REVIVAL reviews from omy.sg and fupaper.org

Check out 2 REVIVAL reviews from music blogs omy.sg and fupaper.org.

omy.sg review:

“Selena Gomez Confidently Reinvents Herself In Her Latest Album ‘Revival’

“It’s my time to butterfly”, Selena Gomez announces as she opens her latest album, Revival, with the self-esteem-boosting title-track anthem. The song’s lyrics about her past 2 years of experience sets the self-confidence tone throughout the tracklist.

Her self-reinvention has a change in sound that can be quickly heard on tracks like the Charli XCX-influenced tune Same Old Love that boasts punk attitude and in the tropical Body Heat where Selena has some latin music fused into the pop track.

Selena’s subtle sexiness also seeps through the flirtatious song Hands To Myself and the dance number Me & The Rhythm where she invites you “No matter what’s your history, be free with me”.

She may not have the vocal chops like her fellow Disney stars in Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, but Selena makes up for it with her unique, slightly indie-pop-ish sultry singing, especially heard in the lead single Good For You where she again uses suggestive lyrics behind a slow indie backing track that gets more infectious after every listen.

Sober (not the Gambino one) is definitely the pick of the bunch with the more sophisticated lyrical theme and the huge production effort put into it behind Selena’s soulful singing, rounding out a milestone album for the artist as she explores new ground in her musical journey.

Track Gems: Sober, Same Old Love, Revival, Kill Em With Kindness”

Full artickle at blog.omy.sg

fupaper.org review by Reyna Wang:

“I dove into Selena Gomez’s second studio album Revival pumped to write a joke review satirizing another post-Disney star brandishing the embarrassment of their more “mature” musical endeavors, and was pretty disappointed to find that I had to write an actual review when I emerged from a listen-through feeling energized, ready to slay, and quite honestly revived. That’s not to say that this album doesn’t have its fair share of cheesy, eye-roll inducing moments: the all too popular abstract and insightful spoken word intro, for example, that means an impressive amount of nothing, or the Christina Perri-style ballad “Camouflage”, which ironically doesn’t camouflage at all with the rest of the album’s upbeat hype and only serves as a friendly reminder that even people as glamourous as Selena get sad sometimes. There’s nothing too wild about the lyrics or vocals, but the production is killer. Especially in terms of the production, working with other notable artists was definitely a good call. The combination of Selena’s breathy, Lana Del Rey-esque vocals and A$AP Rocky’s ethereal, bass heavy production in “Good for You” makes for a track that’s equal parts sultry and danceable. The jangly piano riff and otherwise synth-driven production in “Same Old Love” perfectly compliment the song’s catchy melody and clearly draw influence from Charli XCX, who co-wrote and provided backing vocals for the track. The album as a whole has really impressive diversity. Several of the tracks, most notably “Kill Em With Kindness” and “Me & The Rhythm” borrow and modernize disco-funk and house elements popularized by bands like Daft Punk, creating some serious groove. Then there’s the song “Body Heat,” which stands out for its intense and distinctly Latin American drums and horns. The album closes with the bizarre song “Rise,” which is essentially Selena Gomez’s take on traditional gospel music. I still don’t know how I feel about those last two tracks, but I can assure you that the rest of the album will enlighten you, make you want to get up and dance, and render you unable to walk without some strut in your step. Don’t pretend you’re too good for Selena Gomez. Go forth and set the world on fire with this album’s flames. 4/5”

Full artickle at fupaper.org.