🇺🇸: I really like this album, mostly because of Bruno’s vocals, but there’s also something special about how it feels like an exact transition between the laid-back pop optimism of the early decade and the more lyrical, minimalist focus that would go on to dominate most of the rest of the decade. A sound that feels less dated than many releases specific to that period.

🇧🇷: Eu realmente gosto desse disco, majoritariamente pelos vocais do Bruno, mas também tem algo ... read more

🇺🇸: Minnie’s voice is very pleasant, and that makes up for some of the production choices. It’s not amazing, but it’s relatively well put together for a debut EP. It creates good expectations for a future album.

🇧🇷: A voz da Minnie é bem agradável e isso compensa algumas escolhas de produção. Não é incrível, mas é relativamente bem qualificado para um EP de estreia. Cria boas expectativas para um futuro ... read more

🇺🇸: I don’t like the direction of this EP, and even though I understand the messy idea of chaos, the songs are quite weak. It feels like leftovers from the end of the last decade. Even with some successful tracks, I can’t envision a future in this sound.

🇧🇷: Eu não gosto da direção desse EP, e apesar de entender a ideia bagunçada de caos, as músicas são bem fracas. É uma sensação de descartes do fim da ... read more

🇺🇸: Even though I feel it “shoots in all directions,” I accept the idea of it being a debut EP and following a logic of testing what might stick and work for them, especially coming from a K-pop mindset. Still, it’s very clear that with the right effort, the material could have easily been a proper full-length album.

🇧🇷: Apesar de achar que “atira para todos os lados”, eu aceito a ideia de ser um EP de estreia e existir uma lógica de testar o ... read more

🇺🇸: I don’t have the vocabulary to properly praise this album, and even though it’s not the style I usually dive into musically, the level of quality is truly remarkable. I do have some issues with the middle portion of the album, but I believe that has much more to do with my sonic distance from the genre than with the quality of the material itself. I expected it to be pretentious and ended up being positively surprised.

🇧🇷: Não tenho vocabulário para ... read more

🇺🇸: The idea of turning the summer side project into an EP that both remixes the sound of the previous album and feels like a natural progression is extremely well executed. Even though I believe some tracks could have grown more with a bit more production and mixing, there are very few Brazilian pop projects that feel this organic within the “summer” category.

🇧🇷: A ideia de transformar o projeto paralelo de verão em um EP que, ao mesmo tempo, remixar o som do ... read more

🇺🇸: The fact that it’s “inoffensive” doesn’t bother me as it does most people. Every artist has their own. Still, Alex’s voice works better on ballads and doesn’t seem to have enough dynamism for upbeat tracks, on top of the fact that Disc 2 is terrible and doesn’t justify stretching the release instead of editing it down. It really bothers me that it feels like I’m listening to a compilation of Vampire Diaries from 15 years ago.

🇧🇷: ... read more

🇺🇸: Despite the lyrical poverty, the album’s objective is extremely clear: to put Gretchen moaning over as many different rhythms as possible. That doesn’t make it bad by default, but achieving the goal is not the same as doing it well. Few tracks are even mildly interesting in terms of production, and what remains is a large-scale vocal eroticization that can be described as “anachronistically fun.”

🇧🇷: Apesar da pobreza lírica, o objetivo do ... read more

🇺🇸: I tried to listen with an open mind, but it’s a festival of clichés and a personality forged in musical corporatism, making it hard not to circle back to these issues while listening. She has an interesting voice, and the production is even well-mixed, but it’s completely hollow and opaque.

🇧🇷: Tentei ouvir com a mente aberta, mas é um festival de clichês e de personalidade forjada em corporativismo musical, o que torna difícil não ... read more

🇺🇸: It starts off rather questionable, gets good in the middle, and loses itself by the end. The album’s direction isn’t clear and doesn’t seem to lead anywhere specific. It’s too serious to be fun, and too exaggerated to be taken seriously.

🇧🇷: Começa de uma maneira bem duvidosa, fica bom no meio e se perde no final. A direção do álbum não é clara e parece não levar a algum lugar específico. É ... read more

🇺🇸: His voice is quite smooth and pleasant to listen to, but the album ends up feeling a bit too long and tiring, even though all the songs are good. The tracks with/from Babyface are definitely the highlights.

🇧🇷: A voz dele é bastante suave e ótima para se ouvir, mas o disco acaba ficando um pouco longo demais e massante, mesmo que todas as músicas sejam boas. As faixas com/do Babyface são definitivamente os pontos altos.

🇺🇸: What happened to Adam’s voice? Is it just sheer laziness to sing in order to sound cool? Maroon 5 is great when they manage to deliver carefree hits, but they need to HIT the spot. When they don’t, they end up exactly like this album: purposeless, weak, and completely unnecessary.

🇧🇷: O que aconteceu com a voz do Adam? É apenas uma preguiça absurda de cantar para parecer descolado? Maroon 5 é ótimo quando consegue fazer hits ... read more

🇺🇸: The album is bad. But (with many quotation marks), I have to note that the production tried to push it in some direction, even though in the end Frankie couldn’t hold the personality needed to carry a generic Dance Pop record.

🇧🇷: O álbum é ruim. Mas, com muita aspas, preciso notar que a produção tentava levar ele para alguma direção, apesar de no fim Frankie não conseguir segurar a personalidade necessária para ... read more

🇺🇸: Despite being generic, I was surprised by the solid production of the album. It’s well put together, brings some diversity of sounds within its concept, and captures the joyful feeling of an early-career Pop record.

🇧🇷: Apesar de genérico, fiquei surpreso com a boa produção do disco. Ele é bem sólido, traz alguma diversidade do sons dentro da proposta, e condensa a sensação de felicidade de um álbum Pop de ... read more

🇺🇸: I’m not really sure what I just listened to, it feels like a random playlist. There are some good things, some things I definitely don’t enjoy, and an overwhelming sense of background music meant to play while you’re busy doing something else…

🇧🇷: Eu não sei bem o que eu escutei, é uma sensação enorme de uma playlist qualquer. Tem coisas boas, coisas que eu definitivamente não curto, e um ideia enorme de música ... read more

🇺🇸: Even though there’s no cohesion to it, and it’s everything you wouldn’t expect from a movie album, I can still see the appeal in trying to make a record with as many dominant mainstream genres as possible, aiming to please every kind of audience. Something unthinkable today, but back in 1995 it worked as a sort of successful playlist.

🇧🇷: Apesar de não ter nenhuma coesão em si, e ser tudo o que você não espera de um álbum de ... read more

🇺🇸: There’s a sameness in the album’s production that should be noted, but her voice? Aaaah, what a delight. Brandy truly manages to carry the record and keep it from being monotonous. For a debut, it’s a perfect showcase of talent within the possible context of a Black teenager in the ’90s.

🇧🇷: Existe uma mesmice na produção do álbum que deve ser notado, mas a voz dela? Aaaah que delícia. Brandy consegue realmente carregar o ... read more

🇺🇸: I don’t like this kind of sound. And I really dislike the hit that carries the whole album. There are even two good tracks here that surprised me, but I’m left wondering if they’re actually good or if they just feel that way because I wasn’t expecting much in the middle of so much unnecessary stuff.

🇧🇷: Não curto o tipo de som. E eu detesto o hit que carrega o disco. Tem até duas faixas boas no disco e que me surpreenderam, mas fico na ... read more

🇺🇸: It’s the worst kind of generic pop, because it makes you feel completely indifferent. Unfortunately, I couldn’t care less about what I heard. It’s never truly bad, but it’s always tangentially mediocre.

🇧🇷: É o pior tipo de pop genérico, porque ele faz você se sentir completamente indiferente. Infelizmente eu não poderia ligar menos para o que ouvi. Nunca é verdadeiramente ruim, mas é sempre tangencialmente ... read more

🇺🇸: Mariah’s voice is more fragile than in her past records, but what makes her an impeccable vocalist is the effort she puts into adapting her vocal agility to still deliver an album that meets her own high vocal standards and musical strength. From the compositions to the melodies and lyrics, the album is a complete success. She doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel—releasing such a strong album at this stage of her career is something only a few can achieve.

🇧🇷: A ... read more