Review: Halsey- BADLANDS

Halsey (real name, Nicole Frangipane) is an American singer/songwritter who was born in 1994 in New Jersey. She was discovered and signed by the Astralwerks record label in late 2014 after beginning to write songs at the age of 17. She became a singer because she couldn't imagine anyone else singing her songs, according to an interview with Fuse earlier this year.

BADLANDS is her debut album after she previously released an EP called 'Room 93'. So far she has been touted as the new kid on the block in the pop world, but she's showing far more quality than many of her peers in my opinion.

The album opens with the track 'Castle', this starts with a kind of glitchy beat then her vocals come in, these can be likened to Lana Dey Rey in many ways. The track has a good beat that kind of rumbles and crashes along. The next track, 'Hold Me Down' has a similar style beat to it. The vocals are good, the lyrics are quite cryptic but it seems to tell the story of older men trying to make her do sexual favors. 'New Americana' is the most popular track on the album. This track talks about pop culture and how the current younger generation will change the world in the future. This is a catchy track with a good chorus, however I'm finding that it gets a bit annoying after hearing it a few times.

The next track is called 'Drive', this has quite a moody sound to it that works well for the opening section of the track. I don't really think the humming section works that well though as it kind of clashes with the instrumental of the track. 'Roman Holiday' and 'Colors' are more like straight up pop music, they have quite a bubbly sound that is perhaps more forgettable and generic than many of the other tracks.

I really like the vocal style on the next track, 'Coming Down'. It feels a lot more real and heart felt compared to the previous two tracks, this is partly due to the more melancholy tone and partly due to moodier sound to the instrumental. I also like how the lyrics are easily recognisable after just a few listens. 'Haunting' has a nice pulsating beat to it that I think works well with her vocal style. The vocals on this track carry on at a similar quality to the previous track, with a spooky sound to them.

The last three tracks on the album are all very well put together and don't feel too over engineered. They all feel quite airy and the vocals flow really well. This is perhaps the best run of tracks on the album as they all flow together. My favorite of the three is probably 'Ghost' which is more punchy and to the point. This album is full of good quality pop music that definitely beats many of the other current popular female artists. I really like Halsey's style and the album was really well produced to make the most of this style. I hope that she keeps to her own style in the future and isn't pulled into the current trend of over worked pop rubbish.

Highs:
Coming Down
Control

Lows:
Drive
Roman Holiday

Rating: 6.5/10