21

All Out 2010s: A series of reviews of the pop albums that were symbols of the 10s (Inspired by the user @IEnjoyMusic's dive)

Hello There, I'm KillBill the chicken, and I'm going to complete a series of reviews for some pop albums that housed some of the biggest and most characteristic hits of the decade. You see, I'm going through the "All Out 2010s" playlist on Spotify and I'm going to pick an album from one of the biggest hits of each year. Today we continue with 2011 and the album "21" By Adele

Unlike our previews popstar, Adele is still very much an important face in pop culture, as I write this in January 2022. She captivated the early 2010s with her characteristic voice and her heartbreaking songwriting, 'cause she stood out of the sea of the carefree pop music that was popular in the airwaves. She in fact was one of the first artist that was important in influencing the later half of the decade's mainstream pop scene, with it gaining a more serious and dark tone. But the one who actually is responsible for changing the pop scene will be reviewed sometime later in the series. So, is the album good?

Well, yeah. But I don't think I will return to it often. First things first, let's talk about the positives. The most obvious is Adele as a performer. She has lot's of natural charisma and she is consistently likeable throughout the album's runtime, something that isn't true about a lot of singers who were influenced by her. We really FEEL Adele's character's heartache. Another positive are the singles. They all are some of the best hit songs of 2011. Rolling In The Deep is really tight and yet has a compelling melody, something that was really rare in the previous album of the series. Set Fire to the Rain's climax is absolutely excellent, mostly for those gorgeous strings, that are that beautiful cause of the production by.................................. Fuck. I thought that Nigel Godrich produced it. but still good job for the strings 👍. Someone Like You is the best song on the album, only for it's sheer emotional power and how perfectly it ties up everything puts a little bow on top.

But this is the point were I have to mention some negatives about the record. First of all, the production. Altho at times nice (remember the strings) for the majority of the album, it feels colorless. Not in an way that's sad, but in a way that feels texture less and bland. Tracks 2-4 are the worst example of this. cause I don't remember anything about them, except from Rumour Has It, because it's the worst song on the album and it sounds like if Imagine Dragons covered an Adele song. Also, sorry but the album is kinda boring. all the songs are still decent, even the Imagine Dragons, but most of them don't make me go "Damn, that was interesting" instead they make me go "It was decently enjoyable but not very interesting". And the same is true about the album as whole. I appreciate it for changing the pop scene, But it's just not a personal favourite of mine.