We've Eloped...

Hand in hand with some new blog topics, a new look and more sass than ever before.

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www.ilikeyourfriend.co.uk

James Bay - Best Fake Smile

One of Britain's 2015/16 success stories, James Bay's done alright for himself. A number one album here and hitting number 15 in the US with The Chaos & The Calm and his mammoth hit 'Hold Back the River' have established him as one of the county's indie-pop front runners. Now with a Brit award under his belt he's released new single 'Best Fake Smile', one of the album's stronger cuts. It's more of the same though, paint by numbers uptempo guitar strumming backed by a toe-tapping drum beat and the often monotone rasp of Bay's voice. He's got talent, he's got an appealing voice, but if you're not an indie-pop zealot you might find this a little too repetitive.

3 / 5

Miguel - Wildheart (Take two)

This was, probably, my favourite album of 2015. It should be yours too. Here's why and here's more why:

Rihanna - Love On the Brain

Rihanna - Anti

Where Beyoncé was the supposed exposé of Beyoncé as a true artist, Anti is Rihanna's attempt at the same thing. The main difference is it's not as filth filled as the Queen's, instead it's a dancehall, pop/r&b infusion with some of Rihanna's most impressive vocals to date. We've been waiting for years for this album and I won't sugar coat it, a lot of fans will be distraught at the departure from her previous chart friendly sound. It's an album without a dance floor smash, an album with a dark and brooding backdrop, an album that at times feels dispassionate when it should be overflowing with emotion.

Opener 'Consideration' deals with Rihanna's rejection of her record label's desires, her bajan accent snapping "I got to do things my own way darling" and "Let me cover your shit in glitter / I can make it gold". It's a solid start to Anti, reminiscent of old skool Fugee beats and featuring a pleasant turn from SZA. It's followed up by the 1:12 filler 'James Joint' where Ri sings about wanting to be smoking weed whenever she breathes and it's moments like this where she loses the plot and you feel a little embarrassed by this try hard attitude. It's not the only awkward track on Anti. Lead single 'Work' (feat Drake) is ridiculous, annoying, uninspired drivel and could easily win the crown for the worst track of Rihanna's career. Preceded in the charts by the amazing 'Fourfiveseconds', 'Bitch Better Have My Money' and 'American Oxygen' (none of which made it onto the album), this move makes you wonder if Rihanna is really ready to make her own marketing decisions. Then there's 'Woo', a melody-less, inaudible piece of nonsense and even now I'm not sure what it's about. 

Sia - This Is Acting

You'd be forgiven for feeling that Sia's faceless campaign for her last behemoth album (first major commercial abum) 1000 Forms of Fear was a little bratty. Facing away from the crowd as your perform didn't seem like the best way to win new followers, however, somehow she nailed it. With incredible songs like 'Chandelier' and 'Elastic Heart' it would be impossible not to fall in love with the new, pop heavy version of the once odd ball, indy-pop artist. 

A leap has been made for new album 'This Is Acting', Sia now faces the crowd and reveals her mouth but covers the upper half of her face with a black and white wig. She's also flaunting some incredible pins but that's neither here nor there (they're really good legs!). I digress. This new album is even more commercial than its predecessor, but for good reason. The clue is in the title; this is Sia as 'Sia the Popstar'. This is Sia singing a collection of songs she'd never normally sing herself, ones she wrote for other major artists that either rejected them or in some cases she actually asked for the song back. This is the reverse of conventional musical experimentalism, where the likes of Beyoncé dabble in new noir sounds, Sia is striding on into the pop spectrum to fill her place.

Poppilgrim's Top 10 songs of 2015

I've been extremely tardy when it comes to blogging over the past 12 months. A lack of inspiration, too much other 'life' stuff going on and a good ol' dose of 'cba' really lowered my pop music blogging productivity. I've had a rest and now it's back to b'ness.

This is overdue, but here's the top 10 from what I had planned to be a top 40. That top 40 is redundant now and also too time consuming. So in my baby steps stage here you have it, my top 10 from 2015 and note it's in reverse order so the best is saved for last:

Zayn Malik - Pillowtalk

Almost one year on since he abandoned his One Direction bandmates (or enemies if you believe the tabloids), Zayn Malik's dropped his debut solo effort, 'Pillow Talk'. I can't imagine any of the other band members having the same solo appeal, perhaps because Zayn's voice has always been (perhaps with the exception of Harry Styles) the outfit. Appeal aside, no one expected his first outing after his musical divorce to be so bloody good. It's anthemic to say the least, meeting at the intersection of RnB and pop perfectly. Singing about pissing off his neighbours having what I can only imagine is very loud and obnoxious sex, the thick beat is soaked in x-rated imagery and the production is far more grown up than you might expect. If he keeps this up he'll have so many hits under his belt he won't ever need to regret his decision to chuck all that future 1D cash away.

5/5