Memories...Do Not Open: Difference between revisions

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| rev9score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pop-the-chainsmokers-memories-do-not-open-08n570nn9|title=Pop: The Chainsmokers: Memories . . . Do Not Open|website=[[The Times]]|last=Hodgkinson|first=Will|author-link=Will Hodgkinson|date=April 14, 2017|accessdate=November 27, 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

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''Memories, Do Not Open'' was met mixed to negative reception, critics divided of their Chainsmokers similarities to musicians including [[BTS]], [[U2]], [[Coldplay]] and [[Train (band)|Train]], At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Standard score|normalized]] rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an [[Weighted arithmetic mean|average]] score of 43, based on eight reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref name="Metacritic" /> Damien Morris of ''[[The Observer]]'' gave a two-out-of-five star review, describing the group's music as, "instantly memorable yet completely forgettable", comparing the album to US President [[Donald Trump]], "shallow, always betraying its influences, with a third-grade vocabulary and ambition that runs no further than emptying the nearest wallet."<ref name="Guardian" /> In ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Barry Walters highlighted the duo's commercial success, describing their style as, "smoothed-out, mid-tempo, nearly easy-listening formula", but opined it sounds, "as if you're playing the radio instead of one solitary album". He considered "Break Up Every Night" as the only dance cut, while "the other cuts are basically ballads with beats — modernized [[Moby]] without the soul-searching or gospel samples."<ref name="EW" />

Sal Cinquemani from ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' gave the album two stars out of five, criticizing Taggart's lack of personality and vocal ability. Additionally, Cinquemani stated, "the downside to the wild success of that approach is that Taggart and Pall have been forced to discover their creative voices in front of the whole world. And unfortunately, the sound they've settled on is parked firmly in the middle of the road."<ref name="SlantMagazine" /> On [[AllMusic]], Neil Yeung also gave a two-out-of-five star review, calling ''Memories...Do Not Open'' a, "calculated dose of millennial escapism that peddles the same sounds as their far more engaging EP work."<ref name="Allmusic" /> Maeve McDermott of ''[[USA Today]]'' questioned, "is this the worst album of 2017?", calling Taggart's vocals "hilariously bad".<ref name="USA Today">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/04/07/chainsmokers-review-memories-do-not-open-worst-album-2017-trump/100175836/ |title=The Chainsmokers' Memories': Is this the worst album of 2017? |website=[[USA Today]] |last=McDermott |first=Maeve |date=April 7, 2017 |accessdate=April 10, 2017}}</ref> Philip Sherburne of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' claimed that, "The debut album from the celebrity production duo is a somber departure from their EDM days—a lifeless, anodyne pop record that wallows in basic feelings of regret and narcissism."<ref name="Pitchfork" /> Along with comparing the album to 2014 single "[[selfie (song)|#SELFIE]]", Sherburne wrote, "None of it sounds anything like '#SELFIE,' but its worldview is barely any bigger than that song's narrow perspective".<ref name="Pitchfork" /> Jon Caramanica from ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the album a "savvy success that cannily toys with expectations" with its songs veering from the "usual gut punch" approach for its [[Drop (music)|drops]], but felt that the record is a "meaningless concept" in the "big-festival dance music" where the duo thrived in. He also commented on Taggart's "capable but unexciting" vocal performance and his "shockingly" few lyrical ideas, with most of the album's songs "[moaning] about brittle young relationships".<ref name="NewYorkTimes">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/arts/music/chainsmokers-memories-do-not-open-review.html|title=Review: The Chainsmokers Find That Pop Is an Awkward Fit|website=[[The New York Times]]|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|date=April 12, 2017|accessdate=April 15, 2017}}</ref> Jordan Sargent of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' observed the monotony of the record, stating: "The Chainsmokers have one song, and if you don’t want to hear 12 versions of it, please do not un-click the latch holding this box closed." He noted Taggart's "unique" vocal accessibility for listeners, but felt that his charm dissipated as the album wears on which resulted in a "series of songs that bleed endlessly into each other".<ref name="Spin">{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/2017/04/the-chainsmokers-memories-do-not-open-review/|title=Review: You Know Exactly What The Chainsmokers' Memories...Do Not Open Sounds Like|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|last=Sargent|first=Jordan|date=April 10, 2017|access-date=April 11, 2017}}</ref>