It's been a LONG and winding road for LIZ. Years of mixtapes and single releases which seemed to signal an album dropping, just for it not to. But five years later, the time came. LIZ finally released an album.
One of the problems that an artist can face when they've been releasing music for so long prior to an album, is that it builds ridiculous expectation for the album. Especially when it comes after so many years. LIZ in particular has touched on so many different styles in her music and garnered fanbases off the back of specific songs alone. So how do you still honour that on your album, whilst still giving something different that fulfils you creatively and speaks to your own tastes. It's a minefield. But it's one that Liz manages to navigate with her debut.
Planet Y2K's sound is all in the album title and its artwork. This thing sounds as it looks and is titled. Planet Y2K is giving you Aqua. It's giving you PlayStation. It's giving you Britney. It's giving you Disney channel. There are clear points of references for each of these songs which will make you smile if you catch them. If not, you'll just appreciate that these are a good collection of Pop songs.
Planet Y2K's tracklist was a pleasant surprise, because so much of it was new. I was expecting to see songs as far back as "Pandemonium" and "Super Duper Nova", but the earliest cut from LIZ's single releases that we get here is the remix of "Last Call", which for the record, is nowhere near as hot as the original. (Side note: One of two songs on the album co-written by THE voice of ★NSYNC JC Chasez). But given the sound of the album, I get why this got shortlisted and the original didn't. But one of the gripes I have with Planet Y2K's track list is that it's too long. The album would have benefitted from being a super lean 10 to 11 tracks. As I listened to this album, I got lost in it in the worst way. There are instances here of songs-sounding-the-same-itis, which would have been remedied by kicking the echo songs off the album.
Then there is the sequencing. Planet Y2K opens with a Dance cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" (gurl...you shoulda left it alone, but okay) when it should've opened with more of a bang. I get that everybody in Pop is try'na be different, and opening albums with slower songs has been somewhat of a trend - but in Planet Y2K's instance, I don't think it was the right call when the crux of this album is so upbeat and spunky. So to kick it off with something so dark, midtempo 'n' moody is strange. LIZ also chooses to backload the album with the slower, more sombre songs, which causes the album the fizzle out by the time it concludes, when it should've gone out with a bang. But I guess it ends as it started if nothing else.
With all this said, there are no songs here which are so terrible that I can't believe they made the cut. Every choice feels justified sonically and thematically. They're just not always in the right order. And it's just...too much. And too much isn't always better. I get that LIZ probably felt that she owed it to her fans to give them a 16 track album, but it takes what could have been a really tight album and spreads it thin.
If there's one thing to be said about LIZ, it's that a bitch is consistent. Spider-Man 2 track with Pharrell Williams aside, even during her Mad Decent days, LIZ was all about throwbacks and bops from the 90s and early 2000s. Label issues and several years later, and nothing has really changed by the genre hop. Those who liked her more R&B and House flavoured offerings may be a little put off by the dive into complete Pop, but it's no surprise whatsoever that this is where LIZ ended up. And she gave y'all a heads-up long before in 2015 with the criminally underrated "When I Rule the World". A song which still sounds great and would've fit right at home on this album. But, it's old. Also, label issues.
The song writing on each of these songs is also solid, and speaks to Liz's knowledge of the eras in music that she's referencing. There's no mistaking that she truly gets it. It's easy to write songs like "Bubblegum" and "Mickey" off because of the lyrics, but it's far easier to call them bad songs than it is so actually write songs like them. And each song features unique quirks which make them unique and unequivocally LIZ, and manage to be a bridge between the sound of then, and where Pop is now. "Lost Them To The Boys" for instance sounds like an Ace of Base song, but is about her relationship falling to shit because her man turned out to be gay. A meta narrative that just works in the social Pop-scape of today, whilst staying true to the song structure style of a song from the late 90s - thereby creating something that's timeless.
The through line is of course LIZ, who definitely has a strong sense of self and the type of artist she wants to be and how she wants to be seen. Even in Planet Y2K's weakest moments, this is unwavering.
But one thing which may will either go for or against LIZ on this album is the fact that other artists have emerged prior to Planet Y2K with similar sounds, making the album seem far less unique. This whole late 90s / 2000s throwback fused with Glitch Pop sound became synonymous with the likes of Charli XCX and Slayyyter. Then you have an artist like Rina Sawayama to a much lesser extent, who gave us throwback Britney style bops with songs like "Take Me As I Am" and "XS". It's unfortunate, because LIZ was on this sound train long before. But it's worth noting, because I'm almost certain there are people who heard this album and said 'a bitch is copying Charli XCX' as though she was and remains the be all and end all of a sound and brand of Pop which existed before her.
One of the problems that an artist can face when they've been releasing music for so long prior to an album, is that it builds ridiculous expectation for the album. Especially when it comes after so many years. LIZ in particular has touched on so many different styles in her music and garnered fanbases off the back of specific songs alone. So how do you still honour that on your album, whilst still giving something different that fulfils you creatively and speaks to your own tastes. It's a minefield. But it's one that Liz manages to navigate with her debut.
Planet Y2K's sound is all in the album title and its artwork. This thing sounds as it looks and is titled. Planet Y2K is giving you Aqua. It's giving you PlayStation. It's giving you Britney. It's giving you Disney channel. There are clear points of references for each of these songs which will make you smile if you catch them. If not, you'll just appreciate that these are a good collection of Pop songs.
Planet Y2K's tracklist was a pleasant surprise, because so much of it was new. I was expecting to see songs as far back as "Pandemonium" and "Super Duper Nova", but the earliest cut from LIZ's single releases that we get here is the remix of "Last Call", which for the record, is nowhere near as hot as the original. (Side note: One of two songs on the album co-written by THE voice of ★NSYNC JC Chasez). But given the sound of the album, I get why this got shortlisted and the original didn't. But one of the gripes I have with Planet Y2K's track list is that it's too long. The album would have benefitted from being a super lean 10 to 11 tracks. As I listened to this album, I got lost in it in the worst way. There are instances here of songs-sounding-the-same-itis, which would have been remedied by kicking the echo songs off the album.
Then there is the sequencing. Planet Y2K opens with a Dance cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" (gurl...you shoulda left it alone, but okay) when it should've opened with more of a bang. I get that everybody in Pop is try'na be different, and opening albums with slower songs has been somewhat of a trend - but in Planet Y2K's instance, I don't think it was the right call when the crux of this album is so upbeat and spunky. So to kick it off with something so dark, midtempo 'n' moody is strange. LIZ also chooses to backload the album with the slower, more sombre songs, which causes the album the fizzle out by the time it concludes, when it should've gone out with a bang. But I guess it ends as it started if nothing else.
With all this said, there are no songs here which are so terrible that I can't believe they made the cut. Every choice feels justified sonically and thematically. They're just not always in the right order. And it's just...too much. And too much isn't always better. I get that LIZ probably felt that she owed it to her fans to give them a 16 track album, but it takes what could have been a really tight album and spreads it thin.
If there's one thing to be said about LIZ, it's that a bitch is consistent. Spider-Man 2 track with Pharrell Williams aside, even during her Mad Decent days, LIZ was all about throwbacks and bops from the 90s and early 2000s. Label issues and several years later, and nothing has really changed by the genre hop. Those who liked her more R&B and House flavoured offerings may be a little put off by the dive into complete Pop, but it's no surprise whatsoever that this is where LIZ ended up. And she gave y'all a heads-up long before in 2015 with the criminally underrated "When I Rule the World". A song which still sounds great and would've fit right at home on this album. But, it's old. Also, label issues.
The song writing on each of these songs is also solid, and speaks to Liz's knowledge of the eras in music that she's referencing. There's no mistaking that she truly gets it. It's easy to write songs like "Bubblegum" and "Mickey" off because of the lyrics, but it's far easier to call them bad songs than it is so actually write songs like them. And each song features unique quirks which make them unique and unequivocally LIZ, and manage to be a bridge between the sound of then, and where Pop is now. "Lost Them To The Boys" for instance sounds like an Ace of Base song, but is about her relationship falling to shit because her man turned out to be gay. A meta narrative that just works in the social Pop-scape of today, whilst staying true to the song structure style of a song from the late 90s - thereby creating something that's timeless.
The through line is of course LIZ, who definitely has a strong sense of self and the type of artist she wants to be and how she wants to be seen. Even in Planet Y2K's weakest moments, this is unwavering.
But one thing which may will either go for or against LIZ on this album is the fact that other artists have emerged prior to Planet Y2K with similar sounds, making the album seem far less unique. This whole late 90s / 2000s throwback fused with Glitch Pop sound became synonymous with the likes of Charli XCX and Slayyyter. Then you have an artist like Rina Sawayama to a much lesser extent, who gave us throwback Britney style bops with songs like "Take Me As I Am" and "XS". It's unfortunate, because LIZ was on this sound train long before. But it's worth noting, because I'm almost certain there are people who heard this album and said 'a bitch is copying Charli XCX' as though she was and remains the be all and end all of a sound and brand of Pop which existed before her.
This does however lead into Planet Y2K's long term downfall, which is that it isn't distinct enough to stick out in a crowd. The songs are well produced, well written, and LIZ has a nice voice. But if you heard any of these songs playing in a H&M or a Bershka, you'd have no idea who it is. LIZ doesn't have a distinct enough voice in comparison to somebody like Charli XCX who has a very distinguishable voice and singing style. There's not a great deal LIZ can do about this, which is unfortunate, because her music is good. It just won't stand out amongst everything else because both she and the music sound like everything else.
If you were a fan of songs like "When I Rule the World" and the trail of singles leading up to this, then Planet Y2K will meet the expectations that you had of what LIZ's debut would sound like. Planet Y2K has its ups and downs, but on the whole it's a solid effort and a good album. The biggest issue with it is most definitely the length of it. At 16 tracks long, Planet Y2K outstays its welcome and manages to go from a firecracker, to this fizzling out in the final few tracks, and that's how the whole thing ends. I guess it's consistent given that's how the album started. But it's a certifiable misstep to bookend the album in this way, because it saps the sparks out of the bangers in the middle and just cause the album to sputter when it should have ended with a bang.
The potency of the sound and LIZ's song writing is very much here. It's just smothered a little by 4 too many songs and a buggered sequencing. But Planet Y2K is a place worth taking a journey to. It's going to be interesting to see where LIZ goes from here.
Highlights:
■ BTR 2GTHR
■ Laguna Nights
■ Intuition 🏆 J's fave
■ Bubblegum
■ Lost U 2 the Boys
If you were a fan of songs like "When I Rule the World" and the trail of singles leading up to this, then Planet Y2K will meet the expectations that you had of what LIZ's debut would sound like. Planet Y2K has its ups and downs, but on the whole it's a solid effort and a good album. The biggest issue with it is most definitely the length of it. At 16 tracks long, Planet Y2K outstays its welcome and manages to go from a firecracker, to this fizzling out in the final few tracks, and that's how the whole thing ends. I guess it's consistent given that's how the album started. But it's a certifiable misstep to bookend the album in this way, because it saps the sparks out of the bangers in the middle and just cause the album to sputter when it should have ended with a bang.
The potency of the sound and LIZ's song writing is very much here. It's just smothered a little by 4 too many songs and a buggered sequencing. But Planet Y2K is a place worth taking a journey to. It's going to be interesting to see where LIZ goes from here.
Highlights:
■ BTR 2GTHR
■ Laguna Nights
■ Intuition 🏆 J's fave
■ Bubblegum
■ Lost U 2 the Boys
Comments
Post a Comment
HTML tags for bold, italic and hyperlinks are allowed