One of the best-sellers of 2016, made by a band who ascended to mainstream that same year. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Blurryface, by the duo called twenty one pilots (yes, lowercase letters only), who are considered by some as "The Saviors of Rock" (which I don't agree at all, since they have, like, nothing to do with Rock music, but yeah, sure).
Like I just mentioned, Blurryface was one of the best-sellers of 2016 (with approximately 1,5 million copies sold that year) and it includes the smash-hits Stressed Out and Ride, which have been respectively in 5th and 20th place on the year-end chart of Billboard that year. I think that shows how popular the album is.
This record was released on 17th May 2015 and it counts with six singles: Fairly Local, Tear in My Heart, Lane Boy, Stressed Out, Ride and Heavydirtysoul. Even though it was released in May 2015, the album only started to earn mainstream popularity in the end of 2015/beginning of 2016 (Just to compare the popularity of Blurryface in 2015 and 2016: It reached the 31st place on the year-end chart of Billboard of 2015 and in the next year, it was in 6th). Now the critics, they were pretty positive in general. Most of the organizations gave 4 stars to the record, but Alternative Press gave 4,5 (they always give a really high score to this kind of bands though) and Rolling Stones Autralia gave 3.
Okay, now that the introduction of the record is done, we will now proceed with my personal review. I'll start with this: This was my favorite record of the duo (despite that, the self-titled is not far behind). What I specially like about it are the lyrics and the character that the band created: Blurryface. Now, who is Blurryface? According to Tyler Joseph, the vocalist of twenty one pilots and author of most of the lyrics, Blurryface is the personification of his own demons, uncertainties and other negative things inside his head. Basically, his "pessimistic side". This character actually appears directly in some tracks. The best example is in Stressed Out, when a red-eyed Tyler with a distorted voice sings an alternative version of the bridge in the end of the track ("We used to play pretend, we used to play pretend, bunny/We used to play pretend, wake up, we need the money(...)". That's Blurryface!
Also, even though the pessimistic lyrics are one of the duo's main characteristics, present through their whole discography, this record has a "special" pessimism. It may be the record where Tyler opens himself the most, venting his feelings about his insecurities, his fear of death, his musical career, his childhood (usually with nostalgia, referring the fact that he wants to go back to those times) and also talking about his light of hope, which is his wife, Jenna Joseph (as it is seen in Tear in My Heart) and his family. This "special pessimism" is exactly the opposite that the critics and even their record label expected. In fact, according to the research I've done before writing this, their label, Fueled By Ramen, preferred that they made an album that'd be more commercially accepted and less depressive. And they kinda did make a more commercially accepted record when it comes to instrumentals, yeah (even though they say they have done something "different", you GOTTA admit this is way more commercially accepted than all the other records), but they didn't make a record with "less depressive lyrics". This topic of being "forced" by the media to make commercially accepted music is actually addressed in Fairly Local, but he has done it before as well. Actually, now that I think about it, most of the topics addressed in this record were also addressed in previous records, but they were written here in a more personal way. And the about the instrumentals, this album was a commercially accepted version of the self-titled album (where you could hear the piano very often) and abandoned almost entirely the "crazy" electronic beats, a characteristic adopted both in Regional at Best and Vessel, but it still has some electronic beats during the whole record. They basically tried some new stuff, putting Reggae in the mix and investing in Rap as much as they did in Vessel. It was a nice change, in my opinion.
My favourite tracks of Blurryface are probably We Don't Believe What's On TV, Message Man and Not Today and there is not a single bad track in here. (You heard me. Judge me all you want). We Don't Believe What's On TV is one of the happiest tracks instrumentally, with the ukulele and the occasional "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" almost forcing me to consider this track a REALLY happy one, but the lyrics are not as happy as the instrumental. I mean, yeah, it is happy, BUT, he still mentions his insecurities a lot, but mentioning more the good things in life. He mentions in the lyrics that he makes music to make the maximum number of people happy, and not because of fame or money (yeah, sure), and that only knowing that they have made someone happy with their music, he and his bandmate already feel fulfilled. Also, the chorus ("I don't care what's in your hair/I just wanna know what's on your mind/I used to say I wanna die before I'm old/but because of you I might think twice") is dedicated to Tyler's wife (some people actually thought it was about Josh Dun, Tyler's bandmate and drummer of twenty one pilots) and there is a part of the lyrics when he talks to his beloved ones ("I need to know/that when I fail you'll still be here"); Not Today is another song with an instrumental way happier than the lyrics (Tyler actually plays with that situation, saying "Listen, I know/This one's a contradiction because of how happy it sound/but the lyrics are so down"). The instrumental is pretty nice. The mix of the trumpet, the piano and the drums are pretty nice and it mixes well with the lyrics, which are basically one big fight between Tyler and Blurryface. It is one of the most creative lyrics throughout all the album because the same lyrics can have two interpretations: Tyler's and Blurryface's. The chorus, for example ("Heard you say, "not today"/Tore the curtains down, windows open, now make a sound/Heard your voice, there's no choice/Tore the curtains down, windows open, now make a sound"), has a double meaning. Tyler is telling Blurryface "Not today". Blurryface will not torment him today and he will get away from his, this time for good, while Blurryface is telling Tyler "Not today" as well. It won't be today that Tyler will get away, and he will tore away the curtain that separates him from Tyler, expecting despair from his side. That is one of the many examples you can see through the track where the same sentence has two meanings and two different points of view; and, at last but not least, Message Man. This track is a critic by Tyler Joseph about people who don't listen to a song at its entirely. They only pay attention to the instrumental, and yet not with enough attention, but it also refers the "civil war" that Tyler is having, beginning with the first words ("No no no no no no. Ye, ye, ye, ye, ye, ye"). But what I like about this song is not really the lyrics, but specially the instrumental. It is quite experimental and progressive and it has a very good rhythm, maybe the best of the album. The electronic beats mixes very well with the drums and it is difficult to listen to Tyler's voice on this track without singing along, specially on the chorus and 3rd verse. It is an excellent song.
This is one of the albums I've been listening the most lately, and I dare to say it is the best album of 2015. Yes, that's right. Call me a "teenage fag with no taste at all" all you want. I won't change my opinion. I find this album pretty good, and that is why I am giving it an 18,5/20. It has very few flaws, and it is mostly perfect. Perfect lyrics, perfect instrumentals, perfect creativity. I even have this record here, on physic. I am listening to it as I write this.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with me? What album should I review next? Tell me your opinion on the comments, and I will surely and gladly reply to you.
quarta-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2018
quinta-feira, 22 de fevereiro de 2018
"Humanz", by Gorillaz
I think most of you know this virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett, called Gorillaz (and if you haven't, you should. Here and here, these are the most popular songs. Have a listen). Well, my first review will be about their latest album: Humanz.
After the release of The Fall, on 25th December 2010 and the single Do Ya Thing, on 23rd February 2012, Gorillaz announced they were on an "Indefinite hiatus", which allowed both Hewlett and Albarn to follow their own projects (including the latest album of Albarn's band, Blur: The Magic Whip). After this hiatus, Damon Albarn started to record Gorillaz's fifth album while Hewlett started to draw the ficctional member's new design, together with the story of Phase 4. On 23rd April 2017, the album was released.
This album has a LOT of singles: Hallelujah Money (featuring Benjamin Clementine), released on 19th January; Saturnz Barz (featuring Popcaan), Andromeda (featuring D.R.A.M.), Ascencion (feat. Vince Staples) and We Got The Power (featuring Camille Barthomier and Noel Gallagher), all released on 23rd March (which, by the way, is my birthday and Damon Albarn's birthday); Let Me Out (featuring Mavis Staples and Pusha T), on 6th April; The Apprentice (featuring Rag'n'Bone Man, Zebra Katz and Ray BLK), on 24th April; and Strobelite (featuring Pevan Everett), on 7th August. Between all these singles, the most successful one was Saturnz Barz, which now has about 60 million views on YouTube. I kinda understand why, though. It was a great comeback song, in my opinion, it didn't disappoint me at all. They have shown people that they were not dead, even after a five-year hiatus.
The Deluxe version of the album has a total number of 26 tracks. It may look like a monstrous number, but the album is actually about 44 minutes long. Why, you ask? 7 of those 26 tracks are Interludes (I'm counting Intro: I Switched My Robot Off as an Interlude). About 41 minutes in 19 tracks, I'd say. When I first listened to this album, I actually loved the Interludes, but after a year listening to it, I came to realize that the Interludes are quite useless there. I mean, sure, it is like an "intro" to the next track, and some of those Interludes actually work out, like Interlude: Elevator Going Up and Intro: I Switched My Robot Off (those two Interludes actually add something to the album. Two exceptions), but still: why though? Why do we need to hear some guy saying "I promise to be different! I promise to be unique! I promise not to repeat what other people say!" in front of a crowd who is repeating his words? I mean, yeah, I get the idea, but I was not really fond with it.
Also, between 19 tracks (not counting the Interludes), there are only 5 tracks I can actually consider to be "good" (and those are Strobelite, Saturnz Barz, Andromeda, We Got The Power and Out of Body). Then there are those who are okay, and those that I personally don't like. On the last category, the one I underline is Circle of Friendz. It is a lazy song, in my opinion. Damon Albarn and Brandon Markell Holmes are constantly singing "Circle of, circle of, circle of, my circle of friends" for two minutes and the instrumental has literally nothing special. You get tired of the song after 40 seconds and it is a terrible last track, in my opinion. On the other hand, there is Out of Body, which is probably my favourite track of the album. It is pretty cheerful and I love Kilo Kash's voice in there. Actually, I don't know if it is supposed to be Noodle's voice or not, like Miho Hatori and Roses Gabor have done before (here and here, respectively), but if it is, it totally mixes perfectly with Noodle.
Another weak point of the record: Where is 2-D? We barely hear 2-D here. There are even a lot of songs where he doesn't appear AT ALL. The album has a lot of featured artists, but yeah, we barely hear 2-D here. Between 19 tracks, the only one where no one was featured is Busted and Blue (a 6/10 song). Having tracks where other artists are featured is good, yeah, but it becomes the opposite when it occults the main artist.
This concealment and the radical change of the music itself comparing to the first three albums makes this record almost look like it is not even Gorillaz. If Damon Albarn (aka 2-D) was more present, it would have looked a bit more like themselves (it would be quite hypocritical to say Gorillaz would not look like Gorillaz without Damon Albarn's voice when I am really fond with songs like Rock the House and Left Hand Suzuki Method, where 2-D doesn't sing at all).
Now, I would talk about the music videos of Saturnz Barz and Strobelite, which I really liked, but that hasn't much to do with the record itself, so I think it'd be unfair to review the record considering the music videos as well.
So, I give Humanz a solid 11/20. The album was not terrible, there were some good songs, but it's a weak record when compared with their first three albums. When I first heard it, it was my favourite album of 2017, but then I listened to more and more albums, and I realized that it is not nearly as good as I thought it was. Despite all that, I still have maximum respect for Damon Albarn and for what he has archived as a musician ever since his first record with Blur, back in 1991.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with me? Express your opinion on the comments and I'll reply!
After the release of The Fall, on 25th December 2010 and the single Do Ya Thing, on 23rd February 2012, Gorillaz announced they were on an "Indefinite hiatus", which allowed both Hewlett and Albarn to follow their own projects (including the latest album of Albarn's band, Blur: The Magic Whip). After this hiatus, Damon Albarn started to record Gorillaz's fifth album while Hewlett started to draw the ficctional member's new design, together with the story of Phase 4. On 23rd April 2017, the album was released.
This album has a LOT of singles: Hallelujah Money (featuring Benjamin Clementine), released on 19th January; Saturnz Barz (featuring Popcaan), Andromeda (featuring D.R.A.M.), Ascencion (feat. Vince Staples) and We Got The Power (featuring Camille Barthomier and Noel Gallagher), all released on 23rd March (which, by the way, is my birthday and Damon Albarn's birthday); Let Me Out (featuring Mavis Staples and Pusha T), on 6th April; The Apprentice (featuring Rag'n'Bone Man, Zebra Katz and Ray BLK), on 24th April; and Strobelite (featuring Pevan Everett), on 7th August. Between all these singles, the most successful one was Saturnz Barz, which now has about 60 million views on YouTube. I kinda understand why, though. It was a great comeback song, in my opinion, it didn't disappoint me at all. They have shown people that they were not dead, even after a five-year hiatus.
The Deluxe version of the album has a total number of 26 tracks. It may look like a monstrous number, but the album is actually about 44 minutes long. Why, you ask? 7 of those 26 tracks are Interludes (I'm counting Intro: I Switched My Robot Off as an Interlude). About 41 minutes in 19 tracks, I'd say. When I first listened to this album, I actually loved the Interludes, but after a year listening to it, I came to realize that the Interludes are quite useless there. I mean, sure, it is like an "intro" to the next track, and some of those Interludes actually work out, like Interlude: Elevator Going Up and Intro: I Switched My Robot Off (those two Interludes actually add something to the album. Two exceptions), but still: why though? Why do we need to hear some guy saying "I promise to be different! I promise to be unique! I promise not to repeat what other people say!" in front of a crowd who is repeating his words? I mean, yeah, I get the idea, but I was not really fond with it.
Also, between 19 tracks (not counting the Interludes), there are only 5 tracks I can actually consider to be "good" (and those are Strobelite, Saturnz Barz, Andromeda, We Got The Power and Out of Body). Then there are those who are okay, and those that I personally don't like. On the last category, the one I underline is Circle of Friendz. It is a lazy song, in my opinion. Damon Albarn and Brandon Markell Holmes are constantly singing "Circle of, circle of, circle of, my circle of friends" for two minutes and the instrumental has literally nothing special. You get tired of the song after 40 seconds and it is a terrible last track, in my opinion. On the other hand, there is Out of Body, which is probably my favourite track of the album. It is pretty cheerful and I love Kilo Kash's voice in there. Actually, I don't know if it is supposed to be Noodle's voice or not, like Miho Hatori and Roses Gabor have done before (here and here, respectively), but if it is, it totally mixes perfectly with Noodle.
Another weak point of the record: Where is 2-D? We barely hear 2-D here. There are even a lot of songs where he doesn't appear AT ALL. The album has a lot of featured artists, but yeah, we barely hear 2-D here. Between 19 tracks, the only one where no one was featured is Busted and Blue (a 6/10 song). Having tracks where other artists are featured is good, yeah, but it becomes the opposite when it occults the main artist.
This concealment and the radical change of the music itself comparing to the first three albums makes this record almost look like it is not even Gorillaz. If Damon Albarn (aka 2-D) was more present, it would have looked a bit more like themselves (it would be quite hypocritical to say Gorillaz would not look like Gorillaz without Damon Albarn's voice when I am really fond with songs like Rock the House and Left Hand Suzuki Method, where 2-D doesn't sing at all).
Now, I would talk about the music videos of Saturnz Barz and Strobelite, which I really liked, but that hasn't much to do with the record itself, so I think it'd be unfair to review the record considering the music videos as well.
So, I give Humanz a solid 11/20. The album was not terrible, there were some good songs, but it's a weak record when compared with their first three albums. When I first heard it, it was my favourite album of 2017, but then I listened to more and more albums, and I realized that it is not nearly as good as I thought it was. Despite all that, I still have maximum respect for Damon Albarn and for what he has archived as a musician ever since his first record with Blur, back in 1991.
So, what do you think? Do you agree with me? Express your opinion on the comments and I'll reply!
Welcome!
Hey, welcome to my blog: listen to this. I will start by introducing it.
I created this blog because I consider myself a music-geek who is constantly listening to new songs and I see this blog as a place where I can express my opinion about the music I've been listening to without being that annoying guy who shares YouTube links on Facebook all the time with a brief review like "This is awesome!". Here, I can develop even more my ideas without spamming anyone's feed. Also, it'll be more organized!
So, how will I review music here? Well, I have a handful of ways where I can choose from. I can reviews any band/artist/album by making top 10's, or by simply developing my opinion about the record/track/whatever as a whole (kinda like Anthony Fantano does on his YouTube channel, I guess?) or under a heading like Artists/Bands Worth to Listen. It's just a matter of choosing and writing.
Also, I am Portuguese, so why will this blog be in English? Well, to start off, it is an universal language and it'd be easier to get some feedback with a blog written in English than in Portuguese. Plus, yeah, I listen to some songs in Portuguese, but the majority of the songs I listen to are in English and I feel comfortable with the English language. Only advantages.
I hope you start following this blog, since that feedback in something fundamental to keep the blog going in the future. I'd also be thankful if you followed my Facebook page, MaguroKid, where I give you news about all of my projects, including my own band, The Systemize, who are about to upload their first cover on YouTube, and a bunch of other smaller projects.
Thanks for the attention.
I created this blog because I consider myself a music-geek who is constantly listening to new songs and I see this blog as a place where I can express my opinion about the music I've been listening to without being that annoying guy who shares YouTube links on Facebook all the time with a brief review like "This is awesome!". Here, I can develop even more my ideas without spamming anyone's feed. Also, it'll be more organized!
So, how will I review music here? Well, I have a handful of ways where I can choose from. I can reviews any band/artist/album by making top 10's, or by simply developing my opinion about the record/track/whatever as a whole (kinda like Anthony Fantano does on his YouTube channel, I guess?) or under a heading like Artists/Bands Worth to Listen. It's just a matter of choosing and writing.
Also, I am Portuguese, so why will this blog be in English? Well, to start off, it is an universal language and it'd be easier to get some feedback with a blog written in English than in Portuguese. Plus, yeah, I listen to some songs in Portuguese, but the majority of the songs I listen to are in English and I feel comfortable with the English language. Only advantages.
I hope you start following this blog, since that feedback in something fundamental to keep the blog going in the future. I'd also be thankful if you followed my Facebook page, MaguroKid, where I give you news about all of my projects, including my own band, The Systemize, who are about to upload their first cover on YouTube, and a bunch of other smaller projects.
Thanks for the attention.
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