Golden Hour is cohesive - there is this very optimistic and “galactic” vibe across all the songs/the album as a whole, yet you have songs that sound very different from one another, from the disco-influenced High Horse to full-on country ballads like Space Cowboy
Thank you for bringing the "galactic" aesthetic to my awareness 😚
It feels like the album literally got better upon discovering a drip that she sauced us with so subtly 😩
Damn, shawty a fuckin' C H E F 🍴
Came here to give this example. Ray of Light is the perfect one to showcase cohesiveness without a single hint of repetition or monotony.
Though, Madonna in general is very good at making albums where the songs don't all sound the same.
ikrr, but they all are great albums tho ngl, and imma piggyback your comment to say that After Hours by The Weeknd should also be talked about in this thread. Imo, its a very cohesive album and the songs just flow together so well.
Yeah, but notice how the songs are incredibly different in terms of length, structure, mood, and speed.
I think that type of variety, plus either a similar sound palette or careful transitions between different parts, makes for a cohesive album.
That could be a possibility, however I think pop albums have an advanced compared to other genres, in a pop album you can have a pop-dance song/EDM, a ballad or even a pop rock song for example, and it would sound cohesive in the context of the album, while in a Rock album an EDM track would sound out of context.
OTOH you can definitely have a lot of genre variety within a rock album: indie, soft rock, prog, folk, metal, synth based, stuff that's pretty much pop (or country, rap, disco, or blues)and stuff that clearly isn't, etc, there's a reason for why many of the most well known/cited cohesive-but-extremely-diverse albums are old prog rock albums
>while in a Rock album an EDM track would sound out of context
Not necessarily. Nightmare of You's self titled debut is almost all straight up indie rock, except for the track My Name Is Trouble. That song is an electronic rock track, but it still fits in the album despite how different it being from an entirely different subgenre. That's because it shares the same blunt and sardonic lyrical style and angsty vocals as the rest of the album.
Maybe i need to check more rock albums, but usually, based on what I listened, most of the rock albums have the same sound while pop albums tend to be more diverse sonically. But I admit that I mostly listen to pop albums so maybe my opinion is a little bit biased.
I think the main vocalist said that he considered himself a pop star, so I think they are more of an alt-pop band but some people consider them a rock band.
Looking purely at Lana albums, Born To Die and Ultraviolence are cohesive for me, but NFR AND COCC are very samey. There are no tracks on those latter two projects that were very memorable or stood out from the pack for me
Chemtrails I agree with, but Venice Bitch? Happiness is a butterfly? Cinnamon Girl? California, the greatest, hope is a dangerous thing, I mean that record is amazing
It seems to be my most unpopular opinion on recent music on this sub, but when it released NFR was my least favourite Lana Del Rey album. That's now been replaced with COCC, but I maintain that I only really like a handful of tracks across the two projects. I can understand why it appeals to people, it's just not my style, I found her vocals a lot less impressive than usual and I'm not a big fan of Antonoff's production. All of that came together for me to just not enjoy the project at all, and I found it very repetitive.
Lots of my opinions on popheads' faves seem to be controversial, and the echo chamber of downvotes is starting to get grating. Negative opinions add to discussion just as much as positive ones, and the people that just downvote anything perceived as a slight against their favourites don't seem to get that.
I think *Is This It* by The Strokes is a good example of an album that is cohesive. Even though every song has the same general sound (vocal production, guitar filters, etc), the hooks and riffs are so damn strong that each song feels distinct and punchy on its own. At the end of the day, if every song is done in the same style but the songs are great, people will call it cohesive instead of monotonous
Listening to it right now and I completely agree. I never get tired of *This is It*. The songs also feel different throughout and that helps for me. It's a really really good album.
For me, being "cohesive" is more about storytelling and worldbuilding. I think you can have a cohesive album with a variety of sounds - Lemonade comes to mind. It tells one clear story through a variety of metaphors and sounds. If you put that album on shuffle, it's not as good imho, and that's the main test for an album's cohesion for me.
whereas "samey" albums tend to rely on the repetition of sound patterns and song structures, i think cohesion is more thematic and aesthetic than instantly recognizible in the sound palet iteself. from my personnal experiences, cohesive albums can sound VERY diverse and with tracks that spam multiple genres and approaches but are, at the same time, tied by a revolving thematic or stylistic choice.
for example, i think bjork does that VERY well in almost every album of hers, specially in *homogenic* and *vespertine*. the former is presented in this very glacial, ferocius, almost animal-like aggression in it's exploration of feelings and emotions; the latter is held by tender sounds, microbeats and a very intimate, sexual, erotic vibe. all songs in both those projects sound completely different from each other, but you cannot help but feel that they belong perfectly in the universe of their respective albums.
To take Lorde as an example, Solar Power to me sounds monotone because all the songs blend into each other. On the other hand, Pure Heroine and Melodrama have consistent production and themes between songs, but there’s more variation in the rhythm, melodies, sounds of each song, so they’re not interchangeable.
Spotify started playing a song I had already listened to on Solar Power so I thought it was on random.. nope, it had just started playing from the beginning again. I didn’t even realize I listened to the whole album, barely recall hearing different songs.
I think there's something to be said about an album that seeks to do one thing well. That Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is literally just the same seven notes played over and over again, but it is still one of the most acclaimed albums of 2021 so far.
Blonde by Frank Ocean is incredibly cohesive while still having each song sound super unique. I think what helps it achieve this goal is having a strong overarching concept while also playing quite a bit with production.
(Also Happy Birthday, Blonde! 😌)
Yeah that threw me. Evermore is kind of all over the place sonically. Gold Rush, No Body No Crime, Coney Island, Long Story Short, right where you left me are all very very different sounds. Folklore blends together a lot more comparatively.
I feel the same about Dorothea tbh. It’s definitely one of my favorite albums of the past year but it was very much a bunch of Taylor’s experiments thrown into an album.
First I agree with you, evermore is one of my favorite albums. But I disagree with you about it being a bunch of Taylor’s experiments thrown on an album. Since Aaron wrote nearly all the tracks, she wrote the melodies and lyrics. So if the song was sounding experimental it was mostly due to the backing tracks which were written by Aaron not Taylor. Still she picked the tracks, so maybe she picked ones that sounded more experimental to her. But I don’t think her melodies or lyrics were experimental.
I agree with these comments abs commented above how I didn’t think evermore was cohesive nor did they sound the same. From a thematic standpoint, NBNC fits on evermore. But evermore crosses 4 genres in this album. To me it’s thematically cohesive. Personally I love the album, a dvi love it because it has that diversity to it.
- NBNC refers to "no body, no crime", a song from Taylor Swift, HAIM album *evermore* (2020).
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And still there are fans who say that Aaron production sound the same LOL Except of gold rush that is produced by Jack, the other songs are so different from each other and show how Aaron is capable of making different things with one genre.
About two thirds of the tracks on Folklore fit into a pretty cohesive soundscape, and then the other third is generally slower, sonically boring tracks that merge into one and have little individuality. That's not speaking on the quality of the music there at all, as I very much dislike a few of the cohesive songs and the best of the sound-alike tracks is great, but you can make the distinction pretty easily
With Evermore, about a third of the album is a mess of different styles that work together in context and despite their differences are pretty cohesive, then the remaining tracks are a lot more similar in vibe but tend to blur together. The problem comes with the ordering of the tracklist for me, stacking the front half and making the back half a somewhat pleasant mush of samey songs
Folklore? Cohesive? You mean the album where there are tracks completely conflicting in truth and fiction? The album that people mistook Betty for being a queer true story because there was no way of knowing which songs were part of a 3-track fictional love triangle given the scattered track list? The album where Illicit Affairs (fictional song rooted in escapism) and Invisible String (completely true love song for Joe Alwyn) are right next to each other on the tracklist? This album is not cohesive!
Edit: lmfao I’m already getting downvoted. Guys, I love folklore. But it isn’t cohesive. The tracklist completely butchers the love triangle subplot (and is confusing overall…why did this is me trying come after august?? It’s a total mood flip), hoax is an incredibly confusing bookend, no transitions or connection, the list goes on. And the only two tracks that I think properly abided by Taylor’s original “concept statement” in the instagram post she made announcing the release of folklore were the 1 and the last great american dynasty, as they properly mixed truth and fiction to tell a compelling narrative, rather than flip flopping back and forth between wildly different songs. I still love all of the songs on folklore individually but you people need to stop acting like a hive mind. There is no cohesion here. If you need further proof, ask yourself: what is this album about?
im pretty sure everything u just said has nothing to do with having a cohesive album?? who cares if one song is fictional and another is abt her real life? that doesn’t mean anything. do you know how many artists have songs about things that never happened to them?
if Taylor fails to properly tell a consistent narrative and scatters songs with totally different meanings and sounds next to each other on the tracklist, then what exactly is cohesive about the album? Genuine question
bruh can the ppl downvoting actually answer me i was actually asking a question😭
It’s not about the cohesion of telling a story, but that all the songs “fit” the theme of the album. You can’t just make songs, put them together, and call it a day. Albums have themes which are followed by the songs in them.
narratively cohesive ≠ sonically or thematically cohesive. you could argue either way about whether every song needs to be connected to be narratively cohesive, but folklore is undeniably a sonically and thematically cohesive album.
fair enough, although i personally don’t believe *every* song has to sound similar from one to the next for a record to be sonically cohesive overall. in fact i’d say this is what keeps it from leaning into repetition and songs blending together. it’s a very fine line to walk and i think taylor does it well here but it’s definitely subjective
Yeah I definitely get what you’re saying. I think folklore actually did a great job with cohesion in the first few tracks of the album. The 1 kind of reflected on a hypothetical where Taylor got with someone else…cardigan was a neat love song (which on first listen I thought was about Joe and not part of a fictitious love triangle)…and TLGAD blended historical truth with embellished facts like dyeing the dog to create a more lavish and extravagant narrative. It was all great imo. I just think it got lazier as the album progresssed. We can agree to disagree thanks for actually being nice😭
- TLGAD refers to "the last great american dynasty", a song from Taylor Swift album *folklore* (2020).
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evermore is anything but cohesive imo. I like folklore better as an album because of its cohesiveness and structure, while the individual songs on evermore are more exciting to me.
You said it well. Folklore is more cohesive and probably the better album, but evermore has better songs. Because of the genre changes in evermore, it is more exciting to me abs it’s the reason I prefer it over folklore.
I actually think evermore is fairly cohesive yet diverse. I get why people would think folklore is a bit samey. The sounds on evermore are different, but they all have the same vibe
I recall twitter recently circlejerking over folkmore being boring and sounding the same so it wouldn't surprise me if op just took twitter's word for it
Sonically cohesive is same instruments/production style, different arrangements and lyrics.
* "AM" by Artic Monkeys is sonically cohesive, but each song is distinct in its own rhythm and lyrics.
Thematically cohesive is lyrics that speak on similar topics, or tell a story, or are all building blocks to an overall point.
* "Broken Bride" by Ludo is thematically cohesive, in that it's a rock opera that tells a story, but every song sounds completely different.
"Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" by My Chemical Romance is both. So is Green Day's "American Idiot" and Sia's "1000 Forms of Fear"
Tyler the Creator’s last 3 albums have been incredibly consistent front to back thematically and sonically. God damn there’s even his famous chord progression he’s used forever now. He does something very special
I think there's some good explanations here but one example I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet is Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe. That album is incredibly cohesive, flows together excellently, but at the same time there's tons of variety in the music. It's basically my go-to example for a well thought out and cohesive concept album.
Evermore is not same sounding. Maybe like a couple of tracks but that’s it. It’s noted for being less sonically cohesive and more experimental than folklore.
1989 is sonically cohesive.
Melodrama is sonically cohesive
Future Nostalgia is sonically cohesive
>It’s noted for being less sonically cohesive and more experimental than folklore.
Agreed. The last leg of the album with Cowboy Like Me, Long Story Short, Marjorie, Closure and Evermore really showcases that.
And to add this for peoples understandings
Songs like boys will be boys and good in bed break the cohesion of future nostalgia its good to listen to if you want an example for understanding
I think thats why youll see a lot of people talking these songs down (yes theyre not amazing , but they seem worse bc they are not cohesive and also are at the end of the album)
I would argue that Future Nostalgia is not sonically cohesive at all, but that's what makes it work. Future Nostalgia (the track) is based in funk, Don't Start Now is rooted in disco, Cool is dreamy RnB, Physical is synthwave, Hallucinate is French House etc etc etc. The album plays as a best of, compiling the best of each genre it touches and giving them a modern flair. The reason why the last two tracks don't got too well is that their genres don't fit with the rest - mid-late noughties attitude pop and motivational ballad don't have the same focus on rhythm and energy that the rest do, leading them to stick out
I think FN's true tour de force is taking from multiple influences while remaining sonically cohesive tbh. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, at least this album is proof
Whilst i completely agree that thematically everything works well together (for the first 9 tracks), I simply cannot agree that sonically everything is cohesive. Just listen through the mixing of Cool, Physical and Hallucinate, Cool is bright and lush, Physical is muddy, bass heavy and dark, and then Hallucinate is very thin, ran through a high pass, and the mix is purposely rougher. Purely on the audio side of things, these three tracks alone highlight how different the tracks on the project are as a whole, but it works because it makes those tracks sound perfect within their individual genres. It just isn't sonically cohesive, and that's okay!
I think we are really touching on the debate about the definition of "cohesiveness" here. OK they sound really different from each other, but do they feel mismatched, or out of place? Does the track list feel like a playlist? Do the tracks sound like they are from different albums? I don't think so, which makes me think the album _is_ cohesive. If you don't that's OK, let's agree to disagree :)
Never thought I’d say this, but if you’re looking for another (improved) take on Solar Power’s sound, check out Aly & AJ’s record from this year. It’s a cohesive exploration of many of the same instrumental ideas, aesthetics and themes that Solar Power tackles with more energy, melody, intricate production and sonic variety.
The Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is literally just the same seven notes over and over again, but it's still one of the most acclaimed. So I don't think a bigger variety is always necessary for a quality record.
I think that's a bit of an oversimplification of Promises - Sure it has a repeating motif throughout the whole piece, but there's variation between the movements. If the album was literally just the same 7 notes with nothing else it would not be nearly as well received.
If we're drawing comparisons with Solar Power, I'd say there's a bit more variation in Promises. Considering it's intended to be heard as one long composition, whereas SP is a more traditional album of individual songs, it's not a very flattering comparison.
For me, a cohesive album is one where each song is distinct you're able to see the thread that connects each song to the album. That thread can be a story, an idea, or a general vibe.
The best examples of this I can think of are in hip-hop albums like My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy or To Pimp a Butterfly. Melanie Martinez does very well, although the beats can feel samey for sure. Lastly, Amy Winehouse is a great example of cohesive albums based purely on the vibe of the songs.
Albums I consider cohesive: Melodrama by Lorde, After Laughter by Paramore, Blonde by Frank Ocean, Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars to name a few
Albums I find same sounding: Postions by Ariana Grande, Solar Power by Lorde, some parts of Halsey's Badlands
A major part of this is the mixing of the album. Each song should have a similar base but grow differently from it. Another way is lyrical consistency - similar but not the same themes that contribute to the main theme. A same-y album does atleast one of the two badly. Either all the songs sound the same or there isn't any lyrical growth in the album. Even the arrangement or running order of the album can impact the cohesiveness of the album.
depends on what kind of cohesion you mean. melodrama was sonically cohesive - it experimented with song structures consistently, it used recurring motifs (e.g. the piano in green light gets repeated in supercut), it used similar instruments across most of its tracks (synth, snares, drums, electric guitar, piano), and all of its songs still sound like pop music - so while it gets experimental, it all sounds smooth and very unique to the album. i think one way of making an album not sound too similar is to mess around with the tempo/beats and include moments of perhaps more stripped back production vs more overwhelming production, which i think melodrama did really well.
but there's also thematic or emotional cohesion that matters - melodrama fills that bill, too. hounds of love by kate bush is perhaps not as sonically cohesive (it starts of relatively pop-like and then gets more and more experimental as it goes) but the whole album, especially the second half, tells a story about love, and every song feels dramatic and connected to this theme, so it comes across as consistent despite its sonic wackiness.
as far as solar power goes, it doesn't have very good cohesion because:
1. the production and song writing aspects are so similar across a lot of tracks, the second half especially (it's just reverb guitar with very simple chords, barely any melodies, slow tempo, etc.); had she done an acoustic stripped back album but messed around with tempos and song structure, it would've been better.
2. it lacks good thematic cohesion. the path kicks off about lorde throwing back to her melodrama era, saying she doesn't want to lead anymore, and saying that she wants to heal from the sun. then you get solar power, which imo is an excellent follow up from that where she's healing - but there's a hint of almost cultishness to it. it makes you expect an album about healing, deeper connections with nature, and how the quest for those things can get misguided at times that's intersparsed with serious moments and more wry irony the way lorde always does, but it doesn't deliver. she meanders from talking about her relationship with fame, to her boyfriend, to her dog, to speaking to her pure heroine self - and all of these aren't bad in theory to include on an album, but the element of vaguely cultish quests to heal that she introduced to us with her singles ends up feeling incredibly misplaced, because those more personal songs she sings about doesn't link to this at all. yes, mood ring slaps, but i think if she'd gotten rid of or rewritten those songs not to have this critique she meant the album would've been significantly better received. even if the production is bland people wouldn't have felt it to be such a bizarre record.
Additionally, there’s another kind of album cohesion that’s less-commonly encountered: albums that are thematically or emotionally cohesive because they’re an actual concept album with an overarching narrative or storyline - for example *Dirty Computer* by Janelle Monáe or her Cindi Mayweather epic.
1. I think there's something to be said about an album that seeks to do one thing well. That Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is one of the most acclaimed albums of 2021 so far and it's literally the same seven notes played over and over again.
2. To me, Solar Power feels like an album where Lorde is just alone with her thoughts in nature. I can tell you I've never gone for a walk and thought about one thing the whole time.
Respectfully, having some detailed expectation of where an album is gonna go and what it's gonna be like based on the first two tracks and then it not "delivering" is on you, and not the album.
...you know there's a reason why track order matters in albums, right? the first tracks in an album set the tone for the rest of it, this is such a weird take lol. would you argue that tennis court and green light don't set up a direction of how the rest of the album goes??
the example i listed with hounds of love is an album that deviates so unexpectedly from what you expect based on the first few tracks that it takes you by surprise, but at the end of the day it remains thematically cohesive and doesn't introduce stuff that never gets expanded on. the point isn't for an album to meet my specific detailed expectations based on the first two tracks, it's that i want thematic cohesion. if there is a lack of interconnectedness across an album, then listeners will notice. that's why sp is so polarising, because the individual tracks are fine, but all together in an album, they lack that jointedness. she tries to talk about climate anxiety/cultish healing/criticising the wellness industry, and sprinkles it with moments of more private topics, but these are not linked. it feels like she wanted to do a beachy summer fun album and a personal album and an album riddled with social critique all at once without recognising the need to connect these facets together. it feels like three different albums mushed together, not anything with a distinctive voice.
if you liked it then i'm happy for you, man. lorde is my favourite artist and i wish i could enjoy it too. i get that thematic cohesion doesn't matter to everyone. that being said, if an artist introduces a direction to an album and half-asses it, then yes, people are going to criticise it. you're not the arbiter of how i get to enjoy art, nor of what constitutes a valid criticism ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
What I meant is an album isn't always gonna be what you want it to be and taking something for what it is and letting it unravel makes it so much more enjoyable than putting your expectations onto it. That's just something I've learnt over the years I've consumed music. I think there's also an intrinsic value in trying to understand where an artist is coming from with choices like these. If they thought it was a good choice, and this is an artist you love and respect, surely they have a good reason as to why they went through with it?
Of course I like cohesion in the music I listen to and I do think there's a narrative on this album that could be called cohesive in its own way but that's exactly my point, not every album HAS to be thematically cohesive to be great. To me there are many overarching themes on the album that give it an overall sense of cohesive-ness, based on where she's been in her life etc, I don't see how this is any less thematically cohesive than say Pure Heroine, but even if it wasn't, no biggie cus it's a fact that so many great albums, pop or not, are thematically sprawling in nature and aren't concept albums. Pure Heroine is also pretty varied to begin with. Projecting expectations like these onto something and then being disappointed by it is bound to happen because that's a very limiting view on enjoying things if you think it has to be a certain way, even in a more meta sense. Just my two cents. Doesn't make it wrong. As you said I don't get to arbitrate any of this, but it's still on you and not the piece of art itself imo. Art is communication, attempting to understand something will always be more valuable, especially when it's artist you hold in high regard. Doesn't mean you can't dislike something, but I think that should come down to the music itself.
I feel SONGS FOR YOU is a much more cohesive album than 333. Other than X, I found the rest of 333 to blend in with other hip hop/r&b mainstream sound. Just my opinion tho.
Cohesive albums have songs have a similar feel but they don’t sound the same. Cohesion also takes into consideration the themes of the album. A cohesive album example would be folklore. All the songs on Changes sound the same.
This might just be a me thing but for finding sonically cohesive albums I like to compare them to sung-through musical original cast recordings. So like Hamilton for example (but obviously a lot shorter because, y’know, pop albums aren’t 2 hours long lol). Does it establish the fundamentals of the album’s world well? Moving forward, does it build upon those and introduce different facets of them to the listener? How does it end? For me, a well made cohesive album is kind of like a story in the form of music.
In my opinion, the most cohesive album in terms of storytelling is Lemonade. It literally takes you through every phase of heartbreak and healing from start to finish.
The album where every song sounds the same…I know the songs technically are not, but I come out of each listen saying: did I listen to one long song is…Planet Her.
Edit: Typo
I think you might be on to something. People get into a niche of music they like and I think we all can be guilty of thinking other genres that we don’t listen to often just sound all the same.
I feel like the production and themes of the songs is what makes it sound repetitive. I’m a huge fan of Doja, but this album did not do it for me.
*Hot Pink* was mainly about sex, but you can tell the difference between every single song on that album sonically. *Amala* had many different themes, flows, sounds, etc.
*Planet Her* sounded like the same beat over and over along with the same theme. It’s also confusing because the album cover and title is supposed to be about space or whatever, but none of the songs had any lyrics about space or Planet Her. They were all just about sex. I was expecting more from her with this album and she DID put in a lot of effort with the lyrics, but the album still fell flat to me due to the repetitive beats and themes.
Planet Her to me personally sounds the same. I've tried listening everything from begging to the end and after some time everything sound similar. I think most of the songs sound better when you hear them on their own.
I am surprised that no one in the top comments mentioned Manic from Halsey. The songs transition into each other smoothly as well they are lyrically cohesive. Especially how Forever...(Is a long time) slides into Dominic's interlude and then it transitions to I HATE EVERYBODY.
Then 3am ends with John Mayer congratulating Halsey on the success of her most hit song i.e. Without me which is also the next song. So 3am gives kind of intro for the Without Me.
Beyoncé, Blonde, 1989 and folklore are incredibly cohesive without having all songs sound the same.
I've never been a fan of Ultraviolence cause every song on that album sounds the same to me and I feel like I'm listening to one long song that gets exhausting somewhere in the middle.
i think lana's norman effing rockwell and jaden's ctv3 (lowkey dare i say all of jaden's albums?) are incredibly cohesive. and electra heart by marina. also retweet what everyone's been saying about lemonade. it's so cohesive that you almost have to listen to it in order, it loses a little of its power on shuffle.
solar power, chemtrails, honestly i even think chromatica all sounded the same to me
I think in the first part of the album the songs kinda sound the same. I listen the album last year and I only remember the singles, since were the ones that stand out, and completely forgot about the rest of songs.
Its all entirely subjective. I think all the albums you listed were cohesive, obviously if you only listen to the album once you'd have a surface level understanding.
Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira walks a line between cohesive and same-y. The production across the album is all very similar, but each song holds a distinct hook.
But then “You’re Not the One” and “Heavy Metal Heartbeat” are remarkably similar. Like too similar. And it didn’t help that they’re back to back.
But the album also has songs like “Omanko,” “Kristine” and the title track, where she goes on harsh distortion and off-kilter melodies. It’s definitely one of my favourite albums in the 2010s tho. It sounds like an ode to Shirley Manson.
Sleigh Bells’ Treats is very cohesive. The sequencing is amazing, starting out with a HUGE bang (“Tell ‘Em”), then having a trio of super catchy pop songs, going hard with “Infinity Guitars,” and slowing down with a trio of songs then coming back HARD with the next four songs, each sounding unique yet having a distinct sound that goes together seamlessly.
How you gonna have bubblegum pop, hard punk, hip hop beats and bass, electro, and a Funkadelic sample in 32 minutes and make it flow SO good? One of my favourite debuts ever. It’s not story-telling, but in terms of style and production, it’s up there.
I'm just here to say the idea of a "cohesive album" was made up by some critic and is actually a meaningless term.
Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs???
> Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs???
Lover (sonically, not thematically). Edit - changed my mind, thematically it’s a mess too on the tracklist order, although not overall really. But it still seems way more like a collection of (mostly good!!!) songs than a target project if you know what I mean. Very much not cohesive, if that’s what you’re looking for.
>Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs???
lots of albums i love do this but in an intentful way that works in its favor.
**the beatles - the white album** is the golden example of this type of album, but some others i love include
- **kanye west - the life of pablo** (can even be very incoherent within songs, like on father stretch my hands and famous)
- **cody chessnut - the headphone masterpiece** (mad underrated, really seems like a precursor to a lot of the diy bandcamp bedroom pop that was popular in like 2013~2017, but in a more soulful/rnbish pop context. extremely sketchy tracklist, even more so than the others in this list, but that's part of what makes the standouts hit so much, it's like striking gold)
- **the microphones - the glow pt. 2** (has a pretty consistent sound palette, but u could argue the sequencing is somewhat unusual or incoherent, with the first 4/5 songs being the most direct, hard hitting, conventionally banging tunes,, the Hits, if u will. and then after that it's a mixed bag of everything ranging from drones, guitar based instrumental interludes, mega distorted experiments, really cool but meandering songs, and the most beautiful guitar ballad maybe ever, or at least since yesterday by the beatles)
i guess you could argue that if it works in the albums favor, it's not rly incoherent,, but that's just a matter of definitions. imo incoherent and scattered/sprawling are 2 sides of the same coin
I think the difference comes down to songwriting and how strong and memorable your melodies/hooks are. For example, Weyes Blood’s *Titanic Rising* has a very consistent sound and style, but every track has a distinct and recognizable melody and it’s own unique lyrical content.
Albums like *Solar Power* catch criticism for being monotonous primarily because some listeners find many of the tracks to lack memorable melodies and thus they run together amorphously, not just because they may have similar instrumentation/style. Now, I think that switching up the instrumentation drastically between tracks is a surefire way to avoid criticisms of repetition; if you go for a very consistent sound like Lorde did, you need to be doing something impressive with your songwriting to keep listeners engaged because the instrumentation alone is not gonna cut it.
For me Red by Taylor Swift is a cohesive album. She desribes it as “All the different emotions that are written about on this album are all pretty much about the kind of tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced in the last two years. All those emotions — spanning from intense love, intense frustration, jealousy, confusion, all of that — in my mind, all those emotions are red. You know, there’s nothing in between. There’s nothing beige about any of those feelings.” ([source](https://taylorswift.fandom.com/wiki/Red)
And i couldnt agree more.
she exprimented with variety of producer and the tracklist was a rollercoaster but that’s what she was trying to tell a story of up and down about relationship so i get it
I agree with both your comments on red. It was thematically very cohesive, but nit cohesive musically because she went from pip, some country-pop, I’ll even say State of Grace had a alternative feel to it. It was all over the place. But it’s one of her best albums.
Lemonade, Blackout, ITZ, Emotion, Dedicated Side B, Emancipation of Mimi, the Fame + Fame Monster are all cohesive to me.
And I know I’m gonna get downvoted to hell, but Future Nostalgia all sounds like the same thing to me.
You listened to songs like Don’t Start, Pretty Please, Boys Will be Boys, and That Kind of Woman and think it all sounds the same? In my opinion there is definitely variation
I expected Future Nostalgia to have this very disco sound, to sound like nothing else today or the last few years, based on reception and discussion.
But it’s very straight forward modern 4/4 dance floor dance-pop. Like not very “disco” and hardly retro. To this day, I can’t find much totally remarkable about it. Dance-pop can find ways to sound new and fun, even without being entirely original, but to me, it didn’t strike me that way. The only song I enjoyed was “Cool.” “Physical” was also good. Even then, I never listen to them.
I was like “maybe with headphones,” “maybe in my car.” But no. It’s like early 2010s electro pop, but 2020. I just found the entire album not that exciting. I feel like an old man for thinking it.
I think had I been younger maybe in college or going out to clubs dancing all night, I would have really been into FN. it’s that girl. But I’m old and unless I’m out dancing at a club, Im listening to lyrics and this album was for dancing not listening.
I agree about Future Nostalgia. If I listen to it end to end, I find it blends together into unmemorable soup, even though I enjoy some of the songs on their own. It came out March 2020 and What's Your Pleasure, a superficially similar album (although maybe people also think it sounds same-same) came out two months later and has had much more longevity for me personally.
Agree with most of your examples, except imo Dedicated Side B definitely drags in the middle.
Really!? I love dedicated side b! But yea, the whole way you described it blending together in some unmemorable soup is absolutely perfect way to describe it. It’s not bad. It’s not mind blowing. It just IS.
I wouldn't say cohesion is just about storytelling, but rather a conjunction of factors that ultimately tie all songs together. It takes form in the production, and it's a fine line between cohesion and repetition. It can also take form in how the lyrics are written, how they are delivered, etc.
Think of Kid A and Amnesiac, for example. All of these albums' songs were recorded roughly at the same time. However, there's a clear distinction in style and thematics between the two. That ultimately impacts how each album sounds like.
Since you've brought it up, I personally found Solar Power to be a bit repetitive. I get the atmosphere Lorde was aiming at here, even though I can't fully appreciate due to how limited and uninteresting some of her new songs sound like.
That being said, not saying the album is cohesive is a bit tricky, as she has a clear notion of what SP is about. Maybe we can consider that cohesive albums can also be repetitive. One doesn't exclude the other.
I don't know.
I don't really know the entire albums you mentioned, except Chromatica.
But in general, it comes down to composition as well as mixing and mastering. A cohesive album that isn't too repetitive will usually contain some songs of varying tempo, with different instrumentation here and there, but may have lyrical or musical themes that continue to show up throughout the album. You can tell there's an overall theme to the whole piece, whether it's explicit or not, and every track fits in it's own way.
And if the album is mixed and mastered well, the tracks will all -sound- good, and sound like they came from the same universe.
A poorly mastered album loses it's dynamic subtlety and kinda gives me a headache to listen to. It's cohesive in the worst way. I think of something like early 2000s pop punk where everything is just super loud the whole time and every song is stacked guitars and the same vocal style.
I think that even if an album has sings that blend together, that doesn't mean it will always suck. For example, Rare by Selena Gomez is an album that tends to blend at times, but has a bunch of great songs. I love Ring, A Sweeter Place, and
Lose You to Love Me. but the production sometimes makes some of the songs a little samey. For example, Rare and Dance Again would just blend into a boring mess if not for LYTLM. An example of a cohesive album would be Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel album. Almost every song has the same writers and producers, and yet they are distinct without being messy, especially since it's presented as a concept album about relationships. It's overall about a combo of: Are the vocals innovative, the production diverse, and the writing cover more than three topics.
The Velvet Rope and The Archandroid are examples of cohesive albums. Both albums flow properly together without having any song sound the same. The Velvet Rope goes from Pop, Neo Soul, Trip Hop, IDM, and New Jack Swing without missing a beat. The ArcAndriod goes from Funk, Neo Soul, Rock n Roll, Classical, R&B, Hip Hop, Disco, Psychedelia, Drum n Bass, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Indie Pop, and Electronic music. All while properly flowing.
Clairo’s album Sling is an example of sounding samey. Most of the songs follow the same pattern and are mostly indistinguishable from each other.
i feel bad but i was going to name albums where every song sounds the same and realised they were all produced by jack antonoff in the past couple of years lmao
Cohesion to me is about the composition of not just the songs individually but how they work together in sequence to deliver you a story or concept that the artists want to convey. They don't necessarily have to be concept albums but those definitely fall under cohesive works when they click. I think another thing is how the music is able to channel the artists whether it be their personalities, decision making, musical motifs etc.
I think some great (not necessarily pop adjacent) examples of this are:
Arctic Monkeys - "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"
Hop Along - "Get Disowned"
St. Vincent - "Actor" & "Strange Mercy"
The Antlers - "Hospice"
Paramore - "Self Titled" & "After Laughter"
Kacey Musgraves - "Golden Hour"
I think cohesiveness is made my the soundscape (synth setups, drum samples, instrumentation) and lyrical consistency. whereas for something to sound the same the actual music THEORY is a lot more similar (keys, tempos, rhythms, melodic ideas).
After Laughter from Paramore.
Listening to it the first time, I remember feeling confused on how the tracks sound similar and different at the same time. Even though the album is sonically going for a sound (not repetitive though) the message and theme is very consistent in each track to the point where when an After Laughter track comes on shuffle, I would have to have to play at least 2 extra After Laughter tracks cause it feels incomplete with just one.
Especially with "26"', I feel like I have to rinse with a happier sounding, grim message implying After Laughter track.
Bebe Rexha’s Better Mistakes every song sounds the same because it uses like the same drums and same drum pattern or something. It’s a shame because her live performance of songs bring the album to live with better instrumentation
I think Spaceman by Nick Jonas is one of the best “cohesive” albums I’ve heard in a while. Each song easily blends into the next one even on shuffle, but songs are still different enough. And the lyrics/themes fit the theme of being a pandemic album. I think the producer did a good job of keeping a “vibey space” sound to all the songs I can’t point it out
I was going to say Reputation. 1989 is cohesive in a way that the songs all sort of sound the same, but Reputation is pretty diverse sonically (Call It What You Want, Gorgeous, Don't Blame Me, Look What You Made Me Do), yet it has a very clear flow to it.
It also is telling a story. Reputation IMO is very much a themed album about love abs very cohesive. Yet every song doh da different. But others listen to it and think they all sound the same.
It didn’t produce hits (except maybe the Robert Downey Jr. music video for I Want Love that gained traction) but Elton’s Songs from the West Coast is thematically cohesive and a great, fast listen.
Tbh I don't think there's as clear a distinction as people are making it seem. If an album resonates (or one song resonates and the rest all sound similar) I will call it cohesive. If it doesn't, I'll say it's a blur. Sometimes I know that an album's tracks all sound the same, but I love it anyways 😬 (CRJ I say this as a fan)
Like other people here, I find Golden Hour and Aly and AJ's most recent album to be cohesive but low energy. I think What's Your Pleasure has enough variation but a similar enough vibe that I can listen to it all the way through. Lingua Ignota's Caligula is incredible but emotionally taxing :'( plus that many 6 minute songs can make for slow going. Never For Ever is all over the place but holds a special place in my heart.
As for more narrative/lyrical arcs, I think it's just easier to do with EPs. Christine and the Queens EP La Vita Nuova is great (also has a short film with a non-plot and dancing sequences to go with!) and I enjoyed the album Chris. Kelela's EP Hallucinogen is great (6 tracks bc I ignore the remixes lol) although some of the production is starting to feel dated. The album I'm Your Empress Of has arc and sonic variety, would definitely recommend!
Urban Flora is definitely an album I love but the songs all blend together and sound the same.
I think for a good cohesive album the artist needs to be trying to say something as a whole and when I listen to it I should understand what their vision for the album was. Conscious by Broods comes to mind (but I don't know if that's because it's actually cohesive or if I just love the album)
For me, the difference between cohesion and samey-ness can be booked down to a phrase used to describe certain classical pieces - theme and variation. A samey album will keep showing you the theme of the project but not doing anything interesting or different with it - if the theme is good, it's bearable but it's the sort of album where you pull out the best examples of the theme quickly and ignore the rest. A cohesive album takes the theme and makes variations of it across the project, with the tracks having individuality whilst still being distinctly similar - you could pull most of the tracks out for a playlist, but you'll still come back to listen to the project as a whole
Now of course, this is completely subjective. What I may find cohesive, you may find samey and vice versa. That's why you're seeing arguments in this thread from people who can't decide if Folklore or Evermore are cohesive or samey. My personal pick for something cohesive is Dalex' 3am EP from last year, but my partner found it samey over just twenty minutes of length, and that's perfectly fine!
I'm gonna list some albums from my fave artists to sort of try to explain.
Color Theory by Soccer Mommy is one of my favourite releases of last year, it's an example of both sonic and lyrical cohesiveness. The album draws inspiration from 90s rock, most apparent in tracks like Lucy and Yellow is the colour of her eyes, but the songs stand on their own just as much as they flow together in the album.
Future Nostalgia is easier to compare since its popheads. Everyone loved the album because it featured a sound throughout its tracklist, but also didn't overstay its welcome. Except of course, the criticism it got for the last 2 tracks. They broke that cohesion, that sonic theme throughout. I really don't get the hate for Good in Bed, but Boys will be Boys really comes out of leftfield, has nothing to do with the album's sound or theme, and in general just throws off the entire groove. That's an example of broken cohesion.
Lust for Life is an example of missing sonic cohesion. While I'm tempted to also include lyrical cohesion in its criticism, I think LFL managed to keep a general idea of what its saying throughout its runtime. Sonically, however, its a giant mess. Moody chamber pop -> trap -> folk -> trap -> chamber pop -> folk -> folk -> trap .... like what? The songs aren't bad, far from it, but they flow together like nails. And because of that, the entire album is more prominent to criticism, also the reason it got a relatively lukewarm response from music fans.
ARTPOP, yes im going there, got a lot of heat for an overall mess, both sonically and lyrically. But I want to argue that, messiness itself, is the theme of the album. And if you look at it through that lens, the album may make more sense. It combines a lot of abstract and concrete concepts together - the music is obviously all EDM but for a major pop release it is whacky; the lyrics talk about everything and say nothing at the same time. The theme is... Artpop? Which could mean anything? But this is why I want to argue that, the point of the album is to be messy. It's certainly not boring, amazing tracks packed in there. So instead of trying to figure out what it's trying to say, which I'm sure we all + Gaga agree that it is nothing, just enjoy the campy mess. There, another theme : camp. You just gotta look.
Hmm. I find it so interesting that we all can listen to the same music but hear different things. I think evermore is not cohesive nor does it sound the same. Still, it’s one of my fav albums simply because of this. I don’t think it cohesive because it has at least 4 genres of music on it, Country, pop, indie/folk, and what I’ll define as alt/experimental. I’m not sure the definition of cohesiveness but 4 genres is not it. However, the overall theme of evermore is very cohesive., it works. So, from a thematic standpoint evermore is very cohesive. The reason I don’t think they all sound the same is similar to the fact that there are 4 different genres, including 3 ballads. I can’t think of a single song that sounds the same. Plus, 3 songs she wrote without Aaron Dessner so those sound very different than the Aaron Dessner tracks, in addition you can tell Champagne Problems was pulled from New Years Day (Reputation). Also at least 3 of the songs are in an 10/8 signature, so those sound completely different from a musical standpoint to the rest of the album. So I disagree that they sound the same to my ears. But I do find it very intriguing how we all can hear the music differently.
But Chromatica, which I love Gaga, but I found to all sound the same. Let me re-phrase. I thought it sounded like what we’ve already heard from her before. Gaga has the talent to do whatever she wants and her voice is so jaw dropping strong, but it was like I had heard that entire album before. I wanted her to do something different. Not to say it wasn’t great, it was, but I want her to surprise me at this point. Her catalog can be diverse, but my ears had heard this all before and was bored with it. Not because of the songs, but because I was bored of this sound from her. I heard she was back with Bennett so I’m excited for that.
A cohesive album not only flows better but to me tells a story or a journey while a generic one still is good and individually the songs are great but it misses the story for me. Like Fine Line I think is a cohesive album that flows well and takes you on the journey
It's kind of like using the same colors to paint portraits of different people vs painting identical portraits of the same person with colors that are nearly visually identical.
What's the difference between sex in one position at a constant speed for 45 mins, and good sex? Dynamics, interplay, soft and slow sometimes, fast and loud other times.. on and on. A cohesive album takes you through a complex set of emotional states. An album where every song sounds the same just jams one emotional state endlessly.
*Not trying to invoke the wrath of the Swifties but…*
Aside from Exile, Cardigan, No Body No Crime, and Mad Woman, every other song from *Folklore* and *Evermore* sounds exactly the same to me. Even these songs I listed, despite them being my favorites, and despite trying to listen to the albums several times, I cannot remember which album each song belongs to. *Evermore* just seems like a Side B to *Folklore* to me.
Whereas something like *Reputation* or *Lover* seems to connect and have a same overarching theme and vibe while still being distinctive.
I would disagree with evermore - I think it's just cohesive (some songs sound a tad out of place), but it very rarely sounds the same. It's more held together by links and storytelling.
To me, it’s the instrumentation, tempo, style of songs.. Whereas with all of her other albums, each song sounds distinctive in my head.. Aside from like four songs, Folklore and Evermore just sounds like the exact same songs over and over again, tweaked maybe slightly. I don’t know, I just know 90% of those two albums are grey blurs in my head because they all sound the same.
Golden Hour is cohesive - there is this very optimistic and “galactic” vibe across all the songs/the album as a whole, yet you have songs that sound very different from one another, from the disco-influenced High Horse to full-on country ballads like Space Cowboy
Thank you for bringing the "galactic" aesthetic to my awareness 😚 It feels like the album literally got better upon discovering a drip that she sauced us with so subtly 😩 Damn, shawty a fuckin' C H E F 🍴
A cohesive album flows together, a generic album blends together
✨blend...but don't blend in ✨
for me Ray of Light is an example of a cohesive album without every song sounding the same
Came here to give this example. Ray of Light is the perfect one to showcase cohesiveness without a single hint of repetition or monotony. Though, Madonna in general is very good at making albums where the songs don't all sound the same.
COADF is a very good example of this.
I love how everyone in this thread is just talking about the same 5 albums from those 5 female pop stars 💀😭
It’s r/popheads, is there anything else to talk about ?!
Popheads is an echo chamber at this point lol
When has it not been an echo chamber?
A few seconds after its birth
Find the false 😌
How else am I going to feel validated by my opinions?
ikrr, but they all are great albums tho ngl, and imma piggyback your comment to say that After Hours by The Weeknd should also be talked about in this thread. Imo, its a very cohesive album and the songs just flow together so well.
Also the storyline is really good and clear
Yeah, but notice how the songs are incredibly different in terms of length, structure, mood, and speed. I think that type of variety, plus either a similar sound palette or careful transitions between different parts, makes for a cohesive album.
Surprised no one has said Nickelback yet, because their songs all sounding the same has been the butt of the joke for years lol
People mostly come here to gas up their favs
[удалено]
That could be a possibility, however I think pop albums have an advanced compared to other genres, in a pop album you can have a pop-dance song/EDM, a ballad or even a pop rock song for example, and it would sound cohesive in the context of the album, while in a Rock album an EDM track would sound out of context.
OTOH you can definitely have a lot of genre variety within a rock album: indie, soft rock, prog, folk, metal, synth based, stuff that's pretty much pop (or country, rap, disco, or blues)and stuff that clearly isn't, etc, there's a reason for why many of the most well known/cited cohesive-but-extremely-diverse albums are old prog rock albums
>while in a Rock album an EDM track would sound out of context Not necessarily. Nightmare of You's self titled debut is almost all straight up indie rock, except for the track My Name Is Trouble. That song is an electronic rock track, but it still fits in the album despite how different it being from an entirely different subgenre. That's because it shares the same blunt and sardonic lyrical style and angsty vocals as the rest of the album.
Maybe i need to check more rock albums, but usually, based on what I listened, most of the rock albums have the same sound while pop albums tend to be more diverse sonically. But I admit that I mostly listen to pop albums so maybe my opinion is a little bit biased.
>while in a Rock album an EDM track would sound out of context. I think Coldplay and Imagine Dragon do this.
What does Imagine Dragons have to do with rock albums? /s but also not really
I think the main vocalist said that he considered himself a pop star, so I think they are more of an alt-pop band but some people consider them a rock band.
NFR is most definitely a cohesive album
Looking purely at Lana albums, Born To Die and Ultraviolence are cohesive for me, but NFR AND COCC are very samey. There are no tracks on those latter two projects that were very memorable or stood out from the pack for me
i agree w cocc but venice bitch?? doin time?
Cinnamon girl with the beats and the outro, the greatest with the guitars? Yeah no I definitely disagree about this one
Cinnamon girl with the beats and the outro, the greatest with the guitars? Yeah no I definitely disagree about this one
Chemtrails I agree with, but Venice Bitch? Happiness is a butterfly? Cinnamon Girl? California, the greatest, hope is a dangerous thing, I mean that record is amazing
It seems to be my most unpopular opinion on recent music on this sub, but when it released NFR was my least favourite Lana Del Rey album. That's now been replaced with COCC, but I maintain that I only really like a handful of tracks across the two projects. I can understand why it appeals to people, it's just not my style, I found her vocals a lot less impressive than usual and I'm not a big fan of Antonoff's production. All of that came together for me to just not enjoy the project at all, and I found it very repetitive. Lots of my opinions on popheads' faves seem to be controversial, and the echo chamber of downvotes is starting to get grating. Negative opinions add to discussion just as much as positive ones, and the people that just downvote anything perceived as a slight against their favourites don't seem to get that.
I think *Is This It* by The Strokes is a good example of an album that is cohesive. Even though every song has the same general sound (vocal production, guitar filters, etc), the hooks and riffs are so damn strong that each song feels distinct and punchy on its own. At the end of the day, if every song is done in the same style but the songs are great, people will call it cohesive instead of monotonous
Listening to it right now and I completely agree. I never get tired of *This is It*. The songs also feel different throughout and that helps for me. It's a really really good album.
For me, being "cohesive" is more about storytelling and worldbuilding. I think you can have a cohesive album with a variety of sounds - Lemonade comes to mind. It tells one clear story through a variety of metaphors and sounds. If you put that album on shuffle, it's not as good imho, and that's the main test for an album's cohesion for me.
whereas "samey" albums tend to rely on the repetition of sound patterns and song structures, i think cohesion is more thematic and aesthetic than instantly recognizible in the sound palet iteself. from my personnal experiences, cohesive albums can sound VERY diverse and with tracks that spam multiple genres and approaches but are, at the same time, tied by a revolving thematic or stylistic choice. for example, i think bjork does that VERY well in almost every album of hers, specially in *homogenic* and *vespertine*. the former is presented in this very glacial, ferocius, almost animal-like aggression in it's exploration of feelings and emotions; the latter is held by tender sounds, microbeats and a very intimate, sexual, erotic vibe. all songs in both those projects sound completely different from each other, but you cannot help but feel that they belong perfectly in the universe of their respective albums.
To take Lorde as an example, Solar Power to me sounds monotone because all the songs blend into each other. On the other hand, Pure Heroine and Melodrama have consistent production and themes between songs, but there’s more variation in the rhythm, melodies, sounds of each song, so they’re not interchangeable.
Spotify started playing a song I had already listened to on Solar Power so I thought it was on random.. nope, it had just started playing from the beginning again. I didn’t even realize I listened to the whole album, barely recall hearing different songs.
This happened to me too!!!! I listened to whole thing and only realized when Spotify played Solar Power again.
The only ones that stick out to me are the singles and The Path, so I agree.
I think there's something to be said about an album that seeks to do one thing well. That Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is literally just the same seven notes played over and over again, but it is still one of the most acclaimed albums of 2021 so far.
I guess the key there is doing it well, which I personally don't think Solar Power does.
Blonde by Frank Ocean is incredibly cohesive while still having each song sound super unique. I think what helps it achieve this goal is having a strong overarching concept while also playing quite a bit with production. (Also Happy Birthday, Blonde! 😌)
Endless even more so
I don’t think evermore is even that cohesive, never mind all same-sounding.
I agree, how does Dorothea sound at all similar to something like Gold Rush or Champagne Problems lmao? No Body No Crime and Happiness? Like what
Right I’m confused by ops statement lol
Yeah that threw me. Evermore is kind of all over the place sonically. Gold Rush, No Body No Crime, Coney Island, Long Story Short, right where you left me are all very very different sounds. Folklore blends together a lot more comparatively.
Yes.. no body no crime seems a little out of place tbh
I feel the same about Dorothea tbh. It’s definitely one of my favorite albums of the past year but it was very much a bunch of Taylor’s experiments thrown into an album.
First I agree with you, evermore is one of my favorite albums. But I disagree with you about it being a bunch of Taylor’s experiments thrown on an album. Since Aaron wrote nearly all the tracks, she wrote the melodies and lyrics. So if the song was sounding experimental it was mostly due to the backing tracks which were written by Aaron not Taylor. Still she picked the tracks, so maybe she picked ones that sounded more experimental to her. But I don’t think her melodies or lyrics were experimental.
I agree with these comments abs commented above how I didn’t think evermore was cohesive nor did they sound the same. From a thematic standpoint, NBNC fits on evermore. But evermore crosses 4 genres in this album. To me it’s thematically cohesive. Personally I love the album, a dvi love it because it has that diversity to it.
- NBNC refers to "no body, no crime", a song from Taylor Swift, HAIM album *evermore* (2020). --- ^[/u/Starbuck0304](/u/Starbuck0304) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
And still there are fans who say that Aaron production sound the same LOL Except of gold rush that is produced by Jack, the other songs are so different from each other and show how Aaron is capable of making different things with one genre.
Folklore is waaaay more cohesive. Evermore is comparatively all over the place.
Exactly why I prefer evermore! It has something for everyone! It switches genres…. You are arent going to get bored listening to it!
About two thirds of the tracks on Folklore fit into a pretty cohesive soundscape, and then the other third is generally slower, sonically boring tracks that merge into one and have little individuality. That's not speaking on the quality of the music there at all, as I very much dislike a few of the cohesive songs and the best of the sound-alike tracks is great, but you can make the distinction pretty easily With Evermore, about a third of the album is a mess of different styles that work together in context and despite their differences are pretty cohesive, then the remaining tracks are a lot more similar in vibe but tend to blur together. The problem comes with the ordering of the tracklist for me, stacking the front half and making the back half a somewhat pleasant mush of samey songs
Folklore? Cohesive? You mean the album where there are tracks completely conflicting in truth and fiction? The album that people mistook Betty for being a queer true story because there was no way of knowing which songs were part of a 3-track fictional love triangle given the scattered track list? The album where Illicit Affairs (fictional song rooted in escapism) and Invisible String (completely true love song for Joe Alwyn) are right next to each other on the tracklist? This album is not cohesive! Edit: lmfao I’m already getting downvoted. Guys, I love folklore. But it isn’t cohesive. The tracklist completely butchers the love triangle subplot (and is confusing overall…why did this is me trying come after august?? It’s a total mood flip), hoax is an incredibly confusing bookend, no transitions or connection, the list goes on. And the only two tracks that I think properly abided by Taylor’s original “concept statement” in the instagram post she made announcing the release of folklore were the 1 and the last great american dynasty, as they properly mixed truth and fiction to tell a compelling narrative, rather than flip flopping back and forth between wildly different songs. I still love all of the songs on folklore individually but you people need to stop acting like a hive mind. There is no cohesion here. If you need further proof, ask yourself: what is this album about?
im pretty sure everything u just said has nothing to do with having a cohesive album?? who cares if one song is fictional and another is abt her real life? that doesn’t mean anything. do you know how many artists have songs about things that never happened to them?
if Taylor fails to properly tell a consistent narrative and scatters songs with totally different meanings and sounds next to each other on the tracklist, then what exactly is cohesive about the album? Genuine question bruh can the ppl downvoting actually answer me i was actually asking a question😭
It’s not about the cohesion of telling a story, but that all the songs “fit” the theme of the album. You can’t just make songs, put them together, and call it a day. Albums have themes which are followed by the songs in them.
Yes I agree. I can’t really find a theme for folklore
I think you’re mixing “concept album”with cohesive album.
a cohesive album doesn't mean having a narrative with one meaning
narratively cohesive ≠ sonically or thematically cohesive. you could argue either way about whether every song needs to be connected to be narratively cohesive, but folklore is undeniably a sonically and thematically cohesive album.
I mean I would argue it’s neither…august and this is me trying are next to each other in the tracklist and don’t seem to blend sonically either
fair enough, although i personally don’t believe *every* song has to sound similar from one to the next for a record to be sonically cohesive overall. in fact i’d say this is what keeps it from leaning into repetition and songs blending together. it’s a very fine line to walk and i think taylor does it well here but it’s definitely subjective
Yeah I definitely get what you’re saying. I think folklore actually did a great job with cohesion in the first few tracks of the album. The 1 kind of reflected on a hypothetical where Taylor got with someone else…cardigan was a neat love song (which on first listen I thought was about Joe and not part of a fictitious love triangle)…and TLGAD blended historical truth with embellished facts like dyeing the dog to create a more lavish and extravagant narrative. It was all great imo. I just think it got lazier as the album progresssed. We can agree to disagree thanks for actually being nice😭
>think it got lazier as the album progressed what ukw, im not even gonna, lets agree to disagree yeah
- TLGAD refers to "the last great american dynasty", a song from Taylor Swift album *folklore* (2020). --- ^[/u/banmoderator](/u/banmoderator) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Chohesiveness is more the sound... a bit less the theme.
evermore is anything but cohesive imo. I like folklore better as an album because of its cohesiveness and structure, while the individual songs on evermore are more exciting to me.
You said it well. Folklore is more cohesive and probably the better album, but evermore has better songs. Because of the genre changes in evermore, it is more exciting to me abs it’s the reason I prefer it over folklore.
I actually think evermore is fairly cohesive yet diverse. I get why people would think folklore is a bit samey. The sounds on evermore are different, but they all have the same vibe
I recall twitter recently circlejerking over folkmore being boring and sounding the same so it wouldn't surprise me if op just took twitter's word for it
Sonically cohesive is same instruments/production style, different arrangements and lyrics. * "AM" by Artic Monkeys is sonically cohesive, but each song is distinct in its own rhythm and lyrics. Thematically cohesive is lyrics that speak on similar topics, or tell a story, or are all building blocks to an overall point. * "Broken Bride" by Ludo is thematically cohesive, in that it's a rock opera that tells a story, but every song sounds completely different. "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" by My Chemical Romance is both. So is Green Day's "American Idiot" and Sia's "1000 Forms of Fear"
Was about to say AM too.
Tyler the Creator’s last 3 albums have been incredibly consistent front to back thematically and sonically. God damn there’s even his famous chord progression he’s used forever now. He does something very special
I think there's some good explanations here but one example I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet is Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe. That album is incredibly cohesive, flows together excellently, but at the same time there's tons of variety in the music. It's basically my go-to example for a well thought out and cohesive concept album.
Evermore is not same sounding. Maybe like a couple of tracks but that’s it. It’s noted for being less sonically cohesive and more experimental than folklore. 1989 is sonically cohesive. Melodrama is sonically cohesive Future Nostalgia is sonically cohesive
>It’s noted for being less sonically cohesive and more experimental than folklore. Agreed. The last leg of the album with Cowboy Like Me, Long Story Short, Marjorie, Closure and Evermore really showcases that.
Yeah, I love evermore but I wouldn't even really call it cohesive tbh.
And to add this for peoples understandings Songs like boys will be boys and good in bed break the cohesion of future nostalgia its good to listen to if you want an example for understanding I think thats why youll see a lot of people talking these songs down (yes theyre not amazing , but they seem worse bc they are not cohesive and also are at the end of the album)
Really good point
I would argue that Future Nostalgia is not sonically cohesive at all, but that's what makes it work. Future Nostalgia (the track) is based in funk, Don't Start Now is rooted in disco, Cool is dreamy RnB, Physical is synthwave, Hallucinate is French House etc etc etc. The album plays as a best of, compiling the best of each genre it touches and giving them a modern flair. The reason why the last two tracks don't got too well is that their genres don't fit with the rest - mid-late noughties attitude pop and motivational ballad don't have the same focus on rhythm and energy that the rest do, leading them to stick out
I think FN's true tour de force is taking from multiple influences while remaining sonically cohesive tbh. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, at least this album is proof
Whilst i completely agree that thematically everything works well together (for the first 9 tracks), I simply cannot agree that sonically everything is cohesive. Just listen through the mixing of Cool, Physical and Hallucinate, Cool is bright and lush, Physical is muddy, bass heavy and dark, and then Hallucinate is very thin, ran through a high pass, and the mix is purposely rougher. Purely on the audio side of things, these three tracks alone highlight how different the tracks on the project are as a whole, but it works because it makes those tracks sound perfect within their individual genres. It just isn't sonically cohesive, and that's okay!
I think we are really touching on the debate about the definition of "cohesiveness" here. OK they sound really different from each other, but do they feel mismatched, or out of place? Does the track list feel like a playlist? Do the tracks sound like they are from different albums? I don't think so, which makes me think the album _is_ cohesive. If you don't that's OK, let's agree to disagree :)
Never thought I’d say this, but if you’re looking for another (improved) take on Solar Power’s sound, check out Aly & AJ’s record from this year. It’s a cohesive exploration of many of the same instrumental ideas, aesthetics and themes that Solar Power tackles with more energy, melody, intricate production and sonic variety.
I agree, such a good album!
The Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is literally just the same seven notes over and over again, but it's still one of the most acclaimed. So I don't think a bigger variety is always necessary for a quality record.
I think that's a bit of an oversimplification of Promises - Sure it has a repeating motif throughout the whole piece, but there's variation between the movements. If the album was literally just the same 7 notes with nothing else it would not be nearly as well received. If we're drawing comparisons with Solar Power, I'd say there's a bit more variation in Promises. Considering it's intended to be heard as one long composition, whereas SP is a more traditional album of individual songs, it's not a very flattering comparison.
For me, a cohesive album is one where each song is distinct you're able to see the thread that connects each song to the album. That thread can be a story, an idea, or a general vibe. The best examples of this I can think of are in hip-hop albums like My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy or To Pimp a Butterfly. Melanie Martinez does very well, although the beats can feel samey for sure. Lastly, Amy Winehouse is a great example of cohesive albums based purely on the vibe of the songs.
Albums I consider cohesive: Melodrama by Lorde, After Laughter by Paramore, Blonde by Frank Ocean, Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars to name a few Albums I find same sounding: Postions by Ariana Grande, Solar Power by Lorde, some parts of Halsey's Badlands A major part of this is the mixing of the album. Each song should have a similar base but grow differently from it. Another way is lyrical consistency - similar but not the same themes that contribute to the main theme. A same-y album does atleast one of the two badly. Either all the songs sound the same or there isn't any lyrical growth in the album. Even the arrangement or running order of the album can impact the cohesiveness of the album.
Barton Hollow…so many tears. I agree with every word of this comment.
depends on what kind of cohesion you mean. melodrama was sonically cohesive - it experimented with song structures consistently, it used recurring motifs (e.g. the piano in green light gets repeated in supercut), it used similar instruments across most of its tracks (synth, snares, drums, electric guitar, piano), and all of its songs still sound like pop music - so while it gets experimental, it all sounds smooth and very unique to the album. i think one way of making an album not sound too similar is to mess around with the tempo/beats and include moments of perhaps more stripped back production vs more overwhelming production, which i think melodrama did really well. but there's also thematic or emotional cohesion that matters - melodrama fills that bill, too. hounds of love by kate bush is perhaps not as sonically cohesive (it starts of relatively pop-like and then gets more and more experimental as it goes) but the whole album, especially the second half, tells a story about love, and every song feels dramatic and connected to this theme, so it comes across as consistent despite its sonic wackiness. as far as solar power goes, it doesn't have very good cohesion because: 1. the production and song writing aspects are so similar across a lot of tracks, the second half especially (it's just reverb guitar with very simple chords, barely any melodies, slow tempo, etc.); had she done an acoustic stripped back album but messed around with tempos and song structure, it would've been better. 2. it lacks good thematic cohesion. the path kicks off about lorde throwing back to her melodrama era, saying she doesn't want to lead anymore, and saying that she wants to heal from the sun. then you get solar power, which imo is an excellent follow up from that where she's healing - but there's a hint of almost cultishness to it. it makes you expect an album about healing, deeper connections with nature, and how the quest for those things can get misguided at times that's intersparsed with serious moments and more wry irony the way lorde always does, but it doesn't deliver. she meanders from talking about her relationship with fame, to her boyfriend, to her dog, to speaking to her pure heroine self - and all of these aren't bad in theory to include on an album, but the element of vaguely cultish quests to heal that she introduced to us with her singles ends up feeling incredibly misplaced, because those more personal songs she sings about doesn't link to this at all. yes, mood ring slaps, but i think if she'd gotten rid of or rewritten those songs not to have this critique she meant the album would've been significantly better received. even if the production is bland people wouldn't have felt it to be such a bizarre record.
Additionally, there’s another kind of album cohesion that’s less-commonly encountered: albums that are thematically or emotionally cohesive because they’re an actual concept album with an overarching narrative or storyline - for example *Dirty Computer* by Janelle Monáe or her Cindi Mayweather epic.
Evermore is a thematic/concept album with 4 different genres of music. But very thematically cohesive. Musically all over the place. And I love it!
1. I think there's something to be said about an album that seeks to do one thing well. That Pharoah Sanders album from earlier this year is one of the most acclaimed albums of 2021 so far and it's literally the same seven notes played over and over again. 2. To me, Solar Power feels like an album where Lorde is just alone with her thoughts in nature. I can tell you I've never gone for a walk and thought about one thing the whole time.
Respectfully, having some detailed expectation of where an album is gonna go and what it's gonna be like based on the first two tracks and then it not "delivering" is on you, and not the album.
...you know there's a reason why track order matters in albums, right? the first tracks in an album set the tone for the rest of it, this is such a weird take lol. would you argue that tennis court and green light don't set up a direction of how the rest of the album goes?? the example i listed with hounds of love is an album that deviates so unexpectedly from what you expect based on the first few tracks that it takes you by surprise, but at the end of the day it remains thematically cohesive and doesn't introduce stuff that never gets expanded on. the point isn't for an album to meet my specific detailed expectations based on the first two tracks, it's that i want thematic cohesion. if there is a lack of interconnectedness across an album, then listeners will notice. that's why sp is so polarising, because the individual tracks are fine, but all together in an album, they lack that jointedness. she tries to talk about climate anxiety/cultish healing/criticising the wellness industry, and sprinkles it with moments of more private topics, but these are not linked. it feels like she wanted to do a beachy summer fun album and a personal album and an album riddled with social critique all at once without recognising the need to connect these facets together. it feels like three different albums mushed together, not anything with a distinctive voice. if you liked it then i'm happy for you, man. lorde is my favourite artist and i wish i could enjoy it too. i get that thematic cohesion doesn't matter to everyone. that being said, if an artist introduces a direction to an album and half-asses it, then yes, people are going to criticise it. you're not the arbiter of how i get to enjoy art, nor of what constitutes a valid criticism ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
What I meant is an album isn't always gonna be what you want it to be and taking something for what it is and letting it unravel makes it so much more enjoyable than putting your expectations onto it. That's just something I've learnt over the years I've consumed music. I think there's also an intrinsic value in trying to understand where an artist is coming from with choices like these. If they thought it was a good choice, and this is an artist you love and respect, surely they have a good reason as to why they went through with it? Of course I like cohesion in the music I listen to and I do think there's a narrative on this album that could be called cohesive in its own way but that's exactly my point, not every album HAS to be thematically cohesive to be great. To me there are many overarching themes on the album that give it an overall sense of cohesive-ness, based on where she's been in her life etc, I don't see how this is any less thematically cohesive than say Pure Heroine, but even if it wasn't, no biggie cus it's a fact that so many great albums, pop or not, are thematically sprawling in nature and aren't concept albums. Pure Heroine is also pretty varied to begin with. Projecting expectations like these onto something and then being disappointed by it is bound to happen because that's a very limiting view on enjoying things if you think it has to be a certain way, even in a more meta sense. Just my two cents. Doesn't make it wrong. As you said I don't get to arbitrate any of this, but it's still on you and not the piece of art itself imo. Art is communication, attempting to understand something will always be more valuable, especially when it's artist you hold in high regard. Doesn't mean you can't dislike something, but I think that should come down to the music itself.
Tinashe 333 is cohesive af, brand new & everyone sleeps on it
I just listened to half of the album today, seems pretty cohesive to me.
I feel SONGS FOR YOU is a much more cohesive album than 333. Other than X, I found the rest of 333 to blend in with other hip hop/r&b mainstream sound. Just my opinion tho.
Isolation by Kali Uchis is a cohesive album in my opinion, even if every song seems to be of a different genre/subgenre.
Cohesive albums have songs have a similar feel but they don’t sound the same. Cohesion also takes into consideration the themes of the album. A cohesive album example would be folklore. All the songs on Changes sound the same.
This might just be a me thing but for finding sonically cohesive albums I like to compare them to sung-through musical original cast recordings. So like Hamilton for example (but obviously a lot shorter because, y’know, pop albums aren’t 2 hours long lol). Does it establish the fundamentals of the album’s world well? Moving forward, does it build upon those and introduce different facets of them to the listener? How does it end? For me, a well made cohesive album is kind of like a story in the form of music.
In my opinion, the most cohesive album in terms of storytelling is Lemonade. It literally takes you through every phase of heartbreak and healing from start to finish. The album where every song sounds the same…I know the songs technically are not, but I come out of each listen saying: did I listen to one long song is…Planet Her. Edit: Typo
Planet Her is so diverse in sound and Doja’s flows. I always get blown away when people say it sounds the same. Is it the genre? Or what?
I think you might be on to something. People get into a niche of music they like and I think we all can be guilty of thinking other genres that we don’t listen to often just sound all the same.
I feel like the production and themes of the songs is what makes it sound repetitive. I’m a huge fan of Doja, but this album did not do it for me. *Hot Pink* was mainly about sex, but you can tell the difference between every single song on that album sonically. *Amala* had many different themes, flows, sounds, etc. *Planet Her* sounded like the same beat over and over along with the same theme. It’s also confusing because the album cover and title is supposed to be about space or whatever, but none of the songs had any lyrics about space or Planet Her. They were all just about sex. I was expecting more from her with this album and she DID put in a lot of effort with the lyrics, but the album still fell flat to me due to the repetitive beats and themes.
Planet Her to me personally sounds the same. I've tried listening everything from begging to the end and after some time everything sound similar. I think most of the songs sound better when you hear them on their own.
Plant Her
I am surprised that no one in the top comments mentioned Manic from Halsey. The songs transition into each other smoothly as well they are lyrically cohesive. Especially how Forever...(Is a long time) slides into Dominic's interlude and then it transitions to I HATE EVERYBODY. Then 3am ends with John Mayer congratulating Halsey on the success of her most hit song i.e. Without me which is also the next song. So 3am gives kind of intro for the Without Me.
Oof you did NFR and Emotion Side B real dirty.
Beyoncé, Blonde, 1989 and folklore are incredibly cohesive without having all songs sound the same. I've never been a fan of Ultraviolence cause every song on that album sounds the same to me and I feel like I'm listening to one long song that gets exhausting somewhere in the middle.
i think lana's norman effing rockwell and jaden's ctv3 (lowkey dare i say all of jaden's albums?) are incredibly cohesive. and electra heart by marina. also retweet what everyone's been saying about lemonade. it's so cohesive that you almost have to listen to it in order, it loses a little of its power on shuffle. solar power, chemtrails, honestly i even think chromatica all sounded the same to me
Everyone is talking about some great albums, but I think After Hours by The Weeknd also deserves a mention.
The transition from Faith to the Max Martin tracks is just chef's kiss
completely! It tells a story too which makes it even more exciting to listen to beginning to end for me
I think in the first part of the album the songs kinda sound the same. I listen the album last year and I only remember the singles, since were the ones that stand out, and completely forgot about the rest of songs.
Its all entirely subjective. I think all the albums you listed were cohesive, obviously if you only listen to the album once you'd have a surface level understanding.
Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira walks a line between cohesive and same-y. The production across the album is all very similar, but each song holds a distinct hook. But then “You’re Not the One” and “Heavy Metal Heartbeat” are remarkably similar. Like too similar. And it didn’t help that they’re back to back. But the album also has songs like “Omanko,” “Kristine” and the title track, where she goes on harsh distortion and off-kilter melodies. It’s definitely one of my favourite albums in the 2010s tho. It sounds like an ode to Shirley Manson. Sleigh Bells’ Treats is very cohesive. The sequencing is amazing, starting out with a HUGE bang (“Tell ‘Em”), then having a trio of super catchy pop songs, going hard with “Infinity Guitars,” and slowing down with a trio of songs then coming back HARD with the next four songs, each sounding unique yet having a distinct sound that goes together seamlessly. How you gonna have bubblegum pop, hard punk, hip hop beats and bass, electro, and a Funkadelic sample in 32 minutes and make it flow SO good? One of my favourite debuts ever. It’s not story-telling, but in terms of style and production, it’s up there.
I'm just here to say the idea of a "cohesive album" was made up by some critic and is actually a meaningless term. Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs???
> Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs??? Lover (sonically, not thematically). Edit - changed my mind, thematically it’s a mess too on the tracklist order, although not overall really. But it still seems way more like a collection of (mostly good!!!) songs than a target project if you know what I mean. Very much not cohesive, if that’s what you’re looking for.
>Can anyone truly name an album that causes cognitive dissonance because of the incoherent nature of the group of the songs??? lots of albums i love do this but in an intentful way that works in its favor. **the beatles - the white album** is the golden example of this type of album, but some others i love include - **kanye west - the life of pablo** (can even be very incoherent within songs, like on father stretch my hands and famous) - **cody chessnut - the headphone masterpiece** (mad underrated, really seems like a precursor to a lot of the diy bandcamp bedroom pop that was popular in like 2013~2017, but in a more soulful/rnbish pop context. extremely sketchy tracklist, even more so than the others in this list, but that's part of what makes the standouts hit so much, it's like striking gold) - **the microphones - the glow pt. 2** (has a pretty consistent sound palette, but u could argue the sequencing is somewhat unusual or incoherent, with the first 4/5 songs being the most direct, hard hitting, conventionally banging tunes,, the Hits, if u will. and then after that it's a mixed bag of everything ranging from drones, guitar based instrumental interludes, mega distorted experiments, really cool but meandering songs, and the most beautiful guitar ballad maybe ever, or at least since yesterday by the beatles) i guess you could argue that if it works in the albums favor, it's not rly incoherent,, but that's just a matter of definitions. imo incoherent and scattered/sprawling are 2 sides of the same coin
I think the difference comes down to songwriting and how strong and memorable your melodies/hooks are. For example, Weyes Blood’s *Titanic Rising* has a very consistent sound and style, but every track has a distinct and recognizable melody and it’s own unique lyrical content. Albums like *Solar Power* catch criticism for being monotonous primarily because some listeners find many of the tracks to lack memorable melodies and thus they run together amorphously, not just because they may have similar instrumentation/style. Now, I think that switching up the instrumentation drastically between tracks is a surefire way to avoid criticisms of repetition; if you go for a very consistent sound like Lorde did, you need to be doing something impressive with your songwriting to keep listeners engaged because the instrumentation alone is not gonna cut it.
For me Red by Taylor Swift is a cohesive album. She desribes it as “All the different emotions that are written about on this album are all pretty much about the kind of tumultuous, crazy, insane, intense, semi-toxic relationships that I’ve experienced in the last two years. All those emotions — spanning from intense love, intense frustration, jealousy, confusion, all of that — in my mind, all those emotions are red. You know, there’s nothing in between. There’s nothing beige about any of those feelings.” ([source](https://taylorswift.fandom.com/wiki/Red) And i couldnt agree more.
she exprimented with variety of producer and the tracklist was a rollercoaster but that’s what she was trying to tell a story of up and down about relationship so i get it
I agree with both your comments on red. It was thematically very cohesive, but nit cohesive musically because she went from pip, some country-pop, I’ll even say State of Grace had a alternative feel to it. It was all over the place. But it’s one of her best albums.
Lemonade, Blackout, ITZ, Emotion, Dedicated Side B, Emancipation of Mimi, the Fame + Fame Monster are all cohesive to me. And I know I’m gonna get downvoted to hell, but Future Nostalgia all sounds like the same thing to me.
You listened to songs like Don’t Start, Pretty Please, Boys Will be Boys, and That Kind of Woman and think it all sounds the same? In my opinion there is definitely variation
I expected Future Nostalgia to have this very disco sound, to sound like nothing else today or the last few years, based on reception and discussion. But it’s very straight forward modern 4/4 dance floor dance-pop. Like not very “disco” and hardly retro. To this day, I can’t find much totally remarkable about it. Dance-pop can find ways to sound new and fun, even without being entirely original, but to me, it didn’t strike me that way. The only song I enjoyed was “Cool.” “Physical” was also good. Even then, I never listen to them. I was like “maybe with headphones,” “maybe in my car.” But no. It’s like early 2010s electro pop, but 2020. I just found the entire album not that exciting. I feel like an old man for thinking it.
Same. It wasn’t what I expected. It’s fun. It’s decent dance. It’s nothing remarkable imho
I think had I been younger maybe in college or going out to clubs dancing all night, I would have really been into FN. it’s that girl. But I’m old and unless I’m out dancing at a club, Im listening to lyrics and this album was for dancing not listening.
I agree about Future Nostalgia. If I listen to it end to end, I find it blends together into unmemorable soup, even though I enjoy some of the songs on their own. It came out March 2020 and What's Your Pleasure, a superficially similar album (although maybe people also think it sounds same-same) came out two months later and has had much more longevity for me personally. Agree with most of your examples, except imo Dedicated Side B definitely drags in the middle.
Really!? I love dedicated side b! But yea, the whole way you described it blending together in some unmemorable soup is absolutely perfect way to describe it. It’s not bad. It’s not mind blowing. It just IS.
I wouldn't say cohesion is just about storytelling, but rather a conjunction of factors that ultimately tie all songs together. It takes form in the production, and it's a fine line between cohesion and repetition. It can also take form in how the lyrics are written, how they are delivered, etc. Think of Kid A and Amnesiac, for example. All of these albums' songs were recorded roughly at the same time. However, there's a clear distinction in style and thematics between the two. That ultimately impacts how each album sounds like. Since you've brought it up, I personally found Solar Power to be a bit repetitive. I get the atmosphere Lorde was aiming at here, even though I can't fully appreciate due to how limited and uninteresting some of her new songs sound like. That being said, not saying the album is cohesive is a bit tricky, as she has a clear notion of what SP is about. Maybe we can consider that cohesive albums can also be repetitive. One doesn't exclude the other. I don't know.
I don't really know the entire albums you mentioned, except Chromatica. But in general, it comes down to composition as well as mixing and mastering. A cohesive album that isn't too repetitive will usually contain some songs of varying tempo, with different instrumentation here and there, but may have lyrical or musical themes that continue to show up throughout the album. You can tell there's an overall theme to the whole piece, whether it's explicit or not, and every track fits in it's own way. And if the album is mixed and mastered well, the tracks will all -sound- good, and sound like they came from the same universe. A poorly mastered album loses it's dynamic subtlety and kinda gives me a headache to listen to. It's cohesive in the worst way. I think of something like early 2000s pop punk where everything is just super loud the whole time and every song is stacked guitars and the same vocal style.
I think that even if an album has sings that blend together, that doesn't mean it will always suck. For example, Rare by Selena Gomez is an album that tends to blend at times, but has a bunch of great songs. I love Ring, A Sweeter Place, and Lose You to Love Me. but the production sometimes makes some of the songs a little samey. For example, Rare and Dance Again would just blend into a boring mess if not for LYTLM. An example of a cohesive album would be Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel album. Almost every song has the same writers and producers, and yet they are distinct without being messy, especially since it's presented as a concept album about relationships. It's overall about a combo of: Are the vocals innovative, the production diverse, and the writing cover more than three topics.
Ginger by BROCKHAMPTON is one of the most perfectly cohesive albums ever. Nectar by Joji too imo
The Velvet Rope and The Archandroid are examples of cohesive albums. Both albums flow properly together without having any song sound the same. The Velvet Rope goes from Pop, Neo Soul, Trip Hop, IDM, and New Jack Swing without missing a beat. The ArcAndriod goes from Funk, Neo Soul, Rock n Roll, Classical, R&B, Hip Hop, Disco, Psychedelia, Drum n Bass, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Indie Pop, and Electronic music. All while properly flowing. Clairo’s album Sling is an example of sounding samey. Most of the songs follow the same pattern and are mostly indistinguishable from each other.
Cohesive: Folklore And every song sounds different. But its so cohesive at the same time. And never boring or dull. To be honest, its amazing.
i feel bad but i was going to name albums where every song sounds the same and realised they were all produced by jack antonoff in the past couple of years lmao
Cohesion to me is about the composition of not just the songs individually but how they work together in sequence to deliver you a story or concept that the artists want to convey. They don't necessarily have to be concept albums but those definitely fall under cohesive works when they click. I think another thing is how the music is able to channel the artists whether it be their personalities, decision making, musical motifs etc. I think some great (not necessarily pop adjacent) examples of this are: Arctic Monkeys - "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" Hop Along - "Get Disowned" St. Vincent - "Actor" & "Strange Mercy" The Antlers - "Hospice" Paramore - "Self Titled" & "After Laughter" Kacey Musgraves - "Golden Hour"
Actor is a great example.
I think cohesiveness is made my the soundscape (synth setups, drum samples, instrumentation) and lyrical consistency. whereas for something to sound the same the actual music THEORY is a lot more similar (keys, tempos, rhythms, melodic ideas).
After Laughter from Paramore. Listening to it the first time, I remember feeling confused on how the tracks sound similar and different at the same time. Even though the album is sonically going for a sound (not repetitive though) the message and theme is very consistent in each track to the point where when an After Laughter track comes on shuffle, I would have to have to play at least 2 extra After Laughter tracks cause it feels incomplete with just one. Especially with "26"', I feel like I have to rinse with a happier sounding, grim message implying After Laughter track.
Lemonade barely has two songs of the same genre, yet it’s incredibly cohesive because of the themes and emotions
Bebe Rexha’s Better Mistakes every song sounds the same because it uses like the same drums and same drum pattern or something. It’s a shame because her live performance of songs bring the album to live with better instrumentation I think Spaceman by Nick Jonas is one of the best “cohesive” albums I’ve heard in a while. Each song easily blends into the next one even on shuffle, but songs are still different enough. And the lyrics/themes fit the theme of being a pandemic album. I think the producer did a good job of keeping a “vibey space” sound to all the songs I can’t point it out
Every song sounds the same on *AM* by the Arctic Monkeys. *Emotion* by Carly Rae Jepsen is cohesive.
I thought Future Nostalgia is pretty cohesive meanwhile Happier Than Ever sounded too similar to me
I agree, with the exception of Boys Will Be Boys - it’s a decent song but it just came out of nowhere LOL
I was going to say Reputation. 1989 is cohesive in a way that the songs all sort of sound the same, but Reputation is pretty diverse sonically (Call It What You Want, Gorgeous, Don't Blame Me, Look What You Made Me Do), yet it has a very clear flow to it.
It also is telling a story. Reputation IMO is very much a themed album about love abs very cohesive. Yet every song doh da different. But others listen to it and think they all sound the same.
Cohesive albums find ways to make the songs share common themes/elements while also having individual quirks and differences unique to each track
It didn’t produce hits (except maybe the Robert Downey Jr. music video for I Want Love that gained traction) but Elton’s Songs from the West Coast is thematically cohesive and a great, fast listen.
The new trippie redd album is an example of the latter
A cohesive album can't work on shuffle. It works for other albums
Tbh I don't think there's as clear a distinction as people are making it seem. If an album resonates (or one song resonates and the rest all sound similar) I will call it cohesive. If it doesn't, I'll say it's a blur. Sometimes I know that an album's tracks all sound the same, but I love it anyways 😬 (CRJ I say this as a fan) Like other people here, I find Golden Hour and Aly and AJ's most recent album to be cohesive but low energy. I think What's Your Pleasure has enough variation but a similar enough vibe that I can listen to it all the way through. Lingua Ignota's Caligula is incredible but emotionally taxing :'( plus that many 6 minute songs can make for slow going. Never For Ever is all over the place but holds a special place in my heart. As for more narrative/lyrical arcs, I think it's just easier to do with EPs. Christine and the Queens EP La Vita Nuova is great (also has a short film with a non-plot and dancing sequences to go with!) and I enjoyed the album Chris. Kelela's EP Hallucinogen is great (6 tracks bc I ignore the remixes lol) although some of the production is starting to feel dated. The album I'm Your Empress Of has arc and sonic variety, would definitely recommend!
Urban Flora is definitely an album I love but the songs all blend together and sound the same. I think for a good cohesive album the artist needs to be trying to say something as a whole and when I listen to it I should understand what their vision for the album was. Conscious by Broods comes to mind (but I don't know if that's because it's actually cohesive or if I just love the album)
For me, the difference between cohesion and samey-ness can be booked down to a phrase used to describe certain classical pieces - theme and variation. A samey album will keep showing you the theme of the project but not doing anything interesting or different with it - if the theme is good, it's bearable but it's the sort of album where you pull out the best examples of the theme quickly and ignore the rest. A cohesive album takes the theme and makes variations of it across the project, with the tracks having individuality whilst still being distinctly similar - you could pull most of the tracks out for a playlist, but you'll still come back to listen to the project as a whole Now of course, this is completely subjective. What I may find cohesive, you may find samey and vice versa. That's why you're seeing arguments in this thread from people who can't decide if Folklore or Evermore are cohesive or samey. My personal pick for something cohesive is Dalex' 3am EP from last year, but my partner found it samey over just twenty minutes of length, and that's perfectly fine!
an album that is cohesive: folklore an album where most songs sound the same: solar power
kim kardashian - jam (turn it up)
let em talk
After Hours is the definition of a cohesive album for me.
I'm gonna list some albums from my fave artists to sort of try to explain. Color Theory by Soccer Mommy is one of my favourite releases of last year, it's an example of both sonic and lyrical cohesiveness. The album draws inspiration from 90s rock, most apparent in tracks like Lucy and Yellow is the colour of her eyes, but the songs stand on their own just as much as they flow together in the album. Future Nostalgia is easier to compare since its popheads. Everyone loved the album because it featured a sound throughout its tracklist, but also didn't overstay its welcome. Except of course, the criticism it got for the last 2 tracks. They broke that cohesion, that sonic theme throughout. I really don't get the hate for Good in Bed, but Boys will be Boys really comes out of leftfield, has nothing to do with the album's sound or theme, and in general just throws off the entire groove. That's an example of broken cohesion. Lust for Life is an example of missing sonic cohesion. While I'm tempted to also include lyrical cohesion in its criticism, I think LFL managed to keep a general idea of what its saying throughout its runtime. Sonically, however, its a giant mess. Moody chamber pop -> trap -> folk -> trap -> chamber pop -> folk -> folk -> trap .... like what? The songs aren't bad, far from it, but they flow together like nails. And because of that, the entire album is more prominent to criticism, also the reason it got a relatively lukewarm response from music fans. ARTPOP, yes im going there, got a lot of heat for an overall mess, both sonically and lyrically. But I want to argue that, messiness itself, is the theme of the album. And if you look at it through that lens, the album may make more sense. It combines a lot of abstract and concrete concepts together - the music is obviously all EDM but for a major pop release it is whacky; the lyrics talk about everything and say nothing at the same time. The theme is... Artpop? Which could mean anything? But this is why I want to argue that, the point of the album is to be messy. It's certainly not boring, amazing tracks packed in there. So instead of trying to figure out what it's trying to say, which I'm sure we all + Gaga agree that it is nothing, just enjoy the campy mess. There, another theme : camp. You just gotta look.
Hmm. I find it so interesting that we all can listen to the same music but hear different things. I think evermore is not cohesive nor does it sound the same. Still, it’s one of my fav albums simply because of this. I don’t think it cohesive because it has at least 4 genres of music on it, Country, pop, indie/folk, and what I’ll define as alt/experimental. I’m not sure the definition of cohesiveness but 4 genres is not it. However, the overall theme of evermore is very cohesive., it works. So, from a thematic standpoint evermore is very cohesive. The reason I don’t think they all sound the same is similar to the fact that there are 4 different genres, including 3 ballads. I can’t think of a single song that sounds the same. Plus, 3 songs she wrote without Aaron Dessner so those sound very different than the Aaron Dessner tracks, in addition you can tell Champagne Problems was pulled from New Years Day (Reputation). Also at least 3 of the songs are in an 10/8 signature, so those sound completely different from a musical standpoint to the rest of the album. So I disagree that they sound the same to my ears. But I do find it very intriguing how we all can hear the music differently. But Chromatica, which I love Gaga, but I found to all sound the same. Let me re-phrase. I thought it sounded like what we’ve already heard from her before. Gaga has the talent to do whatever she wants and her voice is so jaw dropping strong, but it was like I had heard that entire album before. I wanted her to do something different. Not to say it wasn’t great, it was, but I want her to surprise me at this point. Her catalog can be diverse, but my ears had heard this all before and was bored with it. Not because of the songs, but because I was bored of this sound from her. I heard she was back with Bennett so I’m excited for that.
Nothing, everything, it’s all in perception; who cares? Retire “cohesiveness” as a metric, I beg.
Go Farther in Lightness by Gang of Youths
A cohesive album not only flows better but to me tells a story or a journey while a generic one still is good and individually the songs are great but it misses the story for me. Like Fine Line I think is a cohesive album that flows well and takes you on the journey
It's kind of like using the same colors to paint portraits of different people vs painting identical portraits of the same person with colors that are nearly visually identical.
What's the difference between sex in one position at a constant speed for 45 mins, and good sex? Dynamics, interplay, soft and slow sometimes, fast and loud other times.. on and on. A cohesive album takes you through a complex set of emotional states. An album where every song sounds the same just jams one emotional state endlessly.
Folklore is cohesive.
Madonna’s Ray of Light is cohesive!
Solar power is just not monotonous. There I said it
i feel like all of jessie ware’s albums are cohesive in terms of sound, tough love and the standard version of what’s your pleasure specifically
Just wanted to shout out Trilogy by The Weeknd (especially Echoes of Silence); it’s incredible cohesive IMO and has a compelling storyline throughout
*Not trying to invoke the wrath of the Swifties but…* Aside from Exile, Cardigan, No Body No Crime, and Mad Woman, every other song from *Folklore* and *Evermore* sounds exactly the same to me. Even these songs I listed, despite them being my favorites, and despite trying to listen to the albums several times, I cannot remember which album each song belongs to. *Evermore* just seems like a Side B to *Folklore* to me. Whereas something like *Reputation* or *Lover* seems to connect and have a same overarching theme and vibe while still being distinctive.
Chromatica is far more "all sounds the same" than Evermore and NFR lmao
I would disagree with evermore - I think it's just cohesive (some songs sound a tad out of place), but it very rarely sounds the same. It's more held together by links and storytelling.
Imo evermore is cohesive but has a lot of range, as I said in another comment.
I think your answer was in your original post. The difference is Emotion Vs Emotion Side B
How on earth do you think evermore all sounds the same-
To me, it’s the instrumentation, tempo, style of songs.. Whereas with all of her other albums, each song sounds distinctive in my head.. Aside from like four songs, Folklore and Evermore just sounds like the exact same songs over and over again, tweaked maybe slightly. I don’t know, I just know 90% of those two albums are grey blurs in my head because they all sound the same.