From Dua Lipa to Tedua to Bleachers: the records of the week
A hot Friday of releases, including national and international records. There are those who focus on live performances, those who follow personal paths away from their band, those who want to recall, with a “back to the future” operation, a sound or a specific season of their career: the range of proposals is wide, May 22nd (and not only) is a crowded day of releases – Billie Eilish comes out of it: her first live album arrives on the platforms today – which almost acts as a forerunner to the summer, although fortunately not yet completely influenced by it. Below are some of the reports and releases proposed by Rockol.
Tedua – “Ryand Ted mixtape”
Ten years after “Waiting for Orange County”, a record that has become a reference for Ligurian rap and beyond, Tedua releases a new mixtape. The project was born with the idea of returning to the roots: not only in the sound, more direct and rap, but also in the imagery linked to The OC, already fundamental in his early works. This time, however, that style is reinterpreted in a more personal way. The lyrics are drier, less constructed, almost without filters. The objective seems to be to rediscover authenticity, leaving aside superstructures and focusing on a more immediate story. At the same time, it is not a nostalgic operation: inside “Ryan Ted” there is also a desire for the future, with a fresh energy and a freer approach. On June 26 the rapper will perform at San Siro.
Billie Eilish – “Hit me hard and soft: the tour (live)”
Released physically at the beginning of the month, “Hit me hard and soft: the tour (live)” arrives today on streaming platforms, Billie Eilish’s live album taken from the “Hit me hard and soft” tour, to which the pop star also dedicated the film made together with James Cameron. The album is the first live album by the voice of “Bad guy”: in reality, already in 2019 Billie Eilish published a “Live at Third Man Records”, a live album containing the recording of the acoustic concert held by Eilish at the Third Man Record studios owned by Jack White. This, however, is a real live album: it was recorded during the Manchester dates of last year’s world tour. The album seeks to recreate the immersive concert experience. Fans who have already purchased it in physical format testify to how the live version is less compressed than the latest mainstream pop albums, maintains a lot of dynamics and sounds very “physical” on headphones.
Dua Lipa – “Dua Lipa (Live From Mexico)”
Live album also for Dua Lipa. This “Live from Mexico” was recorded during the three sold out concerts at the Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City last December, which officially closed the “Radical Optimism tour”, the largest tour of Dua Lipa’s career to date with 92 concerts and over 1.75 million spectators. Alongside Dua Lipa’s hits, there is also a gem: a duet with Fher Olvera from the band Maná. The two performed the band’s classic hit “Oye Mi Amor,” from 1992.
Ed O’Brien – “Blue Morpho”
Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien presents a work developed together with producers Paul Epworth and Riley MacIntyre, while the mix was entrusted to Ben Baptie. Ed O’Brien has expressed his intention to bring the new songs live during the year, without providing details on concert dates and locations for now. A historic figure of Radiohead, O’Brien has contributed significantly to the band’s sound since its inception, standing out for an approach to the guitar oriented towards the construction of atmospheres and sound textures. In parallel to his activity with the group, in recent years he has developed an individual path which has led him to publish solo material and explore more personal writing.
Bleachers – “everyone for ten minutes”
It is the fifth studio album from Jack Antonoff’s project. The album is released on the Dirty Hit label and arrives after the success of the 2024 album of the same name. According to initial previews, the work focuses on a more emotional and cinematic sound, while maintaining the band’s typical indie-pop identity. Songs like “you and forever” show a very personal writing, suspended between nostalgia, romanticism and the desire to escape. Antonoff thus continues to use Bleachers as a more intimate creative space than his work as a producer for mainstream pop. The album also seems to reflect on the relationship between private life and public exposure, an increasingly central theme in the artist’s writing.
Coez – “From the rooftop 3”
Coez adds another piece to the “From the rooftop” series, born ten years ago as a video project parallel to his discography, more intimate, more raw. The idea of the format has always been to take the original songs, strip them of the studio production, rearrange them in an essential way and record them live. Over time it has become one of the most beloved projects by Coez fans. But “From the rooftop 3”, compared to the previous two, presents something new: alongside the well-known songs there are also unreleased ones. One of these has already been released: “It takes a degree”, the soundtrack of Zerocalcare’s new Netflix series, “Due spicci”. The album was recorded in Florence, a rooftop location not yet fully shown.
Samurai Jay – “Amateur”
After having become very popular with “Ossessione”, which conquered the charts despite not having won at Sanremo, Samurai Jay releases his new album. It is titled “Amatore”, like his surname (his real name is Gennaro Amatore). The sound will mix reggaeton, contemporary pop, latin, urban and electronic. Amatore, we read in the previews, «is not just the singer-songwriter’s surname, but a concept that runs through the entire album, enclosing his passion for music, his life and love. It is an album dedicated to those who love and to those who make these feelings the engine with which to pursue their passions.”
