I Listened to Girl With No Face by Allie X

Before February was over, there was one last music release I was waiting on: Allie X’s highly anticipated third studio album, Girl With No Face. For context, it’s been four years since Cape God (2020)—and three from the release of its deluxe edition with five additional songs (Cape God Theme, Milk, Limited Love, Anchor, and Rising Tide). There was plenty of time to build anticipation for Allie X’s next project, and, going into 2024, Girl With No Face was at the top of my list for albums releasing in the first quarter of the year.

On February 23, Girl With No Face arrived. Before then, the direction of the sound, aesthetic, and themes were teased for months with the release singles like Black Eye and the titular Girl With No Face. This album is a blend of pop, synth, and a little bit of glam rock. It feels very retro, especially in terms of how the beats are arranged. But Allie X manages to set her music apart with her vocals and lyrical depth, which keeps the album from feeling redundant.

Some of my favorite tracks (not including the singles) were Galina, You Slept On Me, Staying Power, and even the closing song, Truly Dreams. Another good one is Hardware/software, which sounds, honestly, like a soundtrack you would find in a video game from the eighties.

 
Girl With No Face was another excellent project by Allie X. Even the most upbeat track on the album—in terms of sound anyway—deserves more than a passing listen. There’s so much to sit with and chew on, and I know I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. For today, however, I’ll leave it here. Just know: I enjoyed every second of my listening experience.   

Music Monday (276): Allie X, Mary J. Blige, Physics

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Another one of my favorite songs from Allie X's new album, Girl With No Face, is Staying Power. I love this one. Give it a listen!

Adri: I think I have mentioned that I like long songs. With it being nine minutes and eighteen seconds (and being house), my pick for today, Viva L'amore by Physics, checks all those boxes. 

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Gone Forever by Mary J. Blige featuring Remy Ma and DJ Khalid. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (275): Allie X, Muni Long

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to Allie X's new album, Girl With No Face. Its one of my favorite releases of 2024 so far, but more on that on a different post. Checkout one of my favorite songs: Galina!

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Made For Me by Muni Long. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday Halloween Edition: The Dickies, Allie X, Kris Bowers, Calmed by Nature...

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: It's that time of year again, the thirtieth of October, so it's time for our annual Halloween Edition of Music Monday! My pick is Magoomba by The Dickies. Youtube finally added the bands music from Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and this song feels fitting with its clown/circus theme.  

My second pick is Black Eye by Allie X. It was released earlier this month, and I love the whole vibe of it--including the visuals for the music video.

Adri: My pick today is this Halloween Party Ambience... video by Calmed by Nature. It's quickly become my favorite. 

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Don't Leave After Midnight and Grim Grinning Ghosts (Dance Party) by Kris Bowers. I discovered both songs when I watched Haunted Mansion 2023, and I thought these songs were fitting for the season. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

What are you going to be listening to on Halloween?

Music Monday (186): Allie X, Epica, The Weeknd

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Allie X released a deluxe edition of her 2020 album, Cape God, which added four new songs. One of my favorites is Anchor.

 

Adri: I'm listening to The Skeleton Key and Kingdom of Heaven PT 3 by Epica. I like the album versions, but I feel the Omega Alive performances add an extra flair.

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Take My Breath by The Weeknd. Have an amazing week all!

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (149): Allie X, Kelly Rowland, Jinjer, Fat Boys & Various Other Artists

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: One afternoon, I was surfing through my spotify recommendations, and I eventually landed on a page of new releases from artists I already follow. One of the songs I listened to and instantly added to my playlist was GLAM! by Allie X. I adore this song for its punchy, retro-pop brightness, and I wanted to mention it on the blog.

Adri: Hello, this week I'm listening to two vastly different artist I love. The first is Flowers by Kelly Rowland from her new EP, K. And the second, more on the metal side, is Pisces (Live Sesson) by Jinjer

Andrea: This week, I'm spotlighting music, performed, written, and/or produced by the late  Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales). Prince Markie Dee was a member of the Fat Boys and later  released music with his band, Prince Markie Dee and The Soul Convention. 

Can You Feel It by Fat Boys

Mark Morales, Darren Robinson & Damon Wimbley

Typical Reasons (Swing My Way) by Prince Markie Dee and The Soul Convention

Songwriters: Mark Morales, Mark Rooney, Raymond James Calhoun & Damon Johnson

Real Love by Mary J Blige

Songwriters Cory Roony & Mark Morales

Do You Think of Me by Mariah Carey

Songwriters: Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasief, Cory Roony & Mark Morales

Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales)

February 19, 1968-February 18, 2021, RIP

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Cape God by Allie X and Where Does The Devil Hide by Zella Day

Cape God (Released on February 21, 2020)… 

It might have taken me a while, but I finally got around to listening to Allie X’s Cape God. I’m so glad I did. Cape God was tonally darker with a brooding sound to it, rather than the high-energy tone of the pop and synth sounds that defined Super Sunset. That wasn’t a bad thing of course, and some of those same influences could also be found on Cape God too. I have to admit: Cape God was great album. I liked Allie X’s vocal delivery on all of the tracks, and there were also some cool visualizers to accompany the songs. Some of the standout tracks included Devil I Know, Madame X, Sarah Come Home, Life of the Party and Susie Save Your Love featuring Mitski. Those songs in particular were incredibly memorable for me, and I see myself returning to this album again, just to give the lyrics a closer examination. If you’ve listened to music by Allie X before, then you’ll likely enjoy Cape God.

Where Does The Devil Hide (Released on August 28, 2020) … 

Where Does The Devil Hide has finally been released, and most of the songs from it are pretty recognizable (most of them were singles). In particular, People Are Strangers, which I’ve mentioned on a Music Monday post a few weeks back. Still generally speaking, this EP—with just five tracks to its name—had a good selection of songs. Where Does The Devil Hide had a distinctly pop sound with a singer-songwriter and indie edge (along the same vein as St. Vincent). It was sometimes nostalgic in its sound for eighties/seventies disco (funk) tracks—think Earth, Wind, and Fire, with a bit of Rayven Lenae’s Crush EP—it had Zella Day’s unique vocals, and the visuals for the music videos captured the overall feel of the music. Overall, this was a good EP. Some of the standouts were People are Strangers, Purple Haze, and My Game. But really, I liked all the songs relatively equally. So Where Does The Devil Hide will likely end up on one of my playlists.

Have you listened to music by Allie X or Zella Day? If so, are you planning to listen to Where Does The Devil Hide or Cape God?

I Listened to Super Sunset by Allie X

Between playing copious amounts of Animal Crossing New Horizons and baking/cooking, I also listened to some music by artists who were new to me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m currently trying to expand my playlist, and during that search, I came across Super Sunset (2018) by Allie X under my Spotify recommendations.

I’m so glad I gave Super Sunset a listen. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It was a refreshing pallet cleanser of an EP (extended play), and it was also a great introduction to Allie X’s music. It reminded me a little of Charli XCX’s latest album, as well as Lana Del Rey in the vocal department (especially the second song on the EP, Not So Bad In LA).

Some of the tracks made me nostalgic for synthpop. It was due in part to how much the overall sound of the EP was peppered with recognizable synth influences. However, the songs were distinctly modern and put a refreshing spin on the various samples and etc.. Songs like Science, Can’t Stop Now, and Girl of the Year were a good example of what I mean; although, if you listen carefully, you can pick up on the synthpop sounds in all of the songs. They reminded me of pop songs from the eighties and nineties.

There is also a different version of this EP called Super Sunset (Analog). The tracklist is pretty much the same as the regular version, but the songs have a slightly different sound. They have a live recorded sound to them. At the end of the day, I like both versions of the EP. 

Super Sunset is going on my playlist. Since Allie X released an album this year, I’m definitely going to give it a listen sometime soon. 

Have you listened to any music by Allie X? If so, have you listened to Super Sunset?

Music Monday (113): Allie X, New Kids On The Block

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Recently I’ve been listening to music by Allie X. I’m not going to go too much into her EP, Super Sunset, right now since I have an upcoming post that better explains my thoughts about it. I will say that one of my favorite songs from it is Girl of the Year.

Andrea: I hope everyone has had an amazing week. Although I am not the type to really hang out in clubs. I am still spending my time at virtual clubs on Instagram Live. One of my favorite songs, House Party, was recently released by New Kids On The Block. Check out the video below.

Are you listening to any new music this week?