Natalie Miller

So I just listened to the album because I looked up the best albums of 2020 and keep seeing this album being listed. I haven't heard of Fiona Apple before until recently. I just have to say, how is this considered a contender for Album of the Year? How did this get 4/5 to 5/5 stars from so many critics and a 10 from Pitchfork? Honestly, the quality of music is getting worse and worse. This album is terrible and mediocre, at best. Apple legit just whispers and mumbles and talks the whole album, but that's art? Even the music sounds redundant and not even thought out. Opener "I Want You to Love Me" sounds like a woman singing in her shower-- the vocals are too raw and not even varied. I could sing that too, yet people might call it trash. The point is--it's basic and not original. The song "Ladies" literally opens with her saying Ladies like 20 times. "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" is a compilation of whiny, downright irritating mumbles, and when it gets to the chorus, it's completely underwhelming and anti-climatic. She can't sing! But, that is a masterpiece? How? The vocals are terrible and the instrumentation falls short. It's easily a 1/5 stars. But I guess since this is Fiona Apple, a Grammy winner, and lyricist that critics love, this album is easily a masterpiece and so good (just because she made it--right?). Honestly, I tore my ears out listening to this and would never think about listening to it again. I advise you to do the same--except to save yourself the listen. It could be that I don't know Fiona Apple, so I don't have context, but I shouldn't need to know who she is in order for a good album to be produced. I love alternative albums. This by far is the worst alternative album I've ever heard. This is just not a good album, by any standards, regardless of who she is. Why on earth is this so hyped? Also, why are dogs barking and pots and pans clanking in the background? It's entirely unprofessional and sloppy. Yet, because it's quarantine, it's considered to be very clever and intelligent. Is this what the quality of music has gone to? At this rate, you guys will let anyone produce an album and call it great. I'm worried about the future of music, and this album solidifies that apprehension. A solid 1/5. Anything higher is just lunacy.

Musically, this is their best album and one of their strongest albums to date. This album encompasses everything from folky acoustic ballads to glitchy electronica to soulful R&B. Any genre you like, you'll likely find it here. The 1975 experimented and made something left-field, but it works well here. It's a creative and diverse masterpiece that requires multiple listens, not necessarily to like it, but to understand it. On first listen, it will seem confusing, but it's really not. The more you listen to it, the better it gets, trust me. Don't listen to the bad reviews, as most are too lazy to get through it, understand it, or accept some differences in the band's tone. Others don't apreciate ambient music or diversity in general. If you understand the 1975, you'll love this album. If you're a musician of any sort, you will also love this album. Yes, it gives you some musical whiplash, but in the best possible way. This album is the 1975 at their most musically creative and free. Everything pieces together in this album and it sounds gorgeous. I personally believe this is a much more enjoyable record than their last one. Lastly, this album really showed off their versatility and solidified my love for them. It's a really unique and interesting record. 4.5/5 stars, but I couldn't give that, so I rounded :)