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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Rachel Platten - Wildfire
*Unofficial*
Members
Score 47
2 reviews (1 positive, 1 negative)
Top Critics
Score 22
2 reviews (2 negative)
Overall Score
34.0
4 reviews (1 positive, 3 negative)
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Cam - Untamed
*Unofficial*
Members
Score 80
2 reviews (2 positive)
Top Critics
Score 73
1 review (1 positive)
Overall Score
77.3
3 reviews (3 positive)
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 43,104
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
Rachel Platten - Wildfire
*Unofficial*
Members
Score 47
2 reviews (1 positive, 1 negative)
Top Critics
Score 22
2 reviews (2 negative)
Overall Score
34.0
4 reviews (1 positive, 3 negative)
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Justice has been served.
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Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 5,766
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Poor Rachel. Oh well, she doesn't really deserve more.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 16,101
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Good thing I didn't bother reviewing Troye, or his weave would have been tugged a bit....
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Member Since: 8/15/2012
Posts: 6,964
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When's the deadline for 'ANTI'? I'm prepping my strongest review yet with some light on points brought in ****** reviews by music elitists/prejudiced people (Mixed publication reviews, some people at RYMs, theneedledrop, etc).
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Member Since: 8/6/2015
Posts: 25,600
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
Rachel Platten - Wildfire
*Unofficial*
Members
Score 47
2 reviews (1 positive, 1 negative)
Top Critics
Score 22
2 reviews (2 negative)
Overall Score
34.0
4 reviews (1 positive, 3 negative)
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Poor Rachel, her album is objectively very poor quality even though I enjoy some songs 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 11,976
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Rachel
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Member Since: 5/22/2011
Posts: 21,227
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Rachel got too high of a score. 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 4/24/2011
Posts: 8,547
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So, this week we're doing Anti, This Is Acting and Blackstar? Please.
Honestly, TRF.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Sia
This Is Acting
5/10
Sia doesn't like her songs rejected by other artists going to waste, so she decided to dedicate an album to them. The idea, a clear intent at having easy eats by going pop with an excuse, doesn't translate into the quality of her past work (and ironically, it wasn't as successful as the lest poppish 1000 Forms of Fear). The album turns out to be a quite bland collection of songs about self-empowerment, love and parties with rather uninspired and basic lyrics. Again, this is understandable, since almost none of these songs were meant for Sia herself.
The record has its high and lows, with some songs that are completely forgettable and some others that offer a fresh and interesting sound. "Move Your Body" might be your typical party song, but its rhythm is contagious and as catchy as it gets, and "Reaper", the interesting Kanye West collab, is no less infectious. A quality production can be found on "Broken Glass", a song more in the We Are Born Sia style. On the other hand, "One Million Bullets", an extremely turgid song surprisingly written specifically for the album, and "Unstoppable", which is probably the weakest attempt at an empowerment anthem I've ever heard, clearly show the weaknesses of This Is Acting.
 | 1. Bird Set Free
An interesting album opener. Certainly not the strongest track ever, but I like how Sia sounds melanchonic yet confident on this self-empowerment song. 7/10
2. Alive
Clearly written to fit Adele's voice, this song is performed superbly by Sia, who gets more emotional than ever on the last minute of the song. 8/10
3. One Million Bullets
A pretty bland and forgettable song that sounds like it could be included near the end of a Katy Perry album to fill it up. Ironically enough, it's the only song on the record that wasn't written for someone else. 1.5/10
4. Move Your Body
The strong chorus and the infectious base make this song one of the highlights of the album. 10/10
5. Unstoppable
This song is basically the opposite of the one before: a terrible excuse for an empowerment anthem. The definition of filler in one track. Lyrics wise, it's of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life. I can't believe it's Sia's work. 0/10
6. Cheap Trills
It's quite weird to hear a song like this being sung by Sia. It's different from the rest of her discography, which makes it really interesting actually. 8.5/10
7. Reaper
Very interesting collaboration between Sia and Kanye West. The unusual pair managed to create an original song with a slightly retro sound. 8/10
8. House on Fire
The chorus is really the only part of this song that is remotely enjoyable. The vocals are too weak and shaky, and they get completely overshadowed by the music. 4/10
9. Footprints
This track sounds like an even more bland outro to "House on Fire". The two songs are very similar, and both completely flat. 1.5/10
10. Sweet Design
Probably the weirdest song on the album. Who could it have been for? Good music, but very forgettable all together. 5/10
11. Broken Glass
Near the end of the album, we found an amazing, emotional, original and fresh-sounding track. Her voice, which has sounded flat for the last few tracks, finally comes back to life with all its emotions. 9/10
12. Space Between
Despite having some of the best vocals of the album, this song never takes off. You're always expecting something to happen, but its stays flat for all its five minutes of length. 3.5/10
13. First Fighting a Sandstorm
Much more interesting than most standard tracks, both music and lyrics wise. I love how fun the pre-chorus sounds and then how serious she gets in the chorus. 8/10
14. Summer Rain
Nothing more than just another rather forgettable filler thrown on the exclusive version of the album. 4.5/10 |
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Can we do Charlie Puth's album too 
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 15,103
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I want to do PILLOWTALK 
Also Charlie Puth 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 4/24/2011
Posts: 8,547
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Ok, I finished my Blackstar review, so I'm gonna post it anyway.  Will do Anti and This Is Acting soon too.
David Bowie - 'Blackstar' --- (9.4)
I must admit that David Bowie wasn’t really a strong… I guess, figure? For me, until 2012, the year where I really started to care about music that was more and more leftfield. And it took mme a while to realise that, nearly every musician I was a big fan of had been influenced or inspired by Bowie at some point, by his artistry, his personality, his approach to Rock music, everything. 2013′s ‘The Next Day’ , was the first album he released after I started to get into his music, and while it probably idn’t blew my mind, in the same way, say, ‘”Heroes”’ did, I was still impressed.
So, yes, I was definitely excited when I heard he was going to release a new album in 2016, specially after hearing the title track, a 10-minute-long space odyssey, with many different sections and dark lyrics with references to the occult, fame and death. Even more when I found out that it was, supposedly, inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s opus ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ , IDM duo Boards of Canada (!!), and Sacramento noise-rap group Death Grips (out of all things!!!!), as well as jazz music.
The first time I heard ‘Blackstar’ was literally the moment it came out, on Spotify. I was impressed, since it was probably the weirdest and darkest he had sounded in decades, which, to me is obviously a good thing. But, after his death, on January 10th (literally two days after his album came out), the lyrics, as well as the music videos accompanying the record, started to make sense to me. Along with the announcement of his death, it was revelead that he had been diagnosed with cancer eighteen months ago. Which meant one thing: this album was meant to be a farewell to his fans and followers. Or maybe not exactly that, but he was trying to communicate what was going on with him in his music.
“Lazarus” is probably the song where the references to death are the most obvious. First, its title, is a reference to the biblical figure of Lazarus, the man who died, but was brought back to life by Jesus himself, and is often a synonym of resurrection. In the video, we have him literally on his deathbed, fighting against his demons, but still creating art. But, the most important thing, the lyrics, are probably the most direct, poignant on the entirety of the record, with the soulcrashing opening lines “Look up here / I’m in heaven / I got scars that can’t be seen”, and its wonderful (but choatic) instrumental ending.
The fourth track on the album, the-Orange Clockwork-inspired (it uses nadsat, the language invented for the book) “Girl Loves Me”, it’s a very tense, heavy, almost dystopian song, that kind of took a new meaning after Bowie’s death, thanks to the line “Where the **** did monday go?”, and the fact that we got to know what happened on the morning of January 11th, a monday. “Dollar Days” is, in a way, a continuation to “Lazarus”, specially in its sound, but maybe on its lyrical themes too, as near the end, he repeats the line, “I’m dying to”, but after his death, it might read as “I’m dying, too”… which makes it even more terrifying, in a way.
Almost ironically, the song “I Can’t Give Everything Away”, the one that closes the album, it’s probably the lightest, most upbeat track on the record, but its the one that references the most, how would the general public react to his death? What would be his legacy? As well as some references to losing his battle with the previously mentioned disease. “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)” and “’Tis a Pity (She Was a *****)” are two jazz-y number that were released in his 2014 compilation ‘Nothing has changed.’, so (maybe) there is no deeper meaning behind these lyrics, referencing anything else, but they sure fit into the sound of the record, and are very entertaining, specially the latter.
I don’t think that there will ever be a musician/artist that would come even somewhat close to Bowie, in terms of impact, at least. I mean, I’m pretty sure, he was the first to bring the “weird” to the mind of the general public. As I mentioned before, it’s hard to think of any credible artist of any genre that didn’t cite him as some point of their career as some kind of influence, and he touched the hearts of people of all generations, whether it might be thanks to his fearlessness, to his attitude, or to his great, fantastic art (film, music, whatever). This final album is likely to be the epitome of his artistry, I don’t if this is exactly his best album (’Low’ still wins for me), I guess time will tell, but this is his final big statement. And he made sure we would talk about it for a long time.
Highlights: “Blackstar”, “’Tis a Pity She Was a *****”, “Lazarus”, “Dollar Days”, “I Can’t Give Everything Away”
You’ll like it if you like: Most importantly, Bowie (specially the Berlin trilogy), but also Scott Walker, Radiohead
Honestly, TRF.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Yeah, Blackstar got 3 requests but I didn't want to have 4 albums at once.
Now starting:
David Bowie - Blackstar
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Member Since: 5/22/2011
Posts: 21,227
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Are we gonna do Sia's new album?
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 43,104
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Quote:
Originally posted by KillingYourCareer
Can we do Charlie Puth's album too |
Yes
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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3 for Charlie and 3 for Sia. We'll do Sia first, then Charlie after ANTI ends (probably next weekend).
Now starting:
Sia - This Is Acting
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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Rihanna - ANTI
One of the biggest appealing factors of Rihanna over the years has been her constant evolutions. While some may maintain that she's a "trend hopper", she has proven herself to be equal parts "trend setter", an artist whose aesthetic and dynamic approach to contemporary pop music has become a staple on radios and iPhones everywhere. After an extended hiatus, Rihanna reinvents herself once more, this time as the enchanted "artiste" having co-written all non-cover tracks and taking a far more demure approach.
In many cases that approach paid off, quite well. This is a song that thoroughly roots itself in disappointment and reflection, something that hasn't necessarily been a go-to approach for Rihanna. Though not always immediately obvious, subtle elements such as her delivery, or certain lyrical quips highlight a shift towards inner reflection. Each time, this strategy works in differing ways, but the result is some of the most enduring lyrical moments in her entire discography.
Beginning with the sharp, heavy-hitting "Consideration", we see Rihanna at her most confident - not at all like the hash-tag dominated get money bravado, but rather a true confidence in who she is and what she wants to achieve. What follows then on are questions asked to herself about where she is headed, and what she can learn from mistakes. Even the more sensual notes reach greater highs than she has ever achieved before - "Yeah, I Said It" has the right tone of unapologetic love and desire, but lifted higher.
Further lyrics that touch on the aspects of disappointment revolve around the distance between Rihanna the Instagram star and Rihanna the artist. "Nobody text me in a crisis", "I don't even really care about you", "You needed me" - there is dimension to the bold claims that Rihanna makes on this album, and each one is more intriguing than the last as we finally get to crack through to see what worries her and what threatens her powerful crown.
You get the sense that this album is a collection of drunk and/or high thoughts, come to life. The interesting challenge is to determine what are the thoughts from when she actually was drunk, and what are the thoughts that are clear indicators of Rihanna's own sense of regret and reflection. Maybe the album is delivered through a sense of facade, where even Rihanna is still skeptical of revealing her thoughts, or maybe the album really is our first step into the thoughts and desires she has. Either way its an interesting direction and one I hope inspires more thorough lyrical ambition from her.
Final score: 7.7
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