Karmin- Pulses Album Review+Download

On Tuesday,  March 25th, Karmin released their first full length studio album in the United States. Will the album pale to or leave their debut EP, Hello, in the dust? Find out below.

Pulses has an overall mood and feel similar to their EP Hello, featuring many uptempo, dance centered tracks, but takes the energy to a new, higher level. And as opposed to the album's lead single Acapella, many of the tracks feature a more mature feeling to them, absent in many of the tracks featured on Hello. Even the most party centered tracks, namely Night Like This, features a much more grown up aura than tracks such as Brokenhearted and Too Many Fish, both featured on Hello.

Pulses is able to differentiate itself from its predecessor in many ways, with many differences being visible between the two works. All tracks on Pulses also feature new, unique, hip-hop esque instrumental tracks, that pair perfectly with the duo's pop vocal verses, or Amy's rap verses, an element absent in Hello.  Speaking of, Amy's rapping also features a more mature sound to it, shedding its pop-rap exterior for a more hip-hop based rap vocal sound. Another difference between both works is the other half of Karmin, Nick. In Hello, Nick was only noticeably present in one song, and sang backup vocals for most of the other tracks. However, in Pulses, while still far from being the lead singer, Nick is actually audible in more of the album than not, actually garnering his own verses or lines in many of the album's thirteen tracks.

One thing about the album that baffles me about the album are the single choices. While Acapella overall was a fun, dance-able lead single, it failed to actually give us a real taste of the album. Rather, Acapella is musically different from most tracks on the album. The second single, I Want it All, is an even more confusing choice. While as a stand alone track the song is a fun pop anthem (although it fails to differentiate itself from the large pop landscape today), it is overall the weakest track off the album, and any song, even one of the ballads, would have been a better single choice than this.

Stream the entire album for free here

As the name suggest, the album certainly has its uptempo and downtempo tracks. However, the uptempos certainly outweigh the downtempos, with the album clocking in with 2 ballads. both are powerful relationship related tracks, that actually give the duo a chance to show off their vocals.

Overall, this is an album that's different from most pop/hip-hop albums today, something we don't hear everyday. In their previous works, Karmin has had a sound that to some, was just unbearable to listen to. While I never had that problem, from what I've heard it was her rapping that was the problem. With the more mature rapping style Amy has adopted with this album, it seems that the problem has been at least lessened a great deal. This could be a beneficial move for them that could garner them a new group of fans in the long run.

Overall, this diverse album full of pop, hip-hop, and downtempo tracks has a wide range of musical variety that can appeal to the public if promoted correctly by their label, Epic. The album features a new, maturer side of the duo, but also retains the same Karmin I fell in love with from the beginning. Make sure to tell me what you think about the album in the comments, and make sure to download Pulses below!