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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 12/10/2010
Posts: 23,117
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FourFiveSeconds
This is an interesting peek at R8. It's great to have Rihanna back in the pop world and whilst I admire her for taking risk's with this song it is a little lackluster. I love her voice on this song but ultimately it doesn't go anywhere and Kanye's verse doesn't do much to help. I think with a little tweaking this song could be so much more but it's still better than a lot of the trash in the top 40 and will probably be a grower.
6.3/10
American Beauty/American Psycho
2 years after their big comeback with Save Rock and Roll Fall Out Boy have released another album combining there former slick 'emo' rock sound with polished pop. The album explores a lot of interesting themes and there's a lot of great lyrics and there's certainly no bad tracks. The songs are very anthemic and FOB pull this off perfectly. It's a great album however it does blend together sometimes. A little more diversity could go a long way and it's very similar to it's predecessor which I love but I would like to see more development from FOB as a band. Still it's a very enjoyable album overall and worth a listen. I'd say the highlights are Irresistable, American Beauty/American Psycho, The Kids Aren't Alright and Twin Skeleton's (Hotel in NYC)
7.8/10
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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I really need to get back into this.
Rihanna, Kanye West & Sir Paul McCartney - “FourFiveSeconds”
For a pop star whose very name has become synonymous with the quintessential dance-pop bangers that have defined our generation, a stripped down guitarsy moment is certainly an unexpected turn. For the apparent lead single from her forthcoming eighth studio album, Rihanna proves her starpower by collaborating with Kanye West and a Beatle. Its a collaboration that should be spread across headlines everywhere and convince listeners to stop what they’re doing to listen.
But what starts out promising falls flat as it descends into a hazy bit of mediocrity. There are obivious positives here, Rihanna’s vocal performance which does border into strained at time, is every bit as passionate and bold as one would want to expect from her. The strung out bluesy feel is a nice compliment to the laid-back aesthetic of the chorus.
Unfortunately, an unnecessary addition of Kanye and unmemorable lyrics that end up accomplishing nothing taint what could have been Rihanna’s shining moment. Its a brooding, beautiful look into a pop star’s evolution, but in the end isn’t quite strong enough to make that much of a statement. Its pretty much an uneventful bonus track relegated to single status, certainly not comparable to her big ticket blockbuster leads.
Final score - 5.8 / 10
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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I just thought I'd also share my perspective on 0s and 10s.
Reading some of these reviews that gave either score - they're clearly stan-fuelled and therefore should not be included in my opinion. Several people have given either a 0 or a 10 and have given clearly thought out, seemingly objective reviews and I think those are definitely valuable and should be included in the final score. But honestly there really isn't a point in coming in here just to rush in and give a 0 to a song that you don't like only to not support that score with credible reasoning.
It might be worth it to have a completely objective panel? Maybe like 2 or 3 people that can decide what should be considered biased and what should be considered quality reviewing.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by lovesong
I just thought I'd also share my perspective on 0s and 10s.
Reading some of these reviews that gave either score - they're clearly stan-fuelled and therefore should not be included in my opinion. Several people have given either a 0 or a 10 and have given clearly thought out, seemingly objective reviews and I think those are definitely valuable and should be included in the final score. But honestly there really isn't a point in coming in here just to rush in and give a 0 to a song that you don't like only to not support that score with credible reasoning.
It might be worth it to have a completely objective panel? Maybe like 2 or 3 people that can decide what should be considered biased and what should be considered quality reviewing.
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That's what the Top Critics panel is for. That panel gives objective, consistent, and well thought-out reviews. Anyone can be a Top Critic if they continually give well thought out, objective reviews. I've added several people to the panel since its inception in November.
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Everyone gets one more day to review! I'm in no position to update after that ridiculous Super Bowl. 
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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That game was a ridiculous mess. It was thoroughly entertaining. Glad it got me the chance to review this
Fall Out Boy - American Beauty / American Psycho
Fall Out Boy... One of the hold-overs from the mid 2000 emo-rock scene has always been a band that know their way around pop structure. Some of their biggest hits: "Sugar, We're Going Down," "Dance, Dance," "Thanks For The Memories," "I Don't Care," "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark," are catchy, hooky, melodic, and substantive with some witty lyrics and clever word thrown in.
Fall Out Boy are a very smart band, and they know this, they wouldn't be around still without that cleverness and self-relfexiveness. They also know that this isn't 2006 anymore, and they have to adjust with the times to be able to achieve chart success. Their last album: "Save Rock & Roll," saw them returning after a lengthy hiatus; that album was a solid return, saw some success with the already mentioned "My Songs..." and had some frantic energy and some iffy collaborators; it also, saw them changing their sound up, adding some electronic and hip-hop elements to their songs. The addition of new elements was fine, since they kept their sound largely in tact. However, with the new album, they seem to have been emboldened by the success of "My Songs" and taken things too far in the pop direction.
This new pop direction is expecially evident on lead single, "Centuries" a song that heavily samples a one-hit wonder; "Centuries' like most of the album, incorporates more electronic elements and gets by more on it's sample and hook than lyrics and songwriting. This happens all throughout the album; Fall Out Boy largely abandons their sound and style in favor of a more streamlined and more chart friendly sound like Panic! At The Disco's latest bland album. Unlike, say, Paramore a contemporary band, who maintained the majority of their style and softened their approach slightly, "American Beauty / American Psycho" sacrifices personality for vaguely catchy, production driven chart-bait, and frankly, there are bands with more personality and charisma to pull that off.
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Grade: C-
 My Reviews
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 6,144
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I know this is probably weird, but just a request we could review Katy's half-time performance? I know it's not an album/EP/single, but it could def attract more monsters people to this thread. 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 4/24/2011
Posts: 8,547
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Quote:
Originally posted by lostinparadise
I know this is probably weird, but just a request we could review Katy's half-time performance? I know it's not an album/EP/single, but it could def attract more monsters people to this thread. |
Err... no.
Honestly, TRF.
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 6,144
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Okay then..
Could we review Fifth Harmony - "Reflection" soon?
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 24,225
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Aren't those last three items down by now?
Time for Sugar! 
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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Quote:
Originally posted by chilicheese01
Time for Sugar! |
Sugar?
Yes please!
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 32,654
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Big, big update right now. Sugar starts, Vulnicura starts (because I recall there were 3 requests for that as well) and the three currently up end.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna, Kanye West, & Paul McCartney
Rihanna, Kanye West, & Paul McCartney | Roc Nation | Release Date: January 24, 2015 | Review Period: January 24, 2015 - February 2, 2015
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55 | Member Score
Mixed Reviews
based on 21 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
7.7 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 4 Top Critics |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The surprise release is widely speculated to be the lead single off of Rihanna's 8th album. | Record Label: Roc Nation
Genre(s): Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 11 | | d | ....iMixed: ████ 3 | | d | Negative: ██████████ 7 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 2 | | d | ....iMixed: ████████████████ 2 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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FourFiveSeconds results.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 46,848
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 32,654
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| Heartbeat Song - Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson | RCA | Release Date: January 12, 2015 | Review Period: January 22, 2015 - February 2, 2015
|  | dddddddddd
68 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 6 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
6.7 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 2 Top Critics |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The lead single from Clarkson's upcoming 7th album was produced by frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin | Record Label: RCA
Genre(s): Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 4 | | d | ....iMixed: ████ 1 | | d | Negative: ████ 1 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: ████████████████ 1 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Heartbeat Song results.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy | Island | Release Date: January 16, 2015 | Review Period: January 22, 2015 - January 31, 2015
|  | dddddddddd
71 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 8 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
4.2 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Mixed Reviews
based on 1 Top Critic |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The pop-rock band's sixth album continues their comeback and is supported by the single Centuries. | Record Label: Island
Genre(s): Pop-Rock |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 6 | | d | ....iMixed: ███ 1 | | d | Negative: ███ 1 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: 0 | | d | ....iMixed: ████████████████ 1 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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American Beauty/American Psycho results.
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Member Since: 3/21/2012
Posts: 55,134
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| Sugar - Maroon 5
Maroon 5 | Interscope | Release Date: January 13, 2015 | Review Period: February 2, 2015 - February 13, 2015
|  | dddddddddd
77 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 5 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
7.6 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 2 Top Critics |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The third single from V follows top 10 Hot 100 hits Maps and Animals, which reached #2 and #1 on pop radio respectively. | Record Label: Interscope
Genre(s): Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 4 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: ████ 1 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 2 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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*Unofficial*
| Vulnicura - Björk
Björk | One Little Indian | Release Date: January 20, 2015 | Review Period: February 2, 2015 - February 13, 2015
|  | dddddddddd
91 | Member Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 4 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
9.1 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 1 Top Critic |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: After a leak, Björk's 8th studio album was released approximately two months early. | Record Label: One Little Indian
Genre(s): Electro-pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 4 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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