[minho]

I think I might skip this one too

[Penk]

Y'all should just do it anyway. If you don't like it, drag it.

[Aatthew]

Originally posted by Penk

Y'all should just do it anyway. If you don't like it, drag it.

The motto tbh.

[Lil Misty]

Too lazy to write this much for trouble in paradise tbh

[ChapelHooker]

La Roux - Trouble in Paradise
What happened in half a decade since the release of the almost brilliant debut by then-duo La Roux? Well, they're became her when duo mate and primary producer Ben Langmaid jumped off after creative conflicts. At first it might seem like a sad thing, but listening to "Trouble in Paradise" makes it clear that it might have been a key moment for Elly Jackson.

What is described as a new wave and disco influenced album is an attempt at bringing back the real, pure disco sound of the 70s. It's directly noticeable that this is a strongly influenced record. At times, it almost feels like a summer day, starting with a nice morning until the sun goes down in the final hours.

It feels like the waiting was worth it, probably the biggest achievement of this album. The soundscape is fresh and inspired. You can almost feel like the pressurelessness at times, as this album flies by like ease. Highlights like "Sexotheque" and "Let Me Down Gently" are catchy, yet they only play with traditionalism for sparks of times. Never ever does this record feel "been there, done that", no, it rather feels like "wanna go there". Pure joy overtakes the cockpit for the first few tracks, but there is enough emotional moments to not make this feel try-hard.

Elly Jackson manages to finally find herself and a place where she feels well. If there are other places like this, we'll hope we find out in the future.

8.5/10

[Badger]

I'll do one for this soon

[Kane]

La Roux - 'Trouble in Paradise'

"Trouble in Paradise" is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, It’s a little bit out there, somewhat confusing and yet has elements of greatness. The difference is, unlike Alice, the album never finds it’s way home or out of it's dream. It feels lost and ungratifying which leaves you wanting more. Not because the album was stellar and impactful, but because you were left feeling as though there wasn’t enough there in the first place. After the 9 tracks have ended, you aren’t left feeling like the album had any closure or a definitive end, it just went out like a light. All this aside, Trouble in Paradise truly offers nothing quite as striking and memorable as “Bulletproof”, and does not really offer the same cohesive, head-on feel of the debut.

The standout of this album indeed comes in the form of Elly Jackson, her unique vocals and ability to sing with the music and not on top of it it shines greatly. The most intriguing aspect of Trouble in Paradise is how the lyric is often juxtaposed to the beat and melody, in most cases this would be completely off putting and a negative, but La Roux manages to pull it off with ease, which is no mean feat.

The production isn’t stellar, from my understanding one part of La Roux, the producer, left in the process of recording this record. This does explain to an extent with some of the production feels predictable and rushed, like the songs have an end goal and destination but they never quite make it there. This wasn’t a problem on their debut, every song had a purpose and it completely felt as though each track were on their intended path.

It’s a good album but it lacks the cutting edge, sharp style of the self titled debut. The vocals are great and most of the songs are catchy and easy on the ear, without watering down the content as many artist’s that produce heavily synth infused music do. If you can look past some of the small, but defining faults within this album then I can somewhat assure that you’ll enjoy this record, unfortunately to a certain degree, I cannot.

_

Grade: C-

*Doc's format

Reviews:

La Roux - 'Trouble in Paradise' (Grade: C- | 4.2/10)

Sia - '1000 Forms of Fear' (Grade: D- | 1.6/10)

Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear

Sia - '1000 Forms of Fear'

After listening to the album it makes sense that 10/12 songs were produced solely by one producer, as the whole album just seems to be one collective merger of music. Not in the sense that it carries consistency and easy on the ear transitions, but by making the majority of the songs sound unvaried, repetitious and characterless.

The album draws you in to an early sense of security, as you first hear the sound that you've come to love from Sia. Unfortunately after this things take a turn of the worse and never recover. In fact, it appears to deteriorate and lose substance after each track ends. The only redeeming factor is knowing that once tracks 2-12 are finished "Chandelier" will begin once more.

"Chandelier" gave me high hopes for this album, after enjoying the hits she has wrote for other artists it seemed as though this was her time to shine and receive full credit for her artistry. The lead single gave me reassurance that this was going to transpire, but I guess I put my faith within Sia to produce a stellar album too soon, as I was completely wrong. Even though this album has left a sour taste in my mouth, I still have hope that Sia can come back stronger than ever and produce more cuts in the vein of the standout track. 1000 Forms of Fear just turned out to be 11 forms of repetitive, cliché pop, with the only standout of the album being the opener, “Chandelier”.

_

Grade: D-

Drake - '0 to 100/ The Catch Up' (Grade: D- | 3.3/10)

Drake - 100 to 100/ The Catch Up

Drake - '100 to 100/ The Catch Up'

Drake’s 'tough guy' persona just comes across as simply inauthentic, which makes his braggadocio and forceful raps in '0 to 100' hard to listen to. My whole enjoyment of Hip-hop and most music in general comes from it’s believability. That’s why Drake’s softer work actually is more enjoyable, despite that type of music not being what I generally lean towards. I tend to prefer the harder, more cut throat lyricism from rappers, but not Aubrey. The “” smiley actually sums up my listening experience to a tee. Despite this, It's hard to ignore Drake's talent as a rapper, regardless of the rhymes legitimacy. Unfortunately as a whole, this song just doesn't display originality and sounds like a regurgitated version of a past Drake song.

_

Grade: D+

[WeFoundWill]

Kane serving Pitchfork tea

[SpinThatShhh]

Urgh. This La Roux will be so terribly bias due to Kanye Stan's being riled up by her comments.

I'm happy to accept her 80 on metacritic and 100 review by The Independent.

[Aatthew]

Originally posted by SpinThatShhh

Urgh. This La Roux will be so terribly bias due to Kanye Stan's being riled up by her comments.

I'm happy to accept her 80 on metacritic and 100 review by The Independent.

I went into my first listening session of this album really riled up and ready to drag, but I actually have enjoyed the album. It is very good + a set up from her last album as well as a step in the right direction. I'm sure my fellow Kanye brethren will spare her as long as they like the album.

Working on my review now. I finally have a really nice formatting style!

[SpinThatShhh]

Originally posted by Aatthew

I went into my first listening session of this album really riled up and ready to drag, but I actually have enjoyed the album. It is very good and a set up from her last album as well as a step in the right direction.

I'm sure my fellow Kanye brethren will spare her as long as they like the album.

Aatthew, I would like to believe that. But, you are too nice. Very likely that you are an exception to the rule.

[Aatthew]

Originally posted by SpinThatShhh

Aatthew, I would like to believe that. But, you are too nice. Very likely that you are an exception to the rule.

OK, well consider this... There aren't that many Kanye stans on this forum.

Then again, I made my post in that thread and left so I don't know if they all gathered out of nowhere to drag her.

Her score definitely won't be too affected even if the Ye stans appear out of nowhere and take the time to write 10 sentences on this album lol.

[SpinThatShhh]

Originally posted by Aatthew

OK, well consider this... There aren't that many Kanye stans on this forum.

Then again, I made my post in that thread and left so I don't know if they all gathered out of nowhere to drag her.

[Kane]

Originally posted by SpinThatShhh

Urgh. This La Roux will be so terribly bias due to Kanye Stan's being riled up by her comments.

I'm happy to accept her 80 on metacritic and 100 review by The Independent.

I hope that nobody reviews badly and grades low just for the simple fact she made those comments. It should just be about the music/body of work, not about launching petty digs at an artist.

[chilluminati]

Originally posted by Deemy

Lawd I cant bear to listen to Tilda Swinton.

call me when we get to Jessie or someone else, literally anyone.

[rihannabiggestfan]

Originally posted by SpinThatShhh

Urgh. This La Roux will be so terribly bias due to Kanye Stan's being riled up by her comments.

I'm happy to accept her 80 on metacritic and 100 review by The Independent.

That's so ****ed up. It's okay, we care about what critics think than pressed fans.


I might do this later, probably give it a 9 for best AOTY so far

[rihannabiggestfan]

Originally posted by Deemy

Lawd I cant bear to listen to Tilda Swinton.

call me when we get to Jessie or someone else, literally anyone.

Stay mad

[Tymps.]

This album isn't interesting enough for me to write a whole review about, but I'll say that the songs are too easy on the ears and repetitive enough that's it's too easy to let it slip into the background and not keep your attention. There's not much going on but it's fun I guess.

[iHype.]

I thot we were doing Jesse

[Mrs. Aaron Paul]

I'm a relatively new La Roux listener. I viviedly remember loving bulletproof during the summer I turned 12 and seeing the video all the time on MTV because I was in Israel all summer and too lazy to follow hebrew tv shows. But after the song faded, I forgot about La Roux like most everyone else seemed too. Then, last year, I randomly listened to Bulletproof again and then downloaded the whole album, and was quite impressed. It wasnt a perfect album but it was really interesting and distinct and I have been eagerly awaiting the new record- I feel bad for the fans who have had to wait 5 years just for 9 songs Without further ado let's get into 'Trouble in Paradise'!
Uptight Downtown: I really like the throwback funky disco sound of this song. Its a pretty catchy melody and the production is cool. Elly's vocal weakness is her falsetto imo and its pretty prominent on this song, but other than that, I really liked this song
Kiss and Not Tell: There are some production issues on this song and I don't think her vocals are pleasant on parts of the hook. Not a favorite of mine tbh
Cruel Sexuality: This song is really well written, I like the lyrics a lot. The falsetto shows up again but I think this is the track on which I mind it least. I felt like I was struggling to hear the vocals at times though.
Paradise is You: Thisis another well written song. Beautiful vocals on the opening too. Very heartfelt love song, sort of ballady, but still with some nice percussion. Nothing on this album feels truly stripped back, and I know that that isnt La Roux style, but it would be interesting for them to do some experimentation on the next album. I really like the production. This track is over 5 minutes long and starts to drag a bit just before the 4 minute mark. There are some pretty harmonies and vocal layerings at the end though.
Sexotheque: My favorite song on the album, or definitely in my top 2 (I go back and forth between this and another song). The percussion is catchy and strong, The melody is instantly infectious and I could totally imagine myself having solo dance parties in my room to this. The lyrics are kinda cool and fit the vibe of the song really well. The hook is also strong. This is definitely the song with the most replay value on the album for me.
Tropical Chancer: I feel like I've heard the melody of this song before, maybe its the throwback sound, but a lot of this record makes me feel like that. This is another song where parts of it seem like it would be better suited for an acoustic setting than the bouncy production it has. I like the fun production much better than I like the rather boring actual vocal melody.
Silent Partner: This is the best written song on the album imo. The rawness and edge in the love songs on this album keep them from becoming repetative and boring in terms of lyrics. Some of the sounds in the production though are kind of distracting. This is another song that might have benefitted from a shorter run time- clocking in at around 7 minutes. There is somewhat of a cool breakdown but it wasnt great enough to justify the song length
Let Me Down Gently: This is the first song I heard from this album (it was a single), and it definitely increased my anticipation for the album. Its either my favorite or second favorite song here depending on my mood. The melody is really memorable and good and this is Elly's best, most emotional vocal performance on the album. It also has production that fits with the rest of the album, but stands out as being a bit different from the rest of it, which is definitely welcome. The end has another long breakdown but I enjoyed this one.
The Feeling: The vocal production in the track makes Elly sound like shes singing from inside a box. This song has probably the worst display of falsetto on the album and the melody isnt infectious like most of the other ones on this album are. A pretty disappointing end to the album, to be honest.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable album for me. Lots of likable lyricism, lots of catchy melodies, and lots of fun, throwback production. However, I did find myself thinking that the songs were starting to blend together. Almost like the prouction was too cohesive. I think that on the next album, I would like to see a couple of rawer, more 'acoustic' style tracks. I think it would be interesting and some variety would be great. Overall, if you like Euro-Pop with an edge, this is a really solid album that will probably fly under the radar, which is sad.
Highlights: Cruel Sexuality, Sexotheque, Let Me Down Gently
Lowlights: Kiss and Not Tell, Tropical Chancer, The Feeling
Score: 7/10