Akdong Musician - Time And Fallen Leaves

I am not nearly as filled with October/Halloween spirit as I'd like to be. I don't know what it is, but this year I just feel like the season is passing my by and I need to get on that real quick. Luckily, I've got Akdong Musician and their new autumnal single, Time and Fallen Leaves to help me out. The duo previously ushered in spring with their brilliant 200%. This song has a totally different vibe. It's gentle, moody and takes its time to build to a crescendo. In fact, it's not even a real duet until almost halfway through. The sibling duo are incredibly popular in Korea right now, and rightfully so. There's just something about their voices, songwriting and image that is incredibly refreshing. This is not the usual music I go for, but I am totally smitten with these guys. Eat something pumpkin-flavored, grab a hot drink, and relax to this beauty.



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

Dami Im - Living Dangerously

"So tell the fear to fear me"

Let's talk about Dami Im and her astonishingly powerful voice. It's on full display in this track from her upcoming album (out Friday). It's the kind of voice that forces you to stop whatever you're doing and pay attention. Even better than that, Living Dangerously confirms that she's still walking down the wonderful lane of dance pop. I love soaring vocals over intense dance beats. This song is very dramatic and loud. It doesn't have many quiet bits, which could be a bad thing if the lyrics weren't delivered with such passion and fire. This is the Dami Im I fell in love with on X-Factor. I grew to adore Super Love and thought Gladiator was alright, but I think this is the first time an original song has allowed Dami to really let it rip. More of this, please! I'm not sure if this'll end up being the next single or not, but it should be.



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

Take That - These Days

"Take me back before we all explode"

A few days after Robbie Williams came back with his brilliant Avicii team-up The Days, his former band Take That also released a new single called... These Days. Take That have become very interesting over their past couple of albums, as they've stretched their musical identity and come up with a really cool sci-fi, theatrical sound. Unfortunately, Take That is now a trio, and Robbie is not one of those three. This could have meant it was back to the boring ballads for the band, but they've surprised me and released another awesome uptempo instead! In the battle between These Days and The Days (confused yet?), Robbie wins hand down. But These Days is no slouch either. It's a hodgepodge of impossibly catchy hooks, coupled with kaleidoscopic, ebullient production that forces you out of your seat. I hope this ends up being the norm for the upcoming album and not a red herring. I'm not the biggest Gary Barlow fan, but there's no denying that he can churn out a great pop song. Also, doesn't this sound like it could have been a song Mika would've recorded?



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