Videos of the Week :: Mumford & Sons, 30 Seconds to Mars

Hopeless Wanderer // Mumford & Sons


The last thing I was expecting from Mumford & Sons was this video, and I love it. This has to be one of the funniest music videos I've ever seen. It's almost like a Saturday Night Live sketch than an official music video. Mumford & Sons is such a talented group, and I love how they can poke fun at themselves by having these hilarious comedic men pretend to be them. Starring Jason Sudeikis (Marcus Mumford), Will Forte (Ted Dwane), Jason Bateman (Winston Marshall), and Ed Helms (Ben Lovett). It fits well for the overall whimsical, upbeat vibe of the song itself. The ending was especially amazing.


Do or Die // 30 Seconds to Mars


Now we're gonna switch gears from hilarious to emotional.

The official music video is here! As we've heard, a lyric video for the same song made from lyric tattoos will also be coming up soon (a really cool idea if you ask me).

30 Seconds to Mars is my favorite band, and their music videos rarely disappoint. This video is amazing because, much like Closer to the Edge, is a tour video that showcases the fans (or the Echelon) and how much the band, and music in general, means to them.

It connects with fans on an emotional level with the band, in the video or just watching it, and shows us that they do care about us. Not all groups thank their fans that way. It establishes an even greater bond between fans and 30 Seconds to Mars, and between fans themselves.

In the video's description box there was this:

A NOTE FROM JARED LETO:

I'm sitting in the dark writing this having just finished this little film and although I don't feel quite done yet it's time to let it go.

This is a story about an incredible adventure that we all shared together this summer. A summer that we will never forget. It's also a reminder (for myself as well) to LIVE LIFE NO MATTER WHAT. But ultimately it's a love letter to you all. The believers.

That sums it up perfectly, if you ask me.

Tell me what you think of the music videos in the comments below!

Till next time xx,

Sierra

REVIEW: “LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS” - 30 Seconds to Mars

Rock-trio 30 Seconds to Mars with stunning frontman Jared Leto, have released a 4th studio album titled LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS after long last. With the release of their single “Up In The Air” with its accompanying music video (directed by the infamous Bartholomew Cubbins), the album premiered on May 21st, 2013.

With the new album comes a new sound.The shift comes slowly, which some would argue is too much. This album has a more electronic platform while still maintaining it’s the rock roots Mars began with their first record. Though not as blatant of a concept album as This Is War was, there are definitely Leto’s artistic, and somewhat typically cryptic, fingerprints all over this record as well. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

The lyrics don’t disappoint, either. Mars is short on love songs, but rather has lyrics that go beyond and deeper in meaning which can sometimes be a puzzle to figure out. One with particular merit would be “City of Angels.” Leto’s powerful vocals shine like the “land of a billion lights” in this track, which seems possibly allude to Los Angeles and depicts a vignette of Jared Leto’s life growing up with his brother and bandmate Shannon Leto and their mother, traveling all over the country. 

It’s paid off well for a mother, a brother, and me.

30 Seconds to Mars hasn’t lost their edge, however. With interesting instrument combinations in “Birth” and heavy rock chords in “Conquistador” and “Do Or Die”, echoing This Is War track “Vox Populi”, don’t let pop-esque chart-topper “Up In The Air” fool you, though a good track it is merely a foretaste of the augmented sound of LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS lends to the Echelon. 

It should go without saying that artists and bands usually grow in different directions in their music as their careers lengthen. Alas, there is still much dissent within the Echelon, the 30 Seconds to Mars fandom, if you will, about this new album. Many say that it isn’t hard rock enough or the “Mars they fell in love with”. I love it all the same, and respectfully disagree.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Tomo Milcevic, Jared Leto, and Shannon Leto

In my humble opinion, if I like the lead singer’s voice, that is usually one of the main factors that can lend me loyal to a band. Of course the instrument integration and how well they work with the voice also help. Bottom line is this: Jared Leto has a fantastic voice, and though I wasn’t that thrilled with “Up In The Air” at first, it did grow on me. Still, Cubbins’/Leto’s music video direction displays his creative eye and how he values his work as an art form. We shan’t say that LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS is not a part of that. 

Here’s the full track list:

1. Birth
2. Conquistador
3. Up In The Air
4. City of Angels
5. The Race
6. End Of All Days
7. Pyres of Varanasi
8. Bright Lights
9. Do Or Die
10. Convergence
11. Northern Lights
12. Depuis Le Début

LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS is now available on iTunes and is streaming on Spotify. 

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Share with me what you think of the new album! Love it or hate it? Leave a comment below.


Till next time xx,


Sierra

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