Everything is going according to plan: Mazaev sings the blues, Tambov electronic engineer works with Moby

Sabrina Carpenter angers feminists, Maroon 5, along with Blackpink's lead singer, parody Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, a 19-year-old boy from the Tambov region records a duet with Moby, and Basta arranges her own "Night Watch". August is traditionally considered the "deadest" month of the show industry. And at the same time, this is the optimal time for carefree, relaxing music, which is especially important at the end of summer, when you really want to prolong the feeling of "vacation without end." Izvestia chose the most interesting and expected.

Sabrina Carpenter — Man's Best Friend

Thanks to the single Espresso, from which there was literally nowhere to hide last year, Sabrina Carpenter became America's main rising star. Well, the Grammy Award (for that very song) and the album Short n' Sweet cemented her position on the pop Olympus. But, as you know, you have to strike iron while it's hot, and just a year after Short n' Sweet, Carpenter is ready to release a new record, with the provocative title Man's Best Friend: it can be translated as "Man's best Friend", or it can be "Man's best Friend". The sexist hint was highlighted by the cover, where a man (only his legs are in the frame) is holding Sabrina, who is kneeling and wearing a short skirt, by the hair. Of course, a scandal immediately broke out: the image was called misogynistic and humiliating to women.

Photo: Global Look Press/Jeremy Smith

Singer Sabrina Carpenter

But it seems like it was all a deliberate marketing ploy by Carpenter. Soon she released (ostensibly as a concession to the public) an alternative cover, which was already quite neutral. The claims were dropped, and additional attention was paid to the record. Now it remains to wait for the release itself and evaluate its musical component. So far, only one of the 12 songs, Manchild, has been released, and in itself it is very faceless, but the clip is remarkable. In the retro—styled video, Sabrina hitchhikes through the American South-and it's a firework display of eccentricity and fantasy.

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Alison Goldfrapp — Flux

If Sabrina Carpenter hides the material in secret until the last moment, Alison Goldfrapp, on the contrary, revealed the main cards in advance. Her second solo album, Flux, will be released in the middle of the month, but the singer has already published almost half of the songs — four out of ten. Among them there is, of course, the hit Find Xanadu and the pleasing pleasant melody Hey Hi Hello. The other two are paler, although they still give pleasure with their rich synth-pop sound, which paradoxically combines a retro player and quite relevant production. And yes, the fact that the singer is now working without Will Gregory does not particularly affect the nature of the sound and melodic material. The major "airy" motifs, the atmosphere of some kind of inspired carelessness — this was in the best Goldfrapp recordings, and remained in the solo work of the artist. And most importantly, her voice does not have any special power and range, but it is individual and perfectly matches the style itself.

Photo: Global Look Press/Diogo Baptista

Singer Alison Goldfrapp

You probably shouldn't expect any revelations or surprises from Flux. But you can safely count on light music, perfect for the end of summer.

Maroon 5 — Love Is Like

The rock band Maroon 5 has not released an album since 2021. Since then, the world has changed at least twice, but it doesn't seem to have affected the team's work at all. Judging by the three singles released from the upcoming Love Is Like album, the repertoire is still based on mobile rhythmic tracks with funky elements accompanied by Adam Levine's light vocals. However, one of the released compositions, California, is completely ballad—like, with acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Photo: Global Look Press/Photo Image Press

Maroon 5 Music Group

Most likely, the CD as a whole will maintain a similar balance, typical for pop-rock releases: two thirds of vigorous active material, one third of lyrics plus a pinch of rap. Mix, but do not shake. By the way, we can speak with confidence about rap. Lisa from Blackpink appeared in the Priceless lead single (she also starred with Levin in an action movie clip that references the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"), and Lil Wayne himself took part in the title album track, which has not yet been published. Against the background of such heavyweights, a third hip-hop hit looks completely unnecessary — with the much less well-known Sexy Red, a representative of the racy "dirty rap" subgenre. But we can't evaluate this collaboration yet either. However, it won't be long now: the album Love Is Like will be released on August 15th.

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Øneheart — Samsara Passengers

The news that a 19-year-old musician from the Tambov region, Erneheart (real name Dmitry Volynkin), recorded a duet with Moby, went through the thematic media, but not that it blew up the information space. Perhaps because the name of Erneheart himself means little to the general public in our country. But in vain: today he is one of the most listened-to Russian artists on Spotify. In particular, his Snowfall has recently received platinum status, meaning the song has been played more than 300 million times. It was Moby who heard her on the radio in Los Angeles and readily accepted Volinkin's offer to cooperate.

Photo: t.me/oneheart

The musician Øneheart

The two artists share a love of ambient music. Moby has long preferred this particular meditative instrumental genre, and Erneheart initially specializes in it (his first tracks on streaming date back to 2019, meaning the musician was only 13 years old at the time!). The joint composition is called Lagrange Point and is a really interesting example of ambient music: it sounds like pure background "atmospheric" music, such as that played in massage parlors, but unexpected rhythmic shifts spur the listener's attention, and at the climax, the sound is completely interrupted and transformed after a few seconds of pause.

The single will be included in the new album Erneheart — Samsara Passengers, which is expected on August 22.

Uma2rman — "The Stars count us"

Uma2rman band decided to celebrate its 21st anniversary with a tribute album. The name "The Stars consider us", referring to the song "Stars", was chosen by fans, but Asia, NEMIGA, Zhenya Trofimov with the group "Room of Culture" and even Basta were invited to participate in the project. And already by their work, one can estimate the degree of experimentation of the record.

Photo: Global Look Press/Komsomolskaya Pravda

Uma2rman Music Group

Usually, covers are made either as carefully as possible in relation to the original, or, conversely, as far as possible from the original aesthetics (and sometimes the material). In this case, the second approach will clearly dominate. Let's say more. These are not even remakes in their purest form, but rather independent works, quoting Uma2rman's hits to one degree or another. The best example is "Night Watch" performed by Basta. It would be logical if the main Russian rapper demonstrated his skill of reciting verses (Remember? "Once upon a time there was Anton Gorodetsky..."). But Basta suddenly abandons the recitative altogether and comes up with completely new verses — not at all driving, like the Kristovsky brothers, but melancholic, almost bluesy. But the chorus ("And the world was split in half") sounds completely unexpected to him. There are plenty of surprises on other tracks. But there is a feeling that the duo has reserved the main surprises for the longplay itself, which should appear in the first half of August.

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"Moral Code" — "I have a plan"

And the latest novelty from the August review, ironically, is also a cover. And no less bold than in the case of the Uma2rman tribute. The group "Moral Code" released the single "I have a Plan", which is based on Alexander Rybkin's song based on lyrics by Karen Kavalerian, recorded in 1994 and gave the name to the singer's album. In the late 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, Rybkin was a very prominent figure (although still not a star of the first magnitude), but then he practically disappeared from the media space. His repertoire today can only be remembered by nostalgic music lovers and historians of Russian pop.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Kristina Kormilitsyna

The leader of the group "Moral Code" Sergey Mazaev

And was it possible to imagine that the quite relevant and in-demand group "Moral Code" would take a half—forgotten and generally passing track and turn it into a "candy", reliably protected from "rotting". From an unassuming post-perestroika pop genre, "I Have a Plan" turned into an imposing "delicious" blues, flaunting guitar solos and charismatic, with spectacular hoarse vocals by Sergey Mazaev. And in this presentation, the repeated mantra about a wonderful, wonderful, excellent plan no longer looks like the bragging of an adventurer boy, but the calm confidence of an experienced man who knows his worth. Thanks to him, Mazaev generously shares this confidence with the listener.

Izvestia Playlist

And finally, our traditional playlist. In addition to the tracks mentioned in the review, there is also a new composition by the Bashkir band Ay Yola, who thundered with their hit Homay, and a new single by Nike Borzov, a very unexpected—sounding mantra anthem, a declaration of love to Moscow.

Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»

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