Album: Heaven & Hell
Artist: Ava Max
Release Date: September 18, 2020
Genre: Pop
Length: 0:44:45
Label: Atlantic
Producer: A Strut/Cirkut/Earwulf/Freedo/Hank Solo/Jason Gill/Lotus IV/RedOne/Shallback/Trackside
New pop-star? No problem...
Up and coming artist, Ava Max with her debut studio record. The album slowly released as singles starting in 2018 and finally released as a full length album in September of 2020.
The ominous choir intro in the first track "H.E.A.V.E.N" are the first sounds you hear of Ava Max and provides an intriguing intro to the entire album. With minimal lyrics and more synth electronic sounds, Max sets the album up to be an energetic yet tasteful experience.
The following song "King & Queens" establishes Ava Max as a feminine powerhouse only two songs in. The song contains lyrics posing the century long question, "What if Queens ruled the world instead of Kings?". The actual song itself is nothing short of a typical pop song, but the way Max enunciates and sings is so fluid along with the beat behind her sound. The dynamic between the electronic beats and the actual instruments like the electric guitar in the middle of the song brings forth a rarely touched on, but exciting changeup of the "typical" pop sound.
Most pop songs don't talk about concepts that are personal that need to be discussed in the modern world, but Ava Max decides to sing songs that can be empowering, motivating and personal. Along with "King & Queens", the anthem "So Am I" has lyrics focusing on every person being unique and how endearing that is. Even though she does have songs with the classic pop lyrics of love and relationships, Max also wants to show people she uses her musical platform to hopefully better the world.
A very exciting part about Max's sound is the songs may be the classic modern pop sound but the differences and contrast between each song keeps her entire sound exciting. The sound of "OMG What's Happening" to "Call Me Tonight" showcases these differences to perfection. While they are without a doubt, a typical pop beat, the arrangement and flow between the two is completely different, and that goes along with the entire album.
Ava Max utilizes the ability of catchiness to her greatest advantage. With an easy to understand voice, contagious dance beats, and fantastic structure, Max entertains the listener's ears with a sound that has them wanting to put some songs on repeat.
The best part of the album is the literal meaning of Heaven & Hell. With a fifteen track list, it's shocking to see an album split into two different parts. The reason Max did this is deliberate as the two different parts have a vastly different flow than each other, such that the first part is Heaven and the other is Hell. The cheery beats in the first part are perfectly contrasted with the melancholy sounds of the second without sounding forced.
I could not be more interested in the way Ava Max's career will progress. She has everything a pop star needs in 2020 and brings forth a sense of realism with lyrics about female empowerment, keeping her from holding back as an artist with a voice. The trajectory Max is on is superb and I will be following her career closely to see how she progresses further...
Favorite Songs: "Kings & Queens", "Naked", "Who's Laughing Now", "Belladonna", "Sweet but Psycho"
Least Favorite Songs: "H.E.A.V.E.N"
Production Quality:
Mix = 7/10
Innovation = 6.5/10 (Nothing too special to innovate but lyrics about topics special to her)
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 8.5/10
Lyricism = 8/10
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 8.5/10 (Classic pop voice with slight uniqueness)
Instrumental Timbre = 8.5/10 (Catchy pop sound with introduction of different instruments along with electronic synth beats)
Group Chemistry = 6/10 (No true sense of a band)
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 9/10
Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!
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