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Review Summary: “Sometimes, when I can't sleep, It's just a matter of time before I'm hearing things,” [Redacted my original review because I can’t figure out how to delete reviews on this godforsaken website]
‘Punisher’ is an album filled with poignant, evocative, emotional, quiet moments that allow slight lilts in Phoebe’s vocals to feel like they’re powerful enough to move mountains. An overall sonic improvement from her efforts on ‘Stranger in the Alps’ through sheer variety in both instrumentation and mood. Whereas that album was a consistent somber mood piece, this is decidedly more wholistic, painting a vivid portrait through stories Phoebe weaves that feel seamlessly connected but stand up on their own regardless.
Songs like ‘Kyoto’ and ‘Chinese Satellite’ are moments of euphoric bliss that make listening to ‘Punisher’ feel like it’s shooting for the moon, and I’ll be damned if Phoebe doesn’t hit it. Her songwriting consisting of her witty, dry, self deprecating humor and absurdity lend her an identity that I feel let’s her stake her claim as one of this generations definitive songwriters. Listening to this album, even in its most gentle moments, can prove devastating if one can connect with the material, and the vulnerable, broken portrait she’s painted of herself allows me to think everyone can find a piece of themselves in ‘Punisher’- and hopefully in the album’s closing moments, the emotional exorcism of ‘I know the End’ can grant you the solace that it sounds like Phoebe was trying to grant herself while making this project, as thats a microcosm of what makes ‘Punisher’ so special. It’s lush production, lavish strings, humble guitars, and occasional sonic detours of experimentation with her sound prove to be an intensely rewarding experience.
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Album Rating: 4.0
Absolute beast of a review, nicely written though. I can see why a lot of people connect so much with this album
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Thank you! I really hope it does for others what is has me
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
love this review, love this album, love phoebe. excited to let this one grow on me. glad to hear that you are in a better place, by the way. (:
favorite tracks are probably title + ICU
| | | Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off
Great stuff dude!
"‘Stranger in the Alps’ went from an album that I loved to an album that I NEEDED." I feel this so hard
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the third paragraph is completely extraneous to the album, straight up confessional diary material. this has all the hallmarks of a hyperbolic fanboy review, could be a case study
the world will make you jaded eventually and you'll look back on this piece and cringe, sorry kid
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Given the personal and emotional nature of this album, it makes sense that some people will have a strong connection to it and will make connections with their personal lives because of it. You don’t have to like it when people connect their personal lives to albums but there’s nothing wrong with people writing like that if they want to.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Ah yes, the dismissive and vaguely antagonistic sputnik guys finally arrived, as expected. Next time I'll be sure to write a review that analyzes highly emotional and subjective art through a scientific lens to please you, all-knowing condescending internet overlord. Please, depart to me more of your wisdom so that I may live up to your standards, and then, if you could extend that kindness a bit, please allow me to bend over so you can kiss the whitest part of my pale ass. Sardonic apology not accepted, 'kid'
Also thanks ColeT, couldn't have said it better. To talk to me as if I had no clue this was intensely revealing, vulnerable, and borderline autobiographical I felt was a bit of an insult to my intelligence. Further proving for every emotionally unintuitive ass on here there's someone who knows how actual breathing humans with emotions and art work. Hope I end up being able to please these people one day by reviewing an Autechre album by breaking it down into a mathematical formula's or analyzing the time signatures of Tool songs.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Some people just like to complain. Keep on writing how you want to write, I thought it was a good review.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thank you this is the review that this album deserves (love u but eat my fuckin ass chan this is at least a 4)
| | | Album Rating: 4.8 | Sound Off
[2]
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
feature this rev instead
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"this has all the hallmarks of a hyperbolic fanboy review" [2]
...and I love it. Nice work, enjoyed reading this a lot.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Just a tad condescending there, luci.
Echoing what blush said - great read. We've all have had these sorts of albums, I'm sure.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Why are you getting annoyed at people giving feedback to a review you post on a public forum? Whilst luci could have said it more sensitively, a lot of the first half is overwrought and the third paragraph is downright unprofessional. It's assumed that if you post a review on a music criticism website as a non-professional you are open to feedback and are looking to improve your writing. If you simply want to vent or get your ego stroked, start a blog.
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gotta agree with luci, the setup isn't warranted. lot of unnecessary over-explaining of personal stuff, never been a fan of that in reviews
| | | Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off
[4]
I'm glad this review exists because it was clearly meaningful for you to write it. However, if you're gonna take a personal line I think you could do a lot of favours by unpacking it differently
"It’s a quality I applaud Phoebe for, as it isn’t all just ‘poor me in so sad’ lyrics and stories, she creates a picture of herself that feels flawed and fully three dimensional, and for me at least, is wholly and totally relatable"
I think this point can be transferred to your own work in many ways; at the moment the review is fixated on the singular relation between you and the album, and it doesn't really leave scope for anything else - so, in my head, the why was this written? question that i ask for pretty much every review is clearly answered, but it gets followed up by a why am I reading this? in a way that kinda stumps me. I think there are ways around this
"All those nights I spent in my car, looking out into the night at the park right after twilight is over, it’s like that memory was channeled and filtered into sound"
e.g., this sentence might be a meaningful reference point for you, but the way it's presented doesn't allow the reader a huge window into that memory and doesn't add much to the review other than that the album is significant and relatable for you specifically - a point already well established. Frame that scenario more generally, say, alongside a range of similar scenarios that the reader might have experienced, and it's a whole different story.
"To attempt to be brief, I found myself..." / "If I was to put it succinctly, it’s an..."
Unrelated, but bits like this are v redundant and can be easily done away with - your prose is clear enough that you don't need them. Sorry to heap on you; you're clearly passionate about writing from a personal standpoint, which I think is great, but I think these things are worth bearing in mind for your next write :]
also wow gyro has 30000+ comments now, nice
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
if you think this review is hyperbolic and personal, you must've never read my reviews esp on my old account lmfao, anyways just here to echo what blush said
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lol johnny i didn't even notice that myself. that's actually a pretty huge milestone
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Luci may have had valid points but if you actually wanna give constructive criticism and help someone write better in the future, the comment JohnyoftheWell just left is how you do that. Calling someone’s review cringe doesn’t really help anyone
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
This ^ [2]
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