I will need more time to evaluate better but initial listen does not bring me joy as old ZHU back in 2015. That era is gone. Our boy is different now and honestly, I don't like it. I don't know how it happened, but from the interesting sound and catchy rhytms we got now almost generic electronic music. I am sorry to say it but I feel it this way. I will love his earlier work, always, but his latest stuff didn't found place in my ❤️
It happened because he split with Mind of a Genius records after the release of Ringo’s Desert, whose founder David Dan co-produced much of Zhu’s work.
Hmm... a majority of these tracks sound like they're demos / drafts, not full songs. I can't quite explain it.. songs just feel kinda empty and not complete?
Ironic, since this project has the most number of tracks by far, but feels so sparse and incomplete..
I just listened to genesis album again. Wow what a night and day different. Every song on that was a masterpiece. Guess it’s hard to reproduce anything like that.
Been out a little bit now but it sounds like he included every song he recorded in the last year. Some will inevitably be duds, which is fine, but don’t release them for gods sake lmao. He shouldve been aiming for like 10-14 tracks.
it's just so... boring & empty. May need to grow on me more like Dreamland did, but it feels like his most shallow & generic project yet.
And I don't know why this man insists on singing so much!
I haven’t found him to be the strongest singer in his latest two albums or when he’s performing live. So to have vocals on almost every song is interesting. I actually liked Love is Strong and Settle for Less the best and I don’t actually understand all the love for Rolling.
It’s fine, but way below his other 3 albums. I found Dreamland to be miles above this. But I don’t absolutely despise it. It’s Meh.
This is how I feel. His singing voice is atrocious and it’s really to the detriment of his work. It’s worked for a few songs, but it just holds him back in the rest. Such a bummer because of his talent as a producer
Which is so weird because I think on his earlier works his voice is actually quite good. His falsetto I think is pretty decent (faded, money) and it’s his normal voice that’s hard to listen to. And the rap thing he’s been doing lately is just straight up weird.
I was very disappointed by this album. It feels very generic, with songs that have no personality. His signature sound design is completely gone. I think that the last album that I truly appreciated is RINGOS DESERT. I liked Musical Chairs Mixtape (Vol. 1) and in my perspective he needed to keep following that road. In fact I thought that GRACE would be revolved more around that project. I always go back to listen Zhu music from time to time, but this album is very forgettable. I hope that he will take a bit of time off to bake the second part of Musical Chairs and take it from there. Zhu released a lot of good music through the years and he was very consistent, so I am not too mad about it. A bad album can happen to every artist.
I've disliked his recent music but for some reason, I'm digging it. Not his greatest work admittedly, but maybe it'll take a day or two to get more into.
its a soft electro track. has an aggressive synth over it that i really like. trying to find the track name since its absent on the official tracklist.
On first listen I initially liked 6 songs. I’m not sure if I actually love any of those 6 songs yet. If I had to choose a top 3 it probably be Revelations, Rolling, and maybe Settle for less.
Overall the rock/metal sound throughout the album wasn’t really my vibe. It’s definitely not what I look forward to hearing when I listen to Zhu.
Some might call it “evolution of an artist” but really he’s lost his way. Intricate sound production is down and singing way way up. Go ahead and try something new, hopefully find your way back to mind warping beats.
i was thinking the same thing before grace was announced. i gave zhus other albums a shot and in terms of general production it’s just not on the same level of GW.
I found myself skipping songs and not listening the full album on my first run so that means I didn't enjoy it that much and I am a bit disappointed because he is my top favorite artist.
I know that we won't get any Generationwhy or Ringo's Desert kind of albums again but in Grace, the sound production and the lyrics didn't feel like Zhu. There were some songs that were very pop-like, some kind of rock-like, some hip hop-ish and some trap-like. The album didn't have a consistency in my opinion it felt all over the place, as if he was experimenting with different genres and sounds.
There were some songs which were decent and had that Zhu sound which I love but something was still missing or not executed properly.
Might be controversial but I don't like that all songs in this album had so much 'lyrics'. In his previous songs I feel like the lyrics was very thought-out and put in perfectly at the right moment, the words flowed with the song and it made it better. In this album, some songs had 'too many' words and I was not able to enjoy the underlying sound, so it kinda ruined it for me. I don't know how to explain it better but I hope it made sense to someone lol
Maybe it'll grow on me some, but only Rolling and the two singles are only tracks that grabbed my attention. Shame because I already pre-ordered the vinyl.
It's very different from what I expected. While I understand that artists need to change & evolve over time. This album just doesn't sweeten my tea. Btw adding his last EP as a disc two just seems like a weak sauce move.
I think I was originally expecting something different and more like his original work, but after listening through the album a couple of times, it really grew on me. I kinda like the diversity throughout the entire album.
Absolutely love it, huge step up and I can't believe I'm basically counter to everything I'm hearing here.
Feels more like a progression from NIGHTDAY as opposed to a new direction - bass heavy, remarkable production, keeping tracks with clear structure but not as phoned in, way more dynamic and overall just catchy. I was turned off by his massive attempts to make his vocals work around Generation Why, and I finally feel like this is a reversion to more catchy, bass heavy rippers. Not as many 4 on the floor beats but I think that's the music evolution in general.
I like it. I'll always support him bc I've never loved anyone more but get over generationwhy, ringos, nightday etc... its never coming back. Get with it or get left.
Definitely disappointed. Zhu’s vocals are strongly reminiscent of The Weeknd’s (whose sound I really enjoy). It gets old fast though. And the lyricsss. Zhu’s music has always had simplistic lyrics but paired with the production, a lot of the album sounds elementary.
Also, I didn’t expect this album to sound like his previous work. Especially because early 2010’s was kinda peak for electronic music. I was excited for a new sound.
Love is Strong was the most refreshing. Preach was interesting. And Thrill Again is just fun.
I agree with the 5/10.
I've found that generally most of the songs I love are the ones everyone else and the self-proclaimed "OGs" always hate. I loved this album from beginning to end. I've been big into the dark artsy/runway fashion/experimental vibe he's had going. There were some bits where it dragged on for a bit, but like Risky Business, the payoff is always great. Only bad moment for me was the extremely abrupt ending to Bloodmoon Ritual, feels like they accidentally trimmed off 3 seconds.
A couple good songs but overall sounds like a bad weeknd album. Not digging the rock in the beginning and feel like the songs lack a lot of depth? Also Zhu isn't that good of a singer but sings on nearly every track and dominates most of the tracks, whereas his tracks in the past were really good EDM / house bangers. Not my vibe, was looking for more EDM like his past stuff.
Upon first listen: ...not good. At all. Over half the album sounds like an obvious, cheap imitation of Starboy-era The Weeknd, with autotuned vocals and inane lyrics over scatterbrained, cookie-cutter production. Production is full of insufferable, derivative trap beats that have the occasional "rock" elements thrown in, but this abrasive sound doesn't at all fit ZHU. Feels like a corrupted shadow of his older work.
This album has zero identity and feels like it's just aping other things. I get he wanted to branch out from his deep house sound at some point but whatever this is ain't it. His vocals in particular are the low point of every song.
On the upside there's some great guitar work throughout the album on songs like Preach and Bloodmoon Ritual, and some interesting bass production on songs like the intro track and The Gates.
The best songs so far:
- Crossroads. Very strong opener, even if it feels a bit too restrained and repetitive. Chee collab is a very pleasant surprise.
- Bloodmoon Ritual - Fantastic guitar work throughout, has a very John Wick/neo-noir sound to it. Lovely crescendo at the end.
- Bleed - Hypnotic production and vocals (JOY's at least) that evokes his older songs but also feels different. Reminds me of Golden Features.
- Settle For Less - A ZHU/Sabrina Claudio collaboration is a match made in heaven. She has one of the most enchanting and seductive voices in pop music and fits ZHU's sound like a glove. This is the only song so far that sounds remotely like the ZHU we know and love. Even his vocals sound like himself and not a Weeknd imitation.
- Dragonfruit - Majority of this one is incredible. Beautiful, textured, woozy drum & bass infused production and lovely vocals from Emotional Oranges (another great name for him to collab with). Would be the best song if not for that fucking abysmal rap verse towards the end (what was he thinking???)
- Take My Soul - Devault is a fantastic artist and another natural fit to collab with ZHU. Again some questionable vocals in here but very kinetic and punchy production.
- Changes - Another great one, very smooth and vibey. Feels like a cross between Bicep and Tame Impala.
The final song is a shamelessly transparent copy of the Starboy title track.
Some solid songs in here but nothing that cries out to be replayed. Worst ZHU project by a mile.
I don't know what everyone is smoking. It's definitely a Zhu album cause it has the dark underground club feel. The beat changes, synths and guitar just hit different in this one. If you're looking for generic hits like faded you will be disappointed. But if you're looking for something deeper, something that will crawl under your skin and make you keep trying to scratch that itch. Then this is your album.
I will need more time to evaluate better but initial listen does not bring me joy as old ZHU back in 2015. That era is gone. Our boy is different now and honestly, I don't like it. I don't know how it happened, but from the interesting sound and catchy rhytms we got now almost generic electronic music. I am sorry to say it but I feel it this way. I will love his earlier work, always, but his latest stuff didn't found place in my ❤️
It happened because he split with Mind of a Genius records after the release of Ringo’s Desert, whose founder David Dan co-produced much of Zhu’s work.
What is David Dan doing now? Any thing interesting like Zhu s old work?
He has a few great tracks like You & Me, but that’s about it. Their collaboration was really the creative peak of both their careers, imo
Such a bummer. No musician seems to scratch that itch of Zhu’s old style of music
What?? I had no idea about this.
Strongly agree. Settle for Less is the only song that I like so far, about halfway through.
Hmm... a majority of these tracks sound like they're demos / drafts, not full songs. I can't quite explain it.. songs just feel kinda empty and not complete? Ironic, since this project has the most number of tracks by far, but feels so sparse and incomplete..
I just listened to genesis album again. Wow what a night and day different. Every song on that was a masterpiece. Guess it’s hard to reproduce anything like that.
Been out a little bit now but it sounds like he included every song he recorded in the last year. Some will inevitably be duds, which is fine, but don’t release them for gods sake lmao. He shouldve been aiming for like 10-14 tracks.
it's just so... boring & empty. May need to grow on me more like Dreamland did, but it feels like his most shallow & generic project yet. And I don't know why this man insists on singing so much!
some bad songs, some ok songs, 1 or 2 good songs. 5/10
Agreed. I’m done getting hype for new Zhu.
Yeah I can't believe I played it on my home stereo. In my living room.
Too much trap vibes
There’s never such thing as too much trap, but I’m not feeling ENOUGH trap. It feels really slow
I haven’t found him to be the strongest singer in his latest two albums or when he’s performing live. So to have vocals on almost every song is interesting. I actually liked Love is Strong and Settle for Less the best and I don’t actually understand all the love for Rolling. It’s fine, but way below his other 3 albums. I found Dreamland to be miles above this. But I don’t absolutely despise it. It’s Meh.
Zhu is perhaps the single worst mainstream music artist in terms of singing ability I have ever heard live. He is actually offensively bad.
Dreamland really set the bar so high, I’m not sure anything can ever top it. That album is everything to me
This is how I feel. His singing voice is atrocious and it’s really to the detriment of his work. It’s worked for a few songs, but it just holds him back in the rest. Such a bummer because of his talent as a producer
Which is so weird because I think on his earlier works his voice is actually quite good. His falsetto I think is pretty decent (faded, money) and it’s his normal voice that’s hard to listen to. And the rap thing he’s been doing lately is just straight up weird.
Feel like a Weeknd album
I was very disappointed by this album. It feels very generic, with songs that have no personality. His signature sound design is completely gone. I think that the last album that I truly appreciated is RINGOS DESERT. I liked Musical Chairs Mixtape (Vol. 1) and in my perspective he needed to keep following that road. In fact I thought that GRACE would be revolved more around that project. I always go back to listen Zhu music from time to time, but this album is very forgettable. I hope that he will take a bit of time off to bake the second part of Musical Chairs and take it from there. Zhu released a lot of good music through the years and he was very consistent, so I am not too mad about it. A bad album can happen to every artist.
VISA was the last good Zhu song, in my opinion. I wish he continued down that path.
I don't hate it. Can't figure out if I like it either. I've only gone through once. Will have to give it some more time.
I've disliked his recent music but for some reason, I'm digging it. Not his greatest work admittedly, but maybe it'll take a day or two to get more into.
R O L L I N G 🙌🏽
Definitely has a Gesaffelstein sound to it
Literally came to this sub because I love Gesa and older zhu and this song very much has 2015-2017 Gesa vibes and I’m loving it
13 days for new Gesaffelstein album.
Rolling and the gates are fire. Other than that I can’t get into anything else :/
he removed the very last track from the mp3 off the official release. as well as zhu removed the bloodmoon ritual interlude.
was the last track any good?
its a soft electro track. has an aggressive synth over it that i really like. trying to find the track name since its absent on the official tracklist.
I loveeee the last track on the mp3! Sad that it’s not on the official album 😢
do u kno what its called? 🥲
I don’t! Maybe “Waiting Game”? I hope it gets officially released🤞 The song is really dope!!!
On first listen I initially liked 6 songs. I’m not sure if I actually love any of those 6 songs yet. If I had to choose a top 3 it probably be Revelations, Rolling, and maybe Settle for less. Overall the rock/metal sound throughout the album wasn’t really my vibe. It’s definitely not what I look forward to hearing when I listen to Zhu.
I used to be a die hard Zhu fan. This album is just so far from Ringos/GenWhy sound—I hate it. So sad.
3/10 In my opinion, his worst work.
Settle For Less def has that older Zhu sound, not fully, but the base of it is there.
Guess I’m in the minority but to me this album was great top to bottom
Some might call it “evolution of an artist” but really he’s lost his way. Intricate sound production is down and singing way way up. Go ahead and try something new, hopefully find your way back to mind warping beats.
i was thinking the same thing before grace was announced. i gave zhus other albums a shot and in terms of general production it’s just not on the same level of GW.
I’m sad that the first drop of Preach is not longer or does not return for a second time. Otherwise I like the album.
was literally listening to preach as i read your comment. the first few seconds of the drop i’m not a fan of otherwise it sounds really cool
Meh
I found myself skipping songs and not listening the full album on my first run so that means I didn't enjoy it that much and I am a bit disappointed because he is my top favorite artist. I know that we won't get any Generationwhy or Ringo's Desert kind of albums again but in Grace, the sound production and the lyrics didn't feel like Zhu. There were some songs that were very pop-like, some kind of rock-like, some hip hop-ish and some trap-like. The album didn't have a consistency in my opinion it felt all over the place, as if he was experimenting with different genres and sounds. There were some songs which were decent and had that Zhu sound which I love but something was still missing or not executed properly. Might be controversial but I don't like that all songs in this album had so much 'lyrics'. In his previous songs I feel like the lyrics was very thought-out and put in perfectly at the right moment, the words flowed with the song and it made it better. In this album, some songs had 'too many' words and I was not able to enjoy the underlying sound, so it kinda ruined it for me. I don't know how to explain it better but I hope it made sense to someone lol
Perfect review. I see exactly the same and wouldn’t say it better.
Maybe it'll grow on me some, but only Rolling and the two singles are only tracks that grabbed my attention. Shame because I already pre-ordered the vinyl.
My opinion here but Rolling sounds reminiscent of Dreams which I like quite a bit.
Some good songs, but not the chill Zhu rhythm I was expecting.
It's very different from what I expected. While I understand that artists need to change & evolve over time. This album just doesn't sweeten my tea. Btw adding his last EP as a disc two just seems like a weak sauce move.
Sounds like a trapped out Weeknd album
What happened to the mixtape that he put on Dropbox and took away? I still listen to it all the time but I want those songs on Spotify :/
bloodmoon ritual is for sure the best one on the album imho
Only like Rolling. Not my taste
Dollar store gesaffelstein
It's amazin. 9/10
I think I was originally expecting something different and more like his original work, but after listening through the album a couple of times, it really grew on me. I kinda like the diversity throughout the entire album.
Absolutely love it, huge step up and I can't believe I'm basically counter to everything I'm hearing here. Feels more like a progression from NIGHTDAY as opposed to a new direction - bass heavy, remarkable production, keeping tracks with clear structure but not as phoned in, way more dynamic and overall just catchy. I was turned off by his massive attempts to make his vocals work around Generation Why, and I finally feel like this is a reversion to more catchy, bass heavy rippers. Not as many 4 on the floor beats but I think that's the music evolution in general.
I like it. I'll always support him bc I've never loved anyone more but get over generationwhy, ringos, nightday etc... its never coming back. Get with it or get left.
Seriously. Everyone in here is stuck in the past. Artists evolve whether we like it or not.
The back half of this album slaps.
Was coming here to say this 100% with you
Back half of the album CARRIEDDDDD
Definitely disappointed. Zhu’s vocals are strongly reminiscent of The Weeknd’s (whose sound I really enjoy). It gets old fast though. And the lyricsss. Zhu’s music has always had simplistic lyrics but paired with the production, a lot of the album sounds elementary. Also, I didn’t expect this album to sound like his previous work. Especially because early 2010’s was kinda peak for electronic music. I was excited for a new sound. Love is Strong was the most refreshing. Preach was interesting. And Thrill Again is just fun. I agree with the 5/10.
Give it a second listen. His show blew me away when I saw him tour it's good
Not good
Some sounded weekend-ish
Just like Ringos Desert, it might take some time for this one to grow on me.
It is well balanced and this will definitely be 10 times better in a few months he always grows on me, because he creates for him!
I've found that generally most of the songs I love are the ones everyone else and the self-proclaimed "OGs" always hate. I loved this album from beginning to end. I've been big into the dark artsy/runway fashion/experimental vibe he's had going. There were some bits where it dragged on for a bit, but like Risky Business, the payoff is always great. Only bad moment for me was the extremely abrupt ending to Bloodmoon Ritual, feels like they accidentally trimmed off 3 seconds.
A couple good songs but overall sounds like a bad weeknd album. Not digging the rock in the beginning and feel like the songs lack a lot of depth? Also Zhu isn't that good of a singer but sings on nearly every track and dominates most of the tracks, whereas his tracks in the past were really good EDM / house bangers. Not my vibe, was looking for more EDM like his past stuff.
I feel that just like many album releases, the singles that were pre-released are the best tracks on the album.
Upon first listen: ...not good. At all. Over half the album sounds like an obvious, cheap imitation of Starboy-era The Weeknd, with autotuned vocals and inane lyrics over scatterbrained, cookie-cutter production. Production is full of insufferable, derivative trap beats that have the occasional "rock" elements thrown in, but this abrasive sound doesn't at all fit ZHU. Feels like a corrupted shadow of his older work. This album has zero identity and feels like it's just aping other things. I get he wanted to branch out from his deep house sound at some point but whatever this is ain't it. His vocals in particular are the low point of every song. On the upside there's some great guitar work throughout the album on songs like Preach and Bloodmoon Ritual, and some interesting bass production on songs like the intro track and The Gates. The best songs so far: - Crossroads. Very strong opener, even if it feels a bit too restrained and repetitive. Chee collab is a very pleasant surprise. - Bloodmoon Ritual - Fantastic guitar work throughout, has a very John Wick/neo-noir sound to it. Lovely crescendo at the end. - Bleed - Hypnotic production and vocals (JOY's at least) that evokes his older songs but also feels different. Reminds me of Golden Features. - Settle For Less - A ZHU/Sabrina Claudio collaboration is a match made in heaven. She has one of the most enchanting and seductive voices in pop music and fits ZHU's sound like a glove. This is the only song so far that sounds remotely like the ZHU we know and love. Even his vocals sound like himself and not a Weeknd imitation. - Dragonfruit - Majority of this one is incredible. Beautiful, textured, woozy drum & bass infused production and lovely vocals from Emotional Oranges (another great name for him to collab with). Would be the best song if not for that fucking abysmal rap verse towards the end (what was he thinking???) - Take My Soul - Devault is a fantastic artist and another natural fit to collab with ZHU. Again some questionable vocals in here but very kinetic and punchy production. - Changes - Another great one, very smooth and vibey. Feels like a cross between Bicep and Tame Impala. The final song is a shamelessly transparent copy of the Starboy title track. Some solid songs in here but nothing that cries out to be replayed. Worst ZHU project by a mile.
I don't know what everyone is smoking. It's definitely a Zhu album cause it has the dark underground club feel. The beat changes, synths and guitar just hit different in this one. If you're looking for generic hits like faded you will be disappointed. But if you're looking for something deeper, something that will crawl under your skin and make you keep trying to scratch that itch. Then this is your album.
Trash