Robbie Williams - Snowblind

"You wrapped yourself 'round me"

Initially, I wasn't too excited about Robbie Williams releasing another swing album, but then I heard Go Gentle and read that the album would have a bunch of new tracks co-written by Guy Chambers. For those who don't know, Williams' best and most famous work was created in collaboration with Chambers, but the duo haven't worked together much at all (in fact, only one song by my count) in the past decade. This reunion is really something special. Snowblind, apparently, was first written in the Escapology album days (that would be 2001/02) and I'm absolutely delighted that we get to hear it now. Sometimes simple is better, and though this ballad lacks the bombast of some of Williams' bigger hits, it is absolutely, jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The orchestration is gorgeous. The melody is gorgeous. The vocals are gorgeous. It reminds me of something off of Hedwig & The Angry Inch, which is a big compliment coming from me.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Girls' Generation - My Oh My

"My oh my oh my oh my!"

It's been a little while since I posted some K-Pop on here. Well, technically this is J-Pop, but delivered by a Korean group so it doesn't make much difference to me. Girls' Generation have been churning out the Japanese singles all year, and they've all been absolutely fantastic. My Oh My is no different. Turn away now if you can't handle some fluffy, bubblegum pop music, beacause this is a ridiculously catchy truffle so sweet it'll give you cavities. That damn hook, though. It squirms inside your ear and takes up residence, whether you've allowed it to or not. It's almost too much, but sometimes you just want pop this sunny and bright.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy their albums here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Hedley - Anything

"I can do anything"

I've been obsessed with this track for awhile now and for some reason keep forgetting to post it. Hedley are a Canadian rock band whose lead singer Jacob Hoggard got his big break on the second season of Canadian Idol. He's the first person I can remember "breaking the mold" in one of those kind of reality competition shows -- extremely charismatic and different from most talent show contestants. I've enjoyed Hedley's music here and there in the decade or so that they've been popular, but this is their best single yet. They've transformed themselves into a far funkier, far dancier band and they're all the better for it. Anything is a total anthem, and one of the catchier tracks I've heard this year. Check out the crazy We Can't Stop-esque video, too. In addition to complimenting that Miley track really well (strangely enough...), it really adds to the experience.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.