Tracey Thorn

the beats on the new album are really cheap. and the songs are not very good either. it all sounds pretty much like mainstream. i love tracey thorn but this is very dispensable.

why aren't they very good? "Guitar" and "Babies" present points of view we don't often hear in songs, and their melodies are delectable. I don't treat as a dance record – it's a singer-songwriter record with dance colorings, in the same way Bill Callahan would use strings or John Darnielle a brass section.

it all sounds pretty much like mainstream.

Judging by this comment I'm not sure how much mainstream pop you listen to. This is much better produced than both a lot of mainstream 80s-inflected pop and the sort of shambahla stuff that's popular here. A lesser producer than Ewan Pearson would be tempted to really max out every sound, he allows every sound (especially the voice) the space it needs. He and Tracey are excellent foils for one another

I love this, I love her voice

I love how effortless and shimmery the music is

This sounds like Drake, Cardi B, and Post Malone.

I mean, I can see what they are getting at, particularly "Guitar," the production of which sounds like everything I hated about the Paramore album and parts of the last Carly Rae Jepsen record

this is really great i think

it's funny how the decline of the music biz makes for strange fellows, imagine thinking oh yeah tracey thorn will be on superchunk's label 20 years ago

i don't think it sounds cheap at all, it's very well engineered and mastered

"Go" is just tremendous, cheap-esque drum sounds included

I mean, I can see what they are getting at, particularly "Guitar," the production of which sounds like everything I hated about the Paramore album and parts of the last Carly Rae Jepsen record

― algorithm is a dancer (katherine),

but it's fascinating how both albums were disappointments or outright flops – they were failed crossovers.

Both of those albums are over-compressed to hell in the way that you'd expect from artists gunning for maximum radio play in 2018, that's notably not the case here. I can see how the sound palette and other production choices might be similar (and offputting) but the treatment of them is completely different.

Yes agreed

I will probably always be a total, melty mess for these big, clear, generous alto female voices over 80s inspired synths - Alison Moyet the other obvious example of this

The lyrics and themes in this album are incredible. I don’t gaf if the sounds are cheap. The emotions and depth of thought overwhelm any blandness of the production.

lol do you really think it sounds bland

like i guess i don't associate EBTG or her w/super edgy experimental stuff, more literate well mannered electronic stuff w good songwriting

Its brevity is something my girlfriend and I loved as well -- it does the business quickly but does so in a way that feels like a big scope of a record, perhaps even more so lyrically than musically.

I really love Tracey Thorn, EBTG and solo, I just cannot deal at all, ever, from anyone, with that chintzy canned "Take on Me" sound

take on me is a very good song

it all sounds pretty much like mainstream.

Judging by this comment I'm not sure how much mainstream pop you listen to

‘Computer beats’, Stella Mozgawa will love that.

I just cannot deal at all, ever, from anyone, with that chintzy canned "Take on Me" sound

whathuh?

how do people not hear that in "Guitar" at least?

my favourite thing about this record is her willingness to tackle subject matter that other, younger artists might find a bit banal or naff (3 am baby feeds, sending your kids off to college, stalking your ex's Facebook), but doing so with great levity and humour.

The production sounds a bit thin and dated in some places (not a fan of "Guitar", agree with katherine on this), but there's also "Sister", which is incredibly groovy and lush.

anyway, "what year is it? same old shit."

I don't hear a chintzy, canned "Take On Me" sound in "Guitar" at all, and/but also I love the sound of "Take On Me". There's an '80s (though not 'dated') and sparse (though not 'thin') feel to most of Queen, but to me there's a clear contrast with the, indeed compression-heavy, sound on After Laughter, which I disliked for that reason.

(another example would be Toni Halliday's first solo album -- I want to like it but the '80s production is overwhelming)

it's all very 80's certainly but not in a way that particularly evokes "Take On Me"?

album is great, all excellent songs. i especially like Guitar and the ending of Air. the production doesn't really stand out but i'm a fan of the style and it supports the songs well

On her incredible catalog.

At Electric mastering @tracey_thorn Dancefloor remixes right now. 💃🎉 pic.twitter.com/kOoF7VtkP9

— Ewan Pearson (@ewanpearson) March 22, 2018

Finally picked this up today. The hype sticker made me laugh aloud:
https://i.imgur.com/woutA00.jpg

haha that is awesome

this collaboration with George FitzGerald (whom I also like) is unsurprisingly very good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHQBLwfnqY8

ooh v nice

london you're in my blood
and you've been there for so long
london you're in my blood
but i feel you going wrong

There is the heavy and the light. Damn this is an proper album.

Looking forward to this:

Very happy to tell you that I'll be the guest on Desert Island Discs this coming Sunday! Thanks to @laurenlaverne for wonderful interview 😍 https://t.co/AHOBmggS5o

— Tracey Thorn (@tracey_thorn) November 12, 2018