I’ve been listening to the album quite a bit in the past few weeks, and I like it, this is impressive work on a lyrical and production level.
BUT : this is personal, but I feel they are always singing. And I mean always : there is hardly any room for the music to breathe by itself. And in the end it is for me fatiguing to listen to the album as a whole. I get they obviously have a lot to say, and the lyrical content is interesting, but the voice is always upfront (the mixer Serban Ghenea is known for his clarity and presence on lead vocals) and constant. Watching the performances posted earlier shows their qualities as a front woman, and the obvious quality and humanity of the vocal delivery is endearing, and there is probably a sense of self empowerment too in taking the lead and driving the music instead of letting it drive them.
But purely as a matter of taste, it’s too much for me. Maybe this is genre related but the latest pop I’ve listened to ( Lizzo, Janelle Monae, Annie, Suzanne Sundfor) gives more space to the music and I like that way better.
There's a Halsey filter being featured on SnapChat now for you filter freaks <3
This is an issue I have with a lot of pop music. The singer is always-on in every sense of the phrase, and I like a little more space in my musical arrangements. Doesn't mean you need to litter every song with instrumental solos, but an instrumental bridge here and there wouldn't hurt either. Not about this album specifically, but there have been other acts I've listened to where I think to myself, light-heartedly, shut up already
It would've been cooler if it was
Similarly, my only gripe with the album is the use of auto tune. I generally don't have a problem with auto tune, but it's also generally done either extremely subtly to smooth out mistakes or extremely blatantly as a stylistic choice. Halsey's always used it in this very awkward middle ground where most of the time it doesn't seem to affect her voice at all (or is extremely subtle and natural sounding), but it's at an awkward setting where it struggles to find the note at certain points.
She has a habit of doing this bizarre vocal trick where she rapidly opens and closes her jaw at random points in the melody and, whatever the desired effect is, all it manages to accomplish is cause the auto tune to freak the hell out for a fraction of a second. It also regularly struggles in the last second of her singing a line, just as her voice fades. It's like nails on a chalkboard every time it happens, and she's a good enough singer that she doesn't need it at all in the first place. This album (and every other Halsey album) would be 100% better without auto tune, or with auto tune applied properly.
Honestly, I didn't notice anything that sounded auto-tuned on the album. It seemed like there were a few moments where they intentionally warped her voice for effect, but personally I didn't have a problem with that. If they did do auto-tune, they did a hell of a job of not making it sound too obvious like a lot of pop music these days.
I still love this album. All the way through.
New print & video interview with Halsey, TR & AR on Billboard as their cover story:
https://www.billboard.com/articles/awards/grammys/9648038/halsey-trent-reznor-atticus-ross-billboard-cover-story-2021-interview
(Note: The text has quotes not in the video and the video has quotes not in the text, so I recommend both)
Last edited by Paul; 10-21-2021 at 08:05 PM.
Extremely badass album. I only wish that "Nightmare (Reprise)" was widely available/accessible. Can anybody direct me to a place to listen to or buy an mp3 of it?
I just re-watched the film on a larger TV...and damn...it's so fuckin' great. I know it's all artsy...but it adds so much to the record. I definitely hope that it does get a physical format release on DVD or blu-ray...or hell, VHS and laserdisc (Heh!) at some point.
Was listening to "Easier Than Lying" on my way home last night, and I started to imagine what it might sound like with the live NIN lineup. It would be pretty cool to have Halsey appear at a couple shows as a guest next year to perform a track or two from the album. If that happened, what two tracks would everyone want to hear?
I keep checking for an Atmos update to the album in Apple Music because I feel like this is such a lush production that it would benefit from it. Heck even the sparse songs would benefit from the increased room it would provide. Imagine Trent counting you in from behind you and then the guitar starts from somewhere in front of you.
I wonder if Atmos will ever be available as a file type. I love the idea of Atmos, but I would love it more if it was possible to own media in that format digitally.
since it's only being offered via subscription systems I doubt it. though you can download the files to your iPhone/iPad/Apple device and listen to them on the go so...kinda you can?
With respect, please no. NIN tickets are already super difficult and expensive to nab. Now we're courting the prospect of competition with another entirely different rabid fanbase? No fucking thanks! I want to actually see NIN when they return to the stage, not get shafted or have to pay out the ass because they're touring with a very popular artist I'm not particularly invested in. Besides, the only experience I've had with NIN "co-headlining" was the NIN/JA Tour - where "co-headlining" amounted to NIN opening for Jane's Addiction every show - and that felt so wrong it has left me pretty adamantly unenthusiastic about tours where they share the bill evenly. Especially after a couple years of tours and shows being canceled, I want to see Nine Inch Nails return as a main event, not a glorified opener. Of course I guess any of this is assuming they ever tour again in the first place.
Halsey popping up for a couple songs isn't exactly on my wishlist but Trent and Atticus seem proud enough of IICHLIWP that I could easily see it happen. I'd imagine it would be something like Easier Than Lying or The Lighthouse maybe.
RE: Trent saying they were thinking about working on new NIN when Halsey started corresponding with him and Atticus, honestly, I'm glad they found something else to occupy themselves and didn't force themselves into Nine Inch Nails work. I have no trouble believing Trent when he says they haven't been very creatively motivated during the pandemic - the only major NIN release during the pandemic, Ghosts V-VI, is the most lifeless, uninspired, and unessential 'major' release in the entire discography. I-IV are so vibrant and fertile and diverse sonically. V-VI, even though it has album and track titles, is just one long depressive slog, a tonally stagnant mire of molasses that sounds like the kind of thing these two could write in their sleep at this point. It meant more as a "hey this pandemic sucks, here's something nice to let you know we're out there and thinking of you" gesture than as an actual album(s), and while it was indeed a sweet thing for them to do, it absolutely screams unmotivated. Whatever you think of IICHLIWP, it's so much more daring and engaging than T&A in instrumental autopilot and I think the creativity Halsey inspired in them bodes well for future NIN.