This album starts out with some seriously strong grooves and almost a Tribal feel of “Sanctify”. All of that alongside Olly’s pretty fantastic vocals, which are both seriously emotion and genuinely confident, which I can say about most tracks here. “Sanctify” is an oddly intense and pretty wild start to the album. It’s moments like this that I feel like Years & Years simply understand how to write a truly awesome Pop tune. It’s got grooves on top of grooves, and this whole track just comes off as this absolutely bombastic anthem. It’s also one of many tracks here that bring in some Religious imagery. But overall, I feel like this is a sort of mission statement for the album, ushering in the much cleaner sound of this set of tracks. On the other hand, “Hallelujah” is just so much colder and less instantaneous. But it’s moments like this that Olly’s performances are just so well executed because they become the star instantly. While this doesn’t start as intense as this album’s intro, it quickly out-laps it as far as a genuinely catchy Pop tune goes. It’s intense, upbeat, and very free feeling. Year & Years do continue to bring in a lot of Religious imagery, but this is far from the Chapel. No, this is just as steamy and lustful as a truly great Pop tune in 2018 is. Once again, it’s moments like this that just click The beats are banging, Olly sounds great, and I’m desperate for a dance floor. But as this album rolls on with tracks like “All For You”, it becomes more and more obvious that Years & Years are walking a dangerously thin line between true blue, tasteful Synth Pop and Top 40 garbage. And this one, with it’s much more reserved vocals and Olly’s much more bluesy performance, has them waling even closer to the edge. Thankfully, someone taught these guys how to write a Pop song. The chorus on this one is soaring and catchy, and while the verses are little timider there’s enough going on with the chorus to get me right back in the groove. “All For You” may be a close call, but it reminds us that Years & Years do know what they’re doing. But with tracks like “Karma”, they walk so close to the edge that they stumble completely. I have to give Olly credit where it’s due, his performance is genuinely soulful and steamy here, and almost has a Justin Timberlake “Future Sex/Love Sounds” feel. And the chorus is certainly snappy. But the verses here are all filler. There are no glamorous beats to escape in, and Years & Yeats don’t sound nearly as free sounding as they have on the last few tracks. Overall, this doesn’t work and really shines the spotlight on just how much these guys are playing with fire.
Now, I hate to be that guy. But it really is some of the more slower, quiet tracks here that aren’t doing nearly as much for me, like “Hypnotised”. Olly is a pretty great singer, and clearly a solid frontman, but he’s no miracle worker. This one is laughably cheesy, and while I get that every album is going to have some up moments and some quiet ones, this is not the way to go about it. I’m literally falling asleep here, this isn’t even Top-40 trash, at least that’s catchy. This is just a clumsy ballad that reiterates so much of what’s been already said here in a much less interesting way. “Rendezvous” is up next, and whoa, what’s that? Is that a genuinely catchy beat? Why yes, it is. I love just how tropical this one comes off that sort of brings me back to their debut. Then we have Olly’s performance here which is so much more steamy and genuinely sexy, and it’s brilliant. In a way, this is their nocturnal club track. But alongside that and some triumphant synths, this ends up being one of the best tracks here. It’s genuinely catchy, seriously sexy, and practically hypnotic at times. It’s an absolutely brilliant track, I want to hear more like this. Then we have a track I’ve been dreading, “If You’re Over Me”. Honestly, I don’t even want to talk about this. Moments like this, really only scare me for the future of Years & Years. This shows they don’t care about anthems or albums, this one was groomed for Pop success and nothing more. It’s obnoxious, and Years & Years don’t sound like they’re that into this. Olly literally sounds bored in his performance. That, alongside awful lyrics and a beat that’s laughable, makes this a joke even by Top-40 standards. But tracks like “Preacher” do instantly get me back in the grooves of this album. I love the dark beat that’s a little more aggressive. Olly sounds so much more into this one overall. I do feel like it comes off a little like a cover in a weird way, and some of these ideas do sound a little recycled. But between Olly’s soaring verse and soulful falsettos, this isn’t bad.
Sadly, Years & Years just can’t stick with it. I really don’t know why they won’t just stick to writing Synth Pop tunes. Because it’s these quiet tracks like “Lucky Escape” that just expose so many issues. Lyrically, I think this is very personal and a big highlight for Olly. But instrumentally, I feel like this is hilariously safe and something they tossed together in moments. Like I said, Olly does end up keeping my attention with a very heartfelt performance. But this could have been performed literally by anyone, and doesn’t sound close to a Years & Years track. But for one of the more quite tracks here, “Palo Santo” is a highlight. As a matter of fact, as far as this entire album goes, this is THE highlight. This is the most dramatic, emotional and epic track here, to the point where it’s staggering. Here, the quiet verses at the very least built up to the massive chorus, and actually bring in a ton of mystery that I love. This is truly a very dark and mysterious tune, one that I didn’t expect to hear. But it’s a really brilliant piece of sexy Pop, that just shows that when Years & Years focus they can sound incredible. Now, I know there’s some bonus tracks, and I’m not here to talk about that. I just wanna talk about the standard album and thats that, cool? Now honestly, “Here” is a really weird way to end this album. I think Olly’s smokey vocals sound fine, and as far as a more quiet track goes this isn’t bad. It’s just sort of awkwardly placed, and I wish the last track ended this album off.
Rating: 6.9/10
Give A Listen To: “Hallelujah”, “All For You”, “Rendezvous”, “Palo Santo”
Least Favorite Track: “Hypnotised”
Genre: Synth Pop / Pop
Overall Thoughts: I’m not even gonna sugarcoat this, Years & Years are so close. They’re just so close to creating a truly fantastic Pop album, and some of the singles here are truly brilliant Synth Pop anthems. But way too often, this album gets way too far from that in exchange for heartless and tame Top 40 Pop. Which, isn’t necessarily bad, but in this case, it seems like Years & Years aren’t into some of these tracks. When this album get’s rolling, there are some serious bangers here that get my fat ass grooving. But if you play with the fire that is Pop music, and you’re not fully prepared, you’re clearly going to get burned. But like I said, they’re so close to making a truly great album, and I hope they do.
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