ALBUM REVIEW: Bars & Melody drop striking mini-album 'Carpe Diem'

On Carpe Diem, Bars & Melody take on a striking new sound, and it’s one that’s been a long time coming. 

Just under a year ago, the duo released Sadboi – a record that was, at the time, their most confident to date. A darker sound and decisive move away from the EDM of 2017’s Generation Z, the former Britain’s Got Talent pop kids pushed what was expected of them. 

Sadboi was a carefully calculated experiment. Lead singles ‘Waiting For The Sun’ and ‘Love To See Me Fail’ upped the ante but remained pop hits at heart, ready to wow on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions. 

Take a deeper dive into that album and you’d come across flicks like ‘Sadboi’ and ‘Addicted’, snarling efforts which Charlie Lenehan and Leondre Devries used to start exerting their own desires on their sound. 

Since Sadboi, Bars & Melody went through an amicable separation with Universal Music to take the plunge as independent artists. The result is Carpe Diem, a mini-album that lands with a big statement to make. 

Where last year’s record sounded at times angry, Carpe Diem exudes confidence – never more so than on the break-up inspired ‘Little Missy’ which showcases Lenehan at his best. The trademark bite of tracks like ‘Addicted’ are still ever-present, now armed with their most urban sound to date. 

Carpe Diem hinges on opener ‘Santorini’. The latest single, which the duo are quick to nod to as their favourite from the album, sees the auto-tune amped up and not so subtly placed risqué lyrics. ‘Own Ways’, another standout, follows suit.  

It’s a shock to hear and picture the two fresh-faced teenagers who first nervously walked out onto the BGT stage to perform ‘Hopeful’ in 2014. It’s clear that’s exactly the goal of Carpe Diem. Over the past few years, little by little, the duo have warned fans they aren’t kids anymore and this is their full arrival at Bars and Melody 2.0. 

Are you a Bars & Melody fan? Loving the new record? Let us know @CelebMix on Twitter.

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