Despite coming up short in the production and the writing, Tones And I pulls through with enough emotive power and bombastic melodies to keep the debut in good form.
The hate surrounding Tones And I’s breakout ‘Dance Monkey’ was intriguing to observe. The sort of pop song that can get tiring when it gets that radio overplay for most people. But for me, I did find it a great pop tune because of the lyrical details surrounding Tones And I’s experience as a busker besides the high-pitched tone that reinforces that experience.
While it is not that surprising to see that this album will probably get that hate by a lot of people given the reception of ‘Dance Monkey’, going through the thoughts of the music community that holistically agreed that this album is the worst album of this year is extremely baffling. And there are certain reactions and comments to this album that come off as toxic and ridiculous, even if they try to excuse their comments in an indifferent, somewhat hyperbolic way.
Which is really irritating because the debut does show some redeeming qualities, tied to the honest lyricism and the occasional bombastic melodies and vocal power that Tones And I can belt out. Even if the production doesn’t get all the way there with how dated and rather clunky it gets, the project as a whole isn’t as despicable as others claim it to be. Certain tracks like ‘Fall Apart’, ‘Just A Mess’, and ‘Fly Away’ hits that bombastic swell extremely well. And the lyricism itself do provide some emotive power, focusing on themes of Tones And I’s experience of being a busker before finding success in recent years, the death of one of her close friends and how it crushed her, dealing with strained friendships that wanted to see her fail, and her experience with anxiety and depression that is tied to her busking and the death of one of her close friends.
Overall, despite the clunky production and how it makes these songs age worse than they should, the writing of the lyricism doesn't elevate the emotions much further, and Tones And I is probably still feeling her own sound and niche at this point… The melodies, her unique vocals, and the emotional honesty that is shown in her lyrics are something that I do admire. It’s not perfect, and it’s extremely over-hated at this very moment, but I might as well say it.
It’s a pretty good album.
Favorite Tracks: Welcome To The Madhouse, Fly Away, Just A Mess, Child's Play, Cloudy Day, You Don’t Know My Name, Fall Apart
Least Favorite Track: Won’t Sleep