• Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Jul 8, 2014
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Jul 16, 2014
    90
    Whether or not stadium pop is to everyone’s taste, this is it in its smartest and most human form.
  2. Jul 7, 2014
    90
    In 1000 Forms Of Fear, we have what is probably Sia’s finest body of work.
  3. Jul 8, 2014
    83
    When you listen to 1000 Forms of Fear and hear the real pain in her beautiful, guttural vocal hiccups, it doesn’t feel like a voyeuristic experience but, rather, like an old friend’s new hurting or your own past mistakes.
  4. 80
    1000 Forms of Fear is a anguished pop album for our uncertain times, crafted by an artist who is conflicted and torn by her celebrity as well as her vulnerable heart.
  5. Jul 10, 2014
    80
    A clever range of textures (from raw cello through stuttering piano to popcorn-light synths) keep things interesting and there’s a bravery in the way she spins inspirational lyrics from her long battles with addiction and bipolar disorder.
  6. Jul 8, 2014
    80
    Luckily, Sia also puts those pipes to good use on her own material, including her dynamite new album, 1000 Forms of Fear.
  7. In sound, composition and performance, Sia captures the melodrama of teen life, with all the lunatic exaggeration it deserves.
  8. Jul 8, 2014
    80
    While her latest album won’t satisfy everyone’s musical tastes, it displays the work of an artist who has an undeniable knack for writing massive, anthemic melodies, and for crafting lyrics that display more emotional resonance than is typically found at the top of the Billboard charts.
  9. Jul 8, 2014
    80
    Her knack for heart-swelling choruses shines through on a set of tracks you might play while winning a marathon.
  10. Jul 8, 2014
    80
    It's an album designed for playing late at night; even peppier tracks like the popping-piston "Burn The Pages" and the jittery "Hostage" have a darkness to them. That darkness might not make Sia the world's hugest pop star, but it sure makes her one of its more compelling ones.
  11. 80
    It’s not the triumphal, laminated, computer-perfected tone of Sia’s clients. It’s the sound of the loopy, unresolved passions that can still be alive within pop formulas.
  12. 80
    No surprise then that this first solo album following her second wind is full of exquisite craftsmanship.
  13. Jul 7, 2014
    80
    1000 Forms of Fear should be the vessel that rockets the singer out of relative obscurity and into the stratosphere populated by those more recognizable stars who've come to dominate the pop-music universe thanks, in part, to her songwriting skills.
  14. Jul 7, 2014
    80
    To say it's her most accessible album yet doesn't diminish it or her previous albums; instead, it's the sound of Furler owning her success.
  15. Jul 7, 2014
    80
    Just consider it a solid project from an artist who, after creating albums since the late-90s, is finally getting her recognition in front, instead of behind the curtain.
  16. Jul 10, 2014
    75
    1000 Forms of Fear benefits too from the singer’s squeaky, scratchy vocal tone and from ear-grabbing production touches by her creative partner, Greg Kurstin.
  17. 75
    Fear shows off her ear for stentorian melodies, her quirky way with lyrics ("I'm your groundhog/And I'm skating on thin ice," she sings on "Cellophane"), and her astonishing voice, with its unplaceable accent.
  18. Jul 24, 2014
    70
    Fortunately, these successes do not overwhelm 1000 Forms Of Fear, with tracks such as ‘Big Girls Cry’ and ‘Fire Meet Gasoline’ more than matching the output of her past clients in terms of captivating, powerful pop.
  19. Jul 15, 2014
    70
    True, most of the themes on 1000 Forms of Fear are pretty generic, but Sia’s lyrics are bold and visceral, and the production is dynamic without being gimmicky.
  20. Jul 8, 2014
    68
    It’s an album that acts as if simply existing was success enough. Yes, it is successful in this light, but it could have still tried to be more.
  21. 67
    Though her new material is of mixed quality, Sia’s instrument remains uniformly magnificent. She executes vocal cartwheels throughout these twelve songs, delivering great pain with even greater triumph.
  22. Jul 10, 2014
    60
    This is a top 40 pop record after all, and thus errs toward deafeningly loud vocals that occasionally obliterate some of the year’s smartest pop songwriting.
  23. Jul 7, 2014
    60
    The production on the album is very shiny and polished, but at times far too cut and paste as every chorus seems to be layered with Sia's vocals, providing a backing falsetto.
  24. 60
    Furler's lyrics do tend more towards generalities than specifics, but there are penetrating looks here at love's mind games (Fair Game), and being saved (Cellophane).
  25. Jul 7, 2014
    60
    These aren’t drastic alterations to the standard Sia formula, but what you do get is an album with a very specific identity.
  26. Q Magazine
    Jul 3, 2014
    60
    There is occasional subtlety and drama amid the bombast. [Jul 2014, p.114]
  27. Jul 3, 2014
    60
    While Sia deserves stardom, 1,000 Forms of Fear is so sonically flawless and contemporary-sounding that its impact may fade with time.
  28. Jul 8, 2014
    50
    1000 Forms Of Fear certainly has the songs and contemporary sheen to make Sia a star in her own right, but it’s at the expense of both her emotional intimacy and her offbeat personality.
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 547 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 17 out of 547
  1. Jul 10, 2014
    10
    '1000 Forms of Fear' is a creative album! Sia did great songs that made me feel in other world. So many dramatic and fantastic words.... This'1000 Forms of Fear' is a creative album! Sia did great songs that made me feel in other world. So many dramatic and fantastic words.... This is one of the greatest albums of the century! Full Review »
  2. Jul 11, 2014
    7
    OK - Calm the f__k down people. "Album of the Century". Come on!?!
    She can sing yes. She writes her own stuff. Brilliant. You can dance to
    OK - Calm the f__k down people. "Album of the Century". Come on!?!
    She can sing yes. She writes her own stuff. Brilliant. You can dance to this stuff AND it's emotional. Great. What it is a great pop album. Nothing more nothing less.
    Full Review »
  3. Jul 11, 2014
    7
    '1000 Forms of Fear' showcases Sia's savage vocals chops, deft talent to pen a chart hit and get's you angry fist pumping on the dancefloor. A'1000 Forms of Fear' showcases Sia's savage vocals chops, deft talent to pen a chart hit and get's you angry fist pumping on the dancefloor. A sordid break-up never looked cooler than with slow motion sprinklers and pyrotechnics in the background. You can't doubt her pop appeal or power with this one, but every track, save a few, could just have easily been sung by someone else. If all you're looking for is a collection of strong pop anthems, look no further. Full Review »