Art Angels

****Updated December 2015****I am upgrading Grimes "Art Angels" CD to 5-stars - the Mp3 version still deserves 4 stars IMO. This is probably the first time I've bought an Mp3 AND CD album (couldn't help it - I just couldn't wait!). Yet the CD-Version has proven to be WAY better than the Amazon Mp3. While it is still heavily compressed, it does not clip horribly like the Mp3's did. The worst track, "Flesh Without Blood" came up clean (see attached image). In addition, the original release of "Realiti" is on the CD, which is one of my favorite Grimes tracks. So, not only does the CD sound better, I've got one more track to love.I'll pretend that Claire AKA Grimes heard my plea for good fidelity and tweaked the CD release just in time. Thanks!I am now wondering if Amazon, when ripping Mp3s applies additional compression that is NOT needed in this day and age. Maybe this was a freak accident. Lesson learned - even though there are plenty of clipped CDs out there, I'll avoid buying Mp3s in the future.***Old Review****Compared to her other work, this new album is way more accessible through and through, despite the fact that I agree with one review site's assessment that this album is like listening to the radio-every track seems very different from the last. It makes the album a bit of a wanderfest - like Grimes couldn't decide on a direction for the sound to go. Or perhaps she was ready to show off her apparently vast range.The thread that holds this thing together seems to come from the lyrical side. Grimes seems more confident in her voice and lyrics than before, bringing them front and center. She sounds sickly sweet at moments, lovely at others, usually bright and cheery, but lyrical themes suggest a blend of humor, satire, love, anti-pop or even sadness. She asserts in cheeky rebellion that "I'll never be your dream girl", or hopelessly that "I could tell you a truth or a lie . . . I could tell you people are good in the end - why, why would I?". She chants like a cheerleader when she says "b-e-h-a-v-e nevermore / you gave up being good when you declared a state of war . . . / sometimes people say I'm a big time bomb". Not really the lyrics of a woman trying to stand on stage with today's pop princesses.Certainly it is no Visions, with its typically darkly layered sounds and Claire's withdrawn and sometimes hard to decipher voice, and in many ways that is a good thing. Like Radiohead, in a way, she is clearly one to try and re-invent her sound on each album, and I truly hope she keeps pushing the envelope and stirring her own sound. Art Angels is full of cool sounds and surprises. It is an album that I think is going to grow on me, and which I will probably ultimately listen to more than Visions. Visions was brilliant, but it is hard to say that all its tracks had good "hooks". This work is a lot catchier.The Mp3 album loses a star for the following reasons. While I was pleasantly surprised to see that "Realiti" made it onto the track list, the re-mixed version IMO is horrible! It sounds totally out of place and uninspired to me in this version, with slower pacing and an odd reverb and so on. I LOVED the track on YouTube, hopefully that variant comes on the CD.The second reason is bigger - this album is horribly overcompressed - every track I've checked thus far clips from start to finish. Do you hear that glaring, piercing midrange and treble? Do you hear static pops and clicks? Notice how "etched" the album seems, particularly with tracks like "Flesh Without Blood"? That is the contribution of too much dynamic compression.Claire / Grimes - If you ever even read this stuff, PLEASE tell whoever finalizes this stuff to stop ruining fidelity with too much compression - your music is gorgeous and your fans want to hear it like you heard it!

A solid album from a brilliant young lady! We were not aware of Grimes until we saw her open for Lana Del Rey back in the Summer, but we were blown away from her set! She is a force onstage! Her music was original, intricate, frightening at times, light as air at others. With Art Angels, Claire offers up another serving of Grimes, and every morsel is delicious!!Claire's arrangements are amazing! So many layers, running the spectrum from light to dark, again, but with a good dose of pop as well. Some have complained about this, accused her of selling out, but it's not true. The pop feel makes the songs even more enjoyable! I hear influences of Kate Bush (The Ninth Wave) and Nina Hagen (early era), maybe a little Lana Del Rey vocal styling as well (though a bit faster) in bits of this track or that. Mostly, though, this is pure Grimes, and it is a lovely way to spend nearly an hour. Or several...as you won't get everything on the first listen. 4 or 5 listens in, I'm still hearing things I hadn't noticed before--and to me that's the sign of a great record! It challenges you to separate the layers, to work out the structure, to hear everything she's putting on offer here! It's also obvious that she loves what she's doing, and when someone is that passionate about their work, it's always going to show in a great result! I like to put this one on and listen to it as one big piece, rather than a collection of songs. It's that good all the way through.I think Grimes is one of the more interesting artists we have making music today. I love what she's done so far, and I look forward to watching her develop in the future! Congratulations on another great album!!

I loved VISIONS and was excited to hear what Ms. Boucher had next up her sleeve. What I heard was something completely different yet still sounded very much Grimes.Where I felt VISIONS was more an ambient electronic experience , ART ANGELS finds Grimes making a commercial Pop album. But I don't think she has it in her to make a standard commercial Pop album. What we get instead is something ambitious and unique. Sure there's your typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure for the most part, but what stands out is her instrumentation, production, and songwriting.The awesome layering of sounds and beautiful melodic vocals from her previous work are still there. They're just supporting pop songs now. And the results are awesome! For my money "Easily" (track 8) is the best thing Grimes has ever produced.Die hard fans of VISIONS might not fully be on board for the change of direction in ART ANGELS. But the true believers will appreciate the hell out if it and continue to grow as fans while Grimes continues to grow as an artist.BTW, this thing sounds amazing on vinyl! Those of you interested in the buying the vinyl version but are worried that "Realiti" is excluded, it does come with a digital download of the whole album along with a bonus "Realiti" demo version. It's not the same thing, unfortunately that's just the limitation of the format. But it sounds effin' amazing! Oh and the packaging and bonus artwork are also beautiful and definitely worth it.

Clear sound beautiful seamless play through I always have it on repeat and the addition of “realiti “ demo is nice! I love grimes so of course I’d love the CD

An upbeat fun album, by a female band, which has appeal for any one who likes Grime/or modern pop music; really enjoyable.

Theres a buncha art prints included with this that are very stylistic and nice. My copy of the record itself had a factory defect and even before i returned it they sent me a new one that works perfectly. Love the album too, its grimes best imo.

bon

uma pena que se foi tão jovem essa artista tão talentosa, agora sem brincadeira um dos vinis mais lindos que já vi. a capa é um espetáculo

Quatrième album estampillé Grimes, d'un style musical magistralement boosté par rapport aux opus précédents via un registre plus électro-pop.«Art angels» offre ainsi une tracklist bluffante et totalement énergisante, risquant néanmoins de larguer certains 'fans' des premières heures.Note : le cd propose deux titres supplémentaires par rapport au vinyle : le titre 'Realiti' et sa version démo. (Le vinyle semblant pour sa part -d'après les photos- contenir des artworks.)

A pesar de que Geidi Primes y Visions me gustaron, Art Angels es uno de mis discos favoritos. El vinilo viene con láminas con ilustraciones de la artista y al ver que tenía descuento corrí a comprarlo. Buena relación calidad-precio.