Songs of the Week: July 31-August 6

Last summer I attempted to do "Songs of the Week" posts, but only managed to cover two weeks...and did both weeks in one post. Oops. Let's see if I can be more consistent this time around, eh?

Here we go.

We the Kings: Heaven Can Wait -- Tonight I'm seeing We the Kings (expect a review in the next couple of days), so have been listening to them fairly incessantly in preparation. In particular, I keep coming back to "Heaven Can Wait." In typical WTK form, the song is poppy, catchy and a lot of fun to listen to. Add to the musicality sickeningly sweet lyrics--"Heaven can wait up high in the sky, it's you and I. Heaven can wait deep down in your eyes, I'm yours tonight. Lay your heart next to mine, I feel so alive. Tell me you want me to stay forever, 'cause Heaven can wait"--and you've got a delightful pop-punk love song. I've linked to the official music video (which takes place at a dog show and really makes no sense attached to the song), but there's also an acoustic version out there that's worth checking out.

The Summer Set: Passenger Seat (Acoustic) -- Opening for We the Kings tonight is Arizona-based band The Summer Set. They're equally as pop-punk as WTK, although my personal opinion is that, both musically and lyrically, they have a much younger feel. Nothing wrong with that, of course, especially as my favorite song of theirs is "Passenger Seat," which is all about a boy and girl sneaking out at 3 a.m. to hang out, risking getting caught by their parents. Ignoring that part of it (which makes me feel rather old), the song is absolutely adorable in the way in which it talks about new love: "Just sweep me off my feet again, my new addiction. I've been waiting, I've been addicted to this story of a girl who can help this boy meet world and sweep me off my feet again." Love it. There's also a non-acoustic version, but I much prefer the acoustic version, so linked to that.

Chiodos: The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined -- One of the things I was most impressed by the first time I ever listened to Chiodos was how effortlessly [former] frontman Craig Owens could go between actual singing (and good singing, at that) and screaming. I saw Chiodos twice before Craig's departure, and have seen his new band, D.R.U.G.S. once, and I remain baffled as to how his singing voice can remain so smooth immediately after screaming. Amazing. Anyway, I love that back-and-forth dynamic in Craig's voice, and I love "The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined" because the music takes on that same back-and-forth. It starts out really heavy, then goes into light piano, then gets heavy again. Throughout the entire song, it keeps going between hard and soft, sped up and slowed down, resulting in a song that keeps you on your toes.

Automatic Loveletter: Black Ink Revenge -- If you have not heard, or heard of Automatic Loveletter, you're missing out. ALL is technically a four-person band, fronted by Juliet Simms (who not only sings, but also writes the songs for the band and plays guitar), but Simms often performs solo also. And man can she perform! Listening to ALL's songs, you can tell that Simms has an amazing voice, no question about it. Back in July, though, I got to see her live at Warped Tour, where she played an acoustic solo set, and I was absolutely blown away. Nothing is done to her voice on ALL's albums! In a music industry that's becoming dominated by autotune, it's so refreshing when artists have legitimately brilliant pipes. And just to prove how good Simms is live, the link goes to her performance at Warped Tour. As for the song itself...well, if you've ever been cheated on or been in a relationship where you fought all the time, it'll speak to you (I, for one, cried through the entire song when I heard it live).

Demi Lovato: Skyscraper -- Demi Lovato's new single "Skyscraper" was actually recorded twice; first when Lovato was dealing with bulimia and her voice was extremely raw due to the damage to her vocal chords from purging, and then again after she finished treatment for her eating disorder and emotional issues. She decided to release the first recording of the song, and in the rawness of her voice you can hear every ounce of emotion she had been dealing with. It's a powerful song about remaining strong even when things are falling apart around you, and that message (and Lovato's fans) helped "Skyscraper" to be released as the #1 song on iTunes without any radio play.