So....I listened to this whole album on tuesday, and tuesday night I literally forgot what i sounded like.....and I liked what heard too. The album as a whole just isnt very memorable outside of the first song.
Summary: The sixth full-length release for the Australian pop singer-songwriter was produced by Greg Kurstin.
Genre(s): Electronic, Club/Dance
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Tracklist:
1. Chandelier
2. Big Girls Cry
3. Burn the Pages
4. Eye of the Needle
5. Hostage
6. Straight for the Knife
7. Fair Game
8. Elastic Heart (feat. The Weeknd & Diplo)
9. Free the Animal
10. Fire Meet Gasoline
11. Cellophane
12. Dressed in Black
I found myself SO excited for Sia's album. The album track "Elastic Heart" featuring the Weeknd had become one of my favorite songs of the year and Chandelier was pretty great too. With that being said -- I was SO disappointed. This album completely droned on and on and on. So many times did I find myself looking at my spotify, to see how close I was to finishing. It totally baffles me, on how the woman who created masterpieces like "Diamonds" by Rihanna and "Perfume" by Britney Spears could create such a bore. Songs like Diamonds and Perfume are interesting, with pounding choruses. Lyrically, they do a lot with a little. Where was the cleanliness and light, found in songs like "I Am" and "All I Need" (both credit to Christina Aguilera)? Sia's lyrics for other people are always colorful, they provide a visual through sound, while still remaining simple. The ones found on "1000 Forms of Fear" are the epitome of bland. But it does beg the question of -- are the lyrics even bland? Or is the album as a whole just so gray, that it hides any tiny spot of lyrical greatness?
2/10
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You clearly didn't listen to the album if you scored it a 2/10. You must be deaf, seriously. Dressed in Black alone >>>
You clearly didn't listen to the album if you scored it a 2/10. You must be deaf, seriously. Dressed in Black alone >>>
They are entitiled to their opinions so But yes these super low scores of 1.8 and 2 out of 10 is a bit much. Considering if you look at metacritic scores and she didn't receive a single negative one. Although the album did receive some mixed reviews.
Wth XD Websites are weird like that though, I've seen Adele's music classified as rock music before XD. Dance/Club music didn't come to mind when I listened to it
Wth XD Websites are weird like that though, I've seen Adele's music classified as rock music before XD. Dance/Club music didn't come to mind when I listened to it
Dance/Club music XD I've also seen Adele classified as Rock XD
They are entitiled to their opinions so But yes these super low scores of 1.8 and 2 out of 10 is a bit much. Considering if you look at metacritic scores and she didn't receive a single negative one. Although the album did receive some mixed reviews.
She also didn't receive any 10s and more than one 9.
You have roughly 24 hours to get in any last minute reviews.
The final score for Sia - '1000 Forms of Fear' will be tabulated and posted tomorrow night.
After multiple collaborations of collecting her dog food royalties,
38-year old Adelaide songstress Sia returns from her brief solo career hiatus in her latest work 1000 Forms of Fear.
Quote:
The album opens with the booming hooks in Chandelier in which she delvers verses in a tambor similar to pop contemporaryRihanna and creates vocal acrobats in the chorus she herself could not replicate on television.
Somewhat breaking momentum the album segues with Big Girls Cry, a heartfelt ballad expressing the loneliness and agony of relationship fallouts. The lethargic motions between verses and chorus did have me twiddling my thumbs.
Picking up the pace is uptempo Burn the Pages where Sia reassures that this album will not just be a sob story and lightens the bellows for a more pop friendly tune.
Eye of the Needle digs deeper into the personal nature of the album, exploring the comfort and numbness obtained from drug abuse. Drums draw the spotlight in this tune as Sia roughly belts the chorus.
Poppiest tune Hostage echoes the work of punk band The Libertines in its presentation and is frankly adorable.
Pace slows again for the ballad as she sing-talks the verses of Fair Game to project a direct confrontation between her and the offendor. The track has a stop-and-go rhythm that resembles a round of tag that builds into a moaning lecture later in the song.
Familiar to many is the Hunger Games track Elastic Heart composed of a thumping beat from Diplo and clever rubber metaphors by Sia. Not present is the collaboration with The Weeknd which was disappointing because I thought the guest vocals flowed well through the track.
A less bombastic turn comes in Fire Meets Gasoline, guided by drums and a chorus reminiscent to the likes of 'Halo' and 'Already Gone' this could likely be the most generally appealing track on the album.
Returning to the loud and proud Sia shouts her feelings in the uptempo Free the Animal. She barrages the listener with simple similes such as "hit me like a baseball" in order to "kill you with her loving" without any misinterpretation.
Cellophane is a standard in Sia albums (see: Lentil, Cloud), soft and grim verses eclipsed in boisterous choruses of extened syllables. The lyricism and heartbeat effect translate a feeling of bondage and tension within the listener.
Dressed in Black recounts the beginnings and resolution of the conflicts within the album. It enters as a midtempo and overstays its welcome by a couple minutes when it builds into the epic climax.
Sia's vocals are polarizing to some but in exception to a few instances of slurred speech she
is proficiently able to emote through her rough bellows and wails. An overall very solid pop album.
Standout Tracks: Hostage, Elastic Heart, Free the Animal
There's a variety of ways to approach 1000 Forms of Fear, to go into it expecting Sia to be a faceless artiste saving pop music with a music not the fame approach would be doing yourself a disservice. Going into 1000 Forms as a pop album made by someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously (see any performance of Chandelier after Ellen) you can enjoy moments like "Straight For the Knife" when Sia goes from talking about picking pretty underwear to preparing to die. Even if it's a seemingly serious song about heartbreak there's a lightness via whimsy in it that shows she's self aware. The following track, "Fair Game", shows Sia stretching every whimsy filled bone she has, as she mutters some of the most naive love struck lyrics released in a long time (or whenever Lykke Li last released, and to clarify it's a compliment to both of them.) Then to top the song with the world's largest whimsical cherry, a xylophone solo.
Sia uses cliches to varying success, "Fire Meets Gasoline" sounding too much like a parody of "Fire Bomb" by Rihanna (beyond just the lyrics, the accent, and even the way the chorus is sung) and "Elastic Heart" a thorough lyrical misfire. "Cellophane", on the other hand, manages to use cliches to create something potent. Which could some up the intent Sia had with this album, channeling her contemporaries, pop music tropes and cliches in a novel way. There really needs no better example than 1000 Fears' lead single being one of two songs to feature chandeliers to smash recently that couldn't be more topically different. At the same time, Sia's approach is especially noteworthy for not being critical (ala Lorde and her hands that don't want to be told what to do), well aware in the part she's played before for other artists. Accompanying her faceless performances, 1000 Forms of Fear is a fitting re-debut of sorts for Sia as she deals with the limelight. 7.5/10