This album is so unabashedly bold and brash, and I respect RAYE so much for going there with it. At times it can feel a bit corny, but I acquiesce given the unapologetic approach. To me, this feels like the album she always wanted to make - and it aligns very much so with her live presence. Her experimentation with genre throughout the record while still sounding like a cohesive piece deserves a big nod. My biggest criticism comes from maybe leaning too much into the "theatre" of it ... read more

I'll give this a 70 because this man is a true musician and vocalist - these songs are perfectly well crafted and well done. Technical skills, however, do not a forward-thinking album make. This record doesn't really innovate on all the sources he's pulling from. Most of the time it sounds like leftover B-sides from Silk Sonic that would do well with sync placements. Is it bad? Not in the slightest. But does it move me? Not really. Shout out to "Risk It All", though - a ... read more

Hilary has never delivered forward-thinking music - this adds to her brand as the girl next door, she's always relatable and palatable. What she is doing in this album for the first time, however, is giving us *her* perspective. Sonically, the album is extremely referential (Gotye, The 1975, Koma's own Winnetka Bowling League, etc.) - but in a way, that is the point: it tells us more about who Hilary is. Despite some misses (i.e. life is lifing), the album's lyricism is overall ... read more

As an entire project, there are some spots that feel overdone and repetitive. However, as a showcase of productions and sonic design, this album is incredible. I find the choice of making the vocals barely understandable a little frustrating, though it seems like a conscious artistic choice (need to dig into the lyrical content, to be fair). All that said, I have at least half this album on my repeat playlist. I love a lot of the melodic choices. The production sounds forward-thinking in a ... read more

Been meaning to sit down with this album properly and today was finally the day. This feels like art made out of necessity. The textures and sound design choices all over this were so good - so warm and raw and comforting. His voice feels like a hug throughout this entire record, even though he's the one suffering. I'll be returning to this one often

There's an introspection to this record that I was not expecting. I really loved that the title track is symbolic of this - a hug, almost. Rose has a really great sense of melody and of hooks, and there's a lot of great sonic ideas but it does feel like something isn't quite fully there yet (and I think part of this is the production, but I need to sit with this record again). Towards the end of the record I felt like Rose could be akin to a CRJ in her "Emotion" era. ... read more

Twenty years late to listening to this album in full, but I have good people in my life who help me see the light. First listen I wasn't wowed, if I'm so honest, but after listening to the 20th anniversary edition, I'm hooked. Stuart Price's production is life-changing.

Faves: Hung Up, Sorry, Future Lovers, Forbidden Love
Pass: I Love New York, Push
Honorable mention: Get Together

What an incredible record. And what a perfect name for a record. I'm glad I finally sat down and gave this the time it deserved. I will most definitely be returning to this one often

Beautifully and intimately produced. Some really interesting moments - the guitar solo on Stole You Away comes to mind immediately) A little repetitive melodically and stagnates (and also gets cheesy?) towards the end. Don't think I'll be revisiting as a project, but added 3 to my monthly playlist.

The thesis of this album should have been more like a song or two imo. It's not bad, it's just that a lot of it is bland, a bit boring and uninteresting. The tricks are starting to feel a bit overdone. I get what she's trying to do here - I just think this isn't the strongest representation of it. (That said, I still don't get the hate on the album cover art.)

First Alex G album. I get what he was going for, and I think maybe I'm just not the target audience for *this* type of record. Excited to listen to God Save The Animals, though

I love that she explores all the genres she's played with across her career in this "non-album" project. As a solo project, she's taken some of the best moments from "Petals For Armor" and "Descansos" and kind of has made an amalgamation of them - albeit, not as strongly but they still felt like the right choices. When she does miss, it's not so much that it's bad, but that it's kind of... boring? Where Hayley will always shine, though, is ... read more

What a beautifully crafted record. I had heard "..Thus Is Why" before digging into this project, and was a big fan of the sound - it was truly a delight to find the experimentation and sensibility on that song across the album. Saya's choice of textures make this album feel so intimate, even when she's withholding restraint. The juxtaposition between the the clicking of a piano, or the picking of a guitar/bass lick surrounded by digital drums, the experimentation with meter ... read more

While this album is a return to form for Gaga, it sounds more like an amalgamation of her former self and the Gaga of today. I appreciate her bringing sounds, melodies and writing techniques from her pre-Fame through Born This Way eras into 2025; they're ultimately what made the world fall in love with her. That said, a lot of it falls short - not because it's bad, but because she's ultimately competing with herself at one of the very heights of her creative endeavors. And while ... read more

I understand why this record has made the impact it did. I can't say I was as impressed as I thought I would have been by the end of listening to it, though. Its biggest songs were massive hits for a reason - they were truly the best on the record. I cannot deny that it is 10/10 storytelling and writing all throughout, maybe with the exception of I'm Going Down which almost sounds... soulless on such a big and brash album.

For self future reference:

Born In The USA - 98
Cover Me - ... read more

The singles make a lot more sense in context with the rest of album. I would argue, though, that the strongest records are past the run of first four singles, which also happen to be the first four on the tracklist. A lot of my criticism towards the rollout originally revolved around the idea that, well, I'm no longer on Tumblr full of teenage angst and depression. It seemed like Lorde was returning to that feeling at the ripe age of 28. While I don't feel I'm fully proven wrong, ... read more

*ON FIRST LISTEN*

A lot of what carries this album is the production, with the tricks often becoming uninteresting after the first half of the record. I could see how this would be considered innovative for its time, and truly it is ahead of its time, but a lot of what makes me not fully connect is the almost oversimplified (and at times cheesy) lyricism and melodic approach.

In terms of production, "Candy Perfume Girl" was a standout. "Skin" was one that I found myself ... read more