Aulia Ramadhan

Dynamic minimalism at its best.

Eclectic but still focused. Songs are varied, musically and lyrically, but the ethereal-melancholic-minimalist pop sensibility is always there.

Unexpected but not disorientating. Instruments complement each other perfectly and serves the song and vocal delivery, often times in a surprising way. 

Tempo and rhythm changes flow organically and dynamically, keeping the ears comforted and engaged but not over stimulated.

Production sound polished but not over processed. Subtle details are meticulously crafted, enhancing main features of the band while keeping the rawness intact.

A solid and mature sophomore album. Staying true to their their musical style with just enough exploration, achieving the sweet spot between experimentation and conformity.

Song rankings for now:

1. TV

2. Safety Pins

3. Don't

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The All-American Rejects with dreamier sound and more guitars. The hooks and melodies are always on point be it from the vocal or guitar harmony.

The upbeat songs are really catchy and great. At first, the slower ones felt a bit lacking to me, probably because they are too much 90s/2000s conventional. After a couple of listens, I eventually enjoyed them as well.

It's a grower album. Not really a fan at first but "Desire", "Sundowner", "Motorcycle Boy", and "Horseness Is the Whatness" changed my mind after a few listens.

I like this direction of the band but I guess they will change their sound again in the next album (I hope)

With that being said, I still prefer Skinty Fia over this.

Awalnya, durasi album ini yang mencapai 63 menit terasa cukup initimidatif, apalagi untuk sebuah album pop. Untungnya, durasi ini dapat dijustifikasi karena variasi lirik, aransemen, dan pembawaan vokal Sal berhasil membuat saya terpaku sepenuhnya meski sudah beberapa kali mendengarnya dari awal sampai akhir.

Lirik menjadi daya tarik utama album ini. Sederhana, lugas, tidak biasa tetapi selalu mengena. Mungkin hanya Sal yang bisa mengubah debat antara pasangan mengenai "sarapan di mana nih pagi ini?" menjadi sebuah lagu balada yang terdengar romantis.

Saya sangat mengagumi gaya musiknya yang terus berganti genre. Canggihnya, vokal Sal bisa mengadaptasi setiap gaya dengan maksimal tanpa menghilangkan karakter vokalnya.

Aransemen di setiap lagu pun patut diacungi jempol sebanyak-banyaknya. Meski setia menggunakan repetisi layaknya musik pop pada umumnya,… More

Little bit of Interpol, Little bit of Sonic Youth in the guitars. Vocals have great melodies and versatility, switching from Julian Casablancas to Thom Yorke and in between here and there. Interesting rhythm sections hold the songs really well, making sure that they don't fall in 90s nostalgia act's tropes.

There are a few filler-tracks that fell short in comparison to the other tracks however, tracklisting is good so I still ended up satisfied in the album closer.

Been Stellar's blend could be a turn-off to listeners: too mopey for Sonic Youth fans, too grungy for Interpol fans, too restrained for The Strokes' fan. In other words, they take all the good stuff from the aforementioned bands, hence why this… More

Well-produced neo-soul album. Tight and refreshing. "I Know" is such an earworm. Wish it had more variety.