ASeriousPerson

Representing a time of unreserved optimism punctuated with habitual substance abuses, their stinging complexity lurks underneath the beautiful, concerted, undulating harmony--"Go Where You Wanna Go," one song about loss among so many others where the man leaves his girl because he doesn't believe she can just love one man although she does, epitomizes the internal contradiction between the temporary fulfilment and the looming melancholy that coincidentally mirrors the struggles ... read more

Her songwriting too slow-burning and her sexual expression too gauche, the record coheres in a moderate pace similar to her international breakthrough 15 years ago. The one that triumphs isn't the Robyn who dominates, aggresses, or vanquishes, whether regarding the throbbing synth texture or the healthy sexual appetites for a 46-year-old; it's the Robyn who compromises, perseveres, and rejoices in love and all the human emotions born from it. With desire always a mean to celebrate the ... read more

I don't dislike the music per se. I mean, sitting in your comfortable chair and waiting for the impending apocalypse to pour down your spine has its own perverse poetry in it, not to say some segments of music are tangibly edgy, fresh, or both. But in the end they sum up to very little significance. To begin with, they sing about nonsense, which shouldn't be a major nuisance given why you play it in the first place. The problem is, with abnormally protracted instruments that honorably ... read more

I have nothing against cover albums, as long as the preexisted tracks are recreated with care, refreshing creativity, and enough courage to take a risk. All three are accounted for, but so light and subtle, the music points at a direction with much more to be craved. Note though: Rufus Wainwright's winding melody is rendered therapeutic, Wilco's trivial track is salvaged by sentimentality. I just can't say whether Jackson Browne really belongs here.