New Music Report (Elton John, Amaranthe, Sub Focus and Wilkinson)

I'll be honest, it took me a while to find three new albums that I wanted to write about. Not to say there wasn't lots of new music this week. But this just happened to be a week where I was re-examining older stuff. Checking out the 20th Anniversary Edition of Linkin Park's debut Hybrid Theory (How the hell has it been 20 years?) Which has literally EVERY recording LP did around that time. The album itself, the remix album Reanimation, B-Sides and Rarities, and a bunch of demos. Along with the classic James Taylor album "One Man Dog" which manages to be one of the coziest listens ever. But I digress. Here's three new albums I managed to check out.

Elton John - Jewel Box EP

This Extended Play is a sneak peak at an Upcoming Elton John Box Set of the same name. 8 CD's of Deep Cuts, Album Tracks, Demo's, B-Sides, and other Rarities...so all stuff Tim likes. I'm especially excited to hear the "Bluesology" recordings and other early stuff.

The EP has a demo or two and a couple duets. Nothing too stand out to me, but I mean that in a good way. It's sonically consistent and very enjoyable to listen to. I guess if I had to pick out a favorite song it would be the Kiki Dee duet "Snow Queen" included here. I hope the full box set gets a streaming release because I want to hear more. For the box set, expect to hear some duets with Little Richard, Leon Russel, Fance Gall, and Taron Egerton)

Amaranthe - Manifest

Even in terms of Metal, Amaranthe can be overpowering at times. European melodic power metal with three singers. (Elize Ryd, Henrik Englund Willhemsson, and Mils Molin) each with different vocal styles. But somehow it ends up blending together really well. It's really fun to listen to when you need something heavy but also empowering. If you like Nightwish, you'll probably like Amaranthe, though swap the classical elements with electronics. It's easy to sing along to and it'll generally win you over quickly if you're new to it. Great Metal to start your friends off with.

Sub Focus & Wilkinson - Portals

This is my first time hearing a full Sub Focus album. Lots of great melodic drum and bass music on this album. Moments of beautiful piano, fast drum beats, and some great vocals on this album. I like this for the same reasons I like listening to Pendulum, Hugh Hardie, and Keeno. Electronic, but you could picture it all being played live.