Toby Keith walks a fine line between self-mythologizing and self-parody on his 12th studio album.
It’s the enthusiasm of the performances that makes Mind Chaos work, but the fact that it’s always dialed up so high also works against the album.
Exene Cervenka has dabbled in acoustic music since the late ’80s, but Somewhere Gone, her debut for the Bloodshot label, is something of a departure.
On paper, Backstreet Boys enlisted all of the right people for the third album of their thus-far ineffectual comeback.
The soundtrack is a structurally rich effort that matches the tone of Spike Jonze’s images.
If Big Kenny spent a bit less time on drippy, unconvincing romantic ballads, the album would work better as a career re-launch.
Despite the uninspired arrangements of the songs and the banal production choices, Beth Ditto’s gritty, soulful deliveries shine.
Perhaps the only thing working against Brandi Carlile’s commercial prospects is her timing.
The album serves as an immediate reminder that Cash is among the most thoughtful, most intuitive vocalists of her generation.
Having come into her own on the extraordinary Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Lambert expands on her fascinating, fully realized artistic persona on Revolution.
That no one left during the deluge spoke volumes about Lambert’s command of the audience.
However talented Mika may be, he’s going to burn out fast unless he learns how to rein in some of his more repellant instincts.
Though he’s backed by a new band, David Gray doesn’t change his trademark formula much on Draw the Line.
One hopes that Monsters of Folk makes for more than just a one-off side project.
The scope and thoughtfulness that made Mountain Soul such a treasure are absent here.
That the lyrics aren’t the selling point of We’re on Your Side keeps the focus on the instrumental arrangements that are Slaraffenland’s real strength.
Bear breathes new life into a long-hibernating genre.
Yo La Tengo knows exactly how hard and in what direction to push.
Arrangement is often a difficult listen because of Hawthorne’s inferior vocal performances.
There simply isn’t anything here that speaks to what has made Drive-By Truckers one of the smartest, most nuanced acts of the last decade.