HALSEY レコード& CD

Review: You could argue that, of any scene, the pop world has been the biggest beneficiary of the democratisation of access to music. After all, while chart irrelevancy continues to haunt, we've seen a real renaissance in and among the trash, with a resurgence of unfettered poignancy to the songs themselves, and a slew of soul searching stars in ascent. You could also argue that Halsey is the finest of this crop of new schoolers, with "Manic" her finest hour to date. A record that contains both US and UK number ones, but also hidden classics worthy of any "Best B-Sides" playlist you'd want to compile, it calls upon references from relatively unlikely places, for example trap, in its quest for universally acknowledged refinement. R&B, reroofed-future garage rock and even country are also here, making for a soundtrack as arresting vocally as it is instrumentally.

Review: You could argue that, of any scene, the pop world has been the biggest beneficiary of the democratisation of access to music. After all, while chart irrelevancy continues to haunt, we've seen a real renaissance in and among the trash, with a resurgence of unfettered poignancy to the songs themselves, and a slew of soul searching stars in ascent. You could also argue that Halsey is the finest of this crop of new schoolers, with "Manic" her finest hour to date. A record that contains both US and UK number ones, but also hidden classics worthy of any "Best B-Sides" playlist you'd want to compile, it calls upon references from relatively unlikely places, for example trap, in its quest for universally acknowledged refinement. R&B, reroofed-future garage rock and even country are also here, making for a soundtrack as arresting vocally as it is instrumentally.

Review: Kicking off with recited verses from Romeo And Juliet and barely scaling the drama down from that point onward, 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' is a relentlessly far-reaching album from the Jersey born artist formerly known as Ashley Frangipane. Yet in a pop landscape increasingly dominated by radio-ready blandness and empty soundbites, these soul-searching and angst-ridden ditties bear genuine emotional heft to match their super-producer gloss, arriving at an arrestingly synth-driven sound more Depeche Mode than Ellie Goulding, and dissecting her trials and travails in a manner that suggests a fearless and feral talent built to last. A widescreen tour-de-force from a very 21st-century pop star.

Review: Kicking off with recited verses from Romeo And Juliet and barely scaling the drama down from that point onward, 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' is a relentlessly far-reaching album from the Jersey born artist formerly known as Ashley Frangipane. Yet in a pop landscape increasingly dominated by radio-ready blandness and empty soundbites, these soul-searching and angst-ridden ditties bear genuine emotional heft to match their super-producer gloss, arriving at an arrestingly synth-driven sound more Depeche Mode than Ellie Goulding, and dissecting her trials and travails in a manner that suggests a fearless and feral talent built to last. A widescreen tour-de-force from a very 21st-century pop star.

Review: Kicking off with recited verses from Romeo And Juliet and barely scaling the drama down from that point onward, 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' is a relentlessly far-reaching album from the Jersey born artist formerly known as Ashley Frangipane. Yet in a pop landscape increasingly dominated by radio-ready blandness and empty soundbites, these soul-searching and angst-ridden ditties bear genuine emotional heft to match their super-producer gloss, arriving at an arrestingly synth-driven sound more Depeche Mode than Ellie Goulding, and dissecting her trials and travails in a manner that suggests a fearless and feral talent built to last. A widescreen tour-de-force from a very 21st-century pop star.