I BRINGS THAT LEVITY

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

FYI, this album leaked yesterday. You can probably find it quite easily. It is as AMAZING as its cover, which is to say, REALLY REALLY AMAZING.

Comments

[datura800.livejournal.com]

I love the opening group of songs...and then I think it gets INCREDIBLY boring.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I'd agree it's frontloaded but when the opening amazing group comprises EIGHT songs (ok maybe minus 'Love Story') I'm not complaining. Of the songs in the second half 'OOC' is still pretty good, the midtempo ones might be growers but aren't terrible by any means, and 'I Wish You Well' is like WHOA, a triumph in every way, one of the best album closers I've heard and maybe one of the songs of her career.

'Side Effects' and 'I Wish You Well' are probably the best big emotional numbers, 'Migrate' and 'I'm That Chick' and 'I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time' the best uptempo ones...she sounds like she's having a lot of fun on this album.

[datura800.livejournal.com]

Well that's part of my problem - it's all terribly tasteful. And what's with all the autotune?! She's Mariah for feck's sake. I listened to about the first 5 and then, about 20 minutes later, realised I still had the album on. It completely failed to hold my attention.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I hardly heard any autotune on it! I've only listened twice but apart from 'Migrate', which songs is it on? I didn't think it was any more tasteful than Mariah's ever been either, there are lots of "whoa rewind did she just say/do that" moments: 'I'm That Chick' is full of ridic lines, she tries out JAMAICAN PATOIS of all things on 'Cruise Control', 'Side Effects' and 'Migrate' have terrific woozy production, 'I Wish You Well' has a massive gospel choir in dialogue with Mariah and a Biblical recitation...Mariah is still v definitely loopy on it.

[datura800.livejournal.com]

Auto-tune was all over the place! Not in an explicit 'Blackout' kinda way, just in that 'you shouldn't really know this is here but it is' kind of way. And i don't really have a problem with it, but I don't get why she even needs it.

Yeah she herself is still rather mad, but it's just lacking any balls-out FUN pop songs for me. But I'll leave it there cos we're not going to agree!

[koganbot]

I'm totally confused when someone says he "hears" autotune. How does one do this?

[datura800.livejournal.com]

It's rather difficult to explain, but it adds a certain sound to the voice...years of listening to autotune fans have taught me well.

[koganbot]

Didn't hit me all that hard on first listen. I like "Side Effects" quite a lot, but could imagine lots of other singers doing it not much differently (which isn't a criticism). She's using her voice as a lot of different brush strokes, but she doesn't push her voice forward as the Great Big Splash in the way that she did on Emotions, way back when.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I think her singing might be more nuanced now though - that early exuberance was very youthful, but in its place there are so many more brushstrokes. (I've belatedly been getting into lots of early Mariah this year though - I love 'Make It Happen'.) And she can still splash you in the face when she wants - the opening of 'Migrate'!

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

For some reason I keep reading this cover as "E=MO SQUARED."