Francesca Bliss

A&E 3/28/23 9:56pm

Review: Lana Del Rey is directionless with new album

By Francesca Bliss

The appeal of Lana Del Rey has always been the softness of her tragedy. The depressed feminine found the perfect host in Del Rey’s sultry and beautifully exhausted voice, but it’s debatable whether the uniqueness of her delivery can always compensate for the lack of what she’s delivering. The album “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” feels like what was once Lana Del Rey’s signature sound saturated to the point of caricature. All the trademark references to god, unkind men and cigarettes are trotted out dispassionately, making the album feel more like playing Lana Del Rey bingo than a meaningful musical experience. 

A&E 10/25/22 10:08pm

Review: Meghan Trainor's ‘Takin’ It Back’ takes listeners on another predictably mediocre ride

By Francesca Bliss

Meghan Trainor’s latest album “Takin’ it Back” is both predictably underwhelming and, unexpectedly, not entirely bad. While Trainor’s musical formula has remained almost unchanged since her early success circa 2014, this album adds a refreshing layer of synthesizers  in addition to the brass, “retro” bassline and doo-wop melodies that are emblematic of Trainor’s music. Although Trainor made some slight but meaningful changes to her musicality in parts of this album, the themes of her lyrics are practically copied and pasted from her previous work. 

A&E 9/21/22 12:08am

​​Review: ‘The Hardest Part’ is the sound of love’s funeral

By Francesca Bliss

Like a prism turns light into color, Noah Cyrus turns pain into music. Emotion moves through Cyrus’s sound without resistance, leaving nothing lost in translation between her experience and her expression. While Cyrus cultivates a beautifully melancholic palette in “The Hardest Part,” I’m left equally impressed with her lyricism as I am with her musicality. “The Hardest Part” does more than provide listeners with ten pretty songs to cry to, it paints Cyrus’ world of doomed love, addiction and fragility with vivid colors and palpable grief.

A&E 9/13/22 11:33pm

Review: ‘age/sex/location’ is an album we wouldn’t miss

By Francesca Bliss

It is important that we address mediocrity when we encounter it, especially when the source of mediocrity is something you see greater potential for. My criticisms of “age/sex/location” all come from a place of disappointment resulting from my belief in Ari Lennox’s potential as an artist and musician.