This is Acting-Sia

The ever so mysterious Sia has recently released her seventh studio album.  Her first was released in 1997 but not until her sixth album, released in 2014, did she receive any praise for her work in the U.S.  Though it is still early, I do not know if “This Is Acting” will make it to the top of the charts like “1000 Forms of Fear” did.  Sia made a huge impact in the music world over the past couple years but it seems that many people still do not know much about her.  Throughout interviews, Sia has admitted to suffering from depression and being addicted to painkillers and alcohol.  Sia’s main release is through her music.  You will find that in some songs based on the powerful, positive content of the lyrics.  I came to find out a lot of information that I had not known about Sia through listening this this album and some of her past albums.  I have definitely gained a much stronger liking to her work and life.

The very influential Sia put out “This Is Acting,”  a 46 minute long, 12 song album.  This album expresses a majority of pop based songs, not unlike the songs that initially helped Sia gain her popularity.  Although these songs provide some deeper insight into the life of Sia, they do not sound very different than previous songs.  As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  In the music world, this saying can go a long way for some artists.  While keeping your style and sound the same from album to album can be helpful and insure that you fans stay interested, sometimes it just makes you seem a little boring.  I have the utmost respect for Sia and her music, but at times during this album, I zoned out and back in without noticing a difference in song.  That may show how well they roll into each other from track to track, but I feel that they are just too alike.  Many songs follow the same style as songs from her previous albums.  It was a nice album to listen to, but in the end I expected a little more from the powerful voice and creativeness of Sia.

Average Critic Rating: 67/100
My Rating: 66/100

Hymns-Bloc Party

Formed in 1999, the band consisting of four members eventually settled on the name, Bloc Party.  This English indie rock band later put out their debut album, “Silent Alarm,” in 2005.  Throughout the years following their start, two members left the band and were later replaced.  Since their debut album, Bloc Party has created four more, including the most recent, “Hymns.”  Since the first album, only one other has made a similar splash in the music world.  Their second album, “A Weekend in the City,” reached the highest of the bands career at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 list.  It also eventually made it to number 1 on the U.S. Top Independent list.  After they reached their peak on those charts, it has been a difficult journey since that point.

Bloc Party seems to have done what most bands do after spending a decade of time making music. They changed. It would seem that they may not have changed for the better, either.  On the first few albums, you can tell that the band is really attempting to be upbeat, fast-paced and show a strong rock type of sound.  It would seem that in their most recent album, they have lost all touch with the idea of being a rock band.  Rather, they have picked up a stronger sound of techno and trance in what could now be called an over-polluted electronic music scene.  From start to finish, “Hymns” provides a lackluster sound and the want for more.  More differentiated music stylings, better lyrics with more content and meaning, more everything, other than maybe more songs.  At a fairly average length running for 47 minutes featuring 11 songs, this album is not the easiest to get through all in one listen.  The songs drag on and the sound is blended too much from one track to the next.  It feels like you become trapped in a music loop.  Though Bloc Party surely has their fans set in stone for the rest of their musical career, I do not think they will be “wowing” the crowd and gaining any more fans after this album.

Average Critic Rating: 68/100
My Rating: 55/100