“Green Light”
André
Well the album title is fitting
Oh, wait. Is this turning into a house track?
Fred
Good grief
The roof on my house just blew off
André
That certainly took a turn haha
Fred
This is pretty fun
Is it meant to be fun? I’ve never listened to Lorde before
André
I’m not sure. Given her age, I assume so
Fred
This is fabulous
André
The lyrics are a nice contrast to the happy-house tone of the instrumental
Fred
Very strong opener
“Sober”
André
She has a very distinctive voice – it’s easy to see why such a fuss was made a few years ago
Fred
Yeah, husky
Yet oddly smooth. Does it always have this near-conversational tone?
André
Yeah, but she can certainly soar too
Fred
This hasn’t quite taken off like Green Light has
Pleasant though
André
Pleasant is the right word
“Homemade Dynamite”
André
Her wordplay is fantastic. The delivery is stellar
Fred
It’s all so measured
André
I like how subdued the instrumental is
Leaves her plenty of room
Fred
Yeah, and the effect on the vocals is just right
Gives it a glow
André
Did she just make an explosion sound?
I think she did haha
Fred
What a clever little hook the chorus has
André
Yeah, this is good
I’m impressed so far
“The Louvre”
André
Moody pop is just right for a summer evening
Fred
Yeah, it’s a perfect fit
I just like how slow it is. She’s confident enough not to throw a wall of noise at you, and rightly so
She’s singing about over analyzing text messages and it’s great
What’s going on?
André
There’s a level of restraint, agreed
And it really benefits the mood
Also displays an amazing level of maturity for a 20-year old
Fred
Digging this fade out.
“Liability”
André
Seriously, the wordplay is seriously great
What a lovely little ballad
Fred
This is like a classy Disney tune or something
This is so refreshingly weird
André
I know
That was really nice
That one felt a lot more personal, too
Fred
Yeah, very sweet
“Hard Feelings/Loveless”
Fred
This is building up really well
André
Harmonies are wonderful
This is shaping up to be a splendid listen
There’s a real quirky, offbeat quality to some of these synths
I like how it embraces some of the conventional qualities of pop, whilst throwing in some peculiar aspects too as a counterbalance
Fred
Yeah. It’s like a successful version of those deliberately messy farces we’ve listened to
André
You can tell there is influence from the likes of Bon Iver, yeah
It’s way better than his record last year, frankly
Fred
You mean 80n )v3r?
André
That one!
“Sober II”
Fred
Haha, a symphony. Of course
André
There’s that classy Disney vibe again
Fred
Is pop coming full circle to… sincerity?!
André
I wonder how well this will fare, commercially
Critically it’s doing wonders
Ooh, that beat is ace
Bass is sounding smooth as fuck on my hi-fi
Fred
Suave isn’t it
Production has been top notch
“Writer in the Dark”
Fred
Most of the songs have been below 4 minutes, by the way. Nothing overcooked so far
André
There’s that restraint again, yeah
Her voice is the throbbing heart of this record. If she’s not careful, she’ll be one of THE voices of the incoming generation
Only 20 years old and making records like this
No wonder Bowie was excited about her
Fred
The man knew a star when he saw one.
“Supercut”
André
There’s not been anything remotely house since the opener
This could build to one though..
It’s sticking to the subdued
Nice groove though
Fred
Yeah, nice
Oh there we go
André
It got there in the end
Fred
Haha, for like 8 seconds
Her harmonies are so good
André
Tease
The producers did a wonderful job on this record
Her included, it seems
“Liability (Reprise)”
André
The whole thing has that vibe of a come-down from a glamorous party
Written in the early hours of the morning after
Fred
Definitely in bring-it-home mode, yeah
It has that melancholy tone I agree
Reflective
“Perfect Places”
André
Compare this to that Lady Gaga album last year
A 20-year old is taking pop to a new level
Fred
Yeah, this is fantastic
What a lovely closer too
André
Absolutely
I’ll definitely be returning to this
Fred
Same. Plenty
Surely that’s one of the best releases of the year?
André
I think only time will tell
That was a really nice listen
I’ll be coming back to it
I’ve not listened to much pop this year, but I’m willing to bet it’s a lot better than the new Katy Perry album for instance
Not too a dissimilar vibe to The XX in places, and I really enjoyed their album this year too
But yeah, overall, I’m impressed
She has quite the career ahead of her
Fred
Lovely stuff
She certainly does
Goddammit
André
Green Light – what a red herring haha
A lot of the best albums in recent memory have those fantastic opening tracks that set an initial tone, but the rest of the album follows a different direction
Burn the Witch from A Moon Shaped Pool, Soothing from Semper Femina..
I’m not sure Melodrama is as good as those records. But it’s a fine album on first listen
Fred
It’s extremely solid. As you say, time will tell
Extremely good first impression though
Extremely
Extremely
And she’s only 20
André
I think you nailed it with that ‘classy Disney’ shout
The songs have the drama of your Frozen ballads, but the class and craft of something greater
Fred
It’s a good vibe
Dramatic even
Ah, she’s failed spectacularly!
