Posted by Katherine St Asaph on 03/29/2012 at 5:56 PM Reviews

The Popdust Files: fire burns, nicki minaj, Roman Reloaded, track-by-track reviews

Track 17: “Fire Burns”

Sounds Like: One of Pink Friday v. 1.0′s lusher pop tracks (think “Moment 4 Life”): in this case, a breakup song sung as painedly as its lyrics.

Pros: Every artist needs midtempo tracks and comedowns, and “Fire Burns” is more than sufficient in both regards. It just sounds great, made of piston percussion and sighing synths and faraway backing vocals. The chord change beneath the title’s especially gorgeous. In other words, we’re closer to R&B balladry than Roman ferocity, and the former’s standards would very much pass a line like “I hope you lay down in your sleep and you choke on every lie you told.”

Cons: For every line like that, there’s a couplet like “This is a sickening joke that you play with my emotions / I pray you burn in hell and you never find the ocean.” The music actually cuts out here, and it’s probably meant to deliver the punchline but comes off more like the track’s skulking away, embarrassed.

Roman Rating: 0/10. Roman would handle this breakup a lot differently. Maybe Nicki should’ve made this a double album, something along the lines of Roman / Reloaded?

WTF Moment?: Think too much about burning in hell and finding the ocean, and you’ll probably WTF. Isn’t hell supposed to be a lake of fire, anyway? We’re overanalyzing this.

Previous Reviews: “Roman Holiday,” “Come On A Cone,” “I Am Your Leader,” “Beez in the Trap,” “HOV Lane,” “Roman Reloaded,” “Champion,” “Right By My Side,” “Sex in the Lounge,” “Starships,” “Pound the Alarm,” “Whip It,” “Automatic,” “Beautiful Sinner,” “Marilyn Monroe,” “