Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman (Album Review and Rating)
It begins with the slower, charming, 60s influenced "Moonlight" with its melodic progressions and pleasant resonance. This song is followed by the lead single and title track "Dangerous Woman" which is a mixed bag for me, both catchy and listenable but also containing a weird mix of instruments from the out of place, stuttered guitars to the poppy percussion. The verses are below mediocre and the lyrics aren't particularly believable or inspiring. Really it doesn't fit together particularity well and could be much better.
"Be Alright" is a very simplistic song with a memorable chorus that unfortunately lacks any real oomph or drive, though the pre-chorus is cool and the production is decent but I find that it can be annoying and not well mixed. It's reasonably uplifting but I have no urge to dance when I listen to it. That comes with the next song- "Into You" is an instantly captivating song. It's perhaps Ariana's best vocal performance and paired with the synths sounds perfect. The bass and synths are gorgeous and the drums may be programmed but are still a fun addition. The bridge on this is lovely and on the final chorus she shines. The outro is yet another highlight here, continuing the chorus and tying together the song. Really one of the best pop songs of 2016, maybe of the last decade.
Following the phenomenal "Into You" is the phenomenally catchy "Side to Side". The problem I have is that the fun loop that opens up the song just keeps going on and on and on. The hook is good but without any weight from the production or instrumentation. It might have good aspects but when Nicki Minaj has multiple verses that drag on and make no sense it gets pretty tiresome.
"Let Me Love You" has Ariana changing up her vocals which is interesting, as is the beginning to the song. Not much else here is interesting. I like the chorus despite it being too repetitive but the rap feature is just plain bad and the production is boring. I feel like it should be a more synth led track, I'm sure it'd work brilliantly if it had a big synth drop and momentum like in Chvrches' "Tether" for the final stage of the song.
The next song is infamous with critics, a clear disappointment. Not for me. "Greedy" is not clever, it's not fresh, it's not interesting but it's irresistibly catchy. The groovy vibe, amazing hook and funny backing vocals make it so fun to listen to. To me it sounds similar to some of Kungs' songs, I can definitely liken it to "More Mess" with the trumpets and percussion. Really in my opinion it's an amazing and danceable song which may be over produced but who cares!
"Leave Me Lonely" is another mess of a song with a nice piano intro, a good feature and decent percussion. The problem is that none of it really fits together and overall it feels a bit cheap on the production side of things (a problem I have with most of the songs on the album). Speaking of cheap, lazy production...
"Everyday" featuring Future. Why Future? Why?! His 'additions' to the song are awful and unenthusiastic. Even Ariana sounds bad on this song, her voice not standing out whatsoever. The lyrics aren't well written and they're unsubtle and poor. The reasonably groovy bass might be a saving grace if you could distinguish it... Really the song is just typical 2010s pop, it follows all the trends. It might be ridiculously catchy but it's equally irritating. Then there's the transition from this nightmare to "Sometimes". Or lack thereof.
With typical drums and percussion, weird acoustics that clash with the bass and dull sample. The hook is okay but there's no force behind it. The lyrics are fine but when she sings 'hard to breathe' there's an excessive amount of autotune that she doesn't need and it ruins the vocals. As a whole it's fine enough compared to the previous song but it definitely goes on for too long.
"I Don't Care" is one of my favourite songs on the album with its good production that's often stuttered. It begins with some nice strings and although the lyrics aren't anything special they're enjoyable. In fact, the song as a whole seems similar to Jessie Ware's style of R&B which is a really good thing. "I Don't Care" is short so it stays fresh and doesn't tire you like "Sometimes".
"Bad Decisions" is fast-paced, epic and a good sing-along with its poppy chorus and nice production. I find it to be similar to Ed Sheeran songs from his album "X" and its just as fun, I just wish she'd take the concept of 'bad decisions' in a more interesting direction lyrically like in the Two Door Cinema Club song of the same name. I think Ariana should have made this the opening or ending song as it fits with the album's title better than most of the songs here.
Ariana Grande is a talented young artist, even despite having some really bad songs and lyrics, and "Touch It" really showcases how good she can be. It's well wrote and lyrically pleasing, and has truly epic choruses. I know that the main reason I like it is the driving synths and fantastic bass. If there's one negative thing I have to say it's that the bridge is the weakest part of the song by far. Some people might say it's just remaking "Into You", which is probably true but it exceeds it.
Infuriatingly, following that is "Knew Better/Forever Boy", which has some good production but it's too drawn out and repetitive. Ariana Grande shouldn't have 5 minute long songs. She should have enjoyable, engaging and catchy songs. Like the closer "Thinking Bout You". Honestly this is a highlight, with its nice chorus and instrumentation. It might be a bit predictable but it feels complete and works as the closing song. The bridge is brilliant and the brief instrumental is excellent. It may not be a Jessie Ware song but I can see Ariana making songs on the same level as her in the future.
Overall it's a good pop album with strong highs and dull, boring, annoying lows but which mainly consists of an upper medium quality. This is an album which puts its best foot forwards into modern dance and R&B but needs more synthpop and instrumental sections. Ariana has an amazing voice that comes across strong on most of the songs but the production is where I find the most flaws.
6/10
Rated worst to best:
15. Everyday
14. Let Me Love You
13. Know Better/Forever Boy
12. Leave Me Lonely
11. Side to Side
10. Be Alright
9. Sometimes
8. Dangerous Woman
7. Bad Decisions
6. Moonlight
5. Greedy
4. I Don't Care
3. Thinking Bout You
2. Into You
1. Touch It
To improve the tracklist:
- Moonlight
- Dangerous Woman
- Be Alright
- Into You
- Greedy
- Sometimes
- I Don't Care
- Bad Decisions
- Touch It
- Thinking Bout You
To improve the singles:
1. Dangerous Woman
2. Into You
3. Touch It
4. I Don't Care
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