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Jan 17, 2020Manic revels in the explorative genre-pop bombast, letting the delicates twinkle, and the snarls bare their teeth; yet it's the soul that shines dominantly. It's her most complete work to date.
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Jan 23, 2020The album finds a way to weave together multiple emotions, sounds, and genres and shows off Frangipane’s versatility as an artist while still acting as an incredibly cohesive and seamless album. She explores more ideas in one album than many do in their entire career. Do not underestimate Halsey.
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Jan 17, 2020Over 16 tracks, Manic is a chaotic amalgamation of self-analysis, rage, depression, ecstasy, and growth that sees its creator managing the messiness of fame while trying to stay true to herself. We’re just along for the ride.
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Q MagazineFeb 11, 2020Freighted by unflinching lyrics, Manic is a magnificent - and magnificently raw - pop confessional. [Apr 2020, p.110]
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Jan 27, 2020Halsey is less a pop chameleon than a musical magpie and Manic is a pristinely produced album that sounds a bit like everything you know, but better (Still Learning is a banger, like Evanescence with steelpan).
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Jan 21, 2020It’s this refusal to pick a lane that’s precisely what makes Halsey’s third album, Manic, her most compelling effort to date.
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Jan 21, 2020It all adds up to a very enjoyable record, one that fits in well with the current pop landscape while also working beyond it.
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Jan 17, 2020As on her earlier records, Halsey can feel like something of a phantom on “Manic,” even when her writing is as vivid as it is in “Graveyard,” which deploys an appealingly creepy metaphor about following a lover way too deep. But her singing, with its pleading tone and its slightly raspy edges, is growing more expressive.
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Jan 17, 2020Manic is her most personal album to date.
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Jan 17, 2020Manic showcases Halsey at her nerviest and at her best.
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Jan 17, 2020The musician’s previous concepts have both been compelling in themselves but, by stripping back the stories to their very personal core, Halsey has made a record that is as thrilling as it is vulnerable, and her best effort yet. This is Ashley’s world; it’s really nice to meet her.
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Jan 17, 2020Her lyrical confidence is matched by the characterful production, which straddles R&B, country, trashy pop-rock, Kacey Musgraves-ish cosmic Americana and more. ... A major label pop album with real drama and humanity.
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Jan 16, 2020Excellent. ... The singer doesn’t even come close to finding peace of mind in these songs. Still, she knows how to make it a thrilling quest.
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Jan 21, 2020Mania is an honest invitation into the worlds of both Halsey and Ashley Frangipane, and teaches us that the truth is in the ambiguity.
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Jan 21, 2020Manic is an imperfect collection of tracks - with high peaks of sheer genius along with the low falls - but it still manages to fill eyes with tears, hearts with love and minds with thoughts as it explores the life and times of a 25-year-old in startling, stark detail.
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Jan 29, 2020Manic is a rich and often confounding listen, an expansive album filled to the brim with the imagined worlds Halsey’s built for herself in the real one. It’s also sincerely, indefatigably Halsey: She puts her loves and ambitions on wholly earnest display, even if it doesn’t always make for the most consistent listen.
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Jan 23, 2020Despite some missteps, Halsey’s appeal is clear: It’s a singularly difficult time to be a young person, and she is warmly attuned to that reality.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 844 out of 1008
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Mixed: 56 out of 1008
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Negative: 108 out of 1008
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Jan 17, 2020best album ever!!!!!!! i love the way she made a perfect chaotic emotion throughout the album
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Jan 17, 2020
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Jan 26, 2020This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.