The Brandy Alex and Eloise Albums Challenge #3
june 8 - 16
#9 The Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business (2003)
Pop Rap
Dance-Pop
eclectic, sampling, playful, male vocalist, party, anthemic, rhythmic, sexual, melodic, female vocalist, romantic, energetic, boastful, quirky, love
Eloise Album #1
Eloise loves the Black Eyed Peas. Specifically their 2009 blockbuster album The END. She likes it in the same way this RYM user I respect loves europop by Eiffel 65, this idea that you engage with an album at a certain formative age, when the brain is growing faster than it ever will, and you feel something connected deep to it. Me? I think it's pretty good. The first half is stellar, but the second half certainly drags.
Monkey Business is the fourth black eyed peas album, and the second with Fergie, who is certainly the most notable pea of them all. My first listen to this album was like pulling teeth. There was something about it that did not click with me at all, songs like my humps and disco chick felt like they held no heart, and the bangers were far and few between. I realized mid album that I don’t even like Fergie, I think she's annoying, uncharismatic, and often I find her to detract from songs that I would otherwise really enjoy. After a second listen, and further discussion, I realized at the end of the day that the black eyed peas need fergie, and even if I do not want her there, I’m not sure it would be better if she was not there. I am still not sold on fergalicious, or my humps. My second listen was much more forgiving, though
#8 Tate McRae - Think Later (2023)
Contemporary R&B, Alt-Pop
Dance-Pop
female vocalist, sensual, breakup, love, melodic, longing, rhythmic, boastful, eclectic
Brandy Album #2
I really love Tate McRae. During Lent, I only heard two CDs that were released in 2025: Dead Channel Sky and So Close to What. I really connected on repeated listens, I think that she made a pop album that succeeds with flying colors in being a pop album: no weak spots, no unnecessary ballads, tight production and album length. An easy album to put on and fly through. That Tate McRae album was something the three of us talked about a lot as our respective college semesters ended, so it makes sense that the second Tate album would be here as well.
Unfortunately, a lot of the spark that makes the newer album so special does not feel quite as present. It has a few great songs (specifically Greedy) but it all kind of flows into something beyond recognizability. Not a bad album by any means, and maybe listening to one was not fair because I was half asleep for the middle stretch, but I still was itching for more.
#7 Conan Gray - Found Heaven (2024)
Synthpop, Pop Rock
New Wave, Dance Pop, Piano Rock
male vocalist, melodic, love, LGBTQ, sensual, bittersweet, passionate, breakup, lush, energetic, romantic, nocturnal
Brandy Album #3
I heard Conan Gray in 2018 when my friends really liked him, and have not bothered with him ever since Heather hit the tiktok scene in 2020. I liked this album. It’s nauseatingly 80s inspired, but the songs that take a slower turn connect more with me. A good portion of this feels like it is ripping off a specific sect of hi-NRG inspired dance pop from the 80s, but no ideas are original, and they’re perfectly catchy in their own right. Good for dancing the night away.
#6 Charlie Puth - Nin Track Mind (2016)
Pop Soul
Contemporary R&B
mellow, love, romantic, melodic, male vocalist, optimistic, warm, sexual, uplifting, passionate
Eloise Album #2
I was a little bit annoyed when Eloise chose this. The decision was obviously made because of repeated references to the notable Taylor Swift line, and my first listen was just a waiting game for this to be over. Marvin Gaye was beyond my comprehension, and I liked track 4, but the rest really just entered one ear and left the other. Fortunately for me, this was the only CD in my fathers car for a 4 day stretch of time, so whether I liked it or not I found myself listening to this one the most out of any of the albums. Also luckily for me, psychology and deep held personal belief mingled on this one, because I think that every album can be good if you listen to it enough times, and lo and behold: I grew to really like this album. The choruses are catchy, he has a real knack for harmonies, and I found myself liking Marvin Gaye by my third listen. Not an easy album to recommend, but something to consider if you have 3 hours and some patience.
#5 Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring (1986)
Art Pop
New Wave, Sophisti-Pop, Progressive Pop
spring, passionate, male vocalist, lush, bittersweet, melodic, introspective, warm, atmospheric, mellow, rhythmic, uplifting, sentimental, progressive, spiritual, ethereal, Christian, poetic, melancholic, philosophical
Alex Album #2
The biggest problem with the relisten challenge is the inevitable personal bias that always breaks out. At best, one person finds some love in your pick, and at worst you have a worse opinion of your album and everyone else is a little annoyed they had to listen at all. I will expand on that later, though. I hated this album when I first heard it in May 2018, and there's no real reason why. When I was 15, if I was in a bad mood (common happenstance for a pubescent teenager) I would give albums lower ratings. If they even enticed the frustration I felt in my growing teenage psyche they would be unfairly maligned. I have been thinking about Talk Talk a lot lately, especially how they seem to interface with God, as well as their invention of post rock (and the finest wave of it). I do not think this album reaches the highs of their Post Rock output, but I do think that they made something wonderful, and the departures from their very standard new romantic sound are always welcome. The moody softness of April 5th, the 8 minute closer, The opener, the whole thing mixes that progressive pop sound as much as new wave ideas. There's something to unpack, like all talk talk records.
#4 The Fray - The Fray (2009)
Piano Rock, Post-Britpop
Alternative Rock, Post-Grunge
love, melancholic, longing, introspective, romantic, existential, male vocalist, sad, sombre, passionate, abstract
Brandy Album #1
After Monkey Business I was ready for some change. It was a damp and cloudy day downtown, and biking to this album felt perfect. The Fray, famous for how to save a life, also had a radio hit I had never known the name of (you found me) but always enjoyed when I was a child. Brandy Chose it because they make frequent appearances in The Vampire Diaries, her favorite show. As soulful as it is vaguely christian, and as given to post grunge as it has pure singer songwriter talent. This one was so nice to put on, and even though I initially would rather have listened to their debut, I found this to be a really well put together record. My girlfriend liked it too, she said it was a breath of fresh air after the charlie puth (which, shocker, she hated).
#3 Beat Happening - You Turn Me On (1992)
Twee Pop, Slacker Rock
Noise Pop, Jangle Pop, Tweecore
melodic, love, lo-fi, male vocalist, warm, female vocalist, romantic, bittersweet, deadpan, melancholic, repetitive, raw, lethargic, playful, mellow, hypnotic, sentimental, minimalistic, autumn, longing, suburban, noisy
Alex Album #1
I made some enemies with this album. This was everyone else's least favorite album, on account of the overly long songs and creepy sounding vocalist (he is a creep, so I get it, I guess). I heard this album in 2020 when I was looking for twee pop without knowing what it really was as a movement, and this album did not have any immediately satisfying love songs so I did not bother again. In retrospect, this album was made for me in a lot of ways. I love the super long songs, droning chords, and the use of melody. Calvin Johnson is the weakest link vocally, and it made me want to look into Tiger Trap so I could hear this production style without him creeping all over the place. Well, his presence in the title track is endearing actually. I think it's worth the time if you like long songs, really. Godsend is very special. One of the three most special songs from this challenge.
#2 My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)
Emo Pop, Pop Punk
Post-Hardcore, Mall Screamo
passionate, energetic, anthemic, melancholic, death, concept album, melodic, love, anxious, male vocalist, violence, dark, aggressive, manic, suicide, rebellious, crime, sarcastic, poetic, introspective, nocturnal, romantic, playful, breakup, heavy, lonely, longing, theatrical, sad, macabre, depressive, paranormal, grief, dense, bisexual
Alex Album #3
I missed the boat on emo culture. I mean the 2014 tumblr revival. I had a friend or two who engaged in the runoff around 2016, but it was all foreign to me. In 2019, I started listening to My Chemical Romance because I thought it would garner me some female attention. I am not kidding, and I want my candor to reflect positively on this website, even when it is embarrassing. The Black Parade was always my personal favorite, but I have had a lot of respect for this album over the years. Despite this, re-listens never unlocked its full potential for me. 6 years later, I feel like I really understand what’s so great about it: it's the energy mixed with the hooks. Really, isn't that what all pop punk is aiming towards? The hooks here are out of this world, specifically the ghost in you, cemetery gates, and I'm not okay. The beating heat of the midwestern summer felt so apt while these songs played as loud as they could in my girlfriend’s headphones. This album is so high because it reaches such a perfect mark in its sound, and compared with a lot of emo pop that I have heard, I think this is really special.
#1 Bleachers - Take the Sadness out of Saturday Night (2021)
Pop Rock, Indie Pop
Heartland Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Chamber Pop
male vocalist, introspective, longing, melancholic, lush, sentimental, anthemic, melodic, love, bittersweet, passionate, eclectic, nocturnal
Eloise Album #3
Predictable, but honest. I have loved Bleachers since I was fourteen years old, listening to Gone Now and feeling the heat from one of the first summers that I felt like I was a true teenager. Not total autonomy, I was not hanging out with friends, but it felt like emotions were being harnessed in a way that previous summers never accounted for. It was the summer before I went into high school and the whole thing was making me existential. He came back with this album in 2021 and I was initially left disappointed because I felt like this was more of a sketchbook of ideas than a cohesive statement like Gone Now was. In retrospect, it is a sketchbook, but after my allotted relistens (alongside many relistens from last year) I am really starting to unlock the beauty in this one. Chinatown could very well be his best song, the second half is full of moments (secret life especially) that evoke a love, sadness, and beauty that I really connect with. It's short, it's sweet, it's potent, and it is not trying to be a concept album. It is the first true bridge from his desire to be springsteen to falling into that role in a more committed way. Highly recommended, alongside the rest of his catalog.
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