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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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Troye Sivan — Blue Neighborhood
One of the great things about music is that it can be a symbol of its time. Historical events and social progress are documented in song, and these songs endure as markers of history. Songs by women like Aretha Franklin (“Respect”) or Tammy Wynette (“The Pill”) reflect the changes wrought by the early feminist movement, while albums from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to To Pimp a Butterfly are celebrated for documenting the “Black experience” in America.
The LGBT community cannot as easily look throughout history to find music by our people, or about our experiences. Our anthems—“I Will Survive,” “I'm Coming Out,” and beyond—were appropriated by the community, but never meant for it. The definitive songs about the AIDS crisis (“Streets of Philadelphia” and “In This Life”) both came from straight artists. Even in the 2010s, when there are more out artists than there have been at any other point in history, the best known songs regarding LGBT topics have come from straight or “bisexual” pop stars Macklemore and Lady Gaga.
Slowly, this is changing. Adam Lambert's 2012 album Trespassing offered campy songs about marriage equality, being an outsider, depression, differences and similarities, sex, and more. The album was generic and unsuccessful, but its gayness was blatant. Frank Ocean's 2012 debut Channel Orange made waves thanks to the revelation that it was inspired by his unrequited love for another man. Sam Smith's blockbuster debut In The Lonely Hour covered similar ground, but was intentionally written vaguely enough that listeners wouldn't necessarily realize that they were listening to “gay love songs.” Brandy Clark, on the other hand, wrote 12 Stories by inventing characters rather than addressing her experiences as a lesbian in a conservative genre.
All of this leads up to Troye Sivan, a twenty year old Australian YouTube star who delivered his debut Blue Neighborhood just weeks prior to the close of 2015. The album journeys through the mind of a gay millennial, with songs addressing growing up, coming out, young love, long distance relationships, and far more. Unlike Ocean or Smith, he didn't need to conveniently come out during the album promo campaign; he's already been out for a quarter of his life, and it shows in the lyrics.
Album highlight “Heaven” describes the struggle between sexuality and religion, but makes it clear that “If I'm losing a piece of me / maybe I don't want Heaven.” Fellow standout “Fools” is a standard love song, but its line “I see a little house on a hill and children's names” gives it greater depth when one considers that society is just now reaching a point where these dreams of domesticity are even a conceivable possibility for gay people. Opening track “Wild” is a joyful dedication to a relationship still in its infancy, when time spent together still makes your heart beat faster. Tracks “Bite” and “Too Good” are both moody, sensual sex songs—the first describing a virgin's first foray into a gay club, while the latter could address a first time. On a different note, highlights “Ease” and “Talk Me Down” both describe the comfort that comes from a relationship.
The album ventures beyond coming out (although “being out” might be more applicable in Sivan's case) to offer a set of songs about coming of age. Most notable is “Lost Boy,” where he sings, “I'm just some dumb kid trying to kid myself that I've got my sh— together.” On standard closer “Surburbia,” he comes to realize that he's “never letting go of surburbia” despite his attempts to “leave this blue neighborhood.”
Blue Neighborhood is more thematically relevant to my life than just about any other album that I've ever heard. It's an album that I wish that I had written myself, that I feel like I could have written myself. That doesn't make it perfect. The album's weakest point comes on “for him,” where an unfortunate rap verse drags down what is an otherwise enjoyable love song. Further, the album is almost too sonically cohesive, and some imagery becomes redundant (“blue” is used in five different songs, “swimming pools” and “wild” each in three songs). Troye tends to play it safe with his vocal performances, singing in a style that works well for him, but may become monotonous to some. However, these criticisms feel more like nitpicking rather than serious grievances, and Blue Neighborhood is ultimately, easily, my favorite record of 2015. I can only hope that in the future, more and more artists will stop hiding behind gender neutral pronouns and hetero-normative topics. We deserve to have our lives, our experiences, our histories documented in song just as other communities have always had—and young artists like Troye Sivan give me hope that this will happen.
Score: 91/100
Essential Listening- “Heaven”
- “Fools”
- “Wild”
- “Talk Me Down”
- “Ease”
- “Lost Boy”[
- “DKLA”
Achilles. Reviews
Albums
Songs
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 23,857
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Nice review Achilles
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 58,053
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I was gonna do a review of Blue Neighbourhood, but the other reviews are garbage
like... ew.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Quote:
Originally posted by EASE
I was gonna do a review of Blue Neighbourhood, but the other reviews are garbage
like... ew.
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well enlighten us with your well written, smart and unbiased review then
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 43,104
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Quote:
Originally posted by KillingYourCareer
well enlighten us with your well written, smart and unbiased review then
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I second this
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 16,101
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Ah! Work has been busy this week, but I'm going to have a lot of free time this weekend, I think.
I'll work on reviews for all 3. Someone wall post me on Sunday to remind me, please!
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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All three staying open for the time being.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 16,101
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Rachel Platten knows her demographic, and that was shown through the song choices on Wildfire. It contains a lot of cheesy songs like Better Place, Astronauts, and Superman. On the other hand, Rachel was also able to deliver some songs that I have absolutely loved, though, like You Don’t Know My Heart, Speechless, and the Congratulations. The latter song is Rachel’s most vulnerable song on the album, which is something the rest of the album tends to lack. She has so many lighthearted songs, that you don’t often get to connect with Rachel on a deeper level, which is her biggest flaw. She has some radio perfect songs, as well, like Fight Song, Stand By You, and potential future single, Hey Hey Hallelujah, featuring Andy Grammer.
Stand By You – This song is one of the highlights of the album, and is a great follow up to the monster debut of Fight Song. 8/10
Hey Hey Hallelujah – This song is a bop. It has a “Hot N Cold” lyrical vibe to it, with big horns in the production, which have been on trend lately, but she’s a little late to the trend overall. 7.5/10
Speechless – One of the best songs on the album, and seemingly looking to be the 3rd single. This song has great production, and a big chorus that will capture you immediately. 9/10
Beating Me Up – This song has a cute concept, but was one of my least favorites from the EP. Very middle of the road. 5/10
Fight Song – While this song contains many cringeworthy lyrics, it’s overall message was taken in by many people fighting their own battles, and that’s what music should do. It deserved all the success it received, even though it’s not that great of a song. 6.5/10
Better Place – Disney Princess Trash. 1/10
Lone Ranger – This lyrical content and melody of the verses is unparalleled on the album. It’s so quick and catchy you can’t help but to follow along the trail that Rachel blazes throughout the song. 8/10
You Don’t Know My Heart – This is the best song on the album, hands down. It has an interesting theme, and the instrumental absolutely screams smash. 9.5/10
Angels in Chelsea - Another cheesy song, but not as bad as a few others. The opening is very cool, and the overall production is wonderful. 7/10
Astronauts – Cute song. Not something I would listen to more than once. 3/10
Congratulations – This is the most emotional song on the album, and I wish the album went more in this direction. The sultry R&B vibe from this song is killer, and you can actually connect with Rachel on this song. 9/10
Superman – Another boring and cheesy song to close out the album. Deleted off my iTunes after one listen. 2/10
OVERALL SCORE: 6.3
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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We should do Rihanna's lead single
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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Quote:
Originally posted by KillingYourCareer
We should do Rihanna's lead single
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Forty Five Seconds is a year old though.
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Member Since: 4/22/2012
Posts: 33,490
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Quote:
Originally posted by Achilles.
Forty Five Seconds is a year old though.
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Work is the lead single
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Or let's do ANTi directly
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 20,654
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 19,167
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Let's do ANTi
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 16,101
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Rihanna
ANTi
9/10
Just when we had all lost our hopes, Rihanna surprised us with ANTi. In moments, a legend we all laughed about became reality. I had really low expectations on this album, which was re-recorded in a short time and anticipated by "Work", an underwhelming lead single. I still wonder what the original Kanye West-penned and produced ANTi sounded like, but it probably would've never come close to the one we got.
Let's start by saying that ANTi is Rihanna's most personal record to date. She was in charge of everything. She was the main writer on all songs but one, and she wasn't afraid to show off her Bajan accent. ANTi experiments with several genres and includes uptempos, midtempos and ballads, yet it sounds cohesive from beginning to end. The song transitions almost all work, and allow the listener to enjoy the album and go on listening after each song is over.
Finally, I must compliment myself with Rihanna for sounding genuine on every track. I was afraid she would come off as try-hard and forced, but instead what she gave to us was an album done her way, a work of her own creativity and talent.
| 1. Consideration
I'm pretty sure the song would've sounded much better as a solo track, but it's indeed a great album opener. Rihanna sounds confident and quite aggressive on the song that introduces us to ANTi. 7/10
2. James Joint
This is the only song that sounds out of place on the album. It's quite hypnotizing, but it has nothing to do with the track before, nor with the track that comes after. We could've lived without it, in other words. 2.5/10
3. Kiss It Better
Without a doubt one of the most memorable songs on the album, and completely single material. I love how it feels like in this song there are elements from all the four Rihanna albums released from 2009 to 2012. 9.5/10
4. Work
It's such a waste for Rihanna's voice. The instrumental is horribly weak. Only Drake's verse prevents this song from being completely flat. 4/10
5. Desperado
With this song, we've gone back to the Rated R times, as it's reminiscent of songs like "G4L" and "Te amo", yet providing a fresh and interesting sound. 8.5/10
6. Woo
An extremely polarizing song that for most will take a while to get used to. I find it to be the best example of experimentation on the album, with its strong and hypnotic music. 8/10
7. Needed Me
It took me a while to appreciate this song. At the beginning, I thought the music was too weak and the vocals badly produced, but in actual fact everything about it works fine. On the downside, the chorus is completely forgettable. 6.5/10
8. Yeah, I Said It
Rihanna's sexy voice on this interlude reminds me of "Skin", arguably one of her biggest masterpieces. 9.5/10
9. Same Ol' Mistakes
An extremely long song that doesn't sound boring or too long at all. Every second of it makes sense, and there should be no reason to shorten it. Rih's vocals are just as sexy as on the interlude preceding it. 8.5/10
10. Never Ending
Imagine laying down at the beach in an exotic place, or sitting in front of the fireplace, or just transcending to heaven. This song would be the best soundtrack, as it's so relaxed it would be able to loosen up the most nervous person. 10/10
11. Love on the Brain
The real masterpiece of the album, and the furthest Rih has ever gone from her safe zone. This song, which Rih sings perfectly with her beautiful and versatile voice, might've as well appeared on the best Amy Winehouse and Mariah Carey records. 10/10
12. Higher
An interlude that works perfectly as the outro to "Love on the Brain". The vintage music and the overdramatic vocals are exactly what Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz wanted to be but failed to become. 8/10
13. Close to You
Rihanna's album-closing ballads have always been eye-watering, and this one is no exception. It's no surprise that Rihanna's vocals are perfect for ballads, and this one is just as sweet as it gets. 9/10
14. Goodnight Gotham
The most useless thing ever. A short Florence Welch remix, basically. Rihanna's vocals aren't even remotely heard on it. 0/10
15. Pose
The album's quality seems to crumble as we listen to the deluxe tracks. This one, in particular, is pretty much a collection of random noises to which Rihanna sings lyrics that only Frankie Grande would appreciate. 1/10
16. Sex with Me
This sexy and catchy song sounds too much like an Unapologetic reject to be considered fitting into this quality album. 4.5/10 |
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Oh yeah get working on ANTI.
Troye, Rachel, and Cam end on Sunday night no matter how many reviews they get.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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ANTi
Rihanna
Review archive
Adele - 25
Adele - Hello
Selena Gomez - Revival
Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon
Carly Rae Jepsen - E·MO·TION
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
Madonna - Rebel Heart
Florence + The Machine - What Kind of Man
Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You
Taylor Swift - Style
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Rihanna's pop music dynasty is based on one simple principle: get the hottest singles the industry can offer, saturate the market with yearly albums, rinse and repeat. However, over the course of 2015, Rihanna released three rather middling singles, singles upon which her earlier albums would usually depend. Maybe one of the best things about ANTi – an album whose existence often came into doubt due to its enormous gestation period – is not so much in what it offers, but more in what it lacks. It’s her most cohesive and coherent record to date, one which doesn’t hinge on smash singles, a body of work by Rihanna we may confidently be able to call an album.
ANTi's manifesto is made deliberately clear on wonderful opening track, Consideration. For someone who rather encapsulates the past decade's sound of pop radio, Rihanna returns to rejoin the pop narrative: 'I got to do things / My own way darling.' Although ANTi isn't as dissenting as it probably wants to be, it's a fun step to hear Rihanna try and pursue, the terse summary of her career 'Let me cover your **** in glitter / I can make it gold, gold' being funnier and more effective than any of her previous #BadGal braggadocio, mainly because it's true.
Analogous to the way Rihanna's string of hits - for many people - carried the torch from Beyoncé, ANTi carries on this canon as Rihanna's own 4 or Self-Titled, which attempted to step away from the pop spotlight and reach for artistic integrity. Albeit not necessarily being the antithetical, revolutionary dynamite for a total artistic overhaul, Anti offers a somewhat interesting springboard for what may follow, and appears to be at least more genuine than its predecessors. It owes itself a lot to mid-tempo R&B-isms from Drake on Yeah, I Said It, PARTYNEXTDOOR on Drake collaboration Work, and Frank Ocean in the dreamy James Joint, but at least one may be able to assert that this is probably the music decided by Rihanna and not a Def Jam boardroom. This is something which shows in how comfortable she sounds, with amazing vocal performances on Consideration and Love On The Brain, although Higher isn’t quite there.
Same Ol’ Mistakes is probably more karaoke than it is a cover from Tame Impala’s Currents (pertinently another album focused on artistic reinvention), and thus feels rather moot given we could spend the six minutes listening to Parker’s version instead. However, in a way it offers a pretty funny subversion on the criticism that many of Rihanna’s earlier hits came to be solely from having her voice sing over a predetermined track. Thankfully, ANTi’s offering of Tame Impala over Sia is both a triumph for quality and maybe even idiosyncrasy, a hint that this is Rihanna’s album by nature and not just name.
ANTi is by no means an end, however. It’s no secret that this album probably assumed many different iterations during its conception, and had the album been released in five months time it would likely sound very different. ANTi is part of an ongoing journey for one of pop radio's biggest voices to find its feet in an increasingly disparate state of pop music. It’s not a finish point, but it’s a good start.
7.4 out of 10 |
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 15,103
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1. Consideration Most possibly the best Rihanna album opener yet. The instrumental is amazing, and Rihanna shines with ratchetness. Then comes SZA, a very pleasant surprise, their voices match perfectly together. 10/10
2. James Joint Before the album was released I was envisioning this would be a great transition from the urban part to the '45S' part. Ofcourse, things went a different way. That doesn't hurt James Joint at all, it's groovy and soulful and an amazing interlude. It serves a purpose 10/10
3. Kiss It Better Holy ****. That guitar intro alone>>>. It is a perfect representation of ANTi; soulful, a background of guitars, and ratchetness. Upon first listen I was speechless, great single material.10/10
4. Work Not gonna lie, it took me a time to appreciate this. It's really a grower, and Rih's verses at first were okay, but are getting better and better each listen. I love that she uses patois. Drake's verse feels a little bit lazy, but I love when they are harmonizing together. Overall solid track, but far from the best. 8.5/10
5. Desperado With Desperado, the mood for ANTi is fully cemented. It's a bad ass song, with a very strong instrumental. It sounds like Gaga's Americano and a Weeknd song with a badass Rihanna twist. Very strong. 9.5/10
6. Woo This song got the most 'hate' after the release, and I can somehow understand that. The song is not everyone's tea, but Woo is surprisingly strong. The lyrics, and the unique production is what make the song special. The mix of Rih's edited vocals and her real ones form an interesting combination. 9/10
7. Needed Me When I heard the DJ mustard intro at the beginning I was lowkey scared. His songs usually sound the same, Needed Me is an amazing exception. It reminds me of Unapologetic, but with the atmosphere of Anti added. It's an amazing urban song. 10/10
8. Yeah, I Said It Initially, I was thinking this would be the Get It Over With from ANTi. A great instrumental and good vocals, but rather boring. I was so wrong. It's a great slow jam, that reminds me of a more stripped back Skin. Rihanna's voice is super sexy. 10/10
9. Same Ol' Mistakes I'm getting high because of this, without smoking a joint . The whole song feels like an adventure thanks to the magical instrumental, and Rihannas vocals which perfectly match the song. A great cover, and I hope this also causes Tame Impala to earn more fans. 10/10
10. Never Ending After heavy ratchet songs, this is such an amazing song. It's really laidback and chill, and Rih's vocals are amazing. 10/10
11. Love On The Brain This is the closest to poprih from this album, and it's damn amazing. The vocals are just amazing, the song is groovy and soulful. An amazing deliverance of vocals. 10/10
12. Higher Higher was my most anticipated track off ANTi, and I was lowkey pissed that it was so short. That doesn't take away that the track has the best instrumental of all songs, and amazing vocals. Still, at the end of the song, I felt like I was waiting for the song to go on. 8.7/10
13. Close To You This song proves Rihanna's amazing voice for ballads. It's again an amazing ballad. Close To You is an amazing ballad to end the standard vision. Really solid. 9/10
14. Goodnight Gotham Okay this bitch I was hoping she would add something more. The song is a damn bop still, but this felt unnessecary for the album. 6.3/10
15. Pose A bop! Nothing to exceptional tho, but it's really enjoyable. 8/10
16. Sex With Me OH MY GOD Amazing way to end this album, while not the strongest song on the album, it's sexy and catchy. 9.5/10
ANTi might be her strongest and most cohesive work to date. It isn't regular Rihanna anymore, but feels like a transition from her other albums. With ANTi added, you can really see the diversity between all the albums. ANTi is strong on every field you want from an album. Speechless
SCORE: 9.6/10
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