For Those I Love

For Those I Love

Oof.

The essence of this album might be commendable, but the substance is pretty underwhelming (it’s nothing more than average melodic house beats with narrative vocals à la Highly Sedated [except, done badly]). Is this a likeable album? Could be for some people. Is this AOTY material? Nowhere near it.

I can see why some would like this, it’s more narration than it is "music" in the end; in this album, the melodies and music only serve to support and cushion the ... read more

I can't like "spoken word" albums, it sucks and EVERYBODY knows it.

"But what about the things he says? The lyrics are beautiful."

If I want to hear a man talking, I listen to a podcast or see a speech from the president. And if I want to see a guy talking on top of a song, I go to an appliance store, or to the market, where there is always someone talking about promotions over a song that is playing.

Just because the guy doesn't have a beautiful voice to sing and so he ... read more

This website confuses me

There has been a lot of great music coming out of Dublin over the last few years, but I’m going to be honest...this record caught me completely by surprise. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but by the end of it, I was both in tears and smiling ear to ear at the same time.

The beauty of “For Those I Love” lies not in the hypnotic dance grooves and layered electronic textures of the record, but in the somber, poignant and heartfelt lyricism that David Balfe recites ... read more

How much power of suggestion do critics have? How much does our evaluation of an album change the moment we see those hundreds given by top reviewers?

I don't know. With every new album I think I'm experienced enough to make a decision and give a rating that's in my heart. Is it really so?

Because when I saw "For Those I Love" while creating my playlist with new projects shortly after midnight, I was already subconsciously set on something phenomenal. And when the time came to ... read more

Users WRONG.

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
5.7/10

I love the musical side of this album, it has this unique twist that you don't hear often in similar releases, the lyrical side is also very emotional, and personal, but I just can't convince myself to this vocal. Especially when the whole background is super spacious and reverbed, and David Balfe’s voice is mixed very tightly and compactly, it feels very distracting to me.

FULL REVIEW: For his full-length debut release, David Balfe goes under the moniker of For Those I Love to purge himself of the emotions felt after the passing of a dear friend.

The lure of the spoken word component on this release is as great as Mike Skinner’s flow on Original Pirate Material (2002), if not greater. The lyrics are generational; very, very few will ever be able to process, order and structure such mournful recollections of the recent past in such an introspective yet ... read more

Well, here it is. Clearly an album that AotY thinks is overrated. Sorry to say it guys, I love you but I also love this. This is like an Irish house version of The Downward Spiral in it's portrayal of it's narrative. The way that each track flows together and creates a narrative floating over lovely and well produced house is inspired. Everyone can relate to this record and it's pained nostalgia and story of loss and longing for the things we once had. It's beautiful, I understand it, I love it.

No puedo discutir que en cierta medida es un álbum poético, tal vez bastante, con mucha probabilidad no más que muchos otros, pero es esto suficiente para valorarlo como ha sido? Creo que estamos inflando For Those I Love más de lo que debería. En mi opinión la música deja un poco que desear, no es lo peor, sin embargo tampoco es lo más. Pero esto lo digo en caliente, con tan sólo una oída, estoy dejando mi primera ... read more

A man with an obnoxious accent talks for 46 minutes while generic unrelated house music beats in the background.
Why are the critics eating this up?
Sniped.

This is really awesome, I disagree with users on this one. If you have been avoiding it because of that I recommend checking it out, it's a really emotionally powerful, catchy and unique project.

5/10

meh

Fav track: Birthday / The Pain

DECENT

I absolutely enjoyed this. I had such an intimate connection with this album that I didn't expect to happen. I felt heard and seen. I carry tons of emotional baggage regarding my childhood and all the memories tied up to it and just all of the turmoil that you go through growing up, I felt like this band created such profound material that I could not help but relate to. On top of that, the production is also interesting, heavy samples of things that I'm familiar with, so this really felt like ... read more

Although the message and spirit of this album came from a good place, For Those I Love is pretty dissapointing in its execution.

The music is nothing surprising, it's just standard house and techno, with only two highlights ("I Have a Love" and "Birthday") that break with the monotony of the tracklist. If this was purely an instrumental record, maybe I could be a bit more generous with my rating, because this album suffers a lot from the vocals.
The lyrics are spoken ... read more

'For Those I Love' is the sound of someone turning their deepest thoughts and emotions into a truly staggering, bold story of love and loss.

I'll probably resume the Fantano Top 200 of the Decade dive one day but as of right now I have no interest to do it, so for now, I'm gonna use this account as an archive of the records I listen to this year and don't decide to do a full review on.

Anyway, this is an album I am extremely conflicted on. I admire the openness and sentimentality that the songwriting offers here. I feel like anybody who scoffs off the song-writing and just simply calling it a Scottish man ranting about stupid ... read more

Okay, sometimes I really think when I see previous reviews it affects my view on it but this time I really think it just made me try and see through the music a lot more?

I understand where the album is coming from and I understand people have different tastes but I just don't really understand why the beat choices are what they are, the genre is very FIFA Soundtrack, and they don't quite hit on their own as great dance tracks, they don't fit as melancholy electronic music to compliment ... read more

FOR THOSE I LOVE (2021):

1. I Have a Love: 7,0/10.
2. You Stayed / To Live: 6,5/10.
3. To Have You: 7,5/10.
4. Top Scheme: 6,0/10.
5. The Myth / I Don't: 7,5/10.
6. The Shape of You: 8,0/10.
7. Birthday / The Pain: 7,0/10.
8. You Live / No One Like You: 8,0/10.
9. Leave Me Not Love: 6,5/10.

Average: 7,1/10.

"For Those I Love" is David Balfe's project and an expression of grief, anger, and everything in between channeled through the wonders of progressive house and EDM.

Where M83 is able to use electronics to convey strong emotional prowess (see their albums from 2003/2005...), Balfe is able to convey most of the emotional power of this record through his lyrics and lid-covered, boiling punk spirit that could be a voice of a post-punk band. The production helps greatly due to its sense ... read more

Real Lies of 2021?

I will likely not be listening to this again, I don't feel particularly comfortable having listened to it once, so you'll have to settle for a number on this one.

You are strong enough to ask for help.

lol spoken word over house beats might be my favorite album of the decade so far