Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

Online News Day or Knight - Official news site of North Penn High School - 1340 Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA

The Knight Crier

The weight of the waitlist
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What Can North Penn Do For You; Business

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Who’s cooking in the kitchen?

March 19, 2024

Disney food review: Senior class trip eating frenzy

Disney food review: Senior class trip eating frenzy

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For Saachi Sainath NYU is in view
Running the course to the Armed Forces

Running the course to the Armed Forces

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Willa Magland back on home soil

November 16, 2023

Ava Warner: Running through life, even when the course isn’t easy

Ava Warner: Running through life, even when the course isn’t easy

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October Music Reviews

October Music Reviews

Fall is officially here and the leaves weren’t the only things dropping this month. Check out all the music that October brought for us.

Taylor Swift’s Red
Rating 8.6/10

Everybody’s favorite country heartthrob is back with her fourth studio album entitled Red. Almost a year after releasing her live album, Swift returns and is ready to break back into the charts, and she does so in style. Red sold 1.2 million copies in its first week, the largest debut of an album since NYSNC’s No Strings Attached in 2002.The album starts off with “State of Grace” and “Red,” two catchy simple songs where Taylor sings of love lost and love found, but in a new way that we have never seen from her. In the past, Swift has stayed true to her Nashville roots, by sticking to a country style of music. But with Red, it seems that she has branched out to a new genre. In songs such as “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” “22” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” it seems Swift decided to break out of her country ways and enter a new pop sound. If the sound doesn’t convince you, maybe the fact that Jeff Bhasker (co-producer of Kanye West’s “Runaways”) and Shellback (co-writer for artists such as Pink and Britney Spears) among others, were brought in for multiple tracks. Overall the album is a nice change up for Swift, but what has separated her from the pack is her individual sound, and getting too far away from that could cause her fall to deaf ears.

Matt and Kim’s Lightning
Rating 9.4/10

The duo who brought us 2009’s Grand and 2010’s Sidewalks are back with Lightning. They continue their individual pop-rock fused with dance music sound on a 10 track hit. The album starts off with “Let’s Go,” an upbeat song where singer Matt Johnson shouts “Say what you want to say/Make it mean everything.” They continue with “It’s Alright,” “Not That Bad” and “Overexposed” all sure to brighten your day, regardless of your mood. On “I Said,” Kim Schifino beats the drums like there’s no tomorrow, offering a great layered effect to the techno sounds occurring throughout. Lightning is arguably Matt and Kim’s best yet. I applaud them for being able to keep their individual sound, while progressing with every record.

All Time Low’s Don’t Panic
Rating 7.4/10

The world’s biggest pop-punk band is back with their fifth album, which peaked on Billboard.com’s top 200 at 6, earlier this month. Although this album isn’t a standout on its own it has the same effect that Blink 182’s Enema of the State or Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree has had on teenagers in the past; the timeless tale of teenage angst and the “get me out of this town” mentality. All tracks have a similar structure to them with the exception of the high-tempo song “So Long Soldier.” The record isn’t their best work, but it’s not horrible. Tracks such as “Backseat Serenade” and “The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver” keep the album from being completely forgotten. If you’re a longtime ATL fan it’s worth listening to but if you’re new to the pop-punk scene, I would suggest some of their earlier work.

Muse’s The 2nd Law
Rating 8.9/10

After two highly successful albums, 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations and 2009’s The Resistance, Muse had a lot to live up to with their sixth album. But the trio from Devon (somewhere in Britain), do not disappoint. The album’s first song “Supremacy” starts off with simple yet catchy guitar riff followed by vocals from the bands front man, Matthew Bellamy. The album quickly changes pace with “Madness” a song where Bellamy sounds faintly reminiscent of a certain Irish band’s lead singer *cough* Bono *cough.* From there the band takes us on a rock and roll journey from bass heavy “Panic Station” to laid back songs such as “Survival” ensuring this album is an instant classic. If you like any of the songs that Muse has put out over the past 13 years, you will be sure to love this album without a doubt.

Meek Mill’s Dreams and Nightmares
Rating 7.5/10

Following two mixtapes entitled Dreamchasers and Dreamchasers 2 which together received over 2.5 million downloads on Datpiff.com, Philadelphia’s very own comes out swinging from the first track. Meek hooks up with his Maybach Music brother and mentor, Rick Ross for “Believe It” where they brag about their drugs, cars and girls (groundbreaking I know.) Songs such as “Amen” featuring Drake, and “Burn” featuring Big Sean are both classics, which most likely why Meek decided to transfer them from mixtape to album. “Maybach Curtains” and “Rich & Famous” both provide a nice change up in an otherwise fast album. Overall the lyrics aren’t anything we’ve never seen before but you have to give the man some respect for representing Philly even when he’s made it big.

Jason Aldean’s Night Train
Rating 7.2/10

As someone who has openly expressed his dislike for country music, I wasn’t too thrilled to see this record on the charts this month. That being said, it wasn’t ear splitting to listen to. As some points on the record, Aldean seems more rock’n’roll than country, with a short guitar solo on “Take A Little Ride.” Other songs that impress include “The Only Way I Know” which features Luke Bryan and Eric Church, and “1994.” Each song on the album tells a different story, all based off a southern lifestyle of drinking, girls, and a good ol’ southern time.

Ellie Goulding’s Halcyon
Rating 8.5/10

The British vocalist is back with the follow up album to Lights. This time we see a more soulful side of Goulding, where she strays a little from her typical electronic genre to a more pop directed (but still very much electronic) album. On some songs, she sounds faintly reminiscent of Florence Welch. But on others, Goulding continues to take her sound to a whole new level. On songs such as “Explosions,” she uses her vocal range beautifully that accompanied with a string section, could either heal a broken heart or put an uneasy mind to rest. There aren’t many songs on this record that you will hear at the club but “Anything Could Happen” and “Only You” are sure to get some radio time. Despite the average time of each track being around three and a half minutes, they never seem dragged out, but are masterfully directed to please the ears. Halcyon stays true to its meaning: tranquil and carefree throughout the record.

Swedish House Mafia’s Until Now
Rating 9.5/10

Ahh yes, house music – the bastard child of dance music and electronic pop. Since its conception in the early 2000s, this new genre of music has both captivated and confused this generation’s partygoers, the same way rock and roll and rap music changed our radio frequencies in the past. But enough of the history lesson. For those who don’t know Swedish House Mafia is a trio of three producers, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso, who all on their own are respectable musicians. With this latest album, SHM left no stone unturned. Here they teamed up with Coldplay, hip-hop producer Pharrell, fellow disc-jockey’s Knife Party, and brought back John Martin, with whom they collaborated with on past tracks, the album starts off with “Don’t You Worry Child” where the trio uses (what almost sounds like tribal drums) to blend together John Martin’s melodic voice with the hook. This track all by itself is a guaranteed smash hit, sure to be mixed and remixed by DJ’s around the world for the next four years. From there we jump to “Greyhound” an already old single that finally found a home on this album. You may recognize this song from its uses in a certain alcohol companies commercial. After “Greyhound” we find the cure in “Antidote,” a collaboration with dubstep artist’s Knife Party. On this track we find a head banging, mosh-pit worthy bass drop, followed by a classic robotic voice. Other notable songs include “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall (Coldplay vs. SHM remix)” and “Save the World / Punk (Arty Rock-n-Rolla Mix.)” Although four of the 11 songs on the album require a purchase of the full album on iTunes, I highly recommend it. Recently the group announced that at the end of their 2012-2013 tour they would be breaking up, making this album one to hold onto, so that in 30 years you can tell your kids, “Yea, I listened to Swedish House Mafia,” the same way parents now brag about seeing the Rolling Stones, and other great influential music acts of their time.

 

Upcoming Artists

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s The Heist
Rating 8.0/10

With a rough, scratchy voice that could be said as reminiscent of the late, great Beastie Boys’ MCA’s, rapper Macklemore sets himself on a whole new level from the rest of this year’s freshman rappers. From spitting rhymes about shopping at the local Good Will to more serious issues such as alcohol abuse, The Heist is the perfect mixture of delightful and thoughtful. Not since Mac Miller’s Blue Slide Park have we seen an independent rap artist make such big sales (78,000 copies sold in the first week, claiming 2nd place on BillBoard’s Top 200 chart.) If you’re looking for fun songs, “Thrift Shop” and “White Walls” are waiting for you. But if you’re someone who enjoys a little substance to their lyrics, perhaps “Same Love” or “Starting Over” are more your type. Producer Ryan Lewis and rapper Macklemore don’t exactly fit the ideal picture of a hip hop duo, but then again who does nowadays. Macklemore isn’t quite at his full potential yet, but with continued dedication, this Seattleite is definitely someone who will earn recognition.

Sky Ferreira’s Ghost EP
Rating 7.3/10

When, I stumbled upon this blonde-hair, blue-eyed beauty, I thought I was listening to a younger Lana Del Ray. But upon further research, I learned that the LA native has been around since 2009, but due to issues with her record company, has been a well kept secret. Starting with “Sad Dream,” Sky’s voice blends beautifully with the acoustic guitar, creating a nice low-key mood for the record. But that can quickly be forgotten with the pop/grunge mix that is “Lost In My Bedroom.” On the next track “Ghost,” Ferreira can be easily mistaken for Taylor Swift, if it wasn’t for the psychedelic electric guitar. On “Red Lips” we once again see a pop/grunge sound that if she stuck to, could make a smash hit record. Finally we see “Everything is Embarrassing,” an 80s- esque song that could be a young Madonna. Altogether, it’s a good EP, definitely intriguing enough to earn a listen for the album that we should see within the next six months. Some concerns come up when asking about her vocal range, but that’s only because there isn’t much use for it on these tracks. As described before with a voice like that, Sky Ferreira can be almost any artist she wants, but I have a feeling she’s going to blaze her own trail.

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