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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 2/5/2014
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Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late
Drake opens his mixtape album, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" big: "When I pull up on a ***** tell that ***** back, back / I'm too good with these words, watch a ***** backtrack / If I die, all I know is I'm a motha****in' legend / It's too late for my city, I'm the youngest ***** reppin / Oh my God, oh my God / If I die, I'm a legend / Oh my God, oh my God / If I die, I'm a legend." Kendrick Lamar may have had his now infamous featured verse on Big Sean's "Control" that turned the music world on its head, it was a verse in which Kendrick called out just about every big rapper in that game (Drake included) and proclaimed he was coming to murder them, that led many rappers scrambling to respond to and top, but Drake never seemed to give any mind to Kendrick's challenge. Instead, Drake seemed to quietly focus on taking care to grow his sound and built up his hometown of Toronto, the 6.
The year-and-a-half since Drake's last album, Nothing Was The Same, and Kendrick's "Control" verse have been good to Drake: he's released free Soundcloud tracks that have gone from 0 To 100 real quick on the charts, becoming Top 40 hits; he's remixed songs from previously unknown artists, making them unlikely viral hits; he's seen words and phrases he's coined become a part of the vernacular; he's risen to the top of and slowly taken over the musical world (2 years ago on "5 AM Toronto" Drake himself observed that every song sounds like "Drake featuring Drake" and that still holds true today). All this leaves us with the Drake of "Legend." Legend is not Drake's "Control" verse though; it's his "If You're Reading This It's Too Late." If anyone tries to "murder" him, if he dies, he's a muther****in' legend; he knows it and wants everyone to be sure of this.
Dropped on a Friday with little advance warning, "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" caused initial confusion and uproar similar to Beyoncé's self-titled album. However, Drake's release caused more confusion: was it the mixtape he promised? Was it his new album? It was available on iTunes and Soundcloud simultaneously, but taken down from Soundcloud almost immediately. What was this release with the lazily scrawled, handwritten title? Was it really leftover material from his album, released to iTunes suddenly to finish up his Young Money/Cash Money contract?
Framing the mixtape as a collection of throwaway tracks that didn't make Drake's next album does the mixtape a great disservice. He said on "0 To 100/The Catch-Up," his Soundcloud release turned single released between Nothing Was The Same and If You're Reading This... " I'm only 27 and I'm only gettin' better / If I haven't passed you yet, watch me catch up now." If you're listening to the mixtape expecting clear pop structure you will be disappointed; but the mixtape pays off, especially with repeated listening. You can hear Drake working with and trying out different sounds and styles on the mixtape. There's the deathly funeral march of "Energy" and "Madonna," the frantic Donkey Kong sample on "6 God," the slow R&B of "Jungle," and most interestingly, the house remix of "Body Party" almost tossed off at the end of "Preach." However, despite the exploration in different sounds, the mixtape comes across as relatively cohesive and very Drake, even on the tracks that seem to reference other artists; the haunted "10 Bands" has a light eerie beat that recalls Clipping.'s "Work Work," but finds Drake rhyming about Toronto, worst behavior, and 6 Gods while "Company" uses barking dogs and a frozen, Yeezus-esque beat but finds Drake singing "I need some company, I need some company / I need you to take my mind off being in my prime" in a mellow, matter-of-fact way Kanye would never be able to pull off.
It's that mellow matter-of-fact way Drake conducts himself over the mixtape that gives it its greatest strength. Drake spends so much of the tape building up his version of the 6, the frozen-over version of Toronto that he seems to have rule over, that his version of Toronto seems to revolve around him and be inseparable. He does all his world building at a mostly glacial and frigid pace, only ever speeding things up on "6 God" (the only song that was released prior to the mixtape) and even then he raps at his own pace, bending the frantic double-time beat to fit his flow. The only other constant on the album, besides the near scripture like treatment of Toronto, is loneliness. The icy grip Drake has over his 6, has seemingly frozen out anybody he can relate to. He sings about needing company to take his mind off of being in his prime rather than for a human connection, he has someone else sing his loneliness on "Wednesday Night Interlude," he promises a conquest she can be "big as Madonna" by being associated with him, but offers little else to her in terms of a connection, and on "Now & Forever" realizing that once he leaves (his city? the Earth?) that there is no more to carry on--he's on his own and alone.
"If You're Reading This It's Too Late" has a focused singular vision. It sets up Drake as a man already at the top of the game. It sets up The 6 as the city that Drake rules over, the city that has been so dominated by Drake, it has essentially become Drake. It may not all come together at points, but it's a fascinating and cohesive listen that sets up a mythology for himself and his Views From The Six.
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Grade: A-
 My Reviews
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
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| Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson | RCA | Release Date: February 27, 2015 | Review Period: March 15, 2015 - March 28, 2015
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75 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 6 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
7.5 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 1 Top Critic |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The seventh album from Clarkson features lead single Heartbeat Song and was co-produced with frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin. | Record Label: RCA
Genre(s): Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 4 | | d | ....iMixed: ████████ 2 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
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To allow for more reviews to come in, Drake will now end on 3/20, which is when Florence + The Machine starts. Piece By Piece will now end on 3/28 instead of 3/27 because I started it so late tonight.
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Member Since: 5/22/2011
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I'm writing my 'Piece By Piece' review right now and I feel bad, maybe I'm too critical but it was a really tough listen. And I usually enjoy love Kelly. 
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Member Since: 5/22/2011
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Mezik's Music Review ♪♫
Kelly Clarkson
Piece By Piece
Kelly Clarkson's long awaited sixth studio album 'Piece By Piece' is of an interesting nature. The album succeeds in so many aspects, such as production value and vocal performance. However, it also fails, in great measures, lyrically and in sonic cohesion. Now you may be thinking "You just said the production is great, how can it fail in sonic cohesion?". Yes, the production is great when you look at each song individually. When you look at the big picture and look at the work as a whole the reality is the album is all over the place. You have your up-beat, dance tracks: 'Heartbeat Song', 'Dance With Me' and 'Second Wind' but than you find a mix of slow, authentic ballads: 'Run Run Run' and 'Piece By Piece' to having 90s pop: 'Nostalgic' to having a mixture of R&B/Soul-esque songs: 'I Had a Dream' and 'Bad Reputation'. Again, when looking at each song's production individually they all sound really great, except for 'Dance With Me', and ends up being one of the redeeming factors of the album. However they do not work at all when thrown together, and it is apparent.
Lyrically, this album contains some of the strongest tracks Kelly has ever wrote, and recorded. 'Piece By Piece' and 'Tightrope' highlight Kelly's growth as a songwriter, and affirms her position as being one of the most gifted writers out of today's main pop artist. These two songs also both express subjects that are relatable, and Kelly's vocal delivery in these songs easily emit the emotion you are suppose to feel when listening. Without a doubt the three Kelly co-writes, five if including the Deluxe Edition, are the strongest tracks on the album. Unfortunately though this album has more weak moments lyrically than strong, and the songs that fall short really do fall short. 'Let Your Tears Fall' and 'Invincible' sound like rejects that did not make the final cut for '1000 Forms of Fear' and should have never been offered to Kelly to record. It's not that they are bad per say, but they are boring and weak and almost feel like tracks that you would expect Demi Lovato to record to sing to her fan base of tweens, not a grown women who has a child and a husband. Another weak moment is the atrocious 'Dance With Me' which is possibly the most generically made song that I have heard in recent years. It just ends up becoming one big cheese-fest with too many cliches that make you cringe when listening to it.
Rest assured though, although some of the lyrics just are not that great, the production value of each song makes up for it. As well, her vocal delivery is impeccable on the album and the only think that will prevent the listener from skipping through the majority of the record. Also there are other gems to be found on the album with deep looking such as: 'Someone', 'War Paint' and 'Good Goes the Bye'. They may not be the best recordings by Kelly but they add some much needed life to the record, along with the album's Jimmy Eat World, knockoff, lead single 'Heartbeat Song'. In addition, if the listener can make it through the whole album - the two Deluxe Edition tracks, yes I am pretending Second Wind does not exist, 'Bad Reputation' and 'In The Blue' are pleasant treats to the ear that should have made the standard cut.
We know that Kelly Clarkson was pregnant while recording this album so she was limited to things that she wanted to do. However, it may have been in her best interest to hold off releasing an album until later when she had more time to write her own songs or perhaps cut the track listing down to nine or ten songs, all co-writes included, and keep the best of the batch selected. While this album will provide good use to her die-hard, loyal fan base it is relatively weaker compared to her previous releases and leaves the listener disappointed after a complete listen. Hopefully though this is just a mishap due to her pregnancy, and the next album she releases will be her giving 110% and more involved with the songwriting process.
Mezik's Score
5.1 / 10
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Member Since: 4/26/2012
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lucas32
As I've said in the review even if you want carefree fun pop there are lots of better alternatives than this.
For example I would've rated songs like Uptown Funk or We can't stop way higher than this and they are in the category of light pop music because they aren't generic to the point where it hurts.
The song is the epitome of cheap,predictable and boring pop.If this satisfies you then so be it but I except a little more,even from carefree pop music.
Oh and despite its shortcomings both ARTPOP and especially Electra Heart are miles better than this for a multitude of reasons since they have better vocals,more varied productions and better lyrics(although you can't compare one song to an album).Utimately even if the ambition behind these 2 albums was bigger than the final output the fact that they tried a little more with pop is worth more than this song.
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 Spot on ! I agree 100%
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Imagine Dragons - Smoke + Mirrors
Imagine Dragons found mainstream success with their alternative rock debut, Night Visions, which was released in 2012. With nearly half of that album being produced by Alex Da Kid, the band managed to create an enjoyable listen that mixed electronic sounds, electric guitars, and big drums.
On their follow-up, Smoke + Mirrors, the band seemed to take most of the composition and production into their own hands. Alex has only two production credits on "Gold" and "Dream." The end result is a mishmash of musical genres and quality.
On their debut, the group managed to write choruses that were grand enough to appeal to alt-rockers, but restrained enough to garner radio play (see: "Radioactive" and "Demons"). This time around, the group goes all the way; "Friction" features middle eastern influences and small electronic hits and is complete with a short outro of Dan Reynolds screaming over a wave of guitars. Similarly large in sound is "I'm So Sorry" which features a terribly boring instrumental with Reynolds saying something about his stepfather in the chorus. (There's an out-of-place piano bit in the bridge of this track to let us know that Dan isn't totally angry all the time.) In terms of genre, the music is all over the place; on some tracks, they borrow from the electronic realm, while lead single "I Bet My Life" is influenced by folk and gospel music. At live shows, it'll sound great, but on these studio recordings, it can become tiresome and jarring.
However, the grandiosity of Imagine Dragon's music isn't the only tiresome piece of this record. Dan has been very open about his battle with depression, and it is evident in his lyricism. On opener "Shots," he's doubtful ("Am I out of place?", "I'm gonna mess this up") and apologetic ("I'm sorry for everything I've done"). On "Gold," he laments the trust issues that come along with fame ("Now you can't tell the false from the real/Who can you trust?"); a similar attitude toward reality is tackled on "Smoke + Mirrors" and basically the rest of the album. For some of these tracks, it feels like you get inside Dan's mind ("I'm a reckless mistake" and "I'm a come on too strong"). It's nice that his experiences are influencing his work, and for that, the listener knows that there is some true emotion and integrity in the music. A few tracks where Dan reflects on himself would be fine, but he sounds like a sad, contemplative man most of the time here, and it begins to rub off after a while.
Strangely, some of the slower moments on Smoke + Mirrors are the best. Although "Dream" doesn't sound uplifting, Dan sings with enough conviction to make us believe he's hopeful and headed in the right direction (the strings on this song are also amazing). "Summer" features a sick bass line, cymbal hits, and hand claps to create a great effect of breeziness, with some uplifting lyrics ("Open up your eyes/Open up your mind/Fall in love with what you're meant to be"). "The Fall" closes the album out on a similarly positive note about accepting change. (See, Dan actually isn't down in the dumps all the time!) Although "Shots" and "Gold" feature dreary lyrics, they are some of the best tracks in terms of music. "Shots" creatively mixes bright synths and guitar and features a chorus that would sound right at home on mainstream radio, while "Gold" contains moody synths and a yelp that wouldn't sound out of place on Kanye West's Yeezus.
However, Smoke + Mirrors is a flawed record. There are some purely enjoyable moments ("Shots," "The Fall") and some songs where you don't totally feel bogged down by Dan's attitude ("Dream," "Summer"), but most of the album falls flat and feels too bombastic for its own good. If you have the patience to give the bonus tracks a couple of spins, you'll find "Thief," a hidden gem. The irresistible chorus, which is highlighted by crashing drums and guitars that could light up the night sky, hits much harder than any self-reflective ramblings or mindless screaming ever could.
Skip to: "Shots," "Dream," "Summer," "Thief"
Skip: "Smoke + Mirrors," "I'm So Sorry," "Friction," "Trouble"
2.5/5
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
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Kelly Clarkson - Piece by Piece
Kelly's last two studio albums were pretty successful; Stronger held one of the biggest hits of her career, while Wrapped in Red had decent sales for a Christmas album. On her seventh effort, Piece by Piece, Greg Kurstin handled most of the production. He had previously worked on a few tracks on Stronger and produced all of Wrapped in Red, so it's safe to say that the duo work well together.
The new album is more of the same from Clarkson. It is predominantly pop/rock, but this time around, most of the songs favor synths over electric guitars. "Heartbeat Song" was the first taste of Piece by Piece, and it's a bit underwhelming. It doesn't feature the punchy guitars of "Since U Been Gone" or the rousing synths of "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)." Instead, it merely bounces along; it's a lead single that feels even safer than "Catch My Breath."
Unfortunately, a decent chunk of the album feels the same. "Invincible" (one of two Sia-written songs) follows such trite themes of self-empowerment that not even Clarkson's wonderful voice can save it. "Take You High" features an orchestrated chorus and a mystifying melody before sinking into an ocean of synths and sounds from Clarkson that are totally indiscernible. "Dance with Me" is one of the only tracks that is actually danceable (surprise!), but it ultimately feels mundane as Clarkson desperately begs for a dancing partner. The ballads on here, "Someone," "Run Run Run," and "Tightrope" are beautiful, though they can feel a tad boring.
Lyrically, the album succeeds for the most part. "I Had a Dream," written by herself, considers the social issues that still exist in today's generation, while "Let Your Tears Fall" speaks about the importance of openness and acceptance. A few rough spots do pop up, such as "Invincible"'s aforementioned theme and a few cringe-worthy lines ("Drip goes the sink" from "Good Goes the Bye"). Some bits of the album send mixed signals: the album highlight "Piece by Piece" was written by herself and inspired by her relationship with her husband and the rest of her family, while "War Paint" and "Nostalgic" are about relationships that didn't work. Despite this, those two latter tracks prove to be hook-laden jams that are definite single choices if Piece by Piece has the legs for it.
Piece by Piece is another above average effort from Clarkson, but she still fails to knock it out of the park. The first half of the album is dragged down by a poor tracklisting that pushes many of the midtempos and ballads to the front. In addition, some of the songs are predictable in terms of both lyrics and production. Thankfully, her powerful voice is able to grant some life to the album as a whole, saving it from total mediocrity.
Skip to: "Piece by Piece," "War Paint," "Nostalgic," "Bad Reputation"
Skip: "Take You High," "Dance With Me," "In the Blue"
3/5
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Member Since: 5/9/2009
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Kendrick Lamar'a new album (To Pimp a Butterfly) just unexpectedly drop today on iTunes and I like to review it soon so can you squeeze the album onto your schedule or no? Also, I'm going to review Imagine Dragons' and Drake's album soon hopefully before the deadline. Got to listen to it again.
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
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When Imagine Dragons made it big with their super smash Radioactive many, including myself, believed them to be a one hit wonder not necessarily success wise but quality wise.But we were proven wrong when Night Visions turned out to be a nice indie rock album that embraces pop in a full on way without losing a certain edge and delivered multiple songs such as Amsterdam that don't need to hide behind Radioactive.The epic choruses and Dan's emotional delivery made their LP debut a sweet and easy listen that still satifies almost 3 years after.
2015, they are back with their sophomore effort which has already been preceded by 3 singles including Gold, Shots and I Bet My Life caught my attention in a major way.With songs like the title track or Dream the album still harbours epic choruses and emotionally gripping songs.But even though Smoke + Mirrors offers much of the same, at the same time it shows clear signs of the band's attempts to step out of their comfort zone and mix different genres and influences into one album. Frictions features and oriental sounding instrumental,the vocals on I'm so sorry sound like they are from a mid 90s grunge song and overall the album features a much more electronic sound with songs like Shots or the already mentioned Friction having heavy synthesizers mixed into the rock instrumentals.The album's biggest weakness is probably the fact that often it is too epic and overblown for its own good.
Final Say: As a whole Imagine Dragons by no means suffered from a sophomore slump as the album is about as good as their debut but it takes more spins to get into some of the songs.On top of that obvious fillers like Trouble make it not as cohesive as their debut but Imagine Dragons proved themselves as a band that is not to be reduced to their signature sound and sounds capable of delivering many more great indie pop-rock songs in the future.
On a sidenote the deluxe version is worth getting because Who You Are and Monster are better than most songs on the actual record.
Best tracks: Gold,Who You Are,Monster and Smoke + Mirrors
6,7/10
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 43,104
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Heartbeat Song: Clarkson and her promotional team have both admitted that Heartbeat Song was birthed in order to re-introduce Clarkson to pop radio after Catch My Breath, but even then "Heartbeat" is a big disappointment. Solid verses, but the chorus and bridge are abysmal. This single had to be stuck on the album, but an opening position is deceitful as to what the rest of the album has to offer. 3/10
Invincible: A soaring power ballad. The album is quickly back on track. 8/10
Someone: A melody that sounds strikingly similar to Animal by Kesha. It's an uneventful song, but it still feels worthy enough to be on the album. It's somber enough to attract some fans. 6.5/10
Take You High: A sea of synths propel Clarkson to her most legitimate EDM sound yet. Crescendoing drums in the pre-chorus lead to disconnected syllables flying high above synths and accented down beats. Unfortunately though, it feels slightly unfinished. 7.5/10
Piece By Piece: Piece By Piece definitely deserves to name Clarkson's 7th studio album. Beautiful sentiment, harmonies and phrasing along with a strong drum line create a powerful Because of You sibling. Clarkson takes stabs at her father while praising her husband's love towards herself and her daughter. Clarkson sounds proud and restored and heartbroken all at once. It's a fascinating track that commands the attention of the listener. One of the highlights of Clarkson's songwriting career. 10/10
Run Run Run (feat. John Legend): A somber piano introduces a rather interesting opening line for Clarkson: "I wonder how your body tastes." Well. That's an unusual line from America's sweetheart. Clarkson and Legend sound great together, with their airy and beautiful vibratos matching perfectly. They share the same ideas in terms of phrasing and delivery, which makes Run Run Run an even more beautiful song. The final chorus brings a stormy drum and guitar line into the mix, leading to a dark and stunning finale. 10/10
I Had a Dream: Clarkson sounds like a rebellious leader here: "I had a dream that we were born a generation to behold." This deep in the album, it's either standout or be filler, but Dream fits somewhere in the middle of those categories. It's far different from any other sounds on the album, and it's definitely good, but it's not the magnum opus either. 7.5/10
Let Your Tears Fall: Clarkson sounds forgiving, an unusual sound for a woman who has taken a lot of pride in being "Miss Independent." This Sia penned track sounds distinctly Clarkson, with an addictive Coldplay-esque post-chorus. 8/10
Tightrope: A piano and string song brings a halt to the albums pace. The theme begs for a beautiful music video with tightrope and all, but Tightrope seems to fall off slowly and dramatically, especially compared to the rest of the album so far. 6/10
War Paint: A title like war paint just screams "standout track," but War Paint is anything but that. It sounds unfinished, with gaps in the production creating a lackluster dance track. Props for the idea and theme, but other than that "Paint" brings no new colors to the album. 6/10
Dance With Me: The first truly successful dance-pop track of the album. Dance With Me could have easily found its way on to Taylor Swift's 1989 with its pulsing synths and catchy cuplet "When the music starts and the lights go down / We will all be found." The calls of "Come on and dance with me" are cute enough to be used at high school proms across the globe. Potential single right here, but it will likely be overlooked. 8/10
Nostalgic: Funnily enough, Nostalgic brings in some genuine 80's nostalgia. The melody at points sounds dangerously close to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, but that fantastic chorus convinces you to overlook this flaw. "Nostalgic" will probably remain safe as an album track, but an album highlight regardless. 10/10
Good Goes the Bye: The lyrics are pretty cheesy with its lines like "drip goes the sink." Good Goes the Bye simply lacks the muster to effectively close the standard edition of the album. This slow burner just screams filler. 5/10
Bad Reputation: The plucky synthesizers that litter the album are thrown out for this jazzy bonus track. Reputation sounds genuine, Clarkson finally makes a return to her sassy past, delivering some of the best vocals of the album with growls and signature upper belts. 7/10
In the Blue: Clarkson's falsetto is front and center here, leaving In the Blue to be a dreamy and addictive synth track. This would have made a much better closer than Good Goes the Bye. 8/10
Second Wind: A chanting chorus sends off the deluxe edition of the album. This is a decent closer that fits Clarkson's growing catalog of anthems, but doesn't blow any of them out of the water. A sure-fire sing along for Clarkson fans, but a non-event for those just listening through. 7/10
Clarkson has long been accused of riding a generic pop-rock train throughout her career, but Piece by Piece shows her taking the first stop off. There's a staggering lack of gritty electric guitars on her past records and a large amount of wavy synths. From the sassy funk of "Bed Reputation," the orchestral "Invincible" and the 80s dance-pop "Nostalgic," Piece by Piece doesn't sit still, it's too busy bursting with curiosity and energy. At this point in her career though, Clarkson has seemed to master the art of reigning in this curiosity, learning where to let her ideas roam and where to hold them tight.
Piece by Piece isn't flawless, but it shows tremendous artistic growth and understanding from an artist who has often been criticized for her high quantities of filler. "Piece by Piece" shows a more mature Clarkson, one who is learning how to control an incredibly diverse mind and pair it with her incredible voice.
7/10
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
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First review and I know I'm an atrl newbie so don't shoot me  Sorry if it's a bad review or it can't be taken as seriously cus my post count is so low but I was bored so yeah...
Imagine Dragons - Smoke + Mirrors
Shots - Interesting opening, the instrumental and the vocals go well together but the song sounds incredibly overdone; so it's not exactly the most intriguing start to an album. (4/10)
Gold - Another interesting opening although the vocals almost seem to ruin the flow of the song; especially with the overly repetitive chorus - still an improvement on the opener which is hopeful. (5/10)
Smoke + Mirrors - Quite a boring track with an odd pre-chorus section that again makes the song seem so disjointed. (3/10)
I'm so Sorry - Yet again a promising opening but this time it isn't ruined by Dan's vocals. Most interesting track so far, just as I was getting bored. The tone of the lyrics seem so unapologetic and the guitar solo is an interesting surprise to the
end. (7/10)
I Bet My Life - Another enjoyable opening; with an uplifting sound but this again suffers from a weaker chorus - still nice nonetheless (6/10)
Polaroid - Cute but incredibly replaceable, with a pretty cringey metaphor on love (4/10)
Friction - Loving the industrial vibe here; sounds awkward at first but it works, probably the stand-out track with its infectious production and instrumentation (7/10)
It comes back to you - A peaceful tune but slightly filler (5/10)
Dream - Another slower track, not particularly adding anything (4/10)
Trouble - Yet another filler I guess, but it's not too dreadful (5/10)
Summer - An upbeat and optimistic track that again seems to be on the same filler pattern as before, the closing 30 seconds or so are cute though (5/10)
Hopeless Opus - I love the name of the track (even if it seems like a very forced rhyme to use the word Opus) and the change in sound from the previous few tracks, although it still doesn't manage to excite much, or else I'm expecting too much from a band that try to straddle two genres without excluding the other. (5/10)
The Fall - The lyrics here are touching and it's a good closer; (7/10)
Overall, the album was as expected and of the same calibre of Night Sisions, a few good tracks intermingled with a lot of filler, you can see their attempt to display a wide range of styles but unlike acts such as Muse where it works perfectly (eg. The Resistance), here it seems a lot more forced and weaker. Even where there are good tracks I don't think the album is worth the listen as a whole.
Score: 5/10
(+) I'm so Sorry, Friction, The Fall
(-) everything else to be honest
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
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Let's review that Froot album.
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Member Since: 3/7/2012
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Piece by Piece - Kelly Clarkson
It's been a long time since Kelly Clarkson's victory in American Idol. Almost 13 years to be precise. She came through "From Justin to Kelly and "Miss Indepedent" to become Grammy-coronated global star with hits like "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You", through wars with her label and commercial failure to come back swinging with "My Life Would Suck With You" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)". Her first decade of career, a decade of enormous success and miserable fiascos and controversies, was rounded up by "Greatest Hits - Chapter One". After Christmas album "Wrapped In Red", a few guest appearences on other artists' songs and tough pregnancy, Kelly's "chapter two" begins.
How does it sound? Surprisingly good. Kelly teamed up with producers Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin and Jason Halbert who all she worked with on her previous albums. The result is cohesive yet colourful sound. Kelly wrote only five songs on the album (three on the standard version, another two bonus tracks) but that doesn't ruin anything, as the rest of the songs are written by great songwritters - Kurstin, Shatkin, Sia Furler, Kara Dioguardi, Bonnie McKee, Audra Mae, Shane McAnally, MoZella and many others. This all is decorated by Kelly's anything-you-can-belt-I-can-belt-better vocals. Does this make "Piece by Piece" one of this decade's best pop albums? Very likely.
After the lead single "Heartbeat Song" you maybe was about to say that nothing really changed. It's good ol' Kelly with another catchy song which is a little bit generic and safe and her pop rock style is still present. So, as the sound doesn't bring anything new, it's surely the theme that does, right? Not really, it's pretty much the same thing she already explored in "My Life Would Suck Without You" or in her country single "Don't Rush". So how is this song "new Kelly"? It isn't really but the rest of the album is.
In the moment when the endless "up up up up all night long" finally ends, a whole new sound starts. It all begins with "Invincible", a powerful ballad-like song about empowerment and inner strenght with even more powerful vocals which - especially during the final chorus - will make your jaw drop. It is followed by "Someone", one of the album's most emotional, although it might seem incomplete because of its lack of bridge or at least final chorus. Track #4, "Take You High", starts as ballad comprising of Kelly's fragile vocals and strings and then unexpectedly explodes in huge dance breakdown. This is the most experimental song on the album and in Kelly's career but the risk definitely payed off.
The following song is the title track. "Piece by Piece" is the first song on the tracklist written by Kelly and it is a speech towards Kelly's father who left her, culminating into Kelly's ode her husband who "restored her faith that a man could be kind and a father could stay". Although lyrics-wise it sounds like "Because of You" 2.0, musically it is rather an uplifting mid-tempo track. The next song is "Run Run Run", Kelly's duet with John Legend. This dark haunting song that starts as piano ballad later explodes into huge orchestral instrumental solo. The vocals of both Kelly and John are so subtle, fragile and clear and make perfect harmonies. I'm afraid Kelly will have even harder time finding collaboration partners now because it won't be easily to match the greatness of this duet.
The following trio could be seen as some kind of interlude. "I Had a Dream" expresses Kelly's disgust of today's generation and features a gospel-like chorus. But you ain't gonna like it if some of the things Kelly criticizes fit you. "Let Your Tears Fall" is the second song on the album written by Sia. It's a great uplifting song but the truth is that it is a bit forgettable on an album like "Piece by Piece". The last member of the trio is a fragile piano ballad "Tightrope". It's a beautiful song but it has the same problem as "Let Your Tears Fall" has - it pales in comparison to the majority of the album.
The following songs are a dream that came true for everyone whole ever longed for dance Kelly. It all starts with the energic "War Paint" to continue with David Bowie-esque "Dance With Me" and end with lovely nostalgic "Nostalgic". This combo proves that music that invites you to the dancefloor is another genre that Kelly successfully conquered, although these three songs might feel a bit inappropriate on this album after the from ballads to mid-tempo first half of it. The standard edition of the album ends with "Good Goes the Bye" which makes a decent closing track but don't expect anything more from it.
And the bonus tracks? First there is the sassy "Bad Reputation" that reminds us of Kelly's soulful career beginnings. Although it would fit nicely her previous albums "All I Ever Wanted" or "Thankful", on "Piece by Piece" it is sonically pretty much out of place. The next bonus track is "In The Blue". Although it sounds like a Pokémon game soundtrack at the beginning, it becomes an ethereal masterpiece. The last track "Second Wind" is a catchy empowerment anthem ŕ la "People Like Us" or "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and its lyrics about coming back strong everytime other people write you off describe well Kelly's career which currently catches its approximately fourth or fifth wind and are perfect for the beggining of Kelly's "chapter two".
Despite this all there are several things that you might not like about "Piece by Piece". One is that the album's overall sound is colourful enough to be sometimes considered too much, even incohesive. Another is that Kelly more or less abandonned her signature pop rock sound for which she was for years labelled as unable to musically develop and for which she is dragged now because she let it go. Another thing is that some songs on the album might seem a bit incomplete (most notably "Someone" and "Tightrope") while other ones overcombined (for example "War Paint"). Some of the songs also start or end all of sudden and don't give you any time to breathe in, breathe out before the next song starts. The last thing is that if you're looking for instant smash hits, you'll probably have to stick with "Heartbeat Song" because this album might sound quite bland for the first, second, third listen before you finally start to discover its different layers, its depth and its beauty.
Best tracks: Invincible, Someone, Take You High, Piece by Piece, Run Run Run
Track you might like to skip: War Paint, Good Goes the Bye
87/100
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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I'll second FROOT and To pimp a butterfly.
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Member Since: 12/30/2010
Posts: 1,954
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lucas32
I'll second To pimp a butterfly.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 3/18/2009
Posts: 35,164
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sazare
Where "Call Me Maybe"'s "maybes" serve to tone down the preceding words' directness as a come-on, "I Really Like You" uses "really" for emphasis, for assurance that while "this isn't love," it's the next best thing.
Set to a pitter-patter of padded '80s drums, the song, with its barrage of "really"s, perfectly mirrors the frantic, giddy nature of crushing, where no number of fancy scripted words will suffice, where every feeling seems to gush out all at once in an uncontrollable bout of logorrhea.
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I love this.
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Originally posted by Lucas32
A 69 for this Carly song 
It's funny how people think that extremely low reviews are troll reviews completely disregarding the reasons  |
It wasn't the low score, it was the lack of any effort to consider the song seriously. "Ew Carly Rae Jepsen" is not a review.
And then you think we're crazy for enjoying something that literally every music critic is head over heels for.
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 24,225
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Quote:
Originally posted by supaspaz
I love this.
It wasn't the low score, it was the lack of any effort to consider the song seriously. "Ew Carly Rae Jepsen" is not a review.
And then you think we're crazy for enjoying something that literally every music critic is head over heels for.
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There's really no point in arguing or trying to change people's opinions on this site (and in this thread). Especially after seeing how some stans of artists overrate new albums that clearly don't live up to that artist's best work, it's obvious that most of the reviews are influenced by some amount of bias, whether it's negative or positive. The best thing to do is just listen for the music itself, share your own opinion, and provide as much evidence to support your claims. Even I am not "musically intelligent" or well-rounded, but some of the opinions on this site are pretty ridiculous. For example, in the current thread about the best album of each year, I seriously can't believe some people really choose The Fame and Circus for 2008, but so be it. 
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 3/18/2009
Posts: 35,164
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Quote:
Originally posted by chilicheese01
There's really no point in arguing or trying to change people's opinions on this site (and in this thread). Especially after seeing how some stans of artists overrate new albums that clearly don't live up to that artist's best work, it's obvious that most of the reviews are influenced by some amount of bias, whether it's negative or positive. The best thing to do is just listen for the music itself, share your own opinion, and provide as much evidence to support your claims. Even I am not "musically intelligent" or well-rounded, but some of the opinions on this site are pretty ridiculous. For example, in the current thread about the best album of each year, I seriously can't believe some people really choose The Fame and Circus for 2008, but so be it. |
We can have different opinions about music, but the dismissiveness bothers me. What's the point of reviewing a song if you're not going to give it a serious listen and then offer a genuine assessment of its merits?
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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Quote:
Originally posted by supaspaz
I love this.
It wasn't the low score, it was the lack of any effort to consider the song seriously. "Ew Carly Rae Jepsen" is not a review.
And then you think we're crazy for enjoying something that literally every music critic is head over heels for.
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Quote:
Originally posted by supaspaz
We can have different opinions about music, but the dismissiveness bothers me. What's the point of reviewing a song if you're not going to give it a serious listen and then offer a genuine assessment of its merits?
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I'm so tired of justifying that review.I did not post "ew Carly" or anything of that sort, nor did I say anyone who enjoys the song is crazy, nor do I care if that song is acclaimed.Could I have elaborated more on my review?Surey, but I saw no point as there is nothing interesting about the song to me so why drag it out for no reason?Fact is my review gave my honest opinion on the song and gave my reception of it and that's it.If there was a single redeeming factor I would'Ve mentioned it but there isn't.
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Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late
After the massive success of Nothing Was The Same everyone was anticipating his follow up titled Views from the 6 which is also scheduled to be released later this year.
Instead Drake surprised everyone with the release of his fourth mixtape If you're reading this it'd too late which was surprise released via ITunes.
The album opens up rather uneventfully with Legend that, as the title suggest, has Drake proclaiming himself as a legend in case of his death.The smooth beat flows nicely but Drake's delivery and the hook have hardly any replay value. Luckily the album picks up afterwards with Energy, 10 Bands or 6PM in New York which feel like a great continuation of his previous LP but with a somewhat similiar but at the same time slightly different sound.As a whole the album sounds very similiar to Nothing Was The Same but something about the production seems different and more sophisticated but equally as cohesive. Lyrically Drake hasn't changed much although I find the lyrics on this record to be a less sappy than some of the lyrics on his previous records. He still finds himself bragging about his success(duh),reminiscing about love and the 6, so not much has changed although Drake sounds more mature and experienced about all these things.The biggest letdown about the record is that it doesn't offer the same replay value Nothing Was The Same Did because some of the songs fly by or drag on in not necessarily the best way, which I think is mostly thanks to some boring flows and not enough switch-ups on songs like Madonna or Legend.
But there are also staright up bangers like Company or perfect relaxing songs like Jungle.
Final Say: When the LP dropped there were rumour had it that it was merely released to get Drake out of his current contract and it consists mostly of B-Sides and unused tracks.While I can't say for sure whether this is true I can surely say If You're Reading This It's Too Late does not feel like it was lumped together for no reason. The album sounds cohesive and it has no problem standing next to Drake's previous releases even though it sometimes drags on and doesn't connect with me like his last LP did.
Best tracks:Energy,10 Bands,6PM In New York,You & The 6
7/10
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