Typo
6x Platinum Member
Dispensable
Joined: September 2009
Posts: 6,913
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Post by Typo on Sept 11, 2021 20:20:44 GMT -5
I'm disappointed too, and I definitely don't give a shit about the music being "country." Lyrically, this is by far her weakest album - so many empty, generic platitudes and lots of clunky lines. I was also expecting more experimentation sonically for an album that required an acid trip....it just all sounds boring to me.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2021 20:26:02 GMT -5
The reason country-Kacey stans are disappointed is because it's what she does best.... her songwriting wit, a steel guitar, and soft (unaltered) vocals.
1) "ST" feels incredibly unfinished in the lyric department. Kacey is a master at turning a string of clever lyics into emotional mountains, so where was that on this album? She didn't go in depth with the marriage & divorce, and the songs are VERY repetitive.... we all know what she's capable of.
2) The production feels like a total disassociation with her country sound, as if she were disgraced by and wants nothing to do with it. For Taylor, pop seemed like a natural call - for Kacey, it didn't (still doesn't). If I wanted danceable pop, I'd go to Dua or Carly. If I wanted pop with lyricism, I'd head straight for Taylor. Pop did Kacey no favors.
3) And ofc what y'all are saying, GH is impossible to follow/overcome. If this were released by anyone else, I'd probably love it, but then again probably ignore it altogether. I'm so happy for whoever loves the project, it's definitely made for a different audience, and maybe it'll grow on me & I'm just having a stupid fit. But she coulda just re-released Space Cowboy with more autotune, synth, & bass & it still be more meaningful than star-crossed.
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Post by The Brazilian Guy π§π· on Sept 11, 2021 22:28:23 GMT -5
my biggest gripe with this album is the final track. "gracias a la vida" does nothing for meβit's simply an inferior cover of the song, with pretty bad pronunciation. not Selena Gomez bad, but still. "there is a light" would have been a much more apt closer, in my opinion. Lol I actually didnβt think her pronunciation was that bad. It kinda reminded me of when George Michael (one of my all-time favorite artists) recorded a version of βDesafinadoβ (a bossa nova classic) back in the 90s and, even though his Portuguese wasnβt perfect and his version didnβt beat the original, it was still quite charming and he made it his own, which made me love it.
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jab820
Platinum Member
Joined: December 2017
Posts: 1,117
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Post by jab820 on Sept 12, 2021 20:41:37 GMT -5
Can't deny those streaming numbers. The reality is that she has vastly, vastly expanded her audience; though she is almost unrecognizable from the Kacey of 2014, how could she not have responded to the way she is being vehemently shoved away from country and towards pop. This is not a bad album by any stretch.
We are witnessing an experimental moment that is reminiscent of Swift but yet looks entirely different. And congratulations to Kacey for doing exactly what she wants.
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Post by The Brazilian Guy π§π· on Sept 12, 2021 21:36:57 GMT -5
I think some people here not connecting to the album is really natural if their expectation targeted something different... that's 100% fine
To me personally, while less country sounding, I really don't think some of the material here is that far removed from the Golden Hour sound (I don't think some of the songs on the record would feel out of place sonically on that album).
Having said that, I think most of the record to me sound like a natural progression from "Slow Burn" (which was the last song she wrote for Golden Hour), in the sense that they explore that same atmospheric dream-like production mixed with the live acoustic instruments and that more conversational, cut and dry style of writing, which I think fits perfectly with the theme and the sort of confusion a divorce brings. I really think she nailed it, but it's fine if other people didn't... art hits people differently.
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Post by nncountrykid on Sept 13, 2021 11:35:13 GMT -5
This whole thing was her making a Ruston album better than Ruston. Everything about this makes more sense if you've ever listened to one of his albums.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2021 12:51:11 GMT -5
Since I disliked Golden Hour (one reason was that 90% of the songs sounded like demos), I came to this expecting something bad. I am surprised that I like the album. Reminds me a little bit to the latest Ashley Monroe album. Dreamy and amazing (Rosegold). And Star Crossed, while not on the same level, was a pretty nice listen. I don't mind, and I actually love that most songs are mid tempo or slow, but I assume country fans don't like that.
And to nncountrykid, I definitely see what you mean about this being similar to a Ruston album, with the little exception that I vastly prefer any Ruston album over Star-Crossed.
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McCreerian
9x Platinum Member
Joined: June 2010
Posts: 9,086
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Post by McCreerian on Sept 14, 2021 20:54:47 GMT -5
I wanted to like this album. But it's just so boring. None of the Kacey that I came to love on her other albums. Definitely not a drive and sing along album. More like fall asleep at the wheel.
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,806
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Post by recordyear on Sept 14, 2021 23:54:22 GMT -5
Updated predicted first week performance is 39k pure sales and 71k SPS.
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Post by The Brazilian Guy π§π· on Sept 17, 2021 16:15:10 GMT -5
Updated predicted first week performance is 39k pure sales and 71k SPS. Kacey ended up doing more than first predicted!
73k (42k sales, 31k streaming)
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someguy
Diamond Member
Joined: October 2003
Posts: 16,037
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Post by someguy on Sept 17, 2021 23:13:19 GMT -5
Add me to the list of people underwhelmed by this. I finally had a chance to listen tonight, and this is just so not what I wanted from Kacey. I'm hoping that I will like it better with more listens, but right now this is easily my least favourite of her albums.
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,806
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Post by recordyear on Sept 19, 2021 18:23:54 GMT -5
Debut at #3 with 47k pure sales and 77k SPS on Billboard 200. 38.23 million on-demand streams, which is 2nd largest for female country album.
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LBTrocks
Diamond Member
Joined: September 2012
Posts: 17,179
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Post by LBTrocks on Sept 19, 2021 18:33:29 GMT -5
"star-crossed" and "justified" slay so I was excited to check this album out and I... really didn't like it, lol. "if this was a movie" was really the only other song on the record that I liked.
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Post by The Brazilian Guy π§π· on Sept 19, 2021 18:57:07 GMT -5
Debut at #3 with 47k pure sales and 77k SPS on Billboard 200. 38.23 million on-demand streams, which is 2nd largest for female country album.
So happy for Kacey! She will only be the 5th artist to top the Country Albums Chart this year (alongside Carrie, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Taylor Swift)
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zdm1998
2x Platinum Member
Sometimes love slips away, and you just can't get it back, lets face it
Joined: August 2020
Posts: 2,042
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Post by zdm1998 on Sept 19, 2021 19:28:26 GMT -5
Debut at #3 with 47k pure sales and 77k SPS on Billboard 200. 38.23 million on-demand streams, which is 2nd largest for female country album. Who was the largest? βGirlβ by Maren?
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,806
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Post by recordyear on Sept 19, 2021 19:32:32 GMT -5
Who was the largest? βGirlβ by Maren? Fearless (Taylor's Version) with 142.98 million.
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Post by The Brazilian Guy π§π· on Sept 19, 2021 19:35:13 GMT -5
Debut at #3 with 47k pure sales and 77k SPS on Billboard 200. 38.23 million on-demand streams, which is 2nd largest for female country album. Who was the largest? βGirlβ by Maren? No, itβs the new version of Fearless by Taylor Swiftβ¦ Marenβs GIRL did 24 million streams in its first week
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recordyear
Diamond Member
album listener
Joined: January 2017
Posts: 14,806
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Post by recordyear on Sept 21, 2021 20:52:59 GMT -5
Breakdown of first week pure sales: 26,000 on vinyl (largest for country album since Soundscan era, previous record is Sturgill Simpson's Cuttinβ Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions with 15k vinyl sales), 9,000 on CD, nearly 2,000 on cassette, and 10,000 via digital download.
Second week prediction: 15.6k pure sales, 32.3k SPS. #9 overall and close to Dangerous (36.1k SPS).
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