.

3 (and a bit, including today) days left to submit a review peeps, but don't feel coerced into submitting a half-assed one if you haven't even listened to it in full :hee: would be like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, and leaving before it arrives and saying "the breadsticks were okay but nothing special"

I’ll give it a 10/10

Not quite sure about the slurs that’s it’s repetitive are coming from. There isn’t a track I don’t like, they are all bops.

I’m obsessed with Babylon and Enigma :love:

Forgot about this :skull: I gave this album a half assed skimming listen & every song was very samey, boring & not my style. Idk if the YouTube playlist even has every song or if I listened to every one but it must’ve had like 16, 18 songs or something and was a struggle for some. :laugh: Literally the only one I decided to save was Rain On Me & idk if I will even listen any more

I only gave a listen & voted because of the response when I wasn’t going to :smug: Like I said I’ve never been a Gaga fan but this album was just that a 3.3/10 for me. If you don’t wanna count it idec :joker:

Shauns a fan of half assed skimmed listens so I imagine he will

2 days left to submit a review :spin2: and then starting Friday at midnight we will be reviewing 'After Hours' by The Weeknd. Am I anticipating a drop of participation in the region of 85%? Yes I am! But in the words of a spoilt British teen who's obsessed with dancing, planning her birthday party in 2010... I want diversity god damn it!

I thought miss fiona was next

https://i.imgur.com/sHN4Too.jpg

i don't think we are ready for the cultural shift from gaga to fiona, sorry

This gay says that Chromatica is a 9/10. YES

She's back. After half a decade of alienating the uncultured gays with jazz driven collabs with an icon of the music industry and delivered a personal, powerful album dedicated to the namesake of my Mother she is back to doing what she does best. Delivering bombastic, energetic tracks one after the other. Its rich and its flavoursome and I devoured the lot. Babylon style. Yeah I'm impressed. It deserves all its accolades x

Chromatica

Stupid Love: very boppy, i personally like the music video too

Rain On Me: catchy and i am surprised how well gaga/Ariana their voices match up


Sine from Above: at first i was like WTF Elton's voice in a modern dance-pop song sounds so weird, i guess it does sound very anthemic though


overall a decent album (but for me personally not up there with Fame Monster)

8.5

A step back in the right direction for Gaga in my opinion. A very cohesive album that doesn't have any skips on it - all the songs have their place on the album and I don't find any of them boring, one or two just don't hit as hard as others. Obviously vocal talent isn't an issue at all because it's Gaga. The album achieved what it intended, a fun dance pop album that details pain and trauma and can hopefully help people dance through some forms of pain. Whats great about this album is she managed to create an album she wanted to whilst also listening to what many of her fans have missed from her.
The only "issue" I have is more of a Gaga fan issue rather than a musical issue. I feel like a lot of pop stars could've released this album, whereas with albums like TFM, BTW and ARTPOP you could only see Gaga creating them, but that's not an issue with the quality of the music. Babylon is an exception to this though and is Gaga's best song since at least 2013 possibly as far back as BTW.

Faves: Alice, Stupid Love, Rain On Me, Enigma, Replay, Sine From Above, Babylon
Least Faves: Fun Tonight, 1000 Doves

9/10

Right then, after 17 votes I've added up the scores and determined that Chromatica's score from TiBB is a very impressive 83. It's logged into the OP and we now move on with our lives to an album that was actually released back on March 20.

His fourth studio album, it went straight to #1 here, in the US and even Lithuania! It's also his most well-received by critics to date, usually sitting around the 4-5 star mark. The tracklist and running time might be intimidating, but you should already be familiar with at least one of the singles from the record (Blinding Lights, In Your Eyes and Heartless have all been hits) so there may be some time you can save by not listening to the ones you already know.

I'm aware there'll be a slight dip in attendance from a major pop female release and that's fine, but I'd rather you didn't all jump ship and kill the game off before it's even begun :hee:

Spotify link for the album is in the OP, and hopefully this works as a playlist if I embed it here:



Spoiler: it did not. The YT link above is the opening track, click it and you should find the playlist from there pretty easily.

i'll do this at some point, he's one of the few male artists i perch. save your tears is one of my fav songs of the year so far.

Already heard this one :clap1: I know I didn't LOVE it, moreso liked just for some of my faves on it (mainly the big hits) but I will give a re-listen before I rate/review this

I’m halfway through and I’m bored ****less tbh

I didn’t like it at all and I assumed I would. I’ve loved every single one of his singles.

Horrible instrumentals throughout, his voice begins to grate, even his singles that I love blend in to the horrible noise

Giving it 2/10 Cos I’m sure there’s something worse round the corner, but I’m shocked at how much I hated that.

I actually enjoyed this album a lot. Much of his previous releases have either been overstuffed (Starboy) or just plain boring (Beauty Behind the Madness, My Dear Melancholy) and it's been pretty disappointing following him since his breakthrough EPs in 2011 were all great (especially House of Balloons).

Most of the production is crystal clear and tight, and the singles have tapped in greatly to the 80s-revival zeitgeist that's seen similar success for Dua Lipa, Troye Sivan and HAIM recently. Obviously the lead single was massive and catchy and soulful and everything that a great pop song should be, but even the follow-ups haven't let me down... Heartless feels the most like his classic stuff, In Your Eyes is like a ballad ripped straight from Stranger Things, and the title track manages to make all 6 minutes of it continually engaging.

I just... really like this album. It feels like a major pop event; there's a lot to unpack and it's wrapped stylishly. I'd give it an 8.5 as well as Chromatica :worry: hopefully album #3 has a different score.

I really liked the album, I listened to it a few times when it came out. The first song Alone Again is probably my favourite on the album. I really like Hardest To Love as well.

I like that the album is moody but not too moody and love the production quality.

I really enjoyed The Weeknd's previous album but this one has topped it.

I'll give it a solid 8

This album was a slow burner for me, I wasn't feeling the first half much at all, seemed like there was about 4 boring slow songs right after one another which almost lost my interest, however I'm glad I stuck with it because it did finally pick up on Heartless and remained pretty solid until the end. I'd probably only come back for those later "bops" rather than listen to the album front to back again though.

Highlights: In Your Eyes, Blinding Lights, Heartless, After Hours
Snoozers: Scared To Live, Snowchild, Escape From LA

6/10

I’ve listened twice and will give it a third go before I leave my review but it’s definitely one which improves with repeated listens :pipe:

After Hours Review

Prior to giving After Hours a spin, Blinding Lights was the only track I’d heard and I thought it was phenomenal. It’s everything you’d expect from a good Weeknd track, only better, so I jumped in with high hopes. On my initial listen, I really wasn’t impressed until around the halfway mark. It was only when I listened for a second and finally a third time that most of the earlier tracks clicked in some way or another.

That being said, The Weeknd is at his best here in the latter half - The 80s inspired synths and production are a real treat for the ears. I think that this is his first release for me which is relatively “fluff free”, and thankfully most of it sticks.

Average/Mixed: Escape From LA, Until I Bleed Out
Good: Alone Again, Snow Child, Repeat After Me (Interlude)
Great: Too Late, Hardest To Love, Scared To Live, Heartless, Faith, Save Your Tears
Amazing: In Your Eyes, Blinding Lights, After Hours

Album Rating: 8/10

Gonna do this either tonight or tomorrow :hee:

I started to listen to him and gain interest after starboy. This album in my opinion is his best work the 80s inspired syncs work so well and I appreciate how ever song bleeds into each other. I do feel that the album falls a bit flat in the middle, there’s a string of songs that are just to similar and mellow. It picks up in the latter half of the album extremely well and reignites my interest. Those six punches near the end (excluding the interlude) starting with Heartless to After Hours whew!!!

Highlights: Faith, In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears (his best song), After Hours, Alone Again

7.5

Chromatica (I know it was last week, sue me)

It's a real solid earworm album with no real bad tracks, I do think it potentially doesn't have a long shelf life though given that I think some songs could potentially grow old fast. That being said it's a very cohesive album, perhaps too cohesive on the first listen since it took me more listens to differentiate some of the songs, the more unique aspects of each song takes multiple listens to shine through I think.

8/10

After Hours

I liked it a lot although it's a bit samey at parts. Sonically, it's a strong album and the vibes and themes are entrancing and addictive but it's also a bit over long and there are some songs that feel like pure filler.

7/10

I think I agree with what a couple of people said re there being some real stand out songs, but the middle section of the album has songs that are a bit too similar and hard to differentiate (Escape from LA is also 2 minutes too long tbqh). Aside from that I really enjoyed it, Abel is one of the very very few Male artists who’s voices I actually enjoy (even if the lyrics to the songs aren’t that relatable :eyes: “For that pussy you know i’m a slave” :eyes::eyes::eyes:) Aside from the singles which I’ve loved I think my fave from the album is Hardest to Love, hope it’s a single at some point bc it’s a BOP :dazzler:

Faves: Alone Again, Blinding Lights, Hardest To Love, In Your Eyes

7/10

When is fi

must admit it's not an album i have listened to in full

just know the most known hits

Blinding Lights: very much of a earwurm, a very recognizable beat too

In Your Eyes: also quite good, but not as good for me personally as Blinding Lights


no score from me because it is not a full album review, but i just wanted to say that about those 2 songs

What’s next loov

After Hours

Same as I thought on first listen of this album, it's decent but there's a couple songs that really carry it. Some of the better songs on the album ranked: Heartless > Blinding Lights > Snowchild (maybe 2nd best) > In Your Eyes > After Hours > Nothing Compares > Until I Bleed Out

Overall

7.2/10

Is this really necessary

It's slightly better than a 7 but not quite a 7.5 or 8 :spin:

decimals are fine and welcome!

Right then, the aggregate score for After Hours is a respectable 68.

Album #3, you ask? I suppose it's best we get Ms. Apple out of the way before Scott hurts someone. I'll put it in the OP.

10/10

When I joined this forum and quickly became friends with Scott, one of the first things he asked me to do was listen to 'The Idler Wheel'....by some woman I had never heard of and I obliged. Six years later, her latest album is released and I was blown away on first listen. It feels like Fiona just woke up in a pissed off mood and sang these songs whilst releasing her rage and what a glorious outcome it gave us. I love the feel of the album, with kitchen utensils used as instruments and dog barks in the background of songs, you can really tell this was self produced. I genuinely like every song on here, it's one of those albums with no duds, and it's all very cohesive and flowing without feeling repetitive, I feel Fiona has finally released her masterpiece, and I hope this album is seen as the artpop classic it is, up there with other fantastic works like Kate Bush's Hounds of Love and Björk's Homogenic, because it deserves it. This album is a one off and a masterpiece.

Favourites: Shameika, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Under The Table, Relay, Newspaper, Heavy Balloon, Cosmonauts, For Her

Oh wait will it still count if I didn't review the weeknd?

Genuinely one of the best albums of all time and it doesn’t even feel weird saying that when it’s not even been out for 2 months. There are some tracks that i’m not overly keen on (newspaper and heavy balloon) but the others more than make up for it. Shameika is a highlight and like, the fact that she references that gloria in excelsis deo hymn that they made everyone sing in primary school... her mind. That and “my dog and my man and music is my holy trinity” is probably the greatest lyric of all time? The title track is another highlight and references cathy bush - legends supporting legends, we love to see it. She also INVENTED feminism with ladies, giving her blessing for her ex’s current partners To take whatever she left in his kitchen cupboards/bathroom cabinets - charitable queen! Although there are too many amazing tracks to pick out a single favourite, for her is transcendent and definitely among the best. “You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”. SHOOK.

Not terrible but not great: newspaper, heavy balloon
Legendary: shameika, fetch the bolt cutters, relay, rack of his, ladies, for her

10/10

:skull:

Lmfao Scott

That's legit the most I've ever seen you write

I'm excited to listen to this one!

I don't have a full review yet but I wanted to give it a bump so I'll drop my score: 9.5. I'll get around to explaining fully eventually but for now I'll just say that my favourites were Shameika, Relay, Ladies and For Her.

Only thing holding it back from being a perfect 10 is that I think Cosmonauts and Drumset sort of take the wind out of its sails towards the end of the album, but I don't hate either of those. Actually **** it let's make this the full review. I think the lyrics are startling; some of the most personal and evocative personal music I've ever heard. Pretty much every track feels like an unfiltered therapy session, and there's almost a chaotic quality to the album. But at the same time, it's refined into something seamless, and each chunk makes sense in context and feels like a lushly-described flashback towards something she's overcome.

I don't know if I've given it the full attention it deserves yet - in fact, no, I know I haven't - but it's definitely album of the year so far.