Category: Music

Though today Mandy Moore may be better known for her career as an actress – she is the voice of Rapunzel in Tangled and plays Rebecca Pearson on the television series This is Us – she is also an accomplished singer/songwriter. Fans of This is Us will have been exposed to glimpses of Moore’s work on the show, since her character Rebecca is also a singer, but her albums offer a better picture of Moore as her own vocal artist. Silver Landings, released in 2020, is her seventh studio album.

The music itself eludes categorization into a single genre, instead audibly combining elements of pop, rock, and folk both from now and decades past. Indeed, both the musical style and the lyrics seem to be reflective of Moore’s career up to this point. For instance, her song “Fifteen” is in reference to her early success (she was fifteen when her debut single “Candy” launched her into the spotlight in 1999). The deliberateness of this album an especially notable treat for listeners, given that Silver Landings is Moore’s first album in over a decade; her last album, Amanda Leigh, was released in 2009.

Most of the album is upbeat in a relaxed and laid-back sort of way that seems evocative of the ends of long summer days, but one of my favorite songs is actually the slower ballad “If That’s What It Takes.” To the slow strumming of guitar, Moore sings “As the years keep slipping away / We’ll be the birthday cake / While the world turns itself inside out / We’ll be the butterfly / When they’re burning the carnival down / We’ll stay on the Ferris wheel / Oh baby, if that’s what it takes.” Another one of my favorites is the more upbeat but still reflective “Stories Reminding Myself of Me.” The line “Turning a corner so bittersweet” from the refrain seems representative of the entire album.

Overall, the feel of Silver Landings is one of a mature and varied musical style, with the album offering listeners a balanced plate of sonic influences. Moore deftly changes the timbre of her voice to match the lyrics and mood of the song, going from cool and detached to a warmer and richer sound. I found the album to be both mood-lifting and relaxing to listen to, which makes it a welcome escape from the current world.

If you are familiar with any of Mandy Moore’s previous work as a singer or as an actress (or even if you aren’t), I would recommend her newest album, Silver Landings.

Around the time I first listened to this album, I saw this article discussing Dua Lipa’s 80s inspiration for the music video to her song “Physical.” That same modernized 80s feel is easy to see in the rest of her latest album, Future Nostalgia. Every song has the bright percussive beat, rounded guitar plucks, and electronic effects similar to those found in classic 80s songs. Similarly, there is little dissonance in the chords, giving the songs a welcoming, sunny feel. This is probably a good part of why I like this album so much. It evokes the same feeling as the actual 80s music that is my go-to for comfort food in music form. As I discovered while writing my review for Niall Horan’s album Heartbreak Weather (the title song of which, incidentally, was also featured in the article I mentioned above – I’ve clearly got a type), the presence of a moving base line also makes a major difference in my enjoyment of a song, and I can hear that in her songs. Her use of backing strings, perhaps most clearly seen in “Love Again,” provides added depth to the music. Musically, the songs in this album are all unique creations. They evoke this nostalgic, familiar feeling, yet the melodies and chord progressions are not generic at all. The songs surprise me as they develop, which makes the listening experience exciting.

I don’t have too much to say about the lyrics, since that’s not usually my focal point in music, but there are occasional phrases where she hits the nail on the head perfectly: for example, “I don’t wanna live another life, ’cause this one’s pretty nice,” she sings in “Physical.” Similarly, the song “Boys Will Be Boys” (though its martial music and social message seem out of place when the rest of the album is about the thrill of romance) is a concisely written summary of the still-daily struggles women live through, encapsulated in lyrics like “It’s second nature to…put your keys between your knuckles, when there’s boys around.”

My favorite part of the album, though, is the fact that all its songs are danceable. That, of course, is a function of the musical elements I wrote about above, but it’s worth a separate mention that the songs on Future Nostalgia make it impossible to listen passively. Like any 80s pop anthem worth its salt, these songs will make you want to move with them, even if you’re just sitting at your desk.

Whether I’m cleaning the bathroom, doing the crossword, or deeply entrenched in a design, music is usually my constant companion. Niall Horan’s new album, Heartbreak Weather, has been one of the albums keeping me company as I wrap up the school year.

What I like about this album can be classified into two categories. First, the instrumentals are engaging enough to stand alone. The chords aren’t hackneyed – songs aren’t interesting when I can predict all the notes that come next without having even heard the song before – but they are still comfortable. The instrumentals are deeply layered, with only a light reliance on engineered sounds, making the music seem more genuine. Even in the slower songs, the simplicity of the acoustic guitar is shaded by the strings in the background. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to this album since I first took a listen in March, but each time I do there is something new I hear in the songs.  I realized, for example, while trying to articulate why this music appeals so much to me, that there is always a moving base line. Most songs, of course, have a base element, but some simply hold a note. In my favorite songs on Heartbreak Weather, however, the frequent use of a shifting base line gives the songs a level of movement that keeps me engaged.

Second, the lyrics are different. I often don’t pay attention to the lyrics in a song, but these lyrics discuss the nuances of relationships, not the generic moments or feelings we hear so frequently. For example, in “Bend the Rules,” the lines “Cause on paper you don’t break them, but it hurts so bad the way you bend the rules” addresses some of the grey area in relationships that I don’t see surface often in songs about love. As Horan has stated was his intent with this album, the songs explore all facets of relationships, in a variety of musical styles, making the album suitable for listening across many moods. Similarly, some of the imagery in the lyrics is wonderfully specific. For example, “Are you all dressed up but with nowhere to go” in “Put A Little Love On Me,” or “And yeah we were dancing, dancing to Bruno” evoke precise images that make the listening experience so much better.

Most of my personal music “classics” – the albums that feel like home whenever I listen to them – are albums from the 80s to which I grew up listening. There are few modern albums that have made it into that category so far, but Heartbreak Weather is well on its way to making it in.