| Judgement Days | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Ms. Dynamite |
| Cover: | Ms Dynamite - Judgement Days.png |
| Border: | yes |
| Recorded: | London |
| Length: | 66:24 |
| Label: | Polydor |
| Producer: | Bloodshy & Avant, Builder |
| Prev Title: | A Little Deeper |
| Prev Year: | 2002 |
Judgement Days is the second studio album by English singer and rapper Ms. Dynamite. It was released on 3 October 2005 by Polydor Records. Chink Santana, Stephen Marsden, Christian Karlsson, and Lil Wayne collaborated on several tracks.
Judgement Days is similar to Ms. Dynamite's first work, drawing inspiration from a number of personal themes in her life as a basis for humane political commentary in a climate of increasing paranoia. However, it also supposedly reflected the fact she had matured as a performer, including having performed at Live 8 earlier that year.[1]
Upon its release in the United Kingdom and Ireland in October 2005, the album peaked at number 43 on the UK Albums Chart, spending two weeks on the chart.[2] It was not promoted well in Europe or Australia, and later that year Polydor officially dropped Ms. Dynamite from the record label.
On Metacritic, Judgement Days has a score of 59 out of 100 from seven reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reception. Jon O'Brien, writing for AllMusic, gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars. He criticised its themes and tone, saying "the pure anger and constant preaching on Judgement Days makes you feel like you're being repeatedly battered over the head at a highly fraught protest march...overall, Judgement Days is a disappointing follow-up to its predecessor, which managed to address difficult issues without descending into self-indulgence and self-righteousness. The carefree party sound of her two-step garage beginnings seems a long, long time ago".[3]
Reviewing the album for NME, Dan Martin wrote that "There's a fine, fine line between angry punk and sanctimonious nagging that's crossed too often here", naming "Back Then" the stand-out track because it is "gleefully nostalgic". Martin still found the beats "slick and the vocals flawless" and called Dynamite "a brilliant, precocious talent – just one moving too slowly, and in the wrong direction".[4]
Matilda Egere-Cooper of the BBC opined that "the intensity of [Dynamite's] strop overshadows the album's lighter touches", finding it to have an "overall 'down' feel". Egere-Cooper nonetheless concluded that "Dynamite hasn't lost her values, and it's this that makes Judgement Days a worthwhile, if not entirely satisfying, album".[5]
Disc one
Disc two