Half-Year in Review #1: Halsey - Manic
“In theory, taking a break from the ambiguously defined Halsey-verse to make an isolated record of heartbreak, doubt, and eventual catharsis is a great idea; in practice, Manic suffers from many of the same flaws that plagued Halsey’s previous albums. At this point, no amount of blatant talent or perceived potential can obscure the unattractive production and regrettable lyricism that ruin far too many promising ideas; if Halsey wants to maintain the same level of intrigue with which many have followed her career up to this point, something on the journey from thought to pen to studio must change, and drastically so.”
Album Review: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
Save for the last two tracks, Future Nostalgia is an immaculate revival of forgotten sounds and subgenres from decades past, and a captivating ode to the glory days of disco and dance-pop. Dua Lipa might seem on paper to be an unlikely candidate for such a convincing throwback, but it is clear from the care put into her lyrics and performances on this record that her infatuation with pop music’s history is entirely genuine. It is this that makes her imitations of these styles so flattering, and the talent on display across the album leaves no doubt as to why her variations on the pop formula almost entirely work to perfection. For as many dated musical experiments as are strewn about the charts of yesteryear, enough timeless material has survived so as to show why such trends became popular in the first place, and it is these paragons of pop which Dua Lipa innovates upon to create her masterpiece.