We weren’t sure if Madonna could surprise us anymore. Until she did.
The Sellout doesn’t just embrace the fluffier side of the Gray persona, it smothers it in an awkward, goofy hug.
Memphis Blues is a disappointment because it doesn’t play to Lauper’s considerable strengths.
The album falls somewhere between the murky waters of M83’s current shoegaze-glazed pop and Billy Corgan’s overly tweaked The Future Embrace sound.
If you want hits, Go! packs them in great quantity.
Further is by definition not the most embarrassing music of their career—merely the most boring.
We Are Born finds Sia poised to elbow her way into the spotlight.
From harmonicas to the honky-tonk pianos, the instrumentation isn’t much more creative than the lyrics.
Thank Me Later nails confused introspection in a genre famous for willful misrepresentation of self.
How can such a wondrous talent as Eminem make such a bloated, sullen, and detestable album as this?
The album is never less than beautiful and perfectly performed, but most of it is the recorded equivalent of Lunesta.
With Antifogmatic, the brothers have done a fine job of incorporating their most sophisticated aspirations into a more conventional album format.
Even when Jewel attempts to stick to more familiar country-songwriting standards, the results are uneven.
On American Slang, the Gaslight Anthem has grown up a bit, and their topics of interest are more muddied.
Total Life Forever is successful because of attention paid to the things around it.
When Young Jeezy is equipped with the right beat, his croaky, workingman rhymes are irresistible.
If this isn’t the definition of “peak Gaga,” then I don’t know what is.
The ambition level of Crunk Rock, Lil Jon’s long-delayed follow-up to Crunk Juice, is revealed almost immediately.
White Crosses proves to be a varied and exciting listen.
Mostly, Ariel Rosenberg effectively exploits his new environs to create a sense of comfort.
At best, songs like “Holdin’ On” and “Go On” are serviceable, but they lack any semblance of spark or inspiration.