music review: Last News

Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” is here — so let the lyric breakdown begin.In her highly anticipated 11th studio album, Swift dropped 17 tracks at midnight Friday, and then surprised fans with an extra 15 — making it a secret double album. And she didn’t waste any time getting personal on the first single, “Fortnight.”“I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she sings.

Hans Zimmer is an unlikely rock star.For those unfamiliar with his bona fides, the celebrated 67-year-old German composer made his name conducting sublime operatic scores for blockbusters like “The Dark Knight,” “Dune,” “James Bond” and literally hundreds of other films. His exemplary work has netted him a pair of Oscars, five Grammys and even led to an offer to update Saudi Arabia’s National Anthem.So, when Zimmer announced he was embarking on a North American arena tour in March 2024, he took the world by surprise.We all collectively wondered: what does a Hans Zimmer concert look or sound like?He wasn’t giving us clues either. In tandem with the tour announcement, AP News reported “…there is no conductor, no sheet music in front of each musician, and not a single frame from any of the films he’s referencing.”This exciting — if confounding — information served as a bit of intrigue.

John Legend is a minimalist with maximum talent.On Friday, June 21, the 45-year-old EGOT winner headlined at Atlantic City’s intimate yet spacious and cozy yet comfortable Borgata Casino Event Center as part of his ongoing, nationwide ‘An Evening with John Legend Tour.’ Most impressively, Legend decided to forgo a backing band and backup singers, reducing his entertaining one-man show to its most essential elements: just John Legend and a piano.Yes, for nearly two hours — including a 15-minute intermission — it was just Legend, a Yamaha, his songs and his stories.No, it was never dull.Similar to Springsteen on Broadway, the affable showman opts to dig deep into his expansive back catalog, delivering familiar hits, deep cuts and soul-stirring covers while weaving in feel-good stories from his life to explain each track’s significance.It’s a difficult high-wire act to take the stage all by yourself, but Legend is a seasoned pro — he not only put the audience at ease, he made the sold-out crowd feel as if we were chatting with him at an invite only cocktail party.To start, the concert began a little after its 8 p.m. showtime.

Chappell Roan tickets, that makes two of us.The eccentric, red-haired singer-songwriter is blowing up and for good reason, as her festival appearances are more like full-fledged concert experiences, combining amazing vocals, costume changes, danceable choreography and even a few heartfelt messages over the course of her short set time.As a result, the way Roan drives crowds to music festivals around the country has become a phenomenon — or “Femininomenon.” Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to score tickets to Gov Ball which had an all-star line-up of today’s heaviest hitters joining Roan like SZA, The Killers and Carly Rae Jepsen.Roan, 26, having just come from the sold-out Boston Calling Festival, was actually moved up in the Sunday lineup, kicking off a girl-powered celebration on the main stage along with Reneé Rapp and SZA to close out the final day of the fest. As the drone footage shows, it was a fully packed venue, and if you squint you’ll see a very excited Post staffer screaming with delight at the very front barricade.Once her set began, the Chappell experience was almost as religious as her name suggests.

Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse at Forest Hills Stadium when a light rain came down during their raucous ‘Love Earth’ concert. At other outdoor shows, this minor inconvenience might have put a damper on the evening; everyone knows wearing ponchos is never cool.

‘Enter the Unknown Tour.’The brother duo’s latest album is a sharp departure from their silkier chill wave hits “Devil Eyes,” “Your Soul,” and “Whiskey.” This time around, Kevin and Jeff Saurer hooked up with rapper Kembe X for their new record, “Sleep Paralyses.” The resulting tracks lean much punkier than their previous remixes, crowned with heavy bass, synthetic drops, and sinister, high-octane vocals. Irving Plaza’s flock of fans was largely reflective of this modern dance music style.

Taylor Swift surprised fans once more as she dropped a surprise second batch of songs at 2 a.m. on Friday, making “The Tortured Poets Department” a secret double album.In one song, “thanK you aIMee,” Swifties were quick to point out that the capitalized letters spelled out a certain name — Kim.The 34-year-old musician often hides Easter eggs in her lyrics via capitalization, and this tune in particular slams a certain person that she compares to a high school bully.

new Taylor Swift album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”There are the exes: British actor Joe Alwyn, with whom the singer was in a six-year relationship until 2023, as well as the 1975 frontman Matty Healy, who Swift briefly dated last year.And the 34-year-old superstar used her powerhouse pen to mark her territory on her gridiron guy, Travis Kelce.But in addition to her current beau, there is another man who gets big love from Swift on “TTPD,” which dropped on Friday.That would be singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, who gets the ultimate co-sign from Swift on the title track.“You smoked and ate seven bars of chocolate / we declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist / I scratch your head, you fall asleep / Like a tattooed Golden Retriever,” she sings.The quote seemingly references her and Healy bonding over their mutual appreciation for the “See You Again” singer during their romance.Puth, for his part, appears to be a major Swiftie. In 2022, a video of him playing her breakthrough hit “Teardrops on My Guitar” for a New York City crowd circulated on TikTok.Healy, however, seems to be the target of more pen venom elsewhere on “The Tortured Poets Department.”Healy — who, before their summer split, was a rebound romance for the pop superstar following her breakup with Alwyn — appears to be the subject of the vicious takedown “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”“And I don’t even want oil back/If just want to know/If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal,” sings Swift, who caught some flak after Healy made some controversial comments — including racist remarks about the singer’s now BFF Ice Spice.“And I don’t miss what we had,” she continues.

Prudential Center on Saturday, March 30.Opening act Tyler Hubbard had just finished wooing the crowd with his stable of rootsy country hits — “5 Foot 9” jerked everyone out of their seats and kept us on our feet until the final note of his infectious closer “Dancin’ In The Country.”“No twerking, just twanging,” my friend smiled, referencing the gals behind us whose southern drawls rang just as loud as their excited belts.In all seriousness, this rabble of fans was a rather tame group.There were handfuls of young sprogs spread throughout the stands, the expected besotten lovebirds, and older adults who stayed sober enough to sing along without butchering a single lyric.But, Kane Brown’s theatrical entrance was what grabbed our attention.Now on his sixth tour — this one dubbed ‘In the Air’ — the crossover country artist knows a thing or two about a grand opening.The stage was reset within minutes. Sheer curtains drawn back, clouds of smoke escaping from the ground, and silhouettes of the band members flashing in each corner.A few snare drums and firecrackers later, the drapes finally fell, and Brown descended from the sky sporting a laidback black Canadian tux, speckled in glistening rhinestones, and a pair of white sneakers.

So decreed Queen B in a rare lengthy Instagram post about “Cowboy Carter,” which is “Act II” in her “Renaissance” trilogy that began with the underground house beats of her 2022 album that had us buzzing and bopping to “Break My Soul,” “Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar.”And while it may seem like a hair-whipping flip to take it from the ballroom to the barnyard on her latest, it is not as radical of a departure as it may seem for Bey herself, who hails from Houston, Texas, and is as Southern as any hummingbird could be.“They used to say I spoke ‘too country’/And the rejection came, said I wasn’t ‘country ’nough’/Said I wouldn’t saddle up/But if that ain’t country, tell me, what is?” she sings with a snarl in her twang on “Ameriican Requiem,” the autobiographical manifesto that opens the album.This is Bey unplugged, raw and rootsy, two-stepping across the color lines that took “Texas Hold ’Em” — the banjo-picking bluegrass stomper that previewed “Cowboy Carter” last month — all the way to No.

Lost Frequencies’ “All Stand Together” show at East Williamsburg’s Great Hall. Our bodies sore, voices deflated, ears ringing, and one earring left behind. But, if we had it our way, we’d be crawling back to the stage.When we arrived at the venue just after 10 p.m., the opener, Artemis Orion, was already underway with her first-ever DJ set.

“This Is Me … Now” had me feeling J.Low early this Friday morning, the diva gods came to the rescue.My sonic palate cleanse came in the pop-superstar pairing of Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey on a remix of the former’s new single “Yes, And?”This divalicious duet — with real singers sanging over a disco-house groove — was just what I needed to shake off the “Dear Ben” doldrums from Mrs. Affleck and get my bop back heading into the long holiday weekend.In fact, this heavyweight belt-off between two of the best voices of their respective generations is even more of a moment for me than Grande’s “Rain on Me” collab with Lady Gaga.Of course, when the perpetually ponytailed Grande, 30, burst onto the pop scene with hits such as “The Way” and “Problem” a decade ago, she was dubbed a mini-Mariah for her octave-leaping abilities and whistle register.And the tones of their voices are a natural blend when they coo the chorus of “Yes, And?” as Carey, 54, floats around Grande like the “Butterfly” she is.Carey comes in hot for the pre-chorus and the second verse, taking you twirling back to her soulful “Emotions” era and all those legendary house remixes she did in the ’90s.

Kylie Minogue after seeing her new aptly named ‘More Than Just A Residency’ residency at Las Vegas’ swanky Venetian Hotel.‘More Than A Residency,’ which is actually equal parts burlesque, acrobatics, variety show and Kylie, is now at the venue’s Voltaire theater, which some may argue was an interesting choice for a residency. The stage is small, and the first level of seating is completely made up of tables, making for a more intimate setting, should you opt for the premium experience.

Goth Babe is not what you’re expecting based on the tongue-in-cheek band name.No, there isn’t an eyeliner-laden beauty grabbing your attention onstage at a Goth Babe show; rather, front and center is scruffy, charismatic frontman 25-year-old Griff Washburn.And he, along with his solid backing band, put on a rousing show.Goth Babe — really the moniker of bedroom pop wunderkind Washburn, along with a tight 2-piece touring band — sounds a little like if Beirut met Odesza, and the two of them downloaded LCD Soundsystem’s synth presets.On a brisk Cinco de Mayo evening, the three-piece outfit performed a loose yet energetic 15-song set at New York City’s Rooftop at Pier 17 inspiring an audience made up of college-age Gen Z’ers, elder Millennials and everything in between to bliss out to the group’s mellow yet melodic dream pop.To kick the evening off, Goth Babe got the crowd’s attention with arguably their most goosebump-inducing track.The trick worked like a charm.“New Born Worlds,” easily Goth Babe’s most ethereal bop, turned heads.What was this mythical sound taking over the rooftop?As soon as the the ensemble’s thumping drum launched mid-track, toes were tapping, heads were nodding, smiles were washing over faces.This is what we came for — this is why you see your favorite bands live.Following the otherworldly opening number, Washburn addressed the crowd.His boyish voice didn’t quite match the assured, deep timbre of his vocals much to my surprise  — he was much more playful, friendly, ready to chat with the crowd, which he did.In between songs, Washburn and audience members bantered.Yes, crowd surfing came up.

Adele has officially become the face of the Southwest’s City That Never Sleeps — Las Vegas.Starting in November 2022, the 12-time Grammy winner took over Caesars Palace on Fridays and Saturdays as part of her ‘Weekends With Adele’ residency.Her concerts quickly became the hottest ticket in town and prices skyrocketed to high-roller dollar amounts; oftentimes, the cheapest seat in the building was in the neighborhood of $1500 before fees on Vivid Seats.This summer, the soulful mezzo-soprano is doing it all over again.From June 16 through Nov.

It feels like Fiona Apple really got a big head start on us with this whole quarantining thing. Fans do not need to be reminded that it’s been eight years since her previous album, “The Idler Wheel…” (though they probably will require a refresher on its full 23-word title, which once might have been committed to memory). Anybody else who disappeared as a recording artist for that long would have been out flogging the catalog, something that is assuredly not her bag; even the intermittent cameos she used to do at L.A.’s Largo club halted as she retreated ever inward. That seemed just as it should be, up to a point: In four scant previous albums over a quarter-century, Apple had become pop music’s queen of extremely interior designs.