React: Sia - Reasonable Woman

Simply Incredible.

Those of you who know me personally know that I’m a left-field pop junkie. It’s easily my favorite musical genre. And while I’ve listened to Sia in the past and absolutely loved This Is Acting, I haven’t really followed her music releases since then.

I think in many ways I’m hoping that Reasonable Woman is able to pull me back in. Just glancing over the track list, it does look like she has half a dozen or so features on the album, none of whom I follow too closely. So this should be an interesting reaction!

So without further ado, here are my first reactions to Sia’s Reasonable Woman.

Little Wing

The first thing that caught my attention was the vocal effect bouncing between the left and right channels. It also reminded me how much I love Sia’s voice. Especially when it comes to the chorus when she sings Little wing. My little wing. I’m in love with the vocal run.

The kick drum and bass combo here is great as well. The kick fills in the mid-bass quite well, while the bass takes control of the sub-bass. I love the reverb on the snare drum after the first chorus and the overall beat of this song.

This track definitely has a ton of head bopper potential. I love how relatively straightforward the verses are on this track, contrasting with how relatively chaotic the choruses are sonically.

What a great song to start off the album. Let’s hope the rest of the album keeps the same momentum.

Immortal Queen (feat. Chaka Khan)

Admittedly, I’ve never heard a single Chaka Khan song before, so this should be extra interesting. If there’s one thing you can’t knock Sia for it’s her beats. We’re only two tracks in and both are certified head boppers.

Again with the bass and its sub-bass properties. That drum pattern is killer. I love everything about it. I’d almost say this track is more hip-hop/rap than it is pop. But it has elements of all three genres.

The Chaka Khan feature fits so perfectly. Their vocal ranges are like a match made in heaven. No notes there.

Sia did not disappoint. The momentum continues!

Dance Alone

I’ve heard a few Kylie Minogue tracks before. Most prominently, I know Real Groove, especially with her collaboration with Dua Lipa. I’d say she’s more dance-pop than left-field pop, so a collaboration with Sia should be interesting.

I definitely hear the Kylie Minogue influence here with the drum beat and the electronic bass line. That’s even more prevalent as we enter the chorus line. In my limited experience, this sounds like a Kylie track.

The second pre-chorus sounds epic. The breakdown drums are to die for. The hi-hats on this track are sharp, in your face, and in the left channel. And after the second chorus have some layering added.

I Had A Heart

I’m not typically a fan of digitally altered (sometimes known as "autotune") vocals, but it makes Sia’s vocal here a bit more interesting. It sounds like there are two separate vocal tracks here and the second vocal track has the effect added.

I think the changeup midway through the first verse is interesting. It goes from this epic storyteller sound to a more traditional pop track. I guess that’s what they mean by "left-field pop".

I’ve gotta give credit where credit is due. While it’s not a traditional "run", her vocals during the chorus are very impressive. Lots of emotion and control in her vocals.

It’s not everyone’s favorite, but I absolutely love that the pacing changes between verse and chorus.

And then there’s the ending. Clover use of wordplay there. The track ends on "stop".

Gimmie Love (Reasonable Woman Version)

I must be missing something here (someone please tell me if I am). Is there a non-album version of this somewhere? Was this track possibly on an older album and she re-did it in the stylings of this album?

Kicking things off with a heavy bass and vocal chops. I can already tell I’m going to love this track. Heading into the first verse with just a single repeating synth note, a kick drum, and a clap. It’s refreshingly simple so far.

Oh yeah, this is the Sia I know and have come to love. That chorus seals the deal. It’s a power ballad. I love the bouncier kick drum and relatively thin (though, sub-bass heavy) bass line. It’s giving a pseudo sense of compression.

And rounding things out is the intro. It’s early, but this track will certainly be up there in my overall favorite tracks on the album.

Nowhere To Be

That drumbeat is killer. It’s a head bopper off the rip. I love the lower in the mix and echoed vocals during the chorus. It’s very faint and I’d wager most people would miss it, but it’s a nice little ear candy. Especially when you combine it with her relatively light backing/layered vocals.

The bouncier bass in the second verse is great. It’s all mostly upper bass with very little mid-bass, and no sub-bass whatsoever. It has an almost funky sound to it. It only exists in the second verse as it switches to the lower, sub-bass heavy bass going into the pre-chorus.

It’s a fun song. Not a pop hit, I think. But just a fun listen.

Towards The Sun

I think this is the first track on the album I’m not a huge fan of. I listened to most of the track trying to find something to comment on or something that I’d like but didn’t really come up with anything.

Not every song has to be a hit and as I’ve done this more frequently, I’ve come to realize that songs that I don’t vibe with, I’ll skip. Granted, in this case, I listened to two-thirds of the track to give it the benefit of the doubt. I just didn’t vibe with it.

Incredible (feat. Labrinth)

Labrinth is an artist I genuinely have never heard of. Sounds like I should be in for a treat.

I love the intro to this track. The synth followed by a short echo of what sounds like the clack of the keyboard is great. I’m not quite sure if the white noise is on purpose, but when Sia’s vocal enters, there’s a decent amount of audible white noise.

The ultra precise pre/chorus is fantastic. It’s one of those things you have to hear to know what I mean. The vocals, the instrumentation, everything. Super precise.

The Labrinth feature is a great contrast to Sia. Again, I had no idea who he was or what he sounded like. But this was great. To quote the song itself, I am incredible. That’s the best way to describe this collaboration.

The song definitely has a different vibe from everything I’ve heard so far. But I like it.

Champion (feat. Tierra Whack, Kaliii, and Jimmy Jolliff)

An even bigger feature? This should be very interesting. I’ve heard a few Tierra Whack songs before, but am fresh to the other two undoubtedly amazing artists.

Similar to Incredible, this track has a completely different vibe than the first chunk of the album. This track has a heavy hip-hop/rap influence. I’m absolutely loving that sub-bass heavy bass. As always, I’m doing this reaction with headphones, but I can’t wait to hear this track on a speaker setup with a proper subwoofer. That kick drum is very sub-bassy as well. Then, of course, the horns are icing on the cake.

This track is a certified head bopper. I’m admittedly a light hip-hop/rap listener, but this song is pulling me right in.

Three features plus Sia sounded like a whole lot at first, especially on a track that’s shy of three minutes. But it worked out beautifully.

I Forgive You

Looking at the track list, this appears to be the longest track on the album, coming in at 4:20. Listening to the first 30 seconds, it sounds like we’re in for a ballad. Let’s see if this ends up being a waterworks track.

Wow, I was not expecting a run. I don’t typically associate Sia and runs, yet here we are. I guess it was bound to happen with a track this long. See, there’s another one and we’re only a minute in.

There’s that digital vocal effect again on the backing/layered vocal. It’s definitely a style choice.

Yes! Strings are added a little over halfway through the track in the right channel. Y’all already know I’m a sucker for strings.

This track will definitely get you sobbing. More impressive than anything is the production, in my humble opinion. I loved her vocal runs and the instrumentation choice.

Wanna Be Known

I’m starting to see a pattern. I think Sia loves those deep, gut pounding bass lines. This track is no exception. She’s a sub-bass queen and I’m here for it. The hi-hat pattern is excellent. Unique, detailed, and fun.

She doesn’t use guitars a lot in her production, so that’s a welcome change here. The soft guitar adds a layer of depth to the track. Similarly, the various off-beat claps and snares add an extra layer of fun and depth to the song as well.

I don’t think she gets enough credit for doing her own backing vocals for the vast majority of her songs. I think that’s mostly because it blends so well that it’s sometimes hard to hear that she even has any backing vocals in the first place. But that’s definitely taking place here.

The production on this track is fantastic and you should listen to the track if only for that reason alone.

One Night

Of course, the moment when I say she doesn’t use guitars in her productions, I get back to back tracks with guitars. This time with an Indian inspired sitar.

What’s pulling me in is Sia’s talk singing in the verses on the track. Of course, I love the "vocal as an instrument" technique on this track as well. It’s very brief and is used very lightly. Y’all already know I’m a sucker for those non-sequiturs.

I have to give credit where credit is due. The drum track on this track is very unique. Rather than being front and center, it takes a backseat and is only ever so slightly keeping the track together. It gives the instrumental listener something to pay attention to.

Fame Won’t Love You (feat. Paris Hilton)

I’d wager most people know who Paris Hilton is. I certainly do. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sing. But if all the other features are any indication, this track is gonna be fire.

Not gonna lie, the guitar riff at the beginning of the track made me think we’re getting a punk-rock track. Now I’m sure that’s not gonna be the case, just something to point out.

Sia and Paris’ vocals blend so well. I don’t remember if any of the other features did this but I love that they’re both singing harmonies together.

Don’t get it twisted, it’s a great track. But if you remove Paris Hilton from the song, there’s not much else going on. But the feature definitely is carrying this track.

Go On

Not to point out the obvious, but the repetitive nature of the lyrics immediately stood out here. And I’m not quite sure I’m on board with it.

Yeah sorry. I think the song is pretty decent but I feel as though the lyricism is a bit uninspired and brings the entire mood down. Though, I think the track’s ending is very cool.

Not much else to say here.

Rock and Balloon

The production on this track is very interesting, even though I’m only a minute into the song. What Go On couldn’t do, Rock and Balloon is firing on all cylinders. The production is so unique despite its relatively basic structure.

I think the lack of any low-end (for the most part) is what’s catching my attention. There’s some bass here and there and a few claps and snares here and there. But It’s mostly the various pianos, synths, and guitars that are the core of this song.

The best way to describe this song is... unique. But in the best way possible. It’s a song that I already want to listen to again and again just to figure out what the hell I just listened to. It’s fantastic.

Conclusion

Reasonable Woman isn’t a perfect album by any stretch of the imagination. But that doesn’t mean it’s a downright bad album. It has quite a few superb tracks combined with a few that I wasn’t a huge fan of. Regardless, I’m happy that I checked it out.

When I initially looked at the album, I thought, wow, there are a lot of features on the album. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Well, you know how that turned out.

Sia’s Reasonable Woman isn’t gonna be everyone’s cup of tea. By definition, that’s the entire idea of "left-field pop", an experimental genre of pop music. But if you’re willing to give it a listen, Sia’s Reasonable Woman will be well worth your time.

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NOTE: This reaction was completed after listening to Sia’s Reasonable Woman on Tidal with an active Tidal subscription (24-bit, 44.1 kHz), streaming directly through the Tidal desktop application for Mac.