ALBUM REVIEW: "hopeless fountain kingdom" by Halsey

This is probably one of the most surprising releases I've heard so far this year; I wasn't really expecting much of Halsey's second album, but I ended up being fascinated by a surprisingly complex, mature album. Coming back around for second and third listens weren't as rewarding for me, but there was enough there for me to be engaged in - if not flat out enjoy - most of this album. For starters, it opens with an excerpt from Shakespeare, almost the last thing I was expecting. This immediately shifted my expectations and I was kind of taken off guard, now not at all sure what I was about to hear. this was as far as the depth of interest went, though, and once I had gone through the album once it was clear to me that the experimentation went no deeper than the first listen. This was a disappointment to me, but at least the first time through was pretty exciting. Once that layer of experimentation had been shed hopeless fountain kingdom was a fairly pedestrian exercise in pop music, with some really catchy songs and hooks, but nothing like what I had obviously wanted when I started hearing it. As far as pop records go it's definitely one of the better ones, and it does definitely attempt to change things up, but it just felt like Halsey and her producers never took that to its full potential.

Favourite Songs: Eyes Closed, Now Or Never and Walls Could Talk

Least Favourite Song: Sorry

Rating: C+

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