Gave this a listen this morning, and the second half of the album is definitely a lot stronger than the first. 'God is a woman' is fantastic, but I feel like the album doesn't really get going until 'breathin' (bop!).

 

This. For me, the first half the album mostly sounds like rejects from My Everything. Rather disappointing.

I’m....

 

I hate when people judge an album too soon but I’m on my 6th listen and I feel like I’m trying to force myself to love the album but it’s just kinda...whelming. Lots of ‘cute’ songs but for where she is in her career I was expecting more moments. I don’t necessarily need big pop bangers but just songs that grab your attention a bit more.

I’m really disappointed with this album! I don’t think I’m going to be able to come back to the first half after today and there are only about 5 songs I really enjoy at the moment (two of which are singles).

 

Really gutted considering how underwhelming I expected ‘Dangerous Woman’ and ‘My Everything’ to be before release but was absolutely over the moon with the sheer quality on both during the first listen-through.

Why is breathin doing so well worldwide?

Because it’s a smash

I'm with you on some of the track order comments but I'm really enjoying this album. Breathin is absolutely stunning.

what a pile of TUT. god knows why anybody would put pharrell as the central producer of their album; the whole thing feels very incongruous and wishy washy.

 

i feel she works much better with max martins team and this whole record is a boring misstep

 

 

a shame

also ‘breathin’ is okay but could be by anybody could be singing it, it’s quite faceless; you can’t say the same about her bigger hits prior

 

‘no tears left to cry’ is FAR AND AWAY the best song on this record

Where's the Dua Lipa collab?!

 

Just starting to listen now and wow, someone somewhere really though Pharrell was gonna be hot shit again this year didn't they? That opener is really dull after the short intro.

 

God is a Woman would've been a good opener or No Tears imo.

 

I think I'm falling the same place as Joe on this. I'm whelmed but after all the reaching for A-List she's been doing, this album says content to be a B-list pop girl.

 

I had thought this might be her In The Zone.

Edited August 17, 20186 yr by Jüpiter

Where's the Dua Lipa collab?!

it’s for dua’s album and also a TERRIBLE idea

what is most upsetting about this is these are just literally textbook pharrell productions.

 

i swear, i thought marilyn monroe was starting like 3 times.. it’s so bad.

 

everytime + breathing stand out by miles because they’re from a team who know how to write + produce a song.

just imagine an album of that. i just can’t see how the label heard the album + thought it was a passable follow-up.

I really, really like 'Marilyn Monroe' by Pharrell standards!

 

If I'm honest, I've gone straight for 'Breathin' so far (I'll get around to the rest over the weekend) and I found it really quite dull. :( Maybe it'll grow?

 

I really want to believe I'll enjoy this album, as the last one was such a masterpiece and I adore both singles.

I feel like this is a better tracklist order.

 

1. "Raindrops"

2. "No Tears Left to Cry"

3. "God Is a Woman"

4. "Blazed"

5. "The Light Is Coming"

6. "REM"

7. "Breathin"

8. "Borderline"

9. "Sweetener"

10. "Successful"

11. "Everytime"

12. "Pete Davidson"

13. "Better Off"

14. "Get Well Soon"

15. "Goodnight N Go"

 

Also, I feel like I kinda have an advantage over people (due to being in the minority of those actually enjoying MOTW)... But this is growing on me, but just like MOTW there's a definitely a sense of underwhelm with it (you can tell Pharrell did both those projects at the same time). It's heartbreaking coz NTLTC is literally one of the best pop songs of the past few years, imo. And knowing that she was working with Max and his team makes it 10x worse.

 

I really feel like working with Pharrell was a contractual obligation of some sort (as in, signed a deal with him before the Manchester attacks - wasn't she due back in the studio more or less after the tour? ) and the Max stuff came about quite recently?

 

But anywayyyyy... I'm loving 'sweetener' a lot at the moment. That melody is so lush.

I really, really like 'Marilyn Monroe' by Pharrell standards!

 

yeah, it was good (for him).. in 2013!

Also, I feel like I kinda have an advantage over people (due to being in the minority of those actually enjoying MOTW)... But this is growing on me, but just like MOTW there's a definitely a sense of underwhelm with it (you can tell Pharrell did both those projects at the same time). It's heartbreaking coz NTLTC is literally one of the best pop songs of the past few years, imo. And knowing that she was working with Max and his team makes it 10x worse.

I was literally sitting here and thought "this album is a bunch of N.E.R.D rejects but if I sat through Man Of The Woods despite it sounding like a bunch of Timbaland rejects then I can get through this"

 

Everything after The Light Is Coming has been a literal eargasm and for the most part fits the overall ambience of the album :heart:

Gah, I actually feel sad we have to wait for ages for new music now. I anticipated this for so long and there’s not a huge amount I want to keep.

yeah, it was good (for him).. in 2013!

 

2013?

 

You could go back another ten years and I doubt his production has changed much.

Edited August 17, 20186 yr by blacksquare

Gah, I actually feel sad we have to wait for ages for new music now. I anticipated this for so long and there’s not a huge amount I want to keep.

I'm exactly the same. Feels like the era and been and gone in a flash now that I'm not feeling the album.

This really is such a disappointing album.

 

A lot of Grande fans are going in on Pharrell on Twitter, I’m not a fan of Pharrell in the slightest or his work! Although he did have some good production on ‘Bangerz’.

it’s the album she should have been allowed to make next.

this was her chance to fully cement herself as the #1 pop girl + she doesn’t deliver a pop album?

 

i’m with you guys that are disappointed. it’s when i think about what it could have been.

Longer review now I’ve fully heard the non singles more and the album as a whole.

 

So... Sweetener the song sounds so Yours Truly as does Successful.

 

 

After listening three times now I’m feeling it more than some on here it’s nice and I enjoy some of it a lot. It’s how I imagined her second album to sound though it sounds like the follow up to Yours Truly too me. Sorry I’ve said this before but it’s just my personal thought. However I don’t regard that as a bad thing as I feel like this album is something she’s happy with herself and isn’t something a label put together she’s definitely had her own input and ideas on this and it’s showed.

 

I can see what others mean about tracklisting but I often change the order of songs on my iTunes library so that’s not a big deal too me.

 

There’s subtle moments what grow though it’s not in your face instant pop bangers but there’s little moments what are going round in my head from certain tracks. Like the harmonies in Goodnight n Go, and REM for instance.

 

Also I think if she came back with Dangerous Woman 2.0 or an album that was ballad heavy it would’ve been predictable so it’s good that she’s went in another direction and experimented.

 

R.E.M. and Breathin sound like the most likely singles too me.

Edited August 17, 20186 yr by Jordan Lee