I Disagree is the third studio album by American singer Poppy, released on January 10, 2020, via Sumerian Records. It marks her first release on Sumerian Records following her departure from Mad Decent in 2019, as well as her final collaborative project with Titanic Sinclair before the end of their creative partnership in 2019.[1]I Disagree debuted at number 130 on the Billboard 200 for the week of January 25, marking Poppy's first entry on the chart.[2] The album also experienced moderate chart success in Australia and the United Kingdom, debuting atop the Rock & Metal Albums Chart in the latter.
Four songs were released as singles in order to promote the album, all four receiving music videos, with two more album tracks also receiving videos. For further promotion, the singer embarked on the Threesome Tour along with Bring Me the Horizon and Sleeping with Sirens, and the later I Disagree Tour, the Eurasia dates of which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A reissue of the album titled I Disagree (More) was released in August 2020, which spawned the fifth and final single "Khaos x4".
Music critics were positive towards I Disagree, praising Poppy for the direction of the album. "Bloodmoney" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making Poppy the first female solo artist to ever be nominated in the 30-year history of the category.[3]
Background and release
Poppy began work on I Disagree shortly after the release of Am I a Girl?. In an interview with Gigwise, Poppy called the album "post-genre" and "heavy", as well as stating that the record is a follow-up to the second half of Am I a Girl?, specifically of the songs "Play Destroy" and "X".[4]
"Concrete", the lead single from the album, was released on August 22, 2019. Released alongside its music video, the single came shortly after the announcement of Poppy signing with Sumerian Records and departing with Mad Decent.[5] The album's cover, title and release date were revealed on September 30, 2019 via Poppy's social media accounts. The album art was done by Jesse Draxler.[6] "I Disagree" was released as the second single from the album on October 4, 2019, alongside its music video.[7]
"Bloodmoney" was released as the third single from the album on November 6, 2019, along with the announcement of a 2020 US tour in support of I Disagree and a music video. It was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, becoming Poppy's first grammy nomination.[8][9] The track list of I Disagree was revealed on November 26, 2019 via Poppy's social media.[10] "Fill the Crown" was released as the fourth single from the album on December 11, 2019, alongside a music video.[11] The music video for "Anything Like Me" directed by Jesse Draxler and Poppy was released on the same day as the album - January 10, 2020.[12] A video for "Sit / Stay" was put out on March 20, 2020.
On an Instagram live stream on April 12, 2020, Sumerian Records announced a deluxe version of the album to be released in the summer of that year. Poppy confirmed on Twitter that the release of the deluxe edition was "right around the corner" on July 22, 2020.[13] The album's fifth and final single, "Khaos x4", was released on July 28, 2020, the same day Poppy announced said deluxe edition, titled I Disagree (More). The reissue, which included the additional tracks "Bleep Bloop", "Don't Ask", and "If It Bleeds" was released on August 14.[14]
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.[30]
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."[20] 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."[16] Malvika Padin of Gigwise called the album "A true masterpiece in almost every way imaginable..." and "...the perfect album to start 2020 with."[32]
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."[33] Ali Shutler of NME praised I Disagree as "her most accomplished record, full of daring theatre and snarling forward motion".[34] 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."[35] 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."[36]
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."[17] 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."[18]
In June 2020, I Disagree was included in Spin's 30 best albums of 2020 so far.[37]
^"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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