Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

The Colton was too stunned to speak

Album Rating: 3.5

so we gonna just ignore the obvious elephant in the room that chloe is his best album since honeybear or are we just gonna keep pretending it sucks because it has a low average early on

Album Rating: 4.0

"so we gonna just ignore the obvious elephant in the room that chloe is his best album since honeybear or are we just gonna keep pretending it sucks because it has a low average early on"



I have not spent much time with honeybear, but if this is true, I don't want to explore it. I am on like my 4th listen to this and I can't help but feel its just boring. Its missing something like Mr. Tillman or Date Night to break up the monotony. The closest we get is the guitar in the closer which is probably the album highlight for me.

Album Rating: 3.5

They're different types of albums; I was comparing quality not style. Chloe strikes me as very lounge-y, folk-driven, and more sincere whereas Honeybear is darker, fuller-sounding, and cynical. If you take one thing from what I said, let it be that Honeybear is so much better than anything else he's ever done including Chloe. Give it a chance.

Album Rating: 3.5

Maybe sincere is the wrong word



Chloe is less bitter, I guess

Album Rating: 3.5

You tell me what I'm trying to say then



Honeybear is at least very sarcastic while Chloe seems less so. There's something there I'm not just making it up. At least I don't think so.

Album Rating: 3.5

That could be it. My perception of Honeybear is that it uses its cynicism/sarcasm/humor to disarm the listener so that its frankness/honesty pack an even bigger punch. It's absolutely sarcastic, but it's also 100% sincere.

Album Rating: 3.0

FJM and ‘sincere themes’….what could go wrong?

Album Rating: 3.5

"So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain" is still best Misty song ever [2]

Album Rating: 3.5

really diggin Chloe

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Chloe grew a bit on second listen. I do like the opening run of tracks more.

Album Rating: 3.0

yikes, I can’t finish a song other than the closer which is decent



otherwise sounds like stock music, there are keyboard presets with more personality



Boring pastiche after boring pastiche, horrific album

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

It’s certainly not his most unique or interesting instrumentation and it does get a bit samey, focusing more on the lyrics helped though. Much more story/character-centric, less personal songwriting than God’s Favorite Customer or ILYH, more serious but still has a lot of that characteristic bitterness and tongue-in-cheek nature that I associate with FJM and keeps it from feeling like pure pastiche - he’s playing these trad lounge pop sounds pretty straight for sure but not the lyrical styles (OK, some do the lyrics straighter too, but not all).

Album Rating: 3.0

Unfortunately I have near zero interest in FJM writing non-funny lyrics like a frustrated short story novelist



Lyrics are the worst thing here, none jump out so with an artist like this it’s game over



Easy 0.5 rating, there nothing of merit on Chloe other than the sort of 3-3.5 level closer that’s ok and where he sounds less grasping



This is the FJM album where the lyrics aren’t cynical…the whole enterprise is cynical, and not in a good way

Album Rating: 3.0

He’s not Sinatra or Bublé, he’s not on Broadway - he can’t play it straight because there’s nothing there. He’s no great, all he had was his way with a witty line, his persona shtick and some good melodies. None of that is here. Songs sound like they were ghost written by his worst enemy.

I'm not gonna be as harsh as Doof, but its unfortunately a pretty boring and empty album. The opener, Funny Girl, Buddy's Rendezvous en the closer are great but the rest is so forgettable it hurts.

"all he had was his way with a witty line, his persona shtick and some good melodies. None of that is here. Songs sound like they were ghost written by his worst enemy."

This pretty much sums it up perfectly

Album Rating: 3.5

Usually I see eye to eye with Doof while rating whatever he rates like 0.5-1.0 higher because I'm overly optimistic, but in this case I'm the polar opposite. I think the album is a wonderful change and while I wouldn't want another LP just like this, I think it fulfills a lounge-y, showtune-y place in his catalog that otherwise does not exist and hits the spot just right. Chloe, Goodbye Mr. Blue, Q4, Funny Girl, and The Next 20th Century are all excellent, and the others hold their own as suave, pleasing melodies at the very worst.

Album Rating: 3.5

why not though? it's better than anything off of GFC

Album Rating: 3.0

I wasn’t a massive fan of this one either, a superfluous patchy re-run mostly…2.5-3.0 sorta rating level.

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Yeah that's a wild take Colton, Mr. Blue is easily top 3 on the new one.