this compilation features some amazing synthwave that has a sense of urgency to it, which keeps it moving forward while still being highly enjoyable.

i feel uneasy now

this album sounds grand, even when it recycles ideas to create something new and exciting.

this album seems to confuse being atmospheric with being boring.

at its worst, this album sounds like something out of one of those generic millennial commercials, but at its best, it's very heartwarming and easy to listen to.

although the lyrical content of this album stays relatively the same throughout, its weird, fun, and freaky production helps keep each track fresh and exciting, not to mention the wide variety of guest features.

this constantly straddles the line between boring and great. the highlight here is the grand "i like (the idea of) you," and nothing else really stands up to it, making for a very inconsistent listen.

this is exactly what i want to hear right now! it retains elements of pop music while integrating ambience into the mix, and it sounds really good.

the disproportionately high amount of slow moody songs doesn't constitute the low amount of upbeat moody songs on pang, but when these two sides meet in the middle we get some great moody pop songs, like "hit me where it hurts" and "door."

—

original score: 95
original review:
pang sounds like a cross between imogen heap and pc music, and that's definitely not a bad thing.

i'm very glad that the new songs on here are an improvement over what was on clarity. they don't pack the same punch as vol. 1's did, but they're respectable nonetheless.

this sounds like a modernized version of the 1980s, but in a completely different way than something like lost girls or dedicated. instead, it takes more cues from modern music and, as a result, doesn't give off the same feeling of nostalgia as other albums in its lane.

wow! this is super energetic, but not in an ordinary way. reminds me of nothing else really, since it's probably one of the most unique albums of the year.

i still adore this album's fusion of decades, and it's still packed to the brim with exceptional pop songs, but there's a small part of me that doesn't like the production here, since instead of sounding just as futuristic as it wants to be, it feels messy and unfinished.

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original score: 90
original review:
THIS right here is just what pop music needs—a nostalgic fever dream that's an amalgamation of classic 90s pop and futuristic production.

euro-trance meets dance pop in an effective way, and it makes for a fun listening experience.

the middle part of this album is very, very weak, and especially disappointing for an album that's been anticipated since 2014. amazing evolutions of ideas presented on pop 2, like click and shake it, are paired with bland pop songs that i wouldn't choose over others.

—

original score: 89
original review:
although this album does a great job at evolving pop 2's sound for a more mainstream audience, by doing so it loses lots of the personality that made pop 2 so great.

also warm still ... read more

the last six songs on this album are fucking phenomenal, so it's a shame that the rest are extremely mediocre.

i don't get it

i see everyone saying that they're either not going to listen to this, or not going to like it, but they're just closing themselves off from the world of mainstream pop music. it hasn't been good for years, they say, it all sounds the same. whatever the excuse is, it's been said before and has been ingrained into the minds of so many people that it's almost taken as a fact.

and who's going to disagree with that? in the world of billie eilish and shawn mendes, the state of mainstream pop music ... read more

although there isn't anything remotely interesting past the first three songs, the album as a whole sounds great and has a very consistent style. everything is at least enjoyable enough to make this a good listen.

this album is the very definition of bittersweet, since its warm, sleepy instrumentation is contrasted with quite sad and pitiful lyrics. either way you look at it, it's a very intimate listen.