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Review Summary: Sia’s eclectic breakthrough has her own stamp on it. Sia Furler began her music career as part of band “Crisp” in the mid-90s. However, the band disbanded before the end of the millennium, as they never really took off. After this, Furler began releasing independent albums and working as a backing vocalist for bands like Jamiroquai, under her stage name “Sia”. Of these albums, the most commercially successful was “We Are Born”, which peaked at number two in Sia’s home country Australia. Sia was then approached by numerous recording artists to pen songs for them and, as a result, Sia wrote songs for artists like Rihanna, Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé. Her first taste of success as a mainstream artist came in 2011. After writing “Titanium” for French DJ David Guetta, she had recorded demo vocals for the track and sent them along with the song. Despite planning the song to be sung by Alicia Keys, Guetta released the song with Sia’s vocals. The song proved a critical and commercial success, reaching number one in a number of countries. However, despite the success, Sia stated that she had preferred being a mere “pop songwriter” instead of a fully-fledged recording artist.
In late 2013, Sia recorded vocals for song “Elastic Heart”, which would go on to feature in the soundtrack for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” She released the song with artists The Weeknd and Diplo, and would become her largest success as a lead singer thus far. Around the same time, Sia began recording vocals for her own songs in her home studio, in hope that she may release an album. She then proceeded to release her sixth album, “1000 Forms of Fear”, in mid-2014.
The album’s lead single, “Chandelier”, became Sia’s most successful single to date. The electropop song has reggae influences, as proven with the partly syncopated drum beat throughout. Despite the questionable nature of the music video, containing eleven year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler, the song received mass acclaim from contemporary music critics, whom praised Sia’s “soaring” vocals. Sia, however, had initially intended to give the song to Rihanna, and had only decided to keep it based on how “personal” it was – and rightly so. On a first glance, the song appears uplifting and powerful, though the lyrical interpretation for the song could not differ more greatly. It has often been said that the song is a metaphor for substance abuse (“can’t feel anything; when will I learn”) or Sia’s own past experiences, especially as she has admitted to suffering from bipolar disorder. "Chandelier" highlights what I think is great about Sia - not only does she have the capability to reach the high notes in the chorus, but she goes for it effortlessly and carelessly.
One would assume that after hearing the lead single (especially when it is the first track), the rest of the album would begin to falter. This is not the case for “1000 Forms of Fear”, however. The track following “Chandelier”, “Big Girls Cry”, is yet another impressive number. The song carries a much more melancholy feel than its predecessor, being far more stripped back and relaxed. Being the album’s second lead single, “Big Girls Cry” tells the tale of an ended relationship (“wash away all the things you’ve taken”) with Sia, the storyteller, assuring someone (presumably herself) that she is a “tough girl”. The song reflects the electropop album well, however. Opening with a piano, it leads to a crescendo to the chorus, along with the increase in use of percussion.
The album continues to deliver impressive tracks, many of which would be considered hits on their own. Sia’s song writing has not been based around the melody or the chord progression, but has predominantly focused on the lyrical meaning. Songs like “Hostage”, tell the story again of Sia obsessing over another person, to the point where she is said to be “hostage” over their love. “Eye of the Needle”, like “Big Girls Cry”, explains Sia’s admiration for someone, so as they are “locked” inside the heart. Both are accompanied with a solid backing track to accompany Sia's voice.
Aside from the lyrical interpretation, Sia's choice of instruments and chords in the background compliments the album well. Whilst some music critics have been ambivalent on her use of the tinny drums, it is often used as to make sure the treble and vocal are more predominant. Sia's voice, in itself, is very unique, versatile and precious. She manages to effortlessly switch between upbeat numbers to the more melancholy and slow songs. To me, it felt like Sia's voice really drove this album to success.
The album is not, however, without its share of criticism. “Elastic Heart”, a song Sia has previously released, was recorded as a solo single, and released in early 2015. The accompanying music video has been a large source of controversy due to the portrayal of eleven year-old Maddie Ziegler and actor Shia LaBeouf being trapped in a cage with very little clothing. Sia has apologised for the accusations of paedophilia, though has not explicitly stated the true meaning of the video. One has again to assume that the song (as shown through the music video) delivers a message again for Sia’s substance abuse (I wanted it so bad; but there were so many red flags), with LaBeouf representing Sia unable to “escape the cage”. Despite the ambiguity of the video, the song showcases Sia’s talent in song writing, and is an example of a song not just written by her, but for her.
The album concludes with the lengthiest song by far. “Dressed in Black” is an almost seven minute long number, though is presented with emotional feel. The song incorporates various aspects of Sia’s life, ranging from her substance abuse battle to her depression. The song, however, takes a more positive turn, explaining how someone had helped her overcome this (“I was hopeless and broken; you opened the door for me”). The most poignant part of the song, however, comes in the final two minutes. No lyrics are given, the only voice being Sia’s haunting vocal repeatedly refraining the song’s more powerful notes. I found myself completely enthralled with this song - one may begin to tire of the repeating refrain at the end, though there's a quality to Sia's voice that just grabs you, that enthralls the audience to keep listening.
Overall, “1000 Forms of Fear” displays a very eclectic range of tracks. There is not a single bad song on here, and many sound great completely as a separate, non-album track. The thin sounding percussion is predominant throughout, which is used to highlight Sia’s vocal capabilities. Whilst I would have hoped for the percussion to be more heavy at times, to show further versatility, Sia's choice in keeping it so quiet is still admirable. “1000 Forms of Fear” is used as a very fitting title to the album, as the tracks repeatedly gloss over Sia’s emotional past of depression and addiction. Despite “Chandelier” being the cause of most of the album’s success, one merely has to listen to the album to hear how there is much more to Sia as an artist than said song. This album has, rightly so, launched Sia into the public eye, as it has given the world as taste of how musically talented she is.
Highlights:
• Chandelier
• Big Girls Cry
• Elastic Heart
• Dressed in Black
| other reviews of this album |
jeremologyy (4)
No one does it like Sia...
rasi (4.5)
Modern, yet reminiscent of the past, Sia shows off her songwriting skills...
FreakMachine (5)
Beautiful, haunting, and bombastic in equal measures, Sia's breakthrough album merits all the praise...
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Album Rating: 3.5
I'M GONNA SWIIIIIIIING
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Chandelier and elastic heart both rule hard
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Hi everyone - thanks for reading!
Apologies if this contains typos or poor grammar - this is my third time drafting it as Sputnik did not upload the last two drafts :bangshead: hope you liked this though!
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It seems like Sia has always had more to her than your average pop star.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Agreed, Tunaboy45
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I haven't spun this whole thing, but I'm pretty sure I've heard all the songs at some point or another. "Dressed In Black" is a sweet song. Sia is definitely the most legitimate pop star of recent years, although her whole mask thing is a bit too gimmicky for my tastes.
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this seems like an essay you've written for music class. not a very fun read. feels as though you've just read a bunch of information about the album and written it down rather than reviewing it. my tip would be to try and give the piece a more personal feel, write what you think about the album, not just what is objectively happening.
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Yeah, tempest is right - this reads very rigidly and too objectively to be very interesting.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
"feels as though you've just read a bunch of information about the album and written it down rather than reviewing it" [2] hard
Dude, introducing the artist is ok but three paragraphs is just too much. You're definitely just copy-pasting trivia from wikipedia instead of actually discussing the album as a piece of art.
Other than that needlessly long intro:
"One would assume that after hearing the lead single (especially when it is the first track), the rest of the album would begin to falter"
-why?
"Being the album’s second lead single, 'Big Girls Cry' tells the tale of an ended relationship ('wash away all the things you’ve taken') with Sia, the storyteller, assuring someone (presumably herself) that she is a 'tough girl'."
-Again, we don't need useless trivia. It's pretty obvious what the song is about; you should be discussing what works about this album -- whether the lyrics are good, whether they're complemented well by the instrumentation, how it made you feel, etc etc. It's your own take about the album, and it's your own personal opinion.
"Sia's song writing has not been based around the melody or the chord progression, but has predominantly focused on the lyrical meaning."
-Yes! Opinion! General statement about the music!
"Songs like 'Hostage', tell the story again of Sia obsessing over another person, to the point where she is said to be 'hostage' over their love. 'Eye of the Needle', like 'Big Girls Cry', explains Sia’s admiration for someone, so as they are 'locked' inside the heart."
-Oh no, pointless, overly specific details about specific songs again...
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
"The album is not, however, without its share of criticism. “Elastic Heart”, a song Sia has previously released, was recorded as a solo single, and released in early 2015. The accompanying music video has been a large source of controversy due to the portrayal of eleven year-old Maddie Ziegler and actor Shia LaBeouf being trapped in a cage with very little clothing. Sia has apologised for the accusations of paedophilia, though has not explicitly stated the true meaning of the video."
-what does this have to do with music, at all? like, it's not even a critique of the mv as an art piece either...
"though is presented with emotional feel"
-
"Overall, “1000 Forms of Fear” displays a very eclectic range of tracks."
-why? I'm glad that you're actually discussing music here, but considering this is your concluding paragraph, whatever's written here must have been discussed before in the review.
"The thin sounding percussion is predominant throughout, which is used to highlight Sia’s vocal capabilities."
-again, good point; statements like this should be all thorough the review.
"Despite “Chandelier” being the cause of most of the album’s success, one merely has to listen to the album to hear how there is much more to Sia as an artist than said song. This album has, rightly so, launched Sia into the public eye, as it has given the world as taste of how musically talented she is."
-this is a very good conclusion! it's well written, and it summarizes what could have been discussed in the review, this is definitely a strength of yours
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
On a different note:
III'MMMMMMMMM GONNA SWIIIIIIIIIIING
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Shame she's kinda really ugly iirc
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
why does that matter?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
..
Yeah, I've found that reviewing is not my strength. After trying to put in my opinion (which failed) and then being factual (which also failed) I have decided not to do any more reviews.
My facts were not, by the way, taken from Wikipedia. I'm aware that it is far from the most reliable source in the world. Most of this is taken from my own knowledge (I am a Sia fan, though this clearly did not do me any justice here). Some things were taken from online, though very little, and most were only used as reference to be certain.
Not only will I be too busy (I'm fifteen, I have GCSEs) but I've found that I'm not able to be as objective in reviews as other contributors. Despite my attempts to try to give background into the album (to back up what I would later say) it has faltered.
Alas, goodbye.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Hands down the best pop album of last year for me.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
"Yeah, I've found that reviewing is not my strength."
It's nobody's on first try. Everyone gets better with time.
"My facts were not, by the way, taken from Wikipedia."
-it was an expression, not literal
"but I've found that I'm not able to be as objective in reviews as other contributors"
-But they've been here for 10+ years on this site! (lol). You shouldn't be comparing yourself to others, it's no good
It's ok dude, do whatever you gotta do. But don't feel discouraged after only your first incursions. Just know that there's no shame in not being 100% perfect the moment you first start doing something, nobody is, and you can always learn from past mistakes
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arismccarthy:
I don't think that is any reason to stop reviewing! If you enjoy it, I would suggest you keep working at it. If you're reviewing an album you really love, I don't see any problem with being very subjective - own your love! Particularly if it's an album that has already been reviewed or is by a well-known artist or has been out for a while already (i.e., this album). Since most people here have already heard of this and know who Sia is, there isn't really a need for any more objective reviews - objective ratings are generally preferable, but the review can, as I see it, be as subjective as you wish.
Also, I kind of disagree with Asdfp277 about the specifics about songs, as long as your point about a specific song contributes to your point about the whole album. You can either write a short, summary review, in which case specifics might detract, or a long, detailed one, in which case specifics are beneficial.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
theBoneyKing: "If you're reviewing an album you really love, I don't see any problem with being very subjective - own your love!"
-I agree with this 100%. Reviews are supposed to be subjective, since they're expressions of one's opinions.
"objective ratings are generally preferable"
-Objective ratings do not exist. What is recommended though is that you give the album a fair chance: neither just hate it because of precognitions about the album / hatred towards the artist, nor love it unconditionally and ignore glaring faults and mistakes. This is not a problem that I see on him (arismccarthy) though, I don't know where that came from.
"Also, I kind of disagree with Asdfp277 about the specifics about songs, as long as your point about a specific song contributes to your point about the whole album."
-It's ok to point specifics about the album, but don't go overboard with it. It's one thing to mention important details about the album that are necessary to your arguments, or just mention them because they're interesting; it's another thing completely to write an entire review of just details and specific descriptions.
I'll reiterate: Don't feel discouraged after only your first incursions. Nobody's perfect and everyone gets better with practice and time
(also, if you're wondering why so many sput veterans here seem to have a good start at reviewing, it's because many users here -- old or new -- ask the mods to delete their old reviews; they feel they were just practice and/or no longer represent their opinion. So again, don't compare yourself to others because it'll give you false expectations and discourage you needlessly)
Again, there's no shame in not being perfect.
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"Objective ratings do not exist. What is recommended though is that you give the album a fair chance: neither just hate it because of precognitions about the album / hatred towards the artist, nor love it unconditionally and ignore glaring faults and mistakes."
That is basically what I meant by an objective rating. Sorry I wasn't clear enough.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Hi - apologies!
I'm low on inspiration right now, so yeah - thanks for the constructive criticism though, I guess I just took it the wrong way - apologies! (in my defence, Sput failed to upload my review three times - I was pretty p****d about that.)
Either way, I'm going to give it a while until I return here. I'm not properly ready to start reviewing yet.
Thanks.
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