Thursday, 25 July 2013

Taio Cruz- TY.O Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- TY.O

Artist- Taio Cruz

Back in 2009/2010, British singer- songwriter Taio Cruz was riding high in the worldwide music charts, with such hit singles as ‘Break Your Heart’ and ‘Dynamite’. Bu seemingly since then is single releases have seen a decline in popularity, and the big popstar that Cruz once was is something we can’t necessarily call him. And this is perhaps solidified in the fact that in his native country this album wasn’t even released, instead only the singles and some remixes were released as an E.P. But is this really a bad album? Or is the public and Cruz’s label just missing something very good. 

Track 1- Hangover (featuring Flo Rida)

The lead single from the record is designed to be a thumping party tune, but to me falls flat compared to Cruz’s previous work. The song’s lyrics focus on the idea of Cruz waking up with a hangover as he really partied hard last night, whilst telling us to just party and never grow up. For me it just feels weird to create a party song based upon the morning after, and it feels like Cruz has created the song purely for it to be a commercial party song. The singers vocals are okay but don’t have the right level of vibrancy needed for the track, with the way the verses sound like speaking and singing just being bland rather than exciting. The inclusion of rapper Flo Rida on the track is a positive of the song, as he provides a fast paced rap section that makes the final sections of the song feel more powerful. The production of the track is frenzied and forceful, with the dance beats and synthpop rhythms have a cool dance vibe, although feeling ultimately generic.

2.5/5

Track 2- Troublemaker

The only track from this record to be a top 3 success in the United Kingdom, Troublemaker is a little bit of a feisty electro pop and RnB track that finds the singer putting on the charm for this girl who he really likes. The lyrics of the song find the singer in a flirtatious mode of address as he recognises that this girl and him are troublemakers, whilst the chorus features stereotypical references to throwing your hands up and a simple ‘oh we oh’ hook. The hook of the track has a catchy vibe but on the whole the song feels too bland lyrically, as this kind of flirtatious track feels like something that Cruz and a number of other artists could produce very easily. The verses of the track suffer from some poor vocal distortion and isn’t charismatic enough, but the chorus nicely employs the singers higher register and has this nice vibrancy to it. Like the previous track the production of the track feels too typical of the genre, with the electro pop beats of the chorus being typically designed to get the party really going. However the production of this track is slightly better through the grittiness of the electro bassline in the verses, and so from the beginning of the song and throughout things aren’t totally unique, but the sound is intriguing.

3/5

Track 3- There She Goes (featuring Pitbull)

Produced by hit maker RedOne and featuring American rapper Pitbull (although he was not featured on the tracks UK release), There She Goes is a dance pop track that continues along the same lines of the previous track in terms of Cruz focusing on this one girl and how she moves and looks. This time the lyrics focus on how this girl moves in a way that commands your attention, with her body being seen as being like a rock guitar. The song’s lyrics are hindered by some clichéd images, but the chorus has a charismatic and punchy simplicity and a vibrant ‘oh oh oh’ hook that is catchy. The vocals here are stronger than the previous track in terms of keeping things on a nice level that shows off the singers tone well and has a bit of personality to it, whilst Pitbull is a great rap feature who gives the song a nice surge of charisma. The forceful dance beats of the track are vibrant and dance floor ready, however whilst the production is nice, it is let down a little by the fact that this is very typical RedOne production.

3.5/5

Track 4- Shotcaller

Opening with very digitised vocals that are maintained throughout the track, this song is a forceful electro pop tune that lyrically lives up to its title. The lyrics of the track are slightly sexualised and simply focus on how Cruz tells his girl what to do, using an array of images to express how he commands things. The song could easily fall into disgusting egotistical territory, but the singer manages to pull things off with the light vocals of the chorus that makes things a bit charismatic. The heavy digital effects on his voice in the verses is something to either love or hate, but the processing of the vocals does make things more interesting. Furthermore, the production really adds an interesting layer to the track, featuring some nice use of synths that give a light but vibrant dance feel to the track, whilst the dubstep influences used within the transitions between sections makes the song more powerful and a little bit uplifting in terms of the contrast between the harsh transitions and the light feel of the chorus.

3.5/5

Track 5- Make It Last Forever

A light synth and electro pop track, this track has more of the light live life feel of dynamite despite the lyrics being a little bit typical in terms of today’s pop music. Here we find the singer singing of how he feels really strongly about this girl and just wants to make things with her last forever, featuring the typical ‘oh oh oh’ hook that is typical Cruz. The idea o making things last forever is not something new in today’s pop world, and the hook of the track lacks the power that some of the other hooks on the former tracks had, but the fast paced quality of the song makes the lyrical content have this appealing sense of urgency, and the final minute of the song nicely utilises some strong background vocals to give the track this crowd singing together feel. The track is also nice in terms of the light vocal performance that the singer gives us, making the love based lyrics have slightly more of a sincere feel. The synth pop beats of the song are fast paced and dance driven, and although a bit stereotypical in today’s pop music, the production has a light quality that makes the track feel vibrant and slightly more passionate than the other tunes.

3.5/5

Track 6- World in Our Hands

Released as a single in Germany and used as the anthem for the German TV channel ZDF during their coverage of the 2012 Olympic games, World in Our Hands is a simple dance pop tune that utilises a simple guitar rhythm in the bass and punch, vibrant bass. The song simply is all about having the metaphorical world in your hands after working hard, and feeling very strong and determined to succeed in life. The problem with this track is that the lyrics feel designed to be a little bit inspirational and are too stereotypical feeling. The ‘oh oh oh’ hook of the song is also by this point just annoying, as it feels designed to cover up the fact that the song is lacking in catchy lyrical content. The singers vocal performance uses the higher register of his voice and makes things lighter and vibrant, but this is the only good thing about the song, as the production doesn’t really command your attention. The guitar based rhythm and vitality of the dance beats are ok but simply feels designed to be commercial and lacks a flair that would make it appealing, with the production also being like the third track in terms of how this is a sound that the producers Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub have produced before (see Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships’ and the One Direction songs they have worked on), and therefore the song is ultimately bland.

2/5

Track 7- Tattoo

A heavier electro pop tune with much more of an RnB flavour, this song finds the singer going into stereotypical RnB singer territory as he tells this girl how gorgeous he thinks she is through the use of clichés, with the chorus being a sexual metaphor of Cruz saying he is on this girl like a tattoo. The song just lacks power lyrically, with the chorus just coming across as repetitive. The vocal performance of the song feels quite feisty and powerful, although sometimes the vocal distortion feels annoying. However whilst the lyrics and vocals are questionable, producer Dr Luke does a great job in his creation of the sound of the track. The stomping electro bass and the nice blend of synths makes for an attention grabbing sound, with the dubstep breakdown of the middle section sounding really commanding and cool and making this a song that avoids being annoying purely through the production.

3.5/5

Track 8- Play

Like the previous record the lyrical content of this track comes across as very clichéd and over repetitive, but it seems like the singer wants to kick things up a notch, as this song is even blander than the previous track. Cruz basically tells us he wants to be playing on the dance floor and is great at doing it, with this ideology having no charisma and also sounding really dull in the vocal performance. The songs production also lacks that interesting flair of the previous track, featuring a typical dance floor sound that tries to get you wanting to dance but ultimately just makes you want the song to just be over with.

1/5

Track 9- You’re Beautiful

Things take more of a slow burning and delicate turn with this track that finds the singer lyrically telling this girl of how much he loves and adores her. The message feels sweet and has a nice simplicity even if down to the title it lacks originality. The track also is good vocally in the way that it utilises the higher register of the singers voice that gives the track this sincerity, with the chorus having a light and catchy quality through the use of vocal layering. The softness of the piano and drums within the production makes this light sound that allows the lyrics to stand out, with the small moments of a whistling melody just giving the track this chilled groove that comes across in no other way but sweet.

3/5

Track 10- Telling the World

Recorded as the theme for the 2011 animated film Rio and being sung in the perspective of the main character of that film, this song is a typical emotionally stirring ballad catered for a movie soundtrack. The lyrics focus on the singer having found the girl of his dream and wanting everyone to know that, with the chorus having a lovely simple quality in his bold statements. The vocals have a smooth quality and feel heartfelt, whilst the throwing in of some Brazilian ‘ooh way oh’s’ makes the song catchier and further connected to the film. The uplifting production with the piano and drum riffs is also nice, and so whilst this is definitely a typical film theme tune, the singer manages to do a good job.

3.5/5

Track 11- Little Bad Girl (David Guetta featuring Taio Cruz and Ludacris)

The album ends with Cruz’s collobotration with DJ David Guetta, which was released as the second single from Guetta’s album Nothing but the Beat. This song Is a vibrant dance pop tune that production wise has that signature David Guetta flair, with heavy dance beats and a good blend of synths that make the song tailor made for the dance floor and exciting. The problem with the track is that the lyrics are once again just clichéd and dull sounding, with Cruz simply singing about this girl who is on the dance floor and who he thinks is a bit of a bad girl, with the singer just wanting the girl to keep doing her thing. The lyrics just feel bland and are not helped by the vocals which are distorted and so lose their personality. Ludacris provides a lightning paced rap feature that adds a bit of vibrancy to the track, but on the whole this is not Guetta’s nor Cruz’s best work.

3/5

Final Review

Taio Cruz was a prominent pop artist who gave us some nice dance tunes, but with this record it seems that he has just absorbed all the musical trends of current pop music and just created something designed to be commercial, and therefore comes across as bland. The lyrical content is poor, with many of the songs simple being covered up by the use of hooks that after a while becomes annoying. Sometimes the vocals are also annoyingly distorted, and the production just isn’t enough to grab our attention. A few glimmers of greatness here and there, but otherwise I totally understand why this album wasn’t released in the UK or US.

3.5/10

Best Track- Shotcaller

Worst Track- Play

 

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