Halsey - Manic

I actually quite love some of her lyrics, but maybe I just buy into hr schtick too much.
Alone and Sorry feel like genuinely strong moments, lyrically.

Despite the dramatics of her natural personality and the drama in singing about a on-and-off years-lasting teenage relationship, she's still a 22-year-old person, so I don't find the earnestness off-putting and more-so endearing. I mean, she even says on the album that she doesn't know how to speak without screaming.

Tracks like Lie, Walls Could Talk and Don’t Play not being produced by the A-list producers she now had access to but Lido was shocking at first, but they feel like an obvious direction their work was heading with Tokyo Narita Freestyle.

 

Ya this is not very good. Just like her first album there are like 5 songs I would keep. Her voice and lyrics ruin most of these songs and the rest are just not interesting enough. She definitely picked the right singles though. I think those 3 plus "Walls Could Talk" are the strongest songs.

 

Eh, this is had moments that were better than I expected and one's I was really unimpressed with. It's definitely different than Badlands.

Spoiler: track reviews

The Prologue - 6/10. Honestly, I knew when she said she was inspired by 'Romeo & Juliet' and talked about this being a concept album this was a given. It's theatrical, which can easily be seen as 'extra'. I'm not going to drag her hard for that. Generally, it's good for the album.

02 - 100 Letters - 6.5/10. The intro is promising, the production has good elements, but it ultimately drags on because the chorus is a nonevent. I wanted it to be over.

03 - Eyes Closed - 7/10. This is a decent song. Nothing too wrong with it, nothing so great about it. I mainly agree with all posters when it comes to this song. (The Weeknd's involvement, etc.)

04 - Heaven in Hiding - 8/10. I like this, and it's definitely more intriguing than the songs thus far. It feels very cinematic, and lyrically it's a shakespearean BOP.

05 - Alone - 8.5/10. I will definitely come back to this song. I love the consistent beat, and the throwback sound. With that being said, this could easily be a 10 if the chorus was amped up a bit. They added some production elements (a synth, guitar, etc.) and if they were higher in the mix it would elevate the song so much.

06 - Needed Me - 7/10. I like that we are using the original title (@Euphoria I'm using your rate as a template). Personally, this song has always been a version of 'Needed Me' that drags on. Obviously, any Rihanna single deserves above a five, and the original is amazing so a seven is justifiable.

07 - Sorry - 7.5/10. Nice ballad. I definitely understand earlier comments now about her vocals though, she's been a bit weird with them all album. She's showing talent here, I'm a fan.

08 - Good Mourning - 3/10. Before, I was saying how theatrical can be confused as "extra"... and here she was just being extra. The only way I can describe this is by saying it reminds me of a murder-mystery computer game. Halsey, no.

09 - Lie - 4/10. Maybe this would be a bit more tolerable if she skipped the lyric about messy head. It's not sexy or intriguing, Halsey; It's just un-comforting. The chorus is a messily different than the verses. Also, Quavo isn't bad at all but why is he on a pop album inspired by Romeo and Juliet? A kii.

10 - Walls Could Talk - 6/10. It's okay; could've been nice if it was longer. I remember reading interviews about how people were shocked at how short 'Ghost' was and how oddly good it was. I feel she was trying to re-create the same type of bop.

11 - Bad at Love - 8.5/10. I liked this a lot, despite some cringeworthy moments. It seems like a grower. I'm used to those at this point in the album.

12 - Don't Play - 8.5/10. It's bad how much I enjoy this. Extremely glad she stopped trying to be deep for a moment. I feel this was her trying to be a certain someone again though, like just her attitude and the rhythmic type direction. Wake up, Halsey. You are not Rihanna. You are never going to be her.

13 - Strangers - 6/10 Generally likable, and I understand why it's a fan favorite. It's nice, and Lauren killed her feature. It didn't hit me as hard though.

14 - Angel on Fire - 6.5/10. Okay, Halsey. Not going to play this much, but this isn't awful per say. Very 'Badlands' in my opinion.

15 - Devil In Me - 6.5/10. This is the definition of a Halsey filler. These songs are probably so easy for her to write and come up with at this point. Not bad, not great.

16 - Hopeless - 5/10 I thought this would be some epic album closer and instead it's a bit boring. Also, while people seem to love it, Cashmere's little vocal production technique just feels unnecessary here.

That means the album averaged out to a 7/10 which seems fitting. All the songs that struck me seem like growers too, but overall this album had a lot of questionable moments. This is better than Dua's album so congrats to Halsey for that. Even though that was a given.

 

The Prologue... dddd.

Spoken intro to a 110 million dollar production cost flop action film that gets a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes teas.

 

It's not a bad album but I doubt I'll listen again. The whole thing just blended into one for me. It's probably better than Badlands, but that album had more individual stand out tracks .

 

Well, I'm disappointed that this album's flaws are largely the same flaws Badlands had - basically taking itself way too seriously and posturing way too hard.

I can accept that "coke fiend angsty creature of the night" is just her m.o at this point and that it's going to remain consistent, but I feel like it's fair then to wish she were more playful in other areas. Walls Could Talk and Strangers are the shining moments for me just because the production manages to have way more character to contrast her groggy perspectives.

I even prefer her talking about molly like mascarpone or weed like gruyère over a song like Eyes Closed that is just derivative.

But I like Now or Never, Strangers, Walls Could Talk, Alone, and 100 Letters on first listen. Which is about the same amount of songs I took from Badlands...

 

4/5 Stars from Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-halseys-hopeless-fountain-kingdom-w485214

It's... a lot, but I'm lowkey living. Get the critical acclaim, Ashley.

 

I know, that's what makes it a kii. Pump up her metacritic score for the sake of dramatics, Rob, I cheer you on.

 

I think Ricky Reed is the MVP production wise. Alone is really cool.

 

When she sings "I can put on a show x2" on 'Heaven In Hiding', doesn't it just sound like another song? Maybe Dua Lipa, I don't know.

 

I'm really liking hopeless fountain kingdom. More than I was expecting to. Who would've thought that Ashley Frangipane would come through with her sophomore album?

 

I think Badlands is better.

 

I'm listening to this. Don't ever say I never fucking tried, y'all.

Spoiler: Track reviews

Prologue - I like the second half with the vocoder.

100 Letters - Woof, full-on "welcome to my kitchen" already. No thanks.

Eyes Closed - Okay, this is actually pretty great. As others have said, it's incredibly Weeknd-ish but I'll let ha live.

Heaven in Hiding - Meh. The chorus feels like it goes on for ages, and the "put on a show" part sounds directly lifted, melody and all, from the exact same phrase in Blow Your Mind (Mwah). Not bad but not particularly noteworthy

Alone - I can get with the disco influences here. She sounds decent too.

Now or Never - This has grown on me - a lot, actually? - but it's also so Starrah-by-the-numbers, almost distractingly so; I'd almost rather she be singing it.

Sorry - Y'all know I love me an #emosh piano ballad, but this is so...James Blunt. Hard pass.

Good Mourning - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Lie - HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Walls Could Talk - I miss Destiny's Child. This is pretty great though - so of course it's an interlude.

Bad At Love - Why is there a Trouble outtake on this and why is Kat Dahlia singing the chorus? The instrumental is actually great, but the lyrics are a disaster and ruin the whole thing. Props to her for actually going for a bisexual romantic angle though.

Don't Play - Bye

Strangers - Lauren steals the show completely here, the chorus is nice, and I'm a sucker for a good retrowave instrumental.

Angel on Fire - This sounds like an old Avril Lavigne demo from Under My Skin that got unearthed and given the 2017 treatment, with worse lyrics.

Devil in Me - Okay, I can get with this. It's kind of Imogen Heap-ish?

Hopeless - I'm unsure how much of my enjoyment of this is because I like Cashmere Cat anyway and how much of it is genuinely because it's good, but I'll take it.

So, seven and a half good songs out of sixteen; honestly, that's about five more than I was expecting. I don't think I'll ever not be skeptical when it comes to Ms. Ashley - @Euphoria's summary at the end of their review is basically where I've always been at with her, and this didn't change that - but she's stepped it up somewhat which is good to see. I also echo @RJF's sentiments that having something to break up the mood would've gone a long way; it all just sorta blends into one amorphous, brooding indie-pop blob after a certain point.

 

Mess, I only like 3 songs after 3 full listens (skipped a lot during the second and third)

Meh, It may grow on me though