Dear Science is a structural marvel in the way that its music reflects its tone.
Kings of Leon aim for stadium-rock grandeur on Only By the Night, badly missing the mark when it comes to what they actually do well.
Darius Rucker’s Learn to Live makes a concerted effort to sound like a modern country album.
Once again, Broussard’s undeniable talent shines through otherwise undistinguished material and uninspired production.
The arrangements of Rattlin’ Bones’s songs speak to a genuine understanding of genre conventions.
By downplaying their gift for memorable hooks and melodies, a band known for an unbridled sense of joy comes across as dour and bored.
You Are All My People never gives the impression that it’s more than just a one-off novelty project.
From the covers to the polished production, the choices on Promised Land all work well and play to Williams’s strengths.
That Simpson is audibly at least a quarter-pitch sharp on at least half of the album makes a good case for the use of Autotune.
Loveless again reasserts her place as one of the premier artists not just of the country genre but of contemporary popular music.
Sex and Gasoline is topical and fiercely intelligent in a way that few modern country albums are.
There’s a real coherence and a definite focus on a common theme of keeping one’s head, no matter how hard times may get.
There’s nothing really contemporary about Forth, but that gives it a certain retro-minded charm that carries it through some weaker moments.
Playhouse is a major disappointment for anyone other than George Jones completists.
Nelson is capable of taking unexpected material and tailoring it to his strengths as a performer and interpreter.
Sweet’s production foregrounds the massive guitar hooks, giving the album a punch that carries some heavy follow-through.
North Hollywood Shootout is Blues Traveler’s slightly over-reaching attempt at reclaiming some of their former commercial relevance.
The sheer quality of the Dandy Warhols’s songcraft on Earth goes a long way toward earning them a measure of goodwill.
Fast Paced World puts to rest any doubts as to how the Duhks would carry on with their new incarnation.
Juliana Hatfield is often at her best on How to Walk Away.