January 29, 20232 yr This album is strong! It doesn't reinvent the wheel but it's solid pop. It'll go down as one of those "not a commercial success but a cult hit" albums
January 30, 20232 yr Those last 5 songs or so are seriously good! Loving ‘Cold As Ice’ quite a bit atm and ‘Last Night On Earth’… incred!
January 30, 20232 yr Really enjoying the album - "Get Outta My Heart" is the clear highlight for me but "One Of Us" has grown on me massively since! She has currently got on her store website that UK tour dates are coming soon - something I've been waiting for for a long time! Would absolutely love to see her live!
January 30, 20232 yr #5 start - will be interesting to see how it holds up ur with minimal streaming points it could get pushed out of the way by Friday.
January 30, 20232 yr Surprisingly low considering how well it seems to be doing… well, everywhere I’ve seen!
January 30, 20232 yr Surprisingly low considering how well it seems to be doing… well, everywhere I’ve seen! Where have you seen it doing well? Downloads count for next to nothing and I don't think it's made any dent on streaming, hardly lighting up Amazon, so where else is there?
January 30, 20232 yr Author Where have you seen it doing well? Downloads count for next to nothing and I don't think it's made any dent on streaming, hardly lighting up Amazon, so where else is there? It's doing excellently in all of our personal charts :wub: If Official Charts incorporated BuzzJack, Popjustice and Twitter feedback... it would be #1 by 3:1! :(
January 30, 20232 yr Going off the comments in this, I was expecting a Confessions on a Dancefloor style album of pop perfection, instead we have... an album on the same mid level as the debut (maybe even lower) with no progression in terms of lyrics or production? What is she even singing about? One song she's about to murder a guy, the next she can't control her love for them. Where's the cohesion everyone spoke about apart from the recurring theme of "dancefloors"/"dancing"? :unsure: If I'm not cringing at her lyricism, I am bored by her production or indifferent to the songs as a whole. "Get Outta My Heart" was a moment where I sat up and took a bit more notice, it grabbed me a bit. The rest was fairly faceless and "been done by her before" but not as punchy or catchy? I am glad so many of you seem to have found a great, cohesive, high-standard pop album, but it isn't for me. I doubt I'll return to it much and going on the chart performance, I can't see many others outside of this thread returning to it either.
January 31, 20232 yr Author What is she even singing about? One song she's about to murder a guy, the next she can't control her love for them. Where's the cohesion everyone spoke about apart from the recurring theme of "dancefloors"/"dancing"? :unsure: I'm curious about which song you are referring to because I didn't pick up on this as a theme! When it comes to comments about the album’s cohesiveness, I think it was mostly aimed at the dance-pop production that runs through all the songs. I do think there’s cohesion lyrically as well though. The through line of the album is her experiences of romantic relationships, and that oftentimes they don't go smoothly for her. A lot of the lyrics explore heartache and heartbreak, how she reacts to these emotional states. I don't know if she's necessarily singing about the same person from song to song, although at least some are known to be about or said to be about her ex boyfriend Cirkut. The following songs focus on various aspects of being in and out of relationships: - Realising that a relationship is not working out ['Maybe You're the Problem'] - Recognising her self-worth after a break-up in order to overcome the pain she's experienced ['Million Dollar Baby'] - Struggling to get over an ex ['Ghost' & 'Get Outta My Heart'] - Discovering that her partner isn't over their ex ['Hold Up (Wait a Minute)'] - Lamenting the one night stands that don't turn into something more ['In the Dark'] - Not being met halfway in a relationship: one is far more dedicated to making it work than the other ['One of Us'] - Warning off someone from pursuing her romantically because she believes they'll end up hurt by her; she's closed off ['Cold as Ice'] - A more self-assured/cheeky take on the 'being pursued' theme - that this person will become infatuated with her ['Sleepwalker'] - Being attracted to someone on a night out and wanting it to lead to more ['Dancing's Done'] Straying away from the relationships theme, these songs seem to focus on her enjoyment of dancing: - Yearning for a night out during the pandemic ['Diamonds & Dancefloors'] - Making the most of the time you have left if tonight was your last night - which in the case of this song is dancing and making love ['Last Night on Earth'] - A song with no particular meaning but constructed to make her dance, because she was feeling tired of writing about break ups ['Turn Off the Lights'] I feel like this is the outlier: - Combatting online hate with a "kill them with kindness" approach ['Weapons'] I personally disagree that she hasn't progressed at all since her debut album. I think with Heaven & Hell she was trying to find her lane (understandable with a debut album) and ended up with a mixed bag of sounds. Whereas I believe that Diamonds & Dancefloors is way more focused and it’s clearer in showcasing who Ava Max is as an artist. I know that many find her to be basic, artistically. I feel like my word for her would be “uncomplicated”, in the nicest of ways. I think there's something kind of refreshing about her seemingly not striving to reinvent the wheel, but rather embrace that a particular wheel is already working. There's no doubting that many of us here enjoy a very wide array of artists who cater to us in different ways, suiting different moods and occasions. I feel like Ava's purpose in a sea of artists is to release unabashedly straightforward pop music, and that this does set her apart. I’m fully on board! I think there's more than enough room at the table for her to be the kind of popstar she is. I don't feel like she should aspire be something else. There's certainly others I'd turn to to scratch a different itch if that’s what I’m after. Of course she's not going to be for everyone, I completely get that and it's people's prerogative to either have multiple reasons or no reasons for that. I definitely don't want this post to come across as a retaliation to anyone who doesn’t much care for her. The purpose of this (lengthy!) post is really just to explain the reasons why I like Ava and her music. It'll always be interesting to me that people hear the same music and react to it in such different ways - that one person's "oh wow, this is fantastic!" is another person's "meh". One of my main reactions to Diamonds & Dancefloors is being bowled over by how relentlessly catchy it is throughout. Whether it's a verse, a bridge, a chorus or even ad-libs, there's so much that has latched itself into my mind in a short space of time! Very infectious and enjoyable songs. I really believe that Ava and her collaborators have great ears for melodies. I think it's the melodies that shine the brightest on this album, as well as her ever reliably strong vocals. Some of the lyrical themes are certainly well trodden tropes, but I feel they're at least well written enough to support the melodies effectively and result in some great songs overall. It does seem that the album isn't destined to set the charts alight, although it's not exactly being ignored either, so fingers crossed that those involved in the album will at least be satisfied with how it's been received. Hopefully it's going to set her up for a successful debut tour. Maybe a tour is where she will solidify a dedicated fanbase that carries her through to making future albums, even if she ends up not being destined to hit the commercial highs of her debut ever again (kind of similar to Carly Rae Jepsen). I've got a lot of goodwill for her (evidently!) so I hope things go well for her!
January 31, 20232 yr I think the problem is, that when you are going to the "bop after bop after bop" route on an album, without any experiments inside or outside the genre, you set expectations that the next song will be even a bigger bop than the previous one. Which is of course not happening, never. (Carly came close with Emotion) That said it IS quite funny that I don't care about any other songs besides the last one, the glorious SAW/late 80s SwePop remake Dancing's Done, but even that just ends abruptly at 2:47 without a proper elevation. Edited January 31, 20232 yr by Sour Candy
January 31, 20232 yr Author Escapism is 4:32 in length, so over 3 minutes is not end of it all. These days a major hit clocking in at over 4 minutes feels like one of the few exceptions to the modern rule of “streaming friendly tracks must be short”. I’m glad it at least shows that people aren’t allergic to longer songs and they can still connect. I don’t mind short songs if what is done within the time length comes across as a fully fleshed out song, rather than it seeming like they removed a section. Bringing it back to Ava I think she’s mostly succeeded at having short songs that still pack a lot into them. It doesn’t come across to me like chunks of her songs was deleted for the sake of Spotify. To me the brevity of the Diamonds & Dancefloors tracks helps to create a sort of “euphoric rush” feel to it overall.
January 31, 20232 yr In a world where pop is taken far too seriously, I really appreciate the Ava Max’s of the world. Just nothing but carefree, dance floor pop bangers. It’s just so fun and joyous. Fills a great pop void for me. I love it.
January 31, 20232 yr such easy listening and such a fun album! My cd/poster arrived today, so happy! and ngl although i don't like the old cover that much, its not horrendous for the physicals!
January 31, 20232 yr I agree some of the songs are on the short side, it’s a trend I’m not overly keen on. Thankfully not all artists or sings are following it though.
February 1, 20232 yr Author Keeping everything crossed that this stays Top 10! #6 in the Wednesday midweeks. I bought the Amazon Neon Violet vinyl and the alternative artwork CD :wub:
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