping on the tropical house bandwagon popularized by Justin Bieber, Kygo and Major Lazer in recent years, the band delivers a fleetingly catchy song that will have you hooked to it for a while. But that's about it!
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