LogFAQs > #978799281

THE WEEKND - DAWN FM

Year: 2022
Genre: Synthpop, Dance Pop
Rate Your Music Score: 3.45/5 [17,619 Ratings]
Length: 16 Tracks, 51:49

Wikipedia Quotes:

"The Weeknd described the album's concept as a state of purgatorya journey towards the "light at the end of a tunnel" [...] Dawn FM is an upbeat record containing dance-pop and synth-pop songs that are heavily inspired by the 1980s new wave, funk and electronic dance music styles. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who complimented its production and melodies.

Dawn FM reached number one in over 10 countries, including the singer-songwriter's native Canada, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; meanwhile, it debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart."

Example Tracks:

Gasoline:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T4UykXuJnI

Out of Time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxgj5af8zg4

[A concept album that represents a radio station that plays in purgatory, this is possibly the concept album best suited for this type of ranking as it's relatively light on "concept", featuring several pop hits that work great even without the context of the other songs on the album. I've had a hard time narrowing it down to two example tracks, but I think these two tracks should do a good job. Gasoline is being used as the theme for the next Wrestlemania, making it an oddly topical choice; Out of Time is a catchy, 80s style song that samples a Japanese city pop classic & has a brief outro that leans into the album's concept to show how that's handled.

You should pick this album if you want a popular, mainstream choice.]

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BRING ME THE HORIZON - AMO

Year: 2019
Genre: Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
RYM Score: 2.83/5 [4,084 Ratings]
Length: 13 Songs, 51:59

Wikipedia Quotes:

"Sykes stated about the album: "amo is a love album that explores every aspect of that most powerful emotion. [...] It deals with the good the bad and the ugly, and as a result we've created an album that's more experimental, more varied, weird, and wonderful than anything we've done before." He later commented that Amo is a concept album about love, as "Everything boils down to love in the end". Sykes also said that some of the lyrical content concerns his divorce. The genres of the album has been described as pop rock, electronic rock, electropop, synth-pop, EDM, alternative rock, electronica, hard rock, pop metal, and pop. The album also contains elements of hip hop and trap.

AllMusic gave the album a positive review saying, "Amo is a genre-bending thrill ride that marks a brave new era for the band." The Independent called the album "catchy and eclectic" but also said that "amo won't satisfy all of BMTH's fans...[but will] bring in some new ones."

Example Tracks:

mother tongue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aC_TSkGvPw

MANTRA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvZxPWmnqeo

[Having listened to this album dozens of times, I would not describe it as a concept album at all--but it has coincidentally let me nominate three things described as concept albums, so hey, let's run with that. Either way, this album is a bit of a beautiful mess; as you can tell from the Wikipedia quotes, this album takes inspiration from basically every genre to exist except for the metalcore that brought the band fame in the first place. Or as I described it when I was hyping it up to a friend:

""amo" is an interesting album. While the band got their start as a heavy metalcore band, they transitioned to a more Linkin Park-esque sound with "That's the Spirit" (their biggest album by far), and largely moved away from metal entirely with this album. You can feel the band going through a lot of growing pains on this album and it's a rather mixed bag, lacking any type of cohesion. Some songs, like "wonderful life", could easily fit onto their earlier albums with its depression chorus that repeats "no one cares if I'm dead or alive" ; but then they spend two different songs attacking fans of their earlier work, one complaining that no one likes him now that he's not doing suicidal depression (but.. you just... did a depression song...) and one attacking fans who want them to go back to being a metal band & honestly TWO SONGS attacking your fans is a weird choice? But then you have MANTRA, which is catchy as hell, and "mother tongue" is the sappiest ballad the band has ever made and... it's all over the place. Sad songs, songs about how they're not doing sad songs, songs that could be on their old albums, but also fuck you if you like the old albums, but occasionally catchy, occasionally bizarre, and completely all over the place tonally. Objectively, it is not their best album, but it is fascinating and has quite a few songs that I love."

This may be my current favorite album, largely because I've binged other BMtH albums so often that this one's different sound is now more appealing. You should pick this album if you dislike concept albums ("love" is, at best, a theme & not a concept) or if you want a less metal introduction to my favorite band.]

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