Welp, and I thought that my middle of the road rating was harsh

What’s next girls

Cocteau twins heaven or las vegas

...oh gosh, I forgot to post but I did listen to it yesterday...so this is just the quickest review and if it doesn’t count as such then I understand and that fine...the album for me just all felt kind of hollow...although its quite an easy listen.../..(Sooty’s Easy Listening thread...:lovedup:...)...but just no heart, no soul, no depth etc....it felt like opening a really prettily wrapped gift but the box was empty...


...anyways, no particularly memorable songs../..apologies, Katy...


...Smile...a prettily wrapped 6.5/10...

scott in all seriousness pls **** off with suggestions when you cba submitting reviews

Smile review:
I've only listened to it once but I was very underwhelmed. The only highlights aside from 'Never Really Over' (which really is one of her best singles) were 'Cry About it Later', 'What Makes a Woman' and the other singles... but none of them really strike me as anything I'll choose to put on even in a shuffling playlist. Too many tracks just flounder and ooze vapid femininity that doesn't even mean anything to anyone but herself; it feels very much like a shallow Hollywood 'I've had a baby now I'm a real woman' statement.

Worst tracks for me were Resilient, Tucked and Not the End of the World... those three were enough to drag my overall score for this album down to a 4.

Right, Katy ends up with a 45. This week's album can be Declan McKenna since that seems to be on course to get #1... I don't know anything about ha though :worry:

nvm i just realised I already put Purity Ring in the OP oops

...Declan McKenna now or....

MARILYN MANSON has a new one

Nobody is interested bitch

I have to say i was slightly disappointed by WOMB when it released but i think that’s because i was hoping for something on par with shrines which was fantastic. It definitely isn’t on par with shrines but it’s still pretty great. My absolute fav track is i like the devil because the rest of the album sounds quite similar but this stands out amongst the rest and is one of my fav tracks of the year. Stardust is another highlight and i think they definitely played us a bit releasing that as the lead single because there’s nothing else on the album (apart from i like the devil) as strong as it. As a whole though it’s still quite lovely and i’ll pick femia to round off my top 3. I think all of the other tracks are weaker than my chosen 3 but it’s still a cute listen. 7/10

purity ring sry! declan can wait until next week!

...with this album, I don’t really know what to say because Scott pretty much has already said it all, already..there didn’t feel like any ‘build up or intro, type thing/song...and no fade out, either or a huge track to represent any type of ‘coming of age’...it was just there and that’s fine because it was very, very pretty in places ...but it just stayed there and stayed one one level, type thing ...and not in any cohesion type way ...the ‘promise’ that didn’t quite get there..?..I don’t know, maybe I’ve missed something because I only gave it one listen and maybe it’s just not a one listen/type album...Meghan does deserve more than one listen, I think, so I will revisit it at some time in the up and coming..but for me with that one listen of the here and now, it had a feeling of being less of an album with tracks gelling together etc in their journey...of more an extended single or something...

...anyways, highlights...?...eeeek, that’s the thing with just floating at the same pace and time etc...they all melted into each other, leaving less room for any to stand out...but I Like the Devil also for me...Pink Lightening and Femia are quite pretty...and Stardew has a nice intro....so...

I don’t know with the rating because it has to be more than Smile...so I’ll say...

....WOMB...7.5/10...

...how weird...on YouTube, I was playing Zeros/Declan/full album etc, because obviously the next track just runs through next on its own so playing the full album is the best way...but two of the tracks..Beautiful Faces and The Key to Life on Earth wouldn’t play because they came up ‘video blocked in this Country’...?...but if I individually search those two tracks, the videos play okay...why is that, Shaun...?...

That’s very strange :think:

They’re probably the two best tracks from the album too lol

Pink lightning and peacefall are both *chefs kiss* and have been on my everyday playlist for a few months now, but the rest of the album I agree is just fine. The production is stellar but a couple of tracks are a bit ho hum. I'll give WOMB a 6.7

..yeah it was strange, Jake because I could get the vid for each track by individually typing them in...

...I don’t know if you can see that in this link...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQc0...pjtTci&index=4

Yeah, it showed the same thing for me too :think:

https://media.giphy.com/media/Yiw4aLjpxldhC/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7bu0...0mvC/giphy.gif

I ended up giving Purity Ring a rather generous 7... I think pretty much all of my sentiments have been stated in here so I won't bother echoing them. I loved both of their previous albums but this was very unsatisfying... actually if it's not satisfied me then I should push it down to a 6. It's fine but I'll forget it quickly.

This gives 'WOMB' a score of 68.

And we move on, now, to Declan McKenna or whatever his name is x

...I listened to Zeros a week or so ago ...but I’ll listen again in the next few days to refresh etc....because the music round in the quiz and listening to 7589465867423 different tracks since Zeros has fuzzed it all a little...

...I’ve listened to Zeros twice and it’s an album I’ll probably listen to some more as well and dip in and out of, because it is a good album...I hadn’t heard of Declan McKenna before, so hadn’t heard any of his tracks ever, I don’t think..I read, though, that his greatest influences are David Bowie and the Beatles...and I think both of those influences shine through quite a bit in Zeros...which is lovely, but some tracks felt a little ‘too influenced’...too much Bowie and/or Beatles and not enough Declan McKenna...so only a tiny criticism of a balance not quite right on a few tracks, I though...because he himself in his own music as an influence, has to be the ‘most notable and outstanding feature’ of any track on his album, surely...


...anyway, a lovely listen and so many good tracks....Stand outs would be for me...Rapture, The Key to Life on Earth, Daniel You’re Still a Child, Beautiful Faces, You Better Believe...those are all I can recall atm but there are probably more.../...they’re all mostly pretty lovely...:love:..


...Zeros...a Bowie inspired 7.5/10...

who in earth is Declan McKenna :conf:

Radio X has been championing Declan for a while.

Declan McKenna

I utterly despised this. It was bland, derivative of better artists and the lyrics are just hideous. In one song, from the sounds of it, he mispronounced 'Nature' in order to rhyme it with 'Thatcher' and I physically cringed. He also likes to talk about Nike trainers a lot in different songs which shows a lack of versatile imagery in his music. The album as a whole sounds like he desperately wants to turn back time to the mid-late 00's Indie craze but he comes across as an Alex Turner tribute act with little in the way of personality or a sound of his own.

I'm going to give it a 1/10 and I'm loathe to give this waste of an album even that.

Album starts with You Better Believe which is a pretty unremarkable start to be honest sounding like any up and coming indie rock artist in the last 10 years. Be an Astronaut makes up for it with stellar songwriting. The Key to Life on Earth is a good catchy cooldown. Beautiful Faces is very catchy but feels like an homage to Arctic Monkeys. Daniel, You're Still a Child is pretty decent, but Emily feels like a much needed break from the heavily guitar based instrumentation. Twice Your Size is fine, Rapture shows off McKennas songwriting chops very well with one of the catchiest choruses on the album. Sagittarius A* has a more engaging play with dynamics and use of synths over the course of the album but as a song it didn't engage for me. Eventually Darling has plenty of interesting ideas but I don't feel any were developed fully.

The space theme is certainly there even if the references to it aren't particularly inventive. Declan clearly has talent as a songwriter and each song is fairly distinct, but I'd love to see him broaden his instrumentation further for his future releases. My biggest gripe with this album is how his influences are painfully obvious the album almost sounds like a tribute to Bowie, Queen and Elton John.

Giving this album 7.3

Bye @ 1/10 :skull:

Will review tomorrow

I’m a huge fan of Declan McKenna, and although I much preferred his debut (What Do You Think About the Car?), Zero’s was still a nice follow up. He’s only young so I can see how his influences have almost taken over his own work but regardless of that I found it an enjoyable album and I think he will definitely be one to watch in the music scene. The standard of British Music in 2020 isn’t exactly sky high, so I find Declan’s presence refreshing and seeing his growth has been nice.

It’s no surprise that the singles are the stars of the show - The Key to Life on Earth, Beautiful Faces and Daniel, You’re Still a Child are huge standouts to me and have been on repeat over the last few weeks. I see this album at a comfortable 8.5, none of the songs make me want to switch off but I wouldn’t say I’m excited about absolutely everything there. The album, however, is definitely a grower and it took me about 5 spins to fully appreciate it, you have to be in the right mood and headspace to take it in properly.

I’m (assuming Covid allows) seeing him live in April so I’m really interested in seeing how this album translates to a live production as I can’t say I’ve seen too many of his live performances, bar the off TV chat show guest slot.

Zeros Review

Declan’s first album contained some great tracks but felt a bit underdeveloped. Zeros feels far more polished with a bit of a more “grown-up” production. The Key To Life On Earth, Beautiful Faces & Daniel You’re Still A Child are all well made pieces of indie pop and set the bar for the album, so it’s a bit of a shame that there’s a slight dip in quality afterwards.Nevertheless, it’s still a pretty great album and makes for easy listening.

Highlights: The Key To Life On Earth, Beautiful Faces, Daniel You’re Still A Child, You Better Believe!!!

Album Rating: 8.2/10

An imminent second lockdown to see the numbers for this soar back to its April/May heights? :fc:

I was just listening to 'Beautiful Faces' and trying to place what it reminds me of, and it's probably a good blend of the three you name. I'm enjoying the record somewhat, but would agree the instrumentation at times isn't particularly innovative or challenging. It's kinda 'glam rock fast food'y.

'Daniel, You're Still a Child' shows promise though; it has a slightly Tame Impala sheen and the production isn't as paint-by-numbers as some of the tracks that precede it. I didn't really know what to make of 'Emily', it felt a little all over the place and I kinda liked that about it? Similarly liked 'Sagittarius A*' a lot.

I think overall I'd give the album a 7.8

After six reviews, Declan McKenna ends up with a score of 67. Which is pretty decent given someone can't review fairly :oh:

Our next album - "Ungodly Hour" by Chloe x Halle - is being edited into the OP soon. Which is annoying because today marks the release of new albums by Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and Idles :(

I can't help the fact that I thought the album was irredeemable ****, Shaun!

...I do see Dezzy’s review as well...some of the songs were too ‘influenced’, so it made it difficult to feel the artist in what he brought to his music...poor Dezzy, he wasn’t here for karaoke night...

...digging a hole, digging a hole...

...maybe Shaun, try choosing better albums if you want better reviews...did you ever think of that...

...:laugh:..

Better late than never

Katy was SCALPED

Just listening to Ungodly Hour now. I am liking it but I'm not slain.

Forgive Me and Ungodly Hour are both fantastic - I especially liked the noticeable but not OBVIOUS production by Disclosure on the latter - but some of the others meander along a little too monotonously... 'Lonely' in particular left me feeling rather bored. But there are other moments that really are intoxicating: 'Don't Make It Harder On Me' is like a slice of 1990s feelgood R&B that is just gorgeous from start to finish, and I really enjoyed the change of tone between that and 'Wonder What She Thinks of Me', this weird siesta moment that hovers between spanish guitars and full blown strings. It's probably the best showcase of their vocals, too.

I'm a little confused by 'Do It' being their best-performing single - it's nice but nowhere near their best - but I guess the radio is all about repetitive, minimalist production lately. I think overall I'd give the record a 8.3. It's on the verge of being great but there're still a few duds holding them back.

My brain is mush today and I can't string a sentence together, but 9!