Vocalist Channy Leaneagh explores themes of break-ups, feminism, and death and I like how the darkness of some of the lyrics isn't overbearing and obvious due to the instrumentation and how the sounds seamlessly blend together. I think all of these elements put together are what makes the record as cohesive as it is.
So Leave, Tiff, and I Need $ are my favorite tracks off the album. I have a feeling this might be a controversial choice here but I'm super curious how you all feel about it.
I'm kind of ambivalent to this album. There was nothing on here that was unpleasant to listen to, but also very few standout tracks to me.
ReplyDeleteThe opening track on this album is very strong, and maybe my favorite song on the whole thing. It opens so bombastically and feels like a dance party in the middle of a neon desert with the opening riff. I was really hoping the rest of the album would bring more of the energy present that's present in Chain My Name, and I felt a little let down as a result.
As I just mentioned, most of the album failed to really move me. There was a lot of 80's and 90's style of electro-pop that is pretty uninteresting to me. The final track was nice. It was intimately subdued and it really allowed Channy to shine.
I wish I had more to say, but ultimately the beginning and end of the album far outshines the bulk of the rest for me. It kind of reminds me of the latest AnCo release in that respect...
I am a big fan of dystopian sounding pop electronica music, and I often look on /r/futurebeats and /r/futurepopmusic for stuff like this. I was reminded a lot of similar artists like Purity Ring and Made in Heights, of which I am a big fan. However, I think if I found this on my own, I probably wouldn't return after one listen. There's something about this album that is just sort of dull.
ReplyDeleteThere were certain things I liked, so I'll go through those first. The song Warrior Lord perfectly illustrates what I like about this style of music: it's simple, it's relatively laid-back (tempo <90 BPM), and has enough unique effects to make it stand out (the autotune, echo, and reverb of the voice in particular). However, if every song on this album were like this, I think most people would get depressed and/or bored by it too easily (although, I'm pretty sure every song on this album is in a minor key, so I could argue that it's kind of doing that already).
I liked how the synths created this desolate sounding environment, and it definitely complimented her voice and the lyrical subject matter. However, this brings me to my main complaint. The singer's voice wasn't really all that interesting or unique, and kind of left me wanting more. She more or less sang similar refrains in the same key for most of the songs. Compare this to the voice of your last pick, Lianne La Havas, who clearly demonstrated her talents over a wide range in that album, which kept the album from getting stale.
So overall, this album should have been right up my alley, but I found it was lacking in a few aspects. Still, it had strong points, and I can see why you wanted us to listen to it.
Sorry for the long wait on this one.
ReplyDeleteSo, I actually liked this album more than I was expecting to. But, and bear with me here, I still didn't really like it that much. I'd call it a very average album. So what gives?
Well, synth pop is usually not my thing. With a few notable exceptions (Wye Oak's latest album being the first that comes to mind), I tend to not be that into synth-heavy music. But there was something a bit different about this one. First of all, the drums - damn do they sound really good on this record. I LOVE how they are recorded. The drumming itself is pretty good if not a bit repetitive throughout the whole album. Which actually brings me to my next point...
The whole album is repetitive. It seems there is a formula followed throughout and it made it hard for me to kind of appreciate any one part of the album more than the other. In the end, that means I just really didn't appreciate the album that much. A very average album in my estimation.
I'm glad that this was picked, though, so thanks Maz! I've been hearing this band's name for so long it was about time I checked them out.
Great album! I'll be honest, I was pretty worried after the first track because it kind of felt pretty boring to me, but as the album progressed I just found myself enjoying it more and more. Now I've listened to the album a few times but even still most of the tracks really don't stand out to me. It's not to say that's bad, but this seems like a great album for chilling with when you have friends over.
ReplyDeleteNow I said there wasn't a lot of stand out tracks on this album, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that track 3 "Vegas" wasn't straight fire. That synth melody at the end really grabbed my attention, it reminded me of the outro of m.a.a.d. city a bit. Anyways I will be definitely adding that song to some of my playlists. great pick maz!
I've been on a pop kick the last week or so, so I was very excited to listen to this album and I had high expectations. I liked the vibe and energy on the first song a lot but I have to say the album lost me pretty fast every time I listened. I would put it on while doing something mundane or walking somewhere and the next thing I knew four or five songs had gone by without me noticing.
ReplyDeleteI guess my disappointment in this album were mostly because I was just really thirsty for the hooks this week and this didn't deliver the hooks. That being said, I can't really say anything bad about the music. It wasn't super exciting but I think for what it is, it was very well done. The singer's voice was nice and smooth and there were a lot of interesting nice synth sounds. I think your observation that it was crisp and dreamy at the same time was a good way of describing it. It was definitely some nice pleasant background music- now im gonna go listen to chvrches and chairlift lol