Tinashe - Aquarius (out October 7 2014)

that's vague

it feels zeitgeisty in that it tracks along post-drake, post-aaliyah is a goddess R&B but not like fka twigs or something where it's *all* about that

insofar as it's an album with inherent commercial motivations that still manages to sound 'hip' it feels perhaps even more idiosyncratic and considered than something like twigs where the aesthetic is really the meat of the album

not that the two need to be pitted against each other or anything -- i like the twigs album a lot too

could swap jhene aiko out w/ twigs and i think the argument still holds

I am very curious to hear this. does the stream not work for anyone? soundcloud told me it was because I was in the wrong country

Everything else on her soundcloud plays for me except the album stream.

About halfway through, and am enjoying this - Aquarius seems like a really suitable title, given the full on shiny, aquatic dub sonics and subsumptive dynamics. And, ah, pan-pipes.

Yeah, those pan-pipes...

Also about halfway through, also enjoying it.

it feels zeitgeisty in that it tracks along post-drake, post-aaliyah is a goddess R&B but not like fka twigs or something where it's *all* about that

what? the strength of the twigs album is that the pre-release narrative about that aesthetic is a gigantic red herring b/c it's not that relevant to the album, which feels like it's in another lineage entirely. it's got tinges of r&b about it but certainly not the real zeitgeisty sad-drake-r&b/glacial-aaliyah-vibes sort, and it's a v minor component anyway

How Many Times is amazing.

The stream I think is UK only but it worked for me using hola.

oh thank you, I recently moved to Canada from the US and have been meaning to figure out a good vpn

Man, I love the end of Bet, with the final thick chord, and then the guitar solo playing that little riff, which then becomes the bass-riff on Cold Sweat.

Half-expect Enya-sample from Ready or Not to drop at the start of Bet.

The best parts of this record recall Aaliyah's s/t slowjams.

It's crazy long tho, reminds me of Goldenheart that way - could have been a bit more concise.

It's only 12 songs in 56 minutes? Less than Beyonce. I mean, all those interludes and the fact that it's sonically kinda the same makes it a bit hard to handle, but I can already almost remember the track-order, which to me usually signifies that I'll listen to the record many many times. I really like it, guys!

Version I've got has 18 tracks, is this a mistake?

i think he's discounting the interludes

Oh yeah, fair enough. Maybe it is quite short. I've only listened through a couple of times so far.

Is this legit streaming somewhere yet in the U.S., or only everywhere but the U.S. still?

it's on itunes radio i'm pretty sure

this is sort of exactly what i expected but it's just a very superior execution on one listen, though if i was brandy i'd be so mad that afrodisiac killed my career and a decade later everyone's trying to ape it

"all hands on deck" is a banger, almost sounds like it should be a girl group song

the slow murky rest...obv one listen is not enough but it felt like they had enough personality and individuality to avoid the usual zzz pitfalls of slow sad submarine music

Hey this is indeed very good. I was maybe hoping for a few more surprises or exclamation mark moments, because this aesthetic is a little over familiar, but the material is top notch. I imagine it'll open up more when I'm not listening to it in an office

Not sure what she was going for here:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51goI0vmGlL._SX450_.jpg

Mortal Kombat character?

Guardian review is v lol:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/02/tinashe-aquarius-review

Haha "if you love interludes you'll love this album" is hard to argue with though

this record is great and i like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caA0Ilrok1Q

KISS THE OLD ME GOODBYE SHE'S DEAD AND GONE
DEAD AND GONE

i never heard any of the mixtapes that were supposedly so different from "2 On" and probably further from my tastes, so i really didn't know what to expect from this album, but i'm very impressed, it holds together really well.

Tinashe had a recurrent role on 2 And A Half Men, who knew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTxsTs_SjY

jake and celeste were also the names of lily kane's parents in VERONICA MARS

hey the bonus tracks/offcuts are good too

album is very soothing to listen to on a cold winter's night, i'm increasingly enamoured of it tbh

what really, really differentiates itself not just from a lot of albums of this ilk but a lot of albums in general is that the songs never blur into each other - each one is distinct, has its own memorable character. subtly different production details, unusually strong hooks, good sequencing probably all play a part in that.

wish "indigo child" was longer than an interlude, beat is sick

ayo is that a kalenna songwriting credit i see on "thug cry"!

That makes a bit of sense actually, Thug Cry was the one that really stood out on first listen. Second half in general is a bit stronger than the first I think, once it gets out of its whole hippy ambient thing, the exception being that one track near the end that sounds like The Scientist by Coldplay.

lyrics don't get more kalenna than those

How Many Times is amazing.

This is a good album, although something is missing to make me think it's a great one. "All hands on deck" and "watch me work" are jams

her feature on the Calvin Harris album is pretty dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttUNDQjZ7wU

This record sounds really great after spending a few weeks away from it

I made a mistake of playing Aiko's album before this one on Sunday; the two bled into each other, all cool yearning.

Tinashe's vocal style is so much more appealing to me than Aiko's

yeah great album

this is a great great great album

lot of great vocal moments on this, both large and small

great great great album seconded. start to finish, really. tons of great production details too. "far side of the moon" is astonishing.

def top 5 of the year for me.

tons of great production details too. "far side of the moon" is astonishing.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, November 18, 2014 6:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

yeah the songs that sound like the moody/atmospheric ones at first -- cold sweat, far side of the moon, bated breath -- really start to stand out the more you listen

pleasantly surprised you guys dig it so much

best pop album of the year I think unless Sucker ends up being fantastic

yeah this and 1989 for me

sorta like amethyst in that album or EP or whatever it immediately strikes me as one of the best things she's put out

On my third listen. The brevity helps in retrospective… lots of replay value and every song in here is great

Recency bias maybe but this is my favorite thing she has released

Keys on Treason are vaguely reminiscent of a mbira, love them.
Talk To Me Nice is this perfect labyrinthine anti-jam.
Needs is okay, don't mind it.
I'm not sure the production totally works on Uh Huh but falsetto = good, interesting song.
Gravity a little synth-drenched and known territory for her.
None of my business needs a little more kick.
Tightrope good minimal song.

Really good but hard to compare to 333 as only a half album.

I rarely follow him but apparently Fantano gave this one a better ranking than p4k and loves it - with the exception of gravity which I don’t get but whatever.

New Tiny Desk
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/09/1230166589/tiny-desk-concert-tinashe

Are they no longer uploaded to youtube?

Anyways, very charming performance and tight live band!

Tinashe + Drum 'n bass = bop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlV8zVUgdLM

love it!

Certainly suits her style, cool re-use of the electronic mbira from Treason. I'm not crazy about the dnb return in style, it's always a little overpowering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrjESdPsLxE

bb/ang3l pt.2 - quantum baby is coming soon

song is just fine though

this thread is a great reminder to dig into the Tinashe catalog, i was unnaturally harsh on her sophomore vibes, i think aquarius was more than my brain could handle and i folded before her career even began lol oops :/