"The Prologue" is simply the prologue of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet over a hummed intro. Quite the aesthetic. It ends with a strange, heavily autotuned chant of Halsey claiming that she is a "child of the money hungry, prideful country". Honestly, there's not a lot to make of this song at all, if you can call it that. It does seem to establish that "yes, this WILL be an alternative album, as I just displayed by this strange intro."
"100 Letters" has quite the interesting instrumental. Very percussion heavy and alternative, it really gets inside your head. The lyrics are some of the most cringy on the entire album. That's actually a really good thing. Badlands was completely full of tumblr-esque lyrics, so I'm really glad that she eased up on those for HFK. The chorus is quite explosive even though the song as a whole is pretty minimalistic.
"Eyes Closed" sounds so extremely tragic and vulnerable. I can't help but love it. The production is loud and dark, and I really like the harmonies and ad-libs in this song. This is no doubt partly due to the songwriting credits from Abel Tesfaye; more commonly known as The Weeknd. It was originally released as a promo single, and that was what actually got me interested in this album. I do really like how she experimented with song structure for this track; there's really only one verse and a bridge, and the rest is just soaring instrumentals and choruses.
The next two songs, according to Halsey's twitter, are two perspectives of the same party. "Heaven in Hiding" comes first, and is honestly one of the best songs I've heard all year. Not many songs give me shivers, but this one definitely does. The quickly rising chorus is so beautiful, and the way that she says "I can put on a show" just sounds so epic; like it should belong in some sort of musical. The production is very satisfying, very drum heavy with some lilting synths. Again, the structure seems unusual; the chorus is just so explosive that it takes up most of the song, but that's not really a bad thing. "Alone" is rather surprising; it's a big city jazz inspired piece. It's the weaker half of the two but certainly not bad. Again; this sounds like a perfect song for a musical, especially something like The Great Gatsby! The lyrics are kind of Badlands era, with the chorus going "I know you're dying to meet me/ But I can just tell you this/ Baby, as soon as you meet me/ You'll wish that you never did". Personally, I don't mind the self-deprecating lyrics, but I know that this turns off many people; in fact, that's one of her biggest criticisms.
I already wrote a review for the next song, the lead single, so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel. Here it is:
When this first came out, I was one of the biggest naysayers. Luckily for me, it's one of the biggest "growers" I've ever experienced. Like, a complete 180. I really do love everything about this song right now, it's nice and chill and the harmonies seem really nice. I don't like Needed Me, so this is a nice alternative to that for me. The production is really solid and just made for head-bopping. It's just the intonation of the words in the song that make it for me, it's just really varied and seems casual yet fun. Also, for some reason, I have a really major soft spot for random ad-libs in this song. I really want to see more like this from her next album!
"Sorry" takes a sharp turn. It's actually a piano ballad; commonplace on so many albums, but I didn't expect it for Halsey somehow. She apologizes to all of her old lovers and friends because she "treats the people that [she] loves to jewelry". The post chorus is really beautiful; the "someone will love you" chant just sounds so reassuring and certain, almost heart breaking, to be honest. This almost sounds like a confession and seems unwarranted; I feel bad for her and I can imagine how hard this was to write
"Good Mourning" (not a typo) is a rather strange interlude, with a preteen boy saying "They told me once, "There's a place where love conquers all"" in one sentence and then calling it "place that flows with the blood of my kin". The whole interlude is obviously supposed to sound mystical and mysterious and it does its job very well. Moreover, it flows PERFECTLY into the next song, "Lie".
The aforementioned track is extremely dark and was, according to Halsey, the most emotionally taxing song on the album. "All I'm saying is if you don't love me no more, then / lie," Halsey howls over the chorus. She decided to feature Quavo from Migos on this track, and I don't think that he hurt the song at all. He almost sounds like a priest or preacher on this song; his signature repeated ad-libs sound like the church preaching back to him. I'll expand more on that later. This song does have some rather unoppurtune lyrics that I can't mention here, but you know which ones that I'm talking about.
"Walls Could Talk" is an extremely strong track ruined because of how short it is. About a problematic relationship, the loud and growling bass complements the lines "If these walls could talk/ well, they'd be like/ s*** is crazy, right?". It sounds almost playful though it's a let down because it's under two minutes.
"Bad At Love" is probably the most stereotypical pop song on the album. With rather simple production that reminds me of a more hip-hop Coldplay, this track tells of Halsey's past relationships. Her emotion is fairly visible, and I do love the fact that she uses both male and female pronouns for her past lovers; she's bisexual and it's nice to see someone actually presenting as one.
"Don't Play" is actually almost a trap track. It really suprised me. The production is pretty minimalistic at the starting with some very bubbly chime sounding synths. Eventually, it gets darker as she tells everyone : "Motherf*cker, don't play with me!". The verses and the end of the pre-chorus are actually rapped in every sense. her rhythm, the lyrics about drugs and riches. This song actually begs for a rap feature instead of the rather messy outro; perhaps she should've saved the Quavo collab for this one?
"Strangers" is simply amazing. It's an exemplary synthpop piece, with one of the most infectious basslines this year; Starboy is given a run for its money. It features current Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui, and her heartier voice works very well with Halsey's stereotypical "alt-pop girl" voice. This song was originally released as a promo single and very clearly is enhanced by both of the members being bisexual; they sing to each other using female pronouns, which is quite rare for such a big popstar. The lyrics are a bit cheesy at points, especially "this same d*mn hunger" in the chorus, but that's my only complaint.
"Angel on Fire" is the perfect mix of Badlands and Room 93 era Halsey with a bit of a modern twist. The vocal effect right before the chorus feels like a throwback to her old style and the lyrics are typical Badlands angst, but I love it for some reason. It just sounds very tragic in every way. "You know I used to be on fire..." is such a heartbreaking line.
"Devil In Me" was written by Sia and, well, it shows. Out of this entire album, this is the only track that I listened to once and said "this is filler". The only really redeemable part of this is "gotta wake up" after the post-chorus. This just doesn't FEEL like a Halsey song at all, and doesn't quite fit.
"Hopeless", featuring Cashmere Cat, finishes off the album. Cashmere Cat is overwhelming on this track; I'm sure that this is his idea to make the majority of this track heavily processed screeching. I really can't see ever wanting to listen to this track again. Also, sad that there are no tracks called "Fountain" or "Kingdom".
Now, finally, we're left with what this album is trying to do with the story, and to be honest, no one is quite sure. Halsey herself said that the album is NOT centered around Romeo and Juliet; it is about her own breakups, and the videos will follow the Romeo and Juliet theme. If that's true, we'll just have to wait for what the next video is. Personally, my friend (who does not wish to be named) and I have discussed possible theories for this album extensively. The theory that I lean towards is that the middle part of the album represents the church in Romeo and Juliet; "Sorry" are the confessions, "Good Mourning" is the sermon, and "Lies" has Quavo as the priest, preaching to his church about Halsey's sins. The two other portions of the album are both told by each of the members of the houses. My colleague's most major theory, which is more developed than mine, is that Halsey is constantly changing characters, mostly in between the two main characters, Solis and Luna, though she occasionally has a few more, with "Good Mourning"signalling a new, bad side of Solis, leading to the eventual breakup in the end. The sad truth is that there really is not any 100% certain theories. We've though extensively and I hope that we're close, but only time will tell when the videos come out. I think that this scheming actually adds to the album's value, and I'm giving extra points for it.
Overall, hopeless fountain kingdom is a great album with a bit of a sour ending. I'd say that this is a large improvement over Badlands and may be one of my favorite albums this year, at least thus far. Halsey's matured quite a bit and even though she's moved a bit out of the alternative genre, I have no issue with this; if anything, it might be for the better. Her songwriting has certainly improved immensely and the production is satisfactory; above average, but not amazing for the majority of the album.
Final Verdict: 82/100
Favorite Tracks : Heaven in Hiding, Eyes Closed, Strangers, Walls Could Talk
Least Favorite Tracks : Hopeless, Devil in Me
Comments
Post a Comment