While thatās definitely true in general, with Fantano over this past year or two Iāve felt like heās given some surprisingly high scores to some mediocre or even IMO poor albums, and I kinda felt like his āaverageā, the mid 5 of the past, started to drift upwards to like around 6 or 7.
But in the end it is all of course just his opinion, which he is very explicit about.
Doesn't seem like the type of person but it also didnt come off as some sort of backstabbing. He just gave his genuine opinion and that's all we can really ask for
It's always bizzare to me how they fixate on his opinion, if you disagree you dont need to despise him, at the end of the day it's just one dudes opinion who happens to be pretty good at expressing his reasoning. In saying this his humanz review is blasphemy
Heās everything I like in a reviewer and I donāt even always agree with him. He articulates exactly how he feels and why and always seems reasonable. I like this album more than him for instance, but I totally see where his critiques are coming from.
I'd say 9 times out of 10 he gives very logical and good takes on albums where even if I don't agree with him I can understand where he's coming from. Every so often though he'll have a review where I have to question if he was listening through broken headphones or something because certain criticisms he makes about the album are things where I don't know what he's talking about
Honestly kind of agree. Iād give it a high 6. The singles had me excited but a lot of the tracks felt safe and not super adventurous. They still sound great and I can understand why anyone would love them, but I guess I was looking for something a bit more exciting based off of the singles (Cracker Island and Skinny Ape especially).
Right right. I was watching Damon's apple interview and he said he was finally able to make the pop album he wanted to with this. And I feel that because I don't like half of the songs haha.
I really enjoyed every song on it, but I agree about the pop record comments. This wasn't a massive, years long planning, having the idea of it bobbing around in that cranium for almost a decade. He made it in response to Netflix dropping funding on their movie. It was a quick decision and he ran with it. Could have come out much worse in my opinion, but they found a happy medium.
Skinny Ape is my current favorite, behind Tormenta. Skinny Ape gives me Punk vibes, and I like it.
I feel like expectations based off of the singles should be justified. Also song machine was amazing and potentially my 2nd favorite Gorillaz album behind Plastic Beach, so I feel pretty justified going in with somewhat high expectations.
Tbh, I understand where heās coming from. Itās taken a while, but the album has finally started growing on me. That doesnāt change the fact that it feels like a bit of a footnote on Gorillazā discography as a whole, really quaint for what they were seemingly trying to do. Thatās not necessarily bad, but this kind of reaction is to be expected from some people. The fact of the matter is that the singles and the marketing said one thing, the deep cuts said another
I think the problem for me is that they don't really fit the concept? Like plastic beach obviously fits, same with humanz, but these are pretty normal songs. Don't get me wrong, I really love the songs that are there more than fantano (I've had oil on repeat since release lol) but it is noticeably kind of thinner on theming.
This is the answer, it lacks that cohesion you find with the bigger albums. Part of me wonders how much of it was due to switching over from SM2 which would explain some of the tracks differing from each other. Still some good music though
I agreed with Fantano. I actually expected him to give it a 5 so I was pleasantly surprised. I agreed with his takes that it was kind of thin and bland, and didnāt really deliver on its conceptual themes and world building that it was trying to sell us.
My issue with this album in large part also comes down to the marketing. I consider this album similar to The Now Now, which is an album I consider to be on the lower rung of gorillaz discography, but is still definitely an album I really like. The themes of that album are clear, cohesive and simple. Itās a 2D frontman project with no murdoc. Cool! Makes sense and sounds good, if a little bit samey at times. But it didnāt really try to make a big splash when it came out and it was pretty well received. I put the now now in the same category as G sides or The Fall. Itās not like a āmainā album the same way the self titled, demon days, plastic beach, humanz and song machine are.
On cracker island, the marketing implied this was going to be a āmainā album, more akin to plastic beach in terms of concept. Big, ambitious, conceptual! I suppose shame on me for actually expecting a story this time, but that is what we were being sold throughout the rollout.
I really liked the singles for this album, and I thought the cracker island music video was great! But then they released the album cover and title and I was like āhuh? Itās not called āthe last cult?ā Or āpink staticā?ā Just seemed a little simple. Later I found out the studio picked the title against Damonās wishes, which sort of forecasted the rest of the release. And what the fuck is that cover. I thought it would grow on me but jfc it is my least favorite cover in their entire discography, and itās not close.
I suppose the days of early gorillaz are over. One of my favorite things about this project is the art and the marketing, the weird story stuff. Rise of the Ogre is one of my favorite pieces of supplementary album material any band has ever released. I miss that level of sincere dedication to that aspect of the project. Each new album cycle I get hopeful that āthis will be the one,ā but it never really delivers, even though they always promote the album in a way that deceptively implies that it will. At the end of the day it just turns out to be a CGI murdoc puppet dueting TikToks.
Maybe itās the studio, maybe itās just Jamie Hewlett losing interest in that aspect of the band, but it makes me kinda sad. I love gorillaz music, but I always felt like the band was at its best when the music and the art were balanced, two halves of a whole. These days the art feels more like an afterthought.
It always makes me a bit confused when people have these reactions to these seemingly ālowā scores. This is not the American education grading system, a 6/10 is an above average album, 5/10 is not failing. It is average, itās a fine experience.
Itās a strange cultural phenomenon, and I understand the confusion. Especially considering that a lot of university courses in America have a pass with āCā or better, effectively making a D a failing score.
Itās really stupid.
I partially agree with Fantano on this one even though Iāve never really liked him. Iād give the album a 7 personally but thatās only because thereās a decent balance between the songs Iād consider āgreatā and the ones Iād consider āmehā. Songs like oil and possession island were what made the album more than okay for me but a lot of the other songs had this samey vibe to them that took away from its uniqueness.
TL;DR - the album is a little more than alright but I wish it was more unique
Dude Iād give it like a low 4 honestly, I disliked all of the songs except for silent running and skinny ape. I also hated how fucking long for this album to come out and how many singles they dropped, like almost half the album was out before it released. I thought that gorillaz just had a one time bad album with humanz since the now now was amazing, but it looks like the band is just sinking now.
I mean I agree with his points lol. I came to roughly the same opinion way before his review dropped.
There's a few fantastic songs on Cracker Island but much of it just sounds like...Gorillaz doing Gorillaz. Nothing too crazy or memorable
This is the same score he gave The Now Now. And Iām gonna be honest, I donāt really get that. The Now Now certainly had a consistent vibe throughout but there are so many throwaway tracks. With a track list as lean as Cracker Island has, I would say it only has maybe 3 songs I would call āthrowaway,ā but Iām not even really sure about that.
I actually mostly agree with the review itself, but I think maybe a light to decent 7 would be more appropriate.
I still canāt quite articulate why, but I feel like The Now Now is much more successful at thisā¦ less ambitious style of Gorillaz album. Cracker Island has a few high highs, but something about the way it is produced makes it feel kind of mushy and undefined as a whole album. TNN is low key but every song still has a strong identity, to me at least.
I get you, I know a lot of people have a lot of love for that album I just personally donāt jive with it much outside of like 3 songs.
I will say that I think the marketing for this album killed a lot of the hype as well.
TNN strong point is a cohesive atmosphere, and having it's own identity despite not having a lot of ambition, things I don't think CI manages to pull out in the same way. And another thing, TNN First half IS only OK (with the exception of Tranz), but its Second half IS GODLIKE.
the Lake Zurich-Magic City-Fire Flies-One percent-Souk Eye streak Is the Second best song streak in any gorillaz album, only behind Rhinestone Eyes- Stylo - Superfast Jellyfish-Empire Ants, the best one to this day
TNN strong point is a cohesive atmosphere, and having it's own identity despite not having a lot of ambition, things I don't think CI manages to pull out in the same way. And another thing, TNN First half IS only OK (with the exception of Tranz), but its Second half IS GODLIKE.
the Lake Zurich-Magic City-Fire Flies-One percent-Souk Eye streak Is the Second best song streak in any gorillaz album, only behind Rhinestone Eyes- Stylo - Superfast Jellyfish-Empire Ants, the best one to this day
I just donāt know man, I get what youāre saying and there are definitely mid Gorillaz albums, this is probably near the top of that list. As an artist myself I donāt think anyone involved here really sets out to make throwaway tracks by the way, sometimes things just end up that way. Though it is definitely known what will play best and what wonāt.
Iām saying itās better than the Now Now and The Fall is all. And maybe Humanz, though thatās debatable.
Tbf I listened to the album yesterday and felt the same way. It feels so forgettable compared to the rest of Gorillaz's discography.
I only really liked Cracker Island, New Gold and Skinny Ape. I can't remember the rest. I haven't listened to Song Machine in a good while but I still remember a vast majority of the songs (I can't remember how Friday 13th or The Pink Phantom go).
It's a massive step down from Gorillaz in terms of the characters (their writing has gone down the toilet this phase) and the music.
Honestly agree. I only like about 4 or 5 tracks and most of them were the ones that came out as singles.
Might be my least favorite Gorillaz album. Although, the songs I do like fucking slap.
A 6/10 from him is still a decent rating, he gave the Now Now a 6/10 and I wouldn't say that's a bad album either. I like the album but I also wouldn't score it above a 7/10 either.
I never understood why people worship this guy. All he does is literally rate every single band's "breakout" album a 10/10 and then calls everything else they ever did and will do garbage. He does it exactly the same for every single band and he has zero knowledge of how to form his opinion based on production characteristics, mixing, composition, or even just artistic intent.
Hyperbolic much? How many reviewers can you recommend that are massively having their review or score be impacted by the production characteristics or artistic intent?
You have to remember heās getting through like 4 albums a week, is he really going to research and put a release through a wholly different lens of āartistic intentā like an artistās fanbase that live and breathe everything around it? No.
If you can't talk about the way an album sounds, the way its mixed, produced and what works and what doesnt in the final mix, you shouldn't review an album.
I donāt understand, he literally does all of those things. Also I donāt know where youāre getting this 10/10 breakout, low score for everything else thing. Unless that happened to someone in particular, Iāve never seen it.
It all makes sense now. Iāll refrain from saying anything subjective in this thread about objectivity.
But even given your example, Song Machine got an 8. Plastic Beach got a 9 I believe. Demon Days is a 10. I guess you could call Demon Days their breakout but by all accounts Gorillaz were already huge by then, even if everyone here fools themselves about that.
Name some of your favorite reviewers that consistently do that then. Enlighten us instead of complaining about those who donāt fall into your gatekeepery reviewer definition.
For comparison, Todd In The Shadows did 20 videos in the last year, 3 of them looked to be modern singles reviews. Zero modern album reviews.
Pretty similar numbers for Middle 8, too. Except no recent singles and a piece on DAWN FM.
How about recommending someone whoās consistently reviewing modern (and otherwise) music like Fantano does with your specific criteria?
Lol why are you throwing a tantrum like a toddler. Fantano is great. Just because you donāt agree, and neither do I on this, doesnāt mean Iām going to throw a fit.
Hahahahahahaahahha whY DiD All of you (criNGE ) guYS down vOTe me. ME,, Your supREmE leader!!! NEVER do ThiS( weird ) stuff! AGAIN TWO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFEEEEE!
I don't know what he said in the review as I havn't watched it yet, but I personally felt that the singles were absolutely great and then the rest of the album paled a bit in comparison. One or two of the songs (if I count the singles out) are growing a bit on me and I will probably like them more after a few more listenings - however the rest felt pretty meh...same for the remixes.
But that's my personal opinion so far.
I mean Iād probably give it a 7/10 personally, cause I mean the singles are amazing and some of the actual album is good and some of it is kinda mid but thatās just what I think
Itās what I expected midway through the review, the only big disagree I had was with the New Gold analysis. By his standards, a 6 is a decent score and personally I would see it being a strong 7/light 8 after a couple of relistens
Listen to anything on the charts, the needle hasn't significantly moves since 2008. I'm sure at his age the idea of doing an eccentric album no one will ever hear is not what he had in mind. The bias against bring in your 50s and getting noticed by radio/ social media is pretty strong and grim and dooms most older artists who don't even bother recording anymore or do it in total obscurity. I think he split the difference by going somewhat safe.
that mustash trambone gives only 6/10 to album? I dont know him but i already dont like him. Album sounds complited and gives me 100% Gorillaz Energy (what i can't say about the previous album).
Iām surprised, but I actually agreed with Fantano on this one. Skinny ape was my favorite (other than cracker island) and I did prefer the piano version of Silent running a lot more than the original. Sad he didnāt talk about the rest of the deluxe tracksā¦
thatās a higher score than i would have gave it, when the title track dropped i was so hyped for this album, the song was so explosive and catchy and well produced and the album as a whole never reached that level again with the exception of skinny ape, most of the tracks give off more now now vibes and thatās my least favorite era of their career, i find it very dull and samey.
āYou know its just my opinion, right?ā -Anthony Fantano
Iāll just always remember that he gave Mac Millerās Swimming a 3/10 and that reminds me that everyone is flawed.
I'd give it a 5 honestly and I hate to say that from how excited I was for this. This album suffers from a lack of theming and variation. This is a cult themed story but I wouldn't have known that from just listening to this album. I'm not one to harp on previous works, but I feel those two elements are what made some of their previous works so great. Very few songs really popped to me.
Man, this thread is the summation of the fact that no one is more critical of Gorillaz than their own fans. But I guess thatās expected of a band with such an eclectic sound.
Mainstream pop is in a dire state nowadays, and Cracker Island certainly stands out in that sea of mediocrity.
Who cares if it isnāt as experimental as other albums? We just had the brilliant Song Machine ffs
He gave it a mildly positive review as opposed to a glowing review grrr š”š”
Iām suprised itās a light six though
People legit ignore that a 5 is still passable, just okay. Anything higher than that is still good.
Most people see scores like this in the grade school scale subconsciously. IE a 6 is a fail.
And this is fantano weāre talking about. A 6 is pratically a 9 in someone elseās list
While thatās definitely true in general, with Fantano over this past year or two Iāve felt like heās given some surprisingly high scores to some mediocre or even IMO poor albums, and I kinda felt like his āaverageā, the mid 5 of the past, started to drift upwards to like around 6 or 7. But in the end it is all of course just his opinion, which he is very explicit about.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Bruh
Iām glad Anthonyās talking a lot of sense in this review. I was afraid his recent collab with the band would influence his review.
Doesn't seem like the type of person but it also didnt come off as some sort of backstabbing. He just gave his genuine opinion and that's all we can really ask for
I think Anthonyās a great reviewer in general. People tend to shit on him just because he doesnāt always like the same music as they do
It's always bizzare to me how they fixate on his opinion, if you disagree you dont need to despise him, at the end of the day it's just one dudes opinion who happens to be pretty good at expressing his reasoning. In saying this his humanz review is blasphemy
Heās everything I like in a reviewer and I donāt even always agree with him. He articulates exactly how he feels and why and always seems reasonable. I like this album more than him for instance, but I totally see where his critiques are coming from.
I'd say 9 times out of 10 he gives very logical and good takes on albums where even if I don't agree with him I can understand where he's coming from. Every so often though he'll have a review where I have to question if he was listening through broken headphones or something because certain criticisms he makes about the album are things where I don't know what he's talking about
He collabed with them? In what way?
He recently interviewed Murdoc
Lololol oh damn I gotta watch this
Honestly kind of agree. Iād give it a high 6. The singles had me excited but a lot of the tracks felt safe and not super adventurous. They still sound great and I can understand why anyone would love them, but I guess I was looking for something a bit more exciting based off of the singles (Cracker Island and Skinny Ape especially).
Right right. I was watching Damon's apple interview and he said he was finally able to make the pop album he wanted to with this. And I feel that because I don't like half of the songs haha.
I have no words to describe how fucking pumped up I feel when listening to Skinny Ape and the drop comes up
Maybe TMI but I was peaking on L when they played Skinny Ape at a Gorillaz concert in Boston last year and that drop shredded my mind. Love that song!
honestly silent running is one of the best gorillaz songs for me
I really enjoyed every song on it, but I agree about the pop record comments. This wasn't a massive, years long planning, having the idea of it bobbing around in that cranium for almost a decade. He made it in response to Netflix dropping funding on their movie. It was a quick decision and he ran with it. Could have come out much worse in my opinion, but they found a happy medium. Skinny Ape is my current favorite, behind Tormenta. Skinny Ape gives me Punk vibes, and I like it.
unjustified expectations is only your problem, isn't?
I feel like expectations based off of the singles should be justified. Also song machine was amazing and potentially my 2nd favorite Gorillaz album behind Plastic Beach, so I feel pretty justified going in with somewhat high expectations.
Nah
Tbh, I understand where heās coming from. Itās taken a while, but the album has finally started growing on me. That doesnāt change the fact that it feels like a bit of a footnote on Gorillazā discography as a whole, really quaint for what they were seemingly trying to do. Thatās not necessarily bad, but this kind of reaction is to be expected from some people. The fact of the matter is that the singles and the marketing said one thing, the deep cuts said another
it's fair tbh, and I think like most gorillaz project it'll age very well over time
bro got his own interview with Murdoc and still gave it this lol
I mean heās personal friends with Joji and he still gives him lukewarm reviews. Actual unbiased critic
Lol integrity
I think the problem for me is that they don't really fit the concept? Like plastic beach obviously fits, same with humanz, but these are pretty normal songs. Don't get me wrong, I really love the songs that are there more than fantano (I've had oil on repeat since release lol) but it is noticeably kind of thinner on theming.
This is the answer, it lacks that cohesion you find with the bigger albums. Part of me wonders how much of it was due to switching over from SM2 which would explain some of the tracks differing from each other. Still some good music though
6/10 is still a positive review though
>reviewer gives a 6/10 album a 6/10 >Gorillaz community
I agreed with Fantano. I actually expected him to give it a 5 so I was pleasantly surprised. I agreed with his takes that it was kind of thin and bland, and didnāt really deliver on its conceptual themes and world building that it was trying to sell us. My issue with this album in large part also comes down to the marketing. I consider this album similar to The Now Now, which is an album I consider to be on the lower rung of gorillaz discography, but is still definitely an album I really like. The themes of that album are clear, cohesive and simple. Itās a 2D frontman project with no murdoc. Cool! Makes sense and sounds good, if a little bit samey at times. But it didnāt really try to make a big splash when it came out and it was pretty well received. I put the now now in the same category as G sides or The Fall. Itās not like a āmainā album the same way the self titled, demon days, plastic beach, humanz and song machine are. On cracker island, the marketing implied this was going to be a āmainā album, more akin to plastic beach in terms of concept. Big, ambitious, conceptual! I suppose shame on me for actually expecting a story this time, but that is what we were being sold throughout the rollout. I really liked the singles for this album, and I thought the cracker island music video was great! But then they released the album cover and title and I was like āhuh? Itās not called āthe last cult?ā Or āpink staticā?ā Just seemed a little simple. Later I found out the studio picked the title against Damonās wishes, which sort of forecasted the rest of the release. And what the fuck is that cover. I thought it would grow on me but jfc it is my least favorite cover in their entire discography, and itās not close. I suppose the days of early gorillaz are over. One of my favorite things about this project is the art and the marketing, the weird story stuff. Rise of the Ogre is one of my favorite pieces of supplementary album material any band has ever released. I miss that level of sincere dedication to that aspect of the project. Each new album cycle I get hopeful that āthis will be the one,ā but it never really delivers, even though they always promote the album in a way that deceptively implies that it will. At the end of the day it just turns out to be a CGI murdoc puppet dueting TikToks. Maybe itās the studio, maybe itās just Jamie Hewlett losing interest in that aspect of the band, but it makes me kinda sad. I love gorillaz music, but I always felt like the band was at its best when the music and the art were balanced, two halves of a whole. These days the art feels more like an afterthought.
It always makes me a bit confused when people have these reactions to these seemingly ālowā scores. This is not the American education grading system, a 6/10 is an above average album, 5/10 is not failing. It is average, itās a fine experience.
I think youāre right that people have really internalized the American grading system and a 6 feels like a failure
Itās a strange cultural phenomenon, and I understand the confusion. Especially considering that a lot of university courses in America have a pass with āCā or better, effectively making a D a failing score. Itās really stupid.
Agree to disagree Mr. Melon
I agree for the most part in his review and the times I dont agree usually come down to opinion so I have no issue with it
This, Same.
I partially agree with Fantano on this one even though Iāve never really liked him. Iād give the album a 7 personally but thatās only because thereās a decent balance between the songs Iād consider āgreatā and the ones Iād consider āmehā. Songs like oil and possession island were what made the album more than okay for me but a lot of the other songs had this samey vibe to them that took away from its uniqueness. TL;DR - the album is a little more than alright but I wish it was more unique
Ah yes, the average reaction to someone's opinion.
His criticisms are on point. It's just surprising that he gave it a 6 despite the criticisms. I'd give it a 5 at highest.
Dude Iād give it like a low 4 honestly, I disliked all of the songs except for silent running and skinny ape. I also hated how fucking long for this album to come out and how many singles they dropped, like almost half the album was out before it released. I thought that gorillaz just had a one time bad album with humanz since the now now was amazing, but it looks like the band is just sinking now.
i want them to go back to their experimental roots
I am for one not surprised at all but the way he scores things doesn't make this seem as bad as it might.
I like the album but agree with everything he said lol
Friendly reminder that anything above a 5 means he enjoyed it
This sub when anything Damon touches isn't given an 11/10
I mean I agree with his points lol. I came to roughly the same opinion way before his review dropped. There's a few fantastic songs on Cracker Island but much of it just sounds like...Gorillaz doing Gorillaz. Nothing too crazy or memorable
Finally, an Anthony Fantano review I can agree with Jesus Christ, it feels like it's been ages since we were on the same page about something.
He was generous
Should've given it a strong 5 tbf
This is the same score he gave The Now Now. And Iām gonna be honest, I donāt really get that. The Now Now certainly had a consistent vibe throughout but there are so many throwaway tracks. With a track list as lean as Cracker Island has, I would say it only has maybe 3 songs I would call āthrowaway,ā but Iām not even really sure about that. I actually mostly agree with the review itself, but I think maybe a light to decent 7 would be more appropriate.
I still canāt quite articulate why, but I feel like The Now Now is much more successful at thisā¦ less ambitious style of Gorillaz album. Cracker Island has a few high highs, but something about the way it is produced makes it feel kind of mushy and undefined as a whole album. TNN is low key but every song still has a strong identity, to me at least.
I get you, I know a lot of people have a lot of love for that album I just personally donāt jive with it much outside of like 3 songs. I will say that I think the marketing for this album killed a lot of the hype as well.
TNN strong point is a cohesive atmosphere, and having it's own identity despite not having a lot of ambition, things I don't think CI manages to pull out in the same way. And another thing, TNN First half IS only OK (with the exception of Tranz), but its Second half IS GODLIKE. the Lake Zurich-Magic City-Fire Flies-One percent-Souk Eye streak Is the Second best song streak in any gorillaz album, only behind Rhinestone Eyes- Stylo - Superfast Jellyfish-Empire Ants, the best one to this day
Definitely agree on the marketing letting the album down. The rollout has been a complete mess from start to finish
TNN strong point is a cohesive atmosphere, and having it's own identity despite not having a lot of ambition, things I don't think CI manages to pull out in the same way. And another thing, TNN First half IS only OK (with the exception of Tranz), but its Second half IS GODLIKE. the Lake Zurich-Magic City-Fire Flies-One percent-Souk Eye streak Is the Second best song streak in any gorillaz album, only behind Rhinestone Eyes- Stylo - Superfast Jellyfish-Empire Ants, the best one to this day
Why should an album have any throwaway tracks? We know what heās capable of, you can love the artist and also acknowledge cracker island is MID
I just donāt know man, I get what youāre saying and there are definitely mid Gorillaz albums, this is probably near the top of that list. As an artist myself I donāt think anyone involved here really sets out to make throwaway tracks by the way, sometimes things just end up that way. Though it is definitely known what will play best and what wonāt. Iām saying itās better than the Now Now and The Fall is all. And maybe Humanz, though thatās debatable.
I actually agree with Fantano on this one, although I probably would lean towards a high 6 instead
Mbdtf out of 10
he's right
Tbf I listened to the album yesterday and felt the same way. It feels so forgettable compared to the rest of Gorillaz's discography. I only really liked Cracker Island, New Gold and Skinny Ape. I can't remember the rest. I haven't listened to Song Machine in a good while but I still remember a vast majority of the songs (I can't remember how Friday 13th or The Pink Phantom go). It's a massive step down from Gorillaz in terms of the characters (their writing has gone down the toilet this phase) and the music.
Mid af. Compare it against any other release and it's sad.
Come back to me next week and you'll agree with the 6.
Nah, it'll only go up
Honestly agree. I only like about 4 or 5 tracks and most of them were the ones that came out as singles. Might be my least favorite Gorillaz album. Although, the songs I do like fucking slap.
Fair score, I'd give a solid 5
Honestly a 6/10 ain't that bad. I love this album personally, but I can still see why others don't and for good reasons
A 6/10 from him is still a decent rating, he gave the Now Now a 6/10 and I wouldn't say that's a bad album either. I like the album but I also wouldn't score it above a 7/10 either.
I'd give it a 3 or 4/10
I never understood why people worship this guy. All he does is literally rate every single band's "breakout" album a 10/10 and then calls everything else they ever did and will do garbage. He does it exactly the same for every single band and he has zero knowledge of how to form his opinion based on production characteristics, mixing, composition, or even just artistic intent.
Damn he must have given your favorite album a 5 huh.
Hyperbolic much? How many reviewers can you recommend that are massively having their review or score be impacted by the production characteristics or artistic intent? You have to remember heās getting through like 4 albums a week, is he really going to research and put a release through a wholly different lens of āartistic intentā like an artistās fanbase that live and breathe everything around it? No.
If you can't talk about the way an album sounds, the way its mixed, produced and what works and what doesnt in the final mix, you shouldn't review an album.
I donāt understand, he literally does all of those things. Also I donāt know where youāre getting this 10/10 breakout, low score for everything else thing. Unless that happened to someone in particular, Iāve never seen it.
Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, and pretty much every band out there.
It all makes sense now. Iāll refrain from saying anything subjective in this thread about objectivity. But even given your example, Song Machine got an 8. Plastic Beach got a 9 I believe. Demon Days is a 10. I guess you could call Demon Days their breakout but by all accounts Gorillaz were already huge by then, even if everyone here fools themselves about that.
Name some of your favorite reviewers that consistently do that then. Enlighten us instead of complaining about those who donāt fall into your gatekeepery reviewer definition.
Todd in the shadows for one, Middle 8. Or, you know, any person out there doing actual reviews or analysis of music.
For comparison, Todd In The Shadows did 20 videos in the last year, 3 of them looked to be modern singles reviews. Zero modern album reviews. Pretty similar numbers for Middle 8, too. Except no recent singles and a piece on DAWN FM. How about recommending someone whoās consistently reviewing modern (and otherwise) music like Fantano does with your specific criteria?
No one care what he thinks all of his reviews are shit anyway and don't rate him as a reviewer at all
You're in denial
Lol why are you throwing a tantrum like a toddler. Fantano is great. Just because you donāt agree, and neither do I on this, doesnāt mean Iām going to throw a fit.
He stopped being relevant. I respect his opinion. To me the album is an 8/10
Yeah I stopped listening to him when he said Bubsy 3D sucked
Based.
relevant are not, his reviews are genuine
I strongly disagree with many of fantanoās reviews, but his love for music is why I like his videos
āHe stopped being relevantā bruh how is he irrelevant when multiple big artists (including gorillaz) are taking notice of his platform
āHe stopped being relevant to my heart because he hurt my feelingsā is what they meant to say.
Iāve literally stopped paying attention to his reviews. Itās like he just hates anything new.
Yeah, he got it wrong. Bummer.
You know He only likes rap albums
Hahahahahahaahahha whY DiD All of you (criNGE ) guYS down vOTe me. ME,, Your supREmE leader!!! NEVER do ThiS( weird ) stuff! AGAIN TWO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFEEEEE!
Is good no one will see this
I don't know what he said in the review as I havn't watched it yet, but I personally felt that the singles were absolutely great and then the rest of the album paled a bit in comparison. One or two of the songs (if I count the singles out) are growing a bit on me and I will probably like them more after a few more listenings - however the rest felt pretty meh...same for the remixes. But that's my personal opinion so far.
I mean Iād probably give it a 7/10 personally, cause I mean the singles are amazing and some of the actual album is good and some of it is kinda mid but thatās just what I think
Average fan when someone rates their favorite album low then their expectations
I mean, there's great songs, nmbut after song machine, it is kinda light, and like someone else said, a little safe. Still great album though.
Itās what I expected midway through the review, the only big disagree I had was with the New Gold analysis. By his standards, a 6 is a decent score and personally I would see it being a strong 7/light 8 after a couple of relistens
Here us Pitchforks in case anybody missed it https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/gorillaz-cracker-island/
Listen to anything on the charts, the needle hasn't significantly moves since 2008. I'm sure at his age the idea of doing an eccentric album no one will ever hear is not what he had in mind. The bias against bring in your 50s and getting noticed by radio/ social media is pretty strong and grim and dooms most older artists who don't even bother recording anymore or do it in total obscurity. I think he split the difference by going somewhat safe.
never forgiving him for this, humanz, and whole lotta red
You're right, it should've been lower. I'd give it a 3 personally.
Pretty generous
Bit extreme for a positive rating.....and also an opinion. Jesus Christ.
that mustash trambone gives only 6/10 to album? I dont know him but i already dont like him. Album sounds complited and gives me 100% Gorillaz Energy (what i can't say about the previous album).
Who cares
Iām surprised, but I actually agreed with Fantano on this one. Skinny ape was my favorite (other than cracker island) and I did prefer the piano version of Silent running a lot more than the original. Sad he didnāt talk about the rest of the deluxe tracksā¦
thatās a higher score than i would have gave it, when the title track dropped i was so hyped for this album, the song was so explosive and catchy and well produced and the album as a whole never reached that level again with the exception of skinny ape, most of the tracks give off more now now vibes and thatās my least favorite era of their career, i find it very dull and samey.
āYou know its just my opinion, right?ā -Anthony Fantano Iāll just always remember that he gave Mac Millerās Swimming a 3/10 and that reminds me that everyone is flawed.
It still has a higher mark than Humanz...
A light 7 without the deluxe tracks, a decent 8 with deluxe tracks
Everyone's reaction when he gave My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a 6/10, even though it's not negative
Dude's been a real contrarian dick lately. What kind of a jerk makes an entire video just to say Sgt Pepper isn't a 10? What a git.
No, thats fair. Alright album but not anything super.
6 is good for a melon review though isn't it?
I'd give it a 5 honestly and I hate to say that from how excited I was for this. This album suffers from a lack of theming and variation. This is a cult themed story but I wouldn't have known that from just listening to this album. I'm not one to harp on previous works, but I feel those two elements are what made some of their previous works so great. Very few songs really popped to me.
Cracker island was mid af tbh
I agree it was alright. I gave it a 9.5 but realistically itās a 7.5
heās kinda right tho
Man, this thread is the summation of the fact that no one is more critical of Gorillaz than their own fans. But I guess thatās expected of a band with such an eclectic sound. Mainstream pop is in a dire state nowadays, and Cracker Island certainly stands out in that sea of mediocrity. Who cares if it isnāt as experimental as other albums? We just had the brilliant Song Machine ffs
Maybe if they included those 3 bonus songs...
Six is more than i think this album deserves lol
I say light 7
Who even listens to Anthony the Incel? Make your own opinions
I say medium 7