I have struggled with the evolution of the music industry for a while. Almost certainly fueled by mobile phone usage and apps like TikTok eradicating our attention span, the focus has moved to ‘radio listeners’. People no longer queue outside the nearest HMV to buy the deluxe edition of their favourite artists’ latest release. Instead, they get an instant hit of a 30 second clip through some social media platform to immediately guide their opinions of what once would have been a 45 minute listening experience. 


WHAT MAKES AN ALBUM PERFECT?

Superlatives are often thrown around flippantly when we speak about music. I’m certainly guilty of saying “this is the best artist I’ve listened to”. However, I have a passion for what I consider to be “perfect” albums. To ensure this isn’t misused, I wanted to introduce my rationale and hopefully kick-start a series of articles to create a diverse list of ‘perfect’ albums we can all enjoy. Here’s the criteria:

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  1. Every song belongs. This doesn’t necessarily mean all songs sound the same. In fact, albums where every song DOES sound the same tend to get boring. Instead, this rule means every single track on the album contributes and provides enjoyable listening. 

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  1. NO SKIPS. This will be the downfall of A LOT of albums that otherwise would be considered perfect. Plenty of my favourite artists have albums that are ten out of eleven. There’s just that one moment, where they change the dynamic or sound, where I just have to skip the song. These are not perfect. 

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  1. NO BOREDOM. Different genres hold different standards and ambitions in what they set out to achieve. Comparing a rock album to a singer/songwriter’s latest tracks is pointless. However, from a writing perspective, both should have ebbs and flows that draw you in through every track. No matter how great a song is, you shouldn’t ever experience a moment of boredom or fatigue.

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So there it is. In the coming weeks we’ll be releasing OUR 3 Perfect albums of many categories and genres. What is YOUR epitome of a perfect album? 

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