REVIEW: KATE PIERSON - GUITARS AND MICROPHONES

At 66 years young (I hate when people say that, so why did I?) The B-52's songstress Kate Pierson is finally releasing her first solo album. I have loved The B-52's, and specifically Kate, for as long as I can remember. My first experience was their amazing 1986 single Summer of Love, from Bouncing Off of Satellites, and I have been hooked ever since. Kate has been thinking about a solo record for years and now we get the pay off. Guitars and Microphones is energetic and lovely, full of Kate's one-of-a-kind harmonies and very personal. Three of the songs on the album are co-written by super-hitmaker Sia and she also co-executive produced by her as well. The result is luscious, fun and wonderfully wacky and addictive. Bring Your Arms, co-written by Sia, is a contemplative, emotional song about looking for support as we travel through life. Second single Mister Sister got a lot of (undeserved) controversy when Kate said she wanted it to be a "trans anthem", but Huffington Post added [gender] after trans, completely changing what Kate meant. She then was, of course, attacked by people who made assumptions about what she meant without researching Kate's history with the LGBT community . She responded in an open letter:
"I was just trying to use "trans" as this kind of umbrella term meaning anyone in the gender spectrum. It was definitely not about specifically a transwoman. It's really about a little boy who wants to play with his inner girl. He could be a future drag queen or a future transwoman, or it could be about a girl who feels betrayed by the mirror....The B-52s have spent our whole career fighting for rights of people who feel different or LGBT, the whole gay community, you know."
Anyway, that's not what this post is about. This post is about the incredible work that Kate has finally, in the sixth decade of her career, putting out for those of us who have been waiting all these years. The sensational ballads Crush Me With Your Love (the title of which Kate's partner Monica came up with) and Pulls You Under show a side of Kate we have never been able to see with The B-52's, and she doesn't disappoint with the adorably jaunty title track or the "we're all special" anthem Throw Down The Roses. I would say, without a doubt, Guitars and Microphones is well worth the wait. Check out Bring Your Arms and Mr. Sister below.

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NEW VIDEO: CHANDELIER - SIA

The official director's cut for Chandelier directed by Sia and Daniel Askill, featuring Maddie Ziegler of Dance Moms. Not that this changes my mind that Dance Moms is among the most evil of shows ever to be on television, but this little lady is turning it O-U-T! Chandelier is available on iTunes. Sia's next album, 1000 Forms of Fear is due in June. Watch.

REVIEW: KYLIE MINOGUE - KISS ME ONCE

WOOHOO!!! I love the day a new Kylie album comes out! It's like Gay-Christmas! So....Christmas. Kylie Minogue is back with her 12th studio album, Kiss Me Once, and it's a doozy. Packed with wall-to-wall dance jams and sweet harmonies, Kiss Me Once is definitely a Kylie album, but with a bit of an twist. Working with some new producers, namely executive producer and hitmaker for the stars Sia Furler, Minogue's stretches her sexy-cutie-pie brand a bit and includes collaborations with Pharrell, Enrique Iglesias and Greg Kirsten. Kicking off with first single, the anthemic Into the Blue, Kiss Me Once delivers several radio-ready tunes. Million Miles is particularly catchy and the Pharrell written and produced I Was Gonna Cancel is easily one of Kylie's funkiest tracks 2003's Red Blooded Woman. More album highlights are Sexercise (I am glad I like that song, but THAT TITLE!!) the light and breezy Feels So Good, which actually a cover of Indiana by Tom Aspaul, and the stunning electro-ballad If Only. Les Sex is the perfect PG-rated raunchiness that Kylie always does so well. The title track sounds like a classic 80s/early 90s Kylie track. It's almost like being in a time machine, y'all! Beautiful is a duet with Enrique Iglesias that sounds a lot like Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap with the use of its vocoder. Quite lovely. Bonus track Mr. President is a hard hitting Trash produced sexy piece of EDM. Pretty sure this has club hit written all the fuck over it. This is worth the price of the Bonus Track edition of Kiss Me Once for sure, but coupled with fellow bonus track, the dreamy Sleeping with the Enemy, produced by Lily Allen collaborator Greg Kurstin, you are getting your moneys' worth fo'sho'. All in all, there is not a bad track on Kiss Me Once, as we've come to expect from Kylie. It's available on iTunes now. Get it! Meanwhile, enjoy the album sampler of Kiss Me Once below.

REVIEW: LEA MICHELE - LOUDER

Now that she has the next couple of years of her life planned, let's focus on Lea's new album she released yesterday, Louder. One of the only REAL vocal albums to be released recently, Louder presents Ms. Lea is fine form, belting out tune after tune and delivering a compelling set of pop songs that are radio ready. Mostly full of power ballads with a couple of piano ballads and some beats thrown in, Louder delivers on Lea's promising pop-chops she shows covering other artists on Glee. First single Cannonball, co-written by hit-maker Sia Furler, is a powerful statement of coming through tragedy that was recorded after the death of Lea's boyfriend Cory Montieth. There are many heart-pounding songs on the album, like the churning On My Way and the title track. Celine-worthy ballads abound in the form of the gorgeous You're Mine and album highlights, the gutsy Burn With You and the exquisite What Is Love?. These songs take off with vocals that will put to shame all other so-called pop divas recording today. Lea also co-wrote the amazing If You Say So with Sia Furler and it's dedicated to Corey. It will rip your heart out. Overall, I would say that Lea Michele has some vocal performance Grammys in her future, if there is justice in this pop world. Quite a stellar debut for a performer with the potential to become a huge star. You can pick up Louder on iTunes now. Below are two videos with Lea Michele listening to snippets of and talking about each song on the album and the story behind them. Enjoy and get Louder today!!!