Gabrielle Aplin's third studio album politely sows in trendy pop terrains where some ambient piano ballads hieratically elevate as trees in a steppe.
Until The Sun Comes Up opens the album with a very tenuous vanilla flavor. The light radio-friendly pop song provides some pleasant night city vibes, but really fails to be memorable or even remotely unique in any kind of way.
Until The Sun Comes Up opens the album with a very tenuous vanilla flavor. The light radio-friendly pop song provides some pleasant night city vibes, but really fails to be memorable or even remotely unique in any kind of way.
6.0/10
Invisible amplifies the breath of the album. The verses smoothly lay on a sweet pad layering that eventually expand in a fulfilled dreamy chorus vaguely reminescent of Carly Rae Jepsen's fresh 80s influenced teen synthpop.
7.3/10
One Of Those Days is one of the most relaxing songs I've heard in recent time. The piano harmony, and the faint ambient-ish rhythmics fondle your ears through crystalline vocals. The transition from the bridge to the last vented chorus is wonderful as well. There is a neat sense of sonic evolution and morphing that completely takes any sense of boredom out of the window.
9.4/10
Kintsugi reintroduces catchy pop through ticking compositions. There is an ultra-slight tinge of J-pop that is enough to fit the lyrical metaphores that are the thematic essence of the track.
7.5/10
Strange completely changes the stylistic atmosphere of the album through moderately heavy basses. There is still a softness about it, but a new groovy texture takes over control. The highlight of this track is definitely the pre-chorus.
7.5/10
My Mistake is probably the fan-favorite moment of the whole record. The limpidity of the lyrics slathers on an essential, touching piano. Gradually introduced strings and ambient harmonies get in towards the end, the last minute is pure magic.
9.5/10
Like You Say You Do is a teen-pop track that is partially doomed by sounding too much like a Selena Gomez stereotypical formula. As a consequence, the identity of the artist is nowhere to be detected here. Overall, the song is too unbalanced to the high-frequencies area. A little more basses could have saved it by being fluffish.
6.2/10
The presence of JP Cooper marks the start of Losing Me in a refreshing way. The track works as a duet, the melodic line is a bit petulant, still this is far from being the least enjoyable part of the album. Without a male counterpart, this would have probably been a pretty boring song.
6.9/10
So Far So Good has drier elements than the previous tracks. This makes it more chewable. The chorus has an apparently pedestrian composition, but that somehow allows it to make it memorable and makes the "So Good, So Good, So Good, So Good" crescendo even more palatable.
7.7/10
Nothing Really Matters stands out for some trendy tropical pop influences. Unfortunately, there are a lot of sonic clichèes and not all of them appear to be the smartest choice. At the same, the song displays a notable versatility in terms of listening circumstances.
6.6/10
The marimba on Magic is exquisite. The main flaw of this track is that on the chorus the frequencies of all the elements are too close, almost overlapping each other. But overall this is a pretty perfect equilibrium between pop, ambient and tropical vibes.
7.8/10
Love Back's chorus is one of the album's highlights. The track is groovy in a similar way to Strange. The bridge is also impressive. This is another goal reached when it comes to convey soft and catchy at the same time.
8.6/10
Miss You is the mastering masterpiece of this album. The continuous flow and the vintage production characterizing the song are its point of strength, but may become its weakness when everything tends to become redundant as the end is getting closer.
7.6/10
Dear Happy closes the homonym album as it should: with a bedding piano and a round vocal exhortations. Not sure about some synth additions in the second half. Similar to One Of Those Days and My Mistake, probably not as spontaneous as.
8.8/10
This album does not play with contrasts, neverthless, it elegantly serves a well thought track order where different blendings of the same smooth expressivity manage to save themselves from the danger of the boring. The texture of these lyrics is remarkably reflective. Gabrielle is more poised than ever, and conveys youthful formulas avoiding both too naive or artificial outputs. The so woven carpet though was enough solid to possibly have allowed some additional peaks, so there is no secret that several moments on Dear Happy come across as slightly underwhelming or insipid. Her voice and lyrics are made to shine on the most peaceful and minimal arrangements.
Partial scores:
ASS (average songs score) = 7.7/10
Overall composition = 7.4/10
Overall production = 8.0/10
Overall songwriting = 9.0/10
Creativity = 6.7/10
Cohesivity = 8.9/10
The final score is obtained using the FUXYA FORMULA:
(ASS x 2 + composition x 2 + production x 2 + songwriting x 2 + creativity x 1 + cohesivity x 1)/100 =
0-30: DISASTER
30-40: VERY BAD
40-50: BAD
50-55: PRETTY BAD
55-60: MEDIOCRE
60-65: JUST ENOUGH
65-70: SATISFACTORY
70-75: PRETTY GOOD
75-80: GOOD
80-85: VERY GOOD
85-90: EXCELLENT
90-95: VERY EXCELLENT
95-100: PERFECT
One Of Those Days is one of the most relaxing songs I've heard in recent time. The piano harmony, and the faint ambient-ish rhythmics fondle your ears through crystalline vocals. The transition from the bridge to the last vented chorus is wonderful as well. There is a neat sense of sonic evolution and morphing that completely takes any sense of boredom out of the window.
9.4/10
Kintsugi reintroduces catchy pop through ticking compositions. There is an ultra-slight tinge of J-pop that is enough to fit the lyrical metaphores that are the thematic essence of the track.
7.5/10
Strange completely changes the stylistic atmosphere of the album through moderately heavy basses. There is still a softness about it, but a new groovy texture takes over control. The highlight of this track is definitely the pre-chorus.
7.5/10
My Mistake is probably the fan-favorite moment of the whole record. The limpidity of the lyrics slathers on an essential, touching piano. Gradually introduced strings and ambient harmonies get in towards the end, the last minute is pure magic.
9.5/10
Like You Say You Do is a teen-pop track that is partially doomed by sounding too much like a Selena Gomez stereotypical formula. As a consequence, the identity of the artist is nowhere to be detected here. Overall, the song is too unbalanced to the high-frequencies area. A little more basses could have saved it by being fluffish.
6.2/10
The presence of JP Cooper marks the start of Losing Me in a refreshing way. The track works as a duet, the melodic line is a bit petulant, still this is far from being the least enjoyable part of the album. Without a male counterpart, this would have probably been a pretty boring song.
6.9/10
So Far So Good has drier elements than the previous tracks. This makes it more chewable. The chorus has an apparently pedestrian composition, but that somehow allows it to make it memorable and makes the "So Good, So Good, So Good, So Good" crescendo even more palatable.
7.7/10
Nothing Really Matters stands out for some trendy tropical pop influences. Unfortunately, there are a lot of sonic clichèes and not all of them appear to be the smartest choice. At the same, the song displays a notable versatility in terms of listening circumstances.
6.6/10
The marimba on Magic is exquisite. The main flaw of this track is that on the chorus the frequencies of all the elements are too close, almost overlapping each other. But overall this is a pretty perfect equilibrium between pop, ambient and tropical vibes.
7.8/10
Love Back's chorus is one of the album's highlights. The track is groovy in a similar way to Strange. The bridge is also impressive. This is another goal reached when it comes to convey soft and catchy at the same time.
8.6/10
Miss You is the mastering masterpiece of this album. The continuous flow and the vintage production characterizing the song are its point of strength, but may become its weakness when everything tends to become redundant as the end is getting closer.
7.6/10
Dear Happy closes the homonym album as it should: with a bedding piano and a round vocal exhortations. Not sure about some synth additions in the second half. Similar to One Of Those Days and My Mistake, probably not as spontaneous as.
8.8/10
This album does not play with contrasts, neverthless, it elegantly serves a well thought track order where different blendings of the same smooth expressivity manage to save themselves from the danger of the boring. The texture of these lyrics is remarkably reflective. Gabrielle is more poised than ever, and conveys youthful formulas avoiding both too naive or artificial outputs. The so woven carpet though was enough solid to possibly have allowed some additional peaks, so there is no secret that several moments on Dear Happy come across as slightly underwhelming or insipid. Her voice and lyrics are made to shine on the most peaceful and minimal arrangements.
Highlights: One Of Those Days, My Mistake
Partial scores:
ASS (average songs score) = 7.7/10
Overall composition = 7.4/10
Overall production = 8.0/10
Overall songwriting = 9.0/10
Creativity = 6.7/10
Cohesivity = 8.9/10
The final score is obtained using the FUXYA FORMULA:
(ASS x 2 + composition x 2 + production x 2 + songwriting x 2 + creativity x 1 + cohesivity x 1)/100 =
79.8/100
Dear Happy's final score falls within the category good albums.
0-30: DISASTER
30-40: VERY BAD
40-50: BAD
50-55: PRETTY BAD
55-60: MEDIOCRE
60-65: JUST ENOUGH
65-70: SATISFACTORY
70-75: PRETTY GOOD
75-80: GOOD
80-85: VERY GOOD
85-90: EXCELLENT
90-95: VERY EXCELLENT
95-100: PERFECT
So many adverbs OwO
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