Halsey - Manic (Album Review)

Halsey's third studio album marks for her a new apogee in terms of versatility and authenticity.

Ashley is a promising introduction to the album. The song has an enjoyable evolution and a sophisticated production that manages to enhance the beauty of the lyrical content. The only flaw detectable is the amount of vocal distortion in the chorus, slightly going out of the atmo set. But I'm being very picky.

8.4/10

Clementine is characterized by a lovely Keith Kenniff-like ambient instrumental, that sadly becomes redundant due to the track length and the lack of sonic additions. Again, the emotional lyrics shine bright, but those naïve backing vocals on the chorus sound pretty unelegant, if not annoying.

7.9/10

Graveyard marks a perfect equilibrium between the soft emotional sophistication of the previous tracks and the catchy mild flavor of Ed Sheeran's kind of pop. No particular flaws here, it does not establish as an impressive standout, but it leaves a good aftertaste.

8.2/10

You Should Be Sad is that track that leaves a good aftertaste and comes across as the impressive standout needed. The hooky, sweetly sassy vocal line along with the overdrive guitar solo spice the umpteenth mildness of an acoustic guitar line; the final result is a well articulated structure. As of this moment, Manic's tracklist order appears to be very clever.

8.8/10

Forever... is a Long Time shifts the progressive climax built by the so far listened, presenting as an alt ballad with strong ambient music influences. I really wish this track was longer, the final section is intensifing towards more epic terrains and stops all of a sudden. The song is moving, and displays knowledge, inspired creativity and strong sensitiveness.

8.7/10

Dominic's Interlude is the first "guest interlude" of the album. The overall sound is uplifting, let's check if this is actually going to be the set for what is coming next.

In fact, the self-reflective I Hate Everybody follows that teen-pop midtempo formula. The song is reminescent of some early Demi Lovato album cuts. It's not pretentious because it's meant to be relatable.

8.0/10

3AM is a pleasant surprise. Halsey ventured in a 2000s teen country-rock mood winking to Avril Lavigne, yet this song sounds fresh and not something that would age very fast. It's not just due to hq production, it's more thanks to the authenticity of her singing.

8.5/10

I have to disagree with 3AM's outro statement that her biggest hit is also her best song. The chorus tends to become whining at each listening (but hey, that's what probably allowed this to be memorable, therefore a commercial success). Everything else is broadly palatable, but compared to the rest of the album Without Me is pretty insipid.

7.3/10

Now Finally // Beautiful Stranger is the real candidate for the title of Halsey's best song to date. Dressed in country (still in the most modern and atmospheric key feasible), she makes the listener finally safe to fall in love with an instant classic.

9.3/10

Alanis' Interlude might be the album's weakest moment. Clearly it is more a Morrisette sound. Halsey happens to be a little out of her (insanely wide) comfort zone.

The indie-flavored Killing Boys replicates You Should Be Sad's thematics. The rhythm pulses at the incisive percussion section imposure, which supposedly gives a coherent strength to an otherwise too-bland for lyrics composition. There is a structural issue here that eventually makes this track sort of an unfocused pointless filler.

6.8/10

Suga's Interlude is a peculiar mix of alternative ambient and K-hop which is not totally convincing, despite some interesting elements.

More is commendable for its minimal production that shows both softness and defined edges. There is something like a little manufactured aftertaste here that does not provide the same amount of genuinity vibes though.

7.8/10

Still Learning is a chillwave pop song with light tropical influences coming across as underwhelmingly bland in comparison to the rest of the album. It can be easily get mistaken for a deluxe track on Selena Gomez's Rare. At least those genuinity vibes are back.

7.0/10

Manic closes with a personal conversation represented by 929. The funny thing is that 2:55 minutes are probably the exact difference between the true birth timing and the adjusted birth timing. Time is worth. So you just finished listening to a music album which has the traits of a diary. Was this time worth? Yes, so you should do the same by not keeping your time for yourself. And you have to be authentic.

7.2/10

This album is a journey through Halsey's personal point of views and life experiences. The choice of not including Nightmare makes even more sense now as Manic is already oversaturated by the abundance of different genres waving through the album, approximately separated by the interludes in three main solid units. The singer's primary strength is found in her songwriting skills, in Manic they leave the more philosophical inquisitions of her past discography in favor of an extemporaneous, still sophisticated expression that puts the listener in a chair right in front of her genuine storytelling. With the exception of a couple of fillers, the songs themselves evince a neat identity while oozing pop fragrances absorbing as much as possible from out-of-pop sounds in order to follow and enhance whatever emotion is brought to the table.

Highlights: You Should Be Sad, Forever... is a Long Time, Finally // Beautiful Strangers

Partial scores:
ASS (average songs score) = 8.0/10
Overall composition = 7.8/10
Overall production = 8.3/10
Overall songwriting = 9.2/10
Creativity = 8.2/10
Cohesivity = 7.5/10

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 =

82.3/100

Manic's final score falls within the category very 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