#NEWMUSIC: AVA MAX – “HEAVEN & HELL”

AVA MAX exploded onto the Pop scene in the Summer of 2018 with Top 10 smash hit SWEET BY PSYCHO and after leaving such a mark, we were hungry for more. Finally, after some two years later comes her debut studio album HEAVEN & HELL and it proves well worth the wait.

The 15-track collection which she co-wrote with the help of Toronto’s Cirkut, is banger upon banger. She manages to infuse synthy nostalgia into her tunes, which draw focus not only to her stellar vocal range, but her songwriting talent. The Album at 44 minutes is a quick listen which we can loop multiple times over easily, culminating in her smash hit Sweet By Psycho saving the best for last on the sequence.

This is not to say this the only bright moment. Literally every Track start to finish is a cohesive fun Pop experience. Her melodies are reminiscent of infectious Euro-pop, but her production has a sonic sophistication to it. We hate drawing comparisons to another fashion-forward female Pop Icon, but HEAVEN AND HELL at times makes us feel the same way we did we first heard that one’s debut Disc.

The party begins with recent single, the gender-positive KINGS & QUEENS which samples Bonnie Tyler‘s If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man) .

NAKED is just about as seductive as it sounds, that hook crawling into our ears and sticking. Ava Max sings about really getting to know her soul and not just her body, “Well you can take off all my clothes and never see me naked/You don’t know how heart/You’re never gonna break it”. The Track is single-worthy. Gorgeous.

Charlie Puth sneaks-in a writing credit on the fun TATTOO which keeps the fun momentum going.

BORN TO THE NIGHT is pure authentic ’80s-inspired Synth-Pop. The type that transports you to a land of melancholic euphoria you never want to leave.

BELLADONNA takes us into darker territory, complete with gothic bells and really takes flight late, as she sings about being the type of dangerous woman a boy can get addicted to.

Our ears have only known such joy a few times in 2020 and this stellar debut counts among them.

Warner Music Canada release AVA MAX‘s HEAVEN & HELL.

Click here to buy a copy.