By Alan Ho

n the end, Kiss may well represent a refreshing change to the current state of pop music right now, this instant.  Jepsen makes a concerted and for the most part, a successful attempt at bringing back the, no pun intended, a good time.  It makes no pretension whatsoever of what her music is all about, a ride through good, old-fashioned feel good, feel happy pop with a heavy helping of youthful and simplistic optimism.

By Cara Demers

What makes this release an unquestionable summer album is its ability to reel in both die-hard, decade-worthy fans, and those who are taking a listen for the very first time. It’s the sort of lineup that makes you want to roll the car windows down and blare it as loud as it can go. On nearly every track, you can feel the emotion and the power of every last chord, beat, and word. Overall, a success for Yellowcard, and an incredibly high bar set for any further releases to come.

By Hailey Sager

In my opinion, Simon Cowell is a genius at many things, especially when it comes to the boy bands he helps to create. Already under his belt were the British boy band sensations, Five and Westlife, among others. When he chose to save solo artists Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles from leaving The X Factor by forming them into a boy band, they finished third in the competition. After the competition was over, One Direction signed to Sony Records under Simon Cowell’s label, Syco Records in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records here in the US.

By Winfield Dean

Overall, Lana Del Rey has fallen flat with “Born to Die”. Many of the songs sound dull and seem to drone on forever. The lyrics seem to have content, but I couldn’t pay attention because they were being sung in such a boring way. I won’t deny that Lana Del Rey has a pretty voice and can sing, I just don’t think she uses it well.

I can’t remember the last time I was at a show where the crowd screamed as loud as they did for fun. The March 3rd show at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC was one of the first few stops on fun.’s headlining tour, but I’m sure it will be a date the band will remember.

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