The Daily Spin, December 5
Halsey | Manic
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Manic (2020)
Artist: Halsey
Link:
Chock-full of late-2010s pop, Halsey’s third album, Manic, does its best to overcome a lot of these template issues, but winds up finding itself ultimately short in a few key metrics.
I will give her credit - few albums have played their interludes off quite so well, with the lone exception of this crop being the Dominic Fike feature that ultimately winds up quite forgettable - meanwhile, Alanis Morissette and SUGA don’t necessarily shine but they’re at least at par with the rest of the material on the album.
You can feel the influence of producers like Jon Bellion here, and though I generally don’t hate his work in short bursts, I rarely ever visit his albums because they, almost to a one, fall into the category of endless tedium after a while - and Manic slips into this after some time. The late teens were a mixed bag for pop, and that winds up becoming the story of this album as well.
It’s salvaged because, at heart, Halsey is a deeply talented vocalist, and telling a story that’s widely relatable of heartbreak and rebuilding oneself, trying to figure out moving forward when it’s so much easier to throw it into park. With that story, Halsey is more than competent at telling an intriguing and enjoyable story, overcoming some of the sameness that wears thin.
Rating: 8.1/10
Best Tracks: clementine; I HATE EVERYBODY; More
Worst Tracks: Dominic’s Interlude; Without Me