ALT POP GIRLS RATE: COVEN | COMPLETE

Phonetics Girl

Phonetics Girl

she/her
I'm anxious and restless

Should I get rid of 4 songs today?

Would anybody like that?










































​

Feeling I know you from long ago

From deep in the past

I don't know why

But I trust you completely

80

new-normal.gif



7.5125

Highest: 10x1 @Trouble in Paradise
Lowest: 3x1 @Cutlery

Movement
#5: 57 (7.8)
#10: 63 (7.7)
#15: 68 (7.64)
#20: 71 (7.655)
#25: 77 (7.594)
#28: 80 (7.5125)



I'll be the first to admit I've done this wrong. A 6 for a song when I can tell how it goes? With this cute episodic narration? I must have been in a harsh mood when I was scoring, but to be fair, I wasn't the only one.

@Stradiwhovius (7):"I appreciate the twang in this but unfortunately brings unfavourable comparisons with Weyes Blood in this rate."

@constantino (7.5) references both the new and the old kind of normal: "Well this aged well, huh. I love how much this harks back to old school Chairlift whilst still feeling in tune with the rest of the album. Ah...that’s cohesion!"

@pop3blow2 (8.6) deems it "Quirky & interesting… if not completely memorable." Now don't tell me "Now what is this?" doesn't pop up in your mind at most random moments! Nope? Just me, then?

@godspeed (9) serves energy drink energy with his stanning: "The bloody production on this track! THE BLOODY PRODUCTION! I thought this song was fine the first few times I listened to the album, mostly because it sort of got lost between the immediate standouts that are "PANG" and "Hit Me Where It Hurts." But the day I realized that the production switched on each part of the song and literally each verse felt like a chorus but was different from the one before... Damn. My mind blew up. Now what is this? It is a fucking banger."

And @Trouble in Paradise (10) is probably out there looking for a bear costume to shove us into: "I adored this song when the album came out and it’s only taken on even more meaning given our current context. I love me a song that builds and builds as time goes on and this is unfurls flawlessly. The way she wraps such disparate pieces like the guitar strum to the pepping vocal sample to create the perfect bed for her vocals and lyrics. Speaking of lyrics “Last night I dreamed we were immortal/it’s no big deal this new kind of normal.”

Will we ever let Poor Caroline live?​
 
Last edited:
Trouble in Paradise

Trouble in Paradise

He/Him
Phonetics Boy said:
I'm anxious and restless

Should I get rid of 4 songs today?

Would anybody like that?










































​

Feeling I know you from long ago

From deep in the past

I don't know why

But I trust you completely

80

new-normal.gif



7.5125

Highest: 10x1 @Trouble in Paradise
Lowest: 3x1 @Cutlery

Movement
#5: 57 (7.8)
#10: 63 (7.7)
#15: 68 (7.64)
#20: 71 (7.655)
#25: 77 (7.594)
#28: 80 (7.5125)



I'll be the first to admit I've done this wrong. A 6 for a song when I can tell how it goes? With this cute episodic narration? I must have been in a harsh mood when I was scoring, but to be fair, I wasn't the only one.

@constantino (7.5) references both the new and the old kind of normal: "Well this aged well, huh. I love how much this harks back to old school Chairlift whilst still feeling in tune with the rest of the album. Ah...that’s cohesion!"

@pop3blow2 (8.6) deems it "Quirky & interesting… if not completely memorable." Now don't tell me "Now what is this?" doesn't pop up in your mind at most random moments! Nope? Just me, then?

@godspeed (9) serves energy drink energy with his stanning: "The bloody production on this track! THE BLOODY PRODUCTION! I thought this song was fine the first few times I listened to the album, mostly because it sort of got lost between the immediate standouts that are "PANG" and "Hit Me Where It Hurts." But the day I realized that the production switched on each part of the song and literally each verse felt like a chorus but was different from the one before... Damn. My mind blew up. Now what is this? It is a fucking banger."

And @Trouble in Paradise (10) is probably out there looking for a bear costume to shove us into: "I adored this song when the album came out and it’s only taken on even more meaning given our current context. I love me a song that builds and builds as time goes on and this is unfurls flawlessly. The way she wraps such disparate pieces like the guitar strum to the pepping vocal sample to create the perfect bed for her vocals and lyrics. Speaking of lyrics “Last night I dreamed we were immortal/it’s no big deal this new kind of normal.”

Will we ever let Poor Caroline live?​
Click to expand...

source.gif

I did not expect Caroline to be the one being done dirtiest
 
Phonetics Girl

Phonetics Girl

she/her
Hello dawn, you're here at last

To reveal what can't be hidden

Through the blinds, the sun meets my eyes

With it, blinded by the hope of a love in your eyes

Is my heart too much for you to succumb to what has risen?

Rivers run and tides grow high, that's living

Who would wanna try to steal all of that freedom?

79

too-much.gif



7.537

Highest: 10x1 @Music Is Life
Lowest: 1x1 @Hurricane Drunk

Movement
#5: 74 (7.4)
#10: 78 (7.25)
#15: 84 (7.07)
#20: 80 (7.27)
#25: 80 (7.42)
#28: 79 (7.5375)

“But I guess the biggest excitement for me is that I feel like the concept of the album is lost,” she begins. “People don’t listen to albums anymore. Like sitting down to listen to the whole thing, from front to back. Even I don’t… I feel like I fall victim to that as well. But I’m starting to resurface in being able to listen to music. And I’m most excited about people being able to consume this as a whole body of work, with interludes and… the three acts.” She stops, then stage-whispers this last line, for added effect: “It’s all there.”

Should have 10'd it as well, honestly. But, as a formless barely surpassing 2 minutes of runtime poem-like moment, "Too Much" stood no chance in a sea of fully-realised songs. Like with many Lu tracks, I feel like getting lost in the world it creates, but more on it later (not as late as I would like to, sadly).

@Cutlery (7) identifies the problems faced by shorter tracks in rates: "it's not something i seek on its own, but as part of a full album listen, it fulfils the role of a nice glorified interlude."

@Trouble in Paradise (7.5) is a fly that escaped the sticky paper: "I really wish I clicked more with this twisted western vibe but I can’t seem to cling onto any of the vocal hooks or lyrical melodies. It ends up feeling like a pretty interlude in an album full of hook filled songs and strongly defined moods."

@godspeed (8.5) beautifully sums up the journey we're taken on: "I love the mid-section of Blood because it's when the album gets really surprising, exciting and you never know what to expect next. On "Too Much" Kelsey Lu seems to take on country music and inflict her own touch to the genre. It's another stunning song where her cello adds a dramatic feel to an instrumental that otherwise feels like light and pleasant. It's a little moment of calm before another astounding track..."


So now that first blood (yes, pun intended) was shed by the 2nd main album, what's next?​
 
Stradiwhovius

Stradiwhovius

he/him
Phonetics Boy said:
I'm anxious and restless

Should I get rid of 4 songs today?

Would anybody like that?










































​

Feeling I know you from long ago

From deep in the past

I don't know why

But I trust you completely

80

new-normal.gif



7.5125

Highest: 10x1 @Trouble in Paradise
Lowest: 3x1 @Cutlery

Movement
#5: 57 (7.8)
#10: 63 (7.7)
#15: 68 (7.64)
#20: 71 (7.655)
#25: 77 (7.594)
#28: 80 (7.5125)



I'll be the first to admit I've done this wrong. A 6 for a song when I can tell how it goes? With this cute episodic narration? I must have been in a harsh mood when I was scoring, but to be fair, I wasn't the only one.

@constantino (7.5) references both the new and the old kind of normal: "Well this aged well, huh. I love how much this harks back to old school Chairlift whilst still feeling in tune with the rest of the album. Ah...that’s cohesion!"

@pop3blow2 (8.6) deems it "Quirky & interesting… if not completely memorable." Now don't tell me "Now what is this?" doesn't pop up in your mind at most random moments! Nope? Just me, then?

@godspeed (9) serves energy drink energy with his stanning: "The bloody production on this track! THE BLOODY PRODUCTION! I thought this song was fine the first few times I listened to the album, mostly because it sort of got lost between the immediate standouts that are "PANG" and "Hit Me Where It Hurts." But the day I realized that the production switched on each part of the song and literally each verse felt like a chorus but was different from the one before... Damn. My mind blew up. Now what is this? It is a fucking banger."

And @Trouble in Paradise (10) is probably out there looking for a bear costume to shove us into: "I adored this song when the album came out and it’s only taken on even more meaning given our current context. I love me a song that builds and builds as time goes on and this is unfurls flawlessly. The way she wraps such disparate pieces like the guitar strum to the pepping vocal sample to create the perfect bed for her vocals and lyrics. Speaking of lyrics “Last night I dreamed we were immortal/it’s no big deal this new kind of normal.”

Will we ever let Poor Caroline live?​
Click to expand...

I had (admittedly crap) commentary on this, so I have to ask: did my scores which I broke through the forum crash actually come through?
giphy.gif
 
Phonetics Girl

Phonetics Girl

she/her
Stradiwhovius said:
I had (admittedly crap) commentary on this, so I have to ask: did my scores which I broke through the forum crash actually come through?
giphy.gif
Click to expand...
I... forgot your commentary for New Normal and Look At Me Now. I'll add it back in a sec. Everybody feel free to @ me, if you spot further mistakes!

Hints for the next elimination I'm working on:
dylanaber said:
these results are making my brain hurt
Click to expand...
slaybellz said:
Mama, this is a troll ballot.
Click to expand...
 
Phonetics Girl

Phonetics Girl

she/her
Let's get out of the bottom 10










a song with most 10s yet





































but also most low scores















































a divisive one

























































Dreams of dried fields

That once were green

Burnt by someone just like me

78

insomnia.gif



7.58

Highest: 10x6 @fatyoshi @BubblegumBoy @sesita @pop3blow2 @aux @ufint
Lowest: 2x2 @Phonetics Boy @Hurricane Drunk

Movement
#5: 84 (6.6)
#10: 61 (7.75)
#15: 79 (7.23)
#20: 82 (7.225)
#25: 79 (7.45)
#28: 78 (7.58035714)



In recent eliminations, I've been talking a lot about underscoring, but I actually stand by this one. The way she elongates every. single. syllable (or at least it's that way in my perception) gives me nausea. Some sounds just get me uncomfortable and "Insomnia" is full of them. As some of the commenters mention, the song's atmosphere is visceral and nightmarish and I can't fuck with that. I appreciate that she can create a piece evoking such strong emotions in listeners, but I just can't get past the defeat and apathy towards everything it makes me feel. It reminds me a lot of Charli's "Lucky" and her recent album with its PC music vocal production style which I find revolting most of the time. Sucks to be me, I guess!

Finally, I can sit back and let y'all take me away on pitchforks.

@constantino (9) is about to put my name on a list: "This droning, visceral dystopian JOURNEY of a song better not be done wrong by y’all, I WILL be watching and taking notes!"

@Trouble in Paradise (8) invokes the Aly & AJ stanbase: "I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that a whole lot of PJ members are also insomniacs like myself! Maybe its because she captures the terrible feeling of watching the night crawl away from me that makes this song feel like it is pushing me away from it." Meanwhile, I can't function on less than 12 hours of sleep. Hate my body and it hates me!

@godspeed (8) embraces the darkness under his bed: "I remember Caroline Polachek talking about how Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty inspired her in an interview with Pitchfork. Maybe she meant that only visually, but "Insomnia" always gave me that dark and nightmarey vibe Sleeping Beauty gives me. childhood traumas coming back to the surface I can picture certain scenes from this film while listening to this song and it makes a lot of sense to me. There's just an atmosphere about it. I don't know if it was intended or not though but that's the vibe I'm getting."

@pop3blow2 (10) will be disappointed: "This was a moody instant fave on my first listen of this album last year. It still holds up great."


Tomorrow we're losing an extra and a main album track, but Caroline will be safe. For now!​
 
sesita

sesita

Oh, shit! I love Insomnia, how it takes its time building up which almost leaves you in a trance, those little melismas,... the way she goes into her mixed and head voice, it's so magnetic.

It actually reminds me of Enya and Emilíana Torrini's work for The Lord of the Rings soundtracks, if that makes any sense?

So sad to see this one go!
 
Phonetics Girl

Phonetics Girl

she/her

I can't wait to possess you

I want to make your brain my home

77

1000-eyes.gif



7.589

Highest: 10x1 @klow
Lowest: 4x1 @Cutlery

Movement
#5: 73 (7.5)
#10: 76 (7.33)
#15: 67 (7.7)
#20: 62 (7.87)
#25: 75 (7.69)
#28: 77 (7.58913043)

"October, who produced the song with acclaimed mixer/producer David Wrench, said that the song is about the relationship between performer and audience. In an interview with Sniffers, she said:

“I think there’s always been such an interesting dynamic of giving and receiving, much like romance – there’s an aspect of courting involved, and there’s always the apprehension that it will be unsuccessful—yet it’s a thrill.”


Why her? There’s a wealth of artists who came up on the wave of Lorde’s popularity, and Auckland-residing Emma Logan is one of them. I found out she had released her debut album in 2018 from @klow’s post in one of the PJ Charts threads. Earlier on that year, in fact on the second day of it, one of the lead-in singles, “Pure” appeared on my Discover Weekly and took over my life for a hot second. When I submitted it to PJSC, it bombed harder than it banged, though, so I wasn’t going to put it up for further rate scrutiny. I did remember @NecessaryVoodoo stanning 1000 Eyes, so I said to myself “maybe they’ll receive this one a lil better” and… I was not entirely wrong. Ultra Red is a punky synthpop debut, with 1000 Eyes being, perhaps, its poppiest, slickest offering, the least uncool in a “moody music for edgy teens who like Lorde” manner. I’m not particularly sad to see it go now, as it’s not one of my top October tracks, some of which I included at the post’s bottom, and the voters will likely not shed many tears as well.

@Cutlery (4) has a point or two: "it has an interesting concept, but the production is very bare bones and tires quickly. the choruses are drab, and the aggressive keyboard towards the end don’t do enough to lift the song up. it's a draft rather than a final song to me."

@Trouble in Paradise (7) concludes: "Sorry not sorry but this just feels a bit basic “alt pop witchery” compared to the majority of this song list!" Let's hope she evolves beyond that on her sophomore!




​
 
klow

klow

SCREAM at my stanning from eons ago being the reason this made the rate. I admit I was happy but very surprised to see it appear in the list! Ultra Red remains a fabulous album, yet another one that has helped to fill the (seemingly neverending) Sky Ferreira void. I hope she returns with new music soon!
 
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