Tinashe - Aquarius (out October 7 2014)

Content above all!

it's a pretty solid album

it feels very zeitgeisty in a contained way

that's vague

it feels zeitgeisty in that it tracks along post-drake, post-aaliyah is a goddess R&B but not like fka twigs or something where it's *all* about that

insofar as it's an album with inherent commercial motivations that still manages to sound 'hip' it feels perhaps even more idiosyncratic and considered than something like twigs where the aesthetic is really the meat of the album

not that the two need to be pitted against each other or anything -- i like the twigs album a lot too

could swap jhene aiko out w/ twigs and i think the argument still holds

I am very curious to hear this. does the stream not work for anyone? soundcloud told me it was because I was in the wrong country

Everything else on her soundcloud plays for me except the album stream.

About halfway through, and am enjoying this - Aquarius seems like a really suitable title, given the full on shiny, aquatic dub sonics and subsumptive dynamics. And, ah, pan-pipes.

Yeah, those pan-pipes...

Also about halfway through, also enjoying it.

it feels zeitgeisty in that it tracks along post-drake, post-aaliyah is a goddess R&B but not like fka twigs or something where it's *all* about that

what? the strength of the twigs album is that the pre-release narrative about that aesthetic is a gigantic red herring b/c it's not that relevant to the album, which feels like it's in another lineage entirely. it's got tinges of r&b about it but certainly not the real zeitgeisty sad-drake-r&b/glacial-aaliyah-vibes sort, and it's a v minor component anyway

How Many Times is amazing.

The stream I think is UK only but it worked for me using hola.

oh thank you, I recently moved to Canada from the US and have been meaning to figure out a good vpn

Man, I love the end of Bet, with the final thick chord, and then the guitar solo playing that little riff, which then becomes the bass-riff on Cold Sweat.

Half-expect Enya-sample from Ready or Not to drop at the start of Bet.

The best parts of this record recall Aaliyah's s/t slowjams.

It's crazy long tho, reminds me of Goldenheart that way - could have been a bit more concise.

It's only 12 songs in 56 minutes? Less than Beyonce. I mean, all those interludes and the fact that it's sonically kinda the same makes it a bit hard to handle, but I can already almost remember the track-order, which to me usually signifies that I'll listen to the record many many times. I really like it, guys!

Version I've got has 18 tracks, is this a mistake?

i think he's discounting the interludes

Oh yeah, fair enough. Maybe it is quite short. I've only listened through a couple of times so far.

Is this legit streaming somewhere yet in the U.S., or only everywhere but the U.S. still?

it's on itunes radio i'm pretty sure

this is sort of exactly what i expected but it's just a very superior execution on one listen, though if i was brandy i'd be so mad that afrodisiac killed my career and a decade later everyone's trying to ape it

"all hands on deck" is a banger, almost sounds like it should be a girl group song

the slow murky rest...obv one listen is not enough but it felt like they had enough personality and individuality to avoid the usual zzz pitfalls of slow sad submarine music

Hey this is indeed very good. I was maybe hoping for a few more surprises or exclamation mark moments, because this aesthetic is a little over familiar, but the material is top notch. I imagine it'll open up more when I'm not listening to it in an office

Not sure what she was going for here:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51goI0vmGlL._SX450_.jpg

Mortal Kombat character?

Guardian review is v lol:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/02/tinashe-aquarius-review

Haha "if you love interludes you'll love this album" is hard to argue with though

this record is great and i like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caA0Ilrok1Q

KISS THE OLD ME GOODBYE SHE'S DEAD AND GONE
DEAD AND GONE

i never heard any of the mixtapes that were supposedly so different from "2 On" and probably further from my tastes, so i really didn't know what to expect from this album, but i'm very impressed, it holds together really well.

Tinashe had a recurrent role on 2 And A Half Men, who knew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnTxsTs_SjY

jake and celeste were also the names of lily kane's parents in VERONICA MARS

hey the bonus tracks/offcuts are good too

album is very soothing to listen to on a cold winter's night, i'm increasingly enamoured of it tbh

what really, really differentiates itself not just from a lot of albums of this ilk but a lot of albums in general is that the songs never blur into each other - each one is distinct, has its own memorable character. subtly different production details, unusually strong hooks, good sequencing probably all play a part in that.

wish "indigo child" was longer than an interlude, beat is sick

ayo is that a kalenna songwriting credit i see on "thug cry"!

That makes a bit of sense actually, Thug Cry was the one that really stood out on first listen. Second half in general is a bit stronger than the first I think, once it gets out of its whole hippy ambient thing, the exception being that one track near the end that sounds like The Scientist by Coldplay.

lyrics don't get more kalenna than those

How Many Times is amazing.

This is a good album, although something is missing to make me think it's a great one. "All hands on deck" and "watch me work" are jams

her feature on the Calvin Harris album is pretty dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttUNDQjZ7wU

This record sounds really great after spending a few weeks away from it

I made a mistake of playing Aiko's album before this one on Sunday; the two bled into each other, all cool yearning.

Tinashe's vocal style is so much more appealing to me than Aiko's

yeah great album

this is a great great great album

lot of great vocal moments on this, both large and small

great great great album seconded. start to finish, really. tons of great production details too. "far side of the moon" is astonishing.

def top 5 of the year for me.

tons of great production details too. "far side of the moon" is astonishing.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, November 18, 2014 6:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

yeah the songs that sound like the moody/atmospheric ones at first -- cold sweat, far side of the moon, bated breath -- really start to stand out the more you listen

i got into her through some remixes, this one's always been a favorite

just say (ashley beedle remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws31m5JVIb4

"cold sweat" is great

aquarius was a good album but songs for you onwards have improved on it

Problem with Aquarius is that it feels bloated and frontloaded… Bet, Cold Sweat and 2 On are keepers for me.

She started getting really good when she became an indie artist.

To me she was a revelation from her first mixtape. It's true she had a rocky trajectory, but her qualities were there almost fully formed. The Tinashe of Can't Say No, This Feeling, My High, Crossing the Cosmo is the same Tinashe I love now.

I agree with deej: she was fine early but has really connected with me in the last five years (333 was my #1 album of 2021). BB/Ang3l didn't grab me idk

"2 on" might be my Tinashe pick, except there's the schoolboy q part.

here's where we were talking about raye. i was intrigued by 'genesis' but it's super wack imo. the jazz breakdown is just godawful lol. can't even make it all the way through that thing.

Fair! I have no idea whether I like it or not - but it’s indisputably cringe even if one decides that is a plus

omg:

“Although a Grammy or No. 1 album would be “amazing,” Tinashe explains that she’s less interested in mainstream recognition than maintaining her creative standards. The lodestar for her upcoming album, Quantum Baby, is Janet Jackson’s “Empty,” and the result proves that she’s more focused on making her work interesting than digestible.”

https://www.thecut.com/article/tinashe-quantum-baby-album-nasty-interview.html

The album's good.

second half >> first

the creative standard of remixing her first hit in years with Tyga

quantum baby doesn't quite reach the highs of the last one but it's still very good

Red Flags - Cross That Line didn't convince me, the rest is quite good especially Thirsty and When I Get You Alone. First thing she releases in a long while that does not feel essential past the two singles.