Written Before Listen
Tones and I is an Australian singer and songwriter known for her big hit “Dance Monkey”. Personally I avoided her big hit only knowing the title of the song. I didn’t actually hear it until a half hour ago and I have to say, it is awful. It’s not the worst song to come out of that year, but it is in consideration. With that being said, I will voluntarily listen to this album so you don’t have to. Maybe we can see if it’s actually good. Let’s see.
Production
The production on this thing isn’t terrible. Its just basic….like extremely basic. The synths, pianos and drum choices are all super generic, predictable and flatline. If Tones and I was at least a tolerable singer, the production could maybe be tolerable, but since she is not really the greatest singer, the production makes anything about the music worse than it already was.
Vocal Performance
Speaking of the vocal performance, it is excruciating. If you know the hit “Dance Monkey”, you know exactly how she sounds. She sounds like the least passionate person trying her best to be passionate sounding. Hearing her sing is really annoying. It’s like if Billie Eilish replaced her voice with a 12 year old stan of hers. If I could say more I could….but i’ll be nice.
Themes
Usually, generic production and/or bad singing could possibly be redeemed in the slightest with good songwriting. Unfortunately, this is not the case for this record. If you want a sense of her songwriting, I will say that she is more introspective than braggadocious. She’s gloomy yet energetic, anxious but cheerful about it. She makes anthems about being lonely. Yeah, I think you get the memo.
Cliches
Have you ever seen that Watchmojo video about the top 10 pop cliches? If not, rather watch it or find out yourself by listening to this album. To bare you with the torture though, I will tell you the cliches that she carries in her music. Camouflaged autotune, check. Songs about sex, check. Key changes, check. Repetition of themes, check. Connecting to more “urban audience” (meaning including a rap verse), check. Nearly every song sounds like a generic pop tune that you wont want to check out. Its not your mainstream pop station…but your contemporary pop station.
Favorite Tracks
I hate to be this way….but it’s true. I cant think of any track that caught me in a positive way. I literally had a headache after listening to this thing. It’s awful. If I had to pinpoint anything, I guess I didn’t mind the outro of “Won’t Sleep”, the hook on “Cloudy Day” could fit in that same category. Other than that, this album is definitely not for me.
Verdict
Wow….this is bad. Easily the worst record I’ve heard all year. Honestly, I wont recommend this to anyone….in any way possible. This album is a complete and utter disgrace to music. Also, a few words to Toni. Toni, this is not personal. I know I might’ve gotten a little harsh on your music, but take these criticisms and try your best to improve your music. The score I’m about to give on your album is not based off of your personality, it’s only the music you make.
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