I Disagree is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Poppy. it was released on January 10, 2020, as her first album with Sumerian Records following her departure from Mad Decent, as well as her final collaborative project with Titanic Sinclair before the end of their creative partnership in 2019.
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, praising Poppy's new direction in music, switching from pop to metal. It was supported by four singles, including the Grammy nominated "Bloodmoney" (2019). A reissue of the album titled I Disagree (More) was released on August 21, 2020, which spawned the fifth and final single "Khaos x4". I Disagree debuted at number 130 on the Billboard 200 for the week of January 25, marking Poppy's first entry on the chart. The album also experienced moderate chart success in Australia and the United Kingdom, debuting atop the Rock & Metal Albums Chart in the latter.
Background and release
Poppy rose to fame in 2015 when she starred in her own performance art videos on YouTube where she also mocked popular culture. She used to be known for her robotic persona.[1] Signing to different labels, she released several projects that mostly featured electro-pop and bubblegum-pop sounds.[2] Her second studio album Am I a Girl? was released in late 2018. On the second half of the record, Poppy began experimenting with nu metal, shortly after, she released Choke in 2019 as a continuation to Am I a Girl?'s second half.[3] Her image started to change around that time, as she ditched the pastel colors and started to wear darker outfits, as well as changing her music style.[3] Poppy began working on her third album following the release of her second album. She described it to be "heavy" and called it a "post-genre" record, as well as stating that it's a follow-up to her previous metal songs, specifically "Play Destroy" and "X".[4]
Choke was Poppy's final release under Mad Decent, as her ambient album I C U (Music to Read To) was released in July 2019 under her own label I'm Poppy Records.[5] In August, Poppy signed with Sumerian and released a single titled "Concrete".[6] The next month, Poppy announced the title of her third album to be I Disagree and revealed the official release date and cover art.[7] The album artwork was designed by American visual artist and photographer Jesse Draxler.[7] The title track was released as the second single in October.[8] Poppy performed "I Disagree" live at WWE NXT shortly after its release.[9] "Bloodmoney" was released as the album's third single in November, along with the announcement of a 2020 US tour in support of I Disagree and a music video.[10] It was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, becoming Poppy's first grammy nomination.[11][12] The track list of I Disagree was revealed on November 26, 2019 via Poppy's social media.[13] The fourth single, "Fill the Crown" was released in December.[14] Its official music video was heavily inspired by the 1957 film The Seventh Seal.[15] It was also announced that Poppy would part ways with her collaborator Titanic Sinclair.[16]
The fourth track on the album, "Anything Like Me" received a black and white music video, and was released on the same day as the album.[17] It was directed by Jesse Draxler and co-directed by Poppy.[18] Another music video from the album for "Sit / Stay" was released in March, and was fully directed by Poppy.[19] In April, Sumerian announced through an Instagram livestream that a deluxe version of I Disagree would be released in the summer. In July, a song called "Khaos x4" was released as the fifth and final single from the album,[20] followed by the announcement of a deluxe edition of the album called I Disagree (More).[21] The reissue was released in August and featured four additional tracks including the album's fifth single.[22]
I Disagree received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 72 out of 100, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews" based on 16 reviews.[39]
AllMusic writer Neil Z. Yeung also gave the album a positive rating, writing that "As both a symbolic avatar for her life changes and a strong empowerment statement, I Disagree celebrates Poppy's rebirth as a pop-metal alchemist and unabashed rule-breaker."[28] Josh Gray of Clash opined that "Poppy remains a daring and divisive artist making daring and divisive art, and I Disagree is the perfect shot of adrenaline to kick start a new decade with."[24] Malvika Padin of Gigwise called the album "A true masterpiece in almost every way imaginable..." and "...the perfect album to start 2020 with."[41]
While talking positively about the album, Nicoletta Wylde of musicOMH stated, "with I Disagree, Poppy releases her version of Lemonade; both channelling the pain of her recent controversy, sticking two fingers up to the past and translating her performance art into music."[42] Ali Shutler of NME praised I Disagree as "her most accomplished record, full of daring theatre and snarling forward motion".[43] Tara Joshi of The Observer called it "a cartoonish record that is at once garish, sweet and over the top...enjoyable, imaginative and at times uncanny assault on the senses."[44] Colin Joyce writing for Pitchfork stated, "none of the situations she explores are especially specific, but it’s striking...reminder that chaos can be cleansing, that calamity is the first step to starting all over again and building something new."[45]
Elisabeth Woronzoff of PopMatters considered the album to be "a major shift from her previous endeavors...[as] she has expanded her musicality while also challenging genre conventions."[25] In discussing the sound of the album, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine stated, "the album tosses the singer’s pop aesthetic into the shredder with heavy metal and industrial rock...the album...evokes Rammstein, Sleigh Bells, and Lady Gaga—but it’s regurgitated and repackaged in a way that manages to escape derivativeness."[26]
In June 2020, I Disagree was included in Spin's 30 best albums of 2020 so far.[46]
All tracks are written by Chris Greatti, Poppy, Zakk Cervini, and Titanic Sinclair, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Greatti and Cervini.[57]
^"60 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021". Revolver magazine. January 1, 2021. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021. On 2020's I Disagree LP, internet-bred shape-shifter Poppy unabashedly embraced the nu-metal influence...
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