Album Reviews Archive
Album Review: Linkin Park ‘Living Things’
July 29, 2012
Linkin Park have been making subtle adjustments to their formula from day one, evolving noticeably over time without ever leaving behind their radio-friendly rap/rock roots. Living Things is an album that is hyped to include all of the lessons they have learned along the way, while bringing back the energy of 2000’s Hybrid Theory. One
Album Review: Maroon 5 ‘Overexposed’
July 18, 2012
Well, that’s a worrying title. People of the Earth be warned: the pop stars are becoming self-aware. Soon they will realize their true potential and bypass the consumer process entirely, coming directly into your homes to motivate you while you are work out, distract you while you should be productive, and to coach you on
Album Review: Slash ‘Apocalyptic Love’
July 14, 2012
With his first solo record, 2010’s Slash, Saul Hudson went for the Carlos Santana approach with a diverse set of songs and a host of featured singers. It was a good enough record, but for the followup Slash has opted instead to work with a set band featuring vocalist Myles Kennedy, drummer Brent Fitz, and
Album Review: Carrie Underwood ‘Blown Away’
July 13, 2012
It’s no surprise that Carrie Underwood is the most successful among her American Idol alumni, and she would likely have been able to achieve the same level of success even without the show. Since 2006 she has released four albums, selling millions of copies, and she has won a bunch of awards along the way–including
Album Review: R Kelly ‘Write Me Back’
July 11, 2012
Write Me Back is a direct followup to 2010’s Love Letter. With that album, R. Kelly was able to show his prowess in a new light, and thus separate himself from all of the controversy and weirdness that his career had become. It was a throwback 70’s soul record, and a surprisingly good one at
Album Review: Usher ‘Looking 4 Myself’
July 5, 2012
Since the first time I saw Usher perform, which I suppose had to have been around 1997, I found myself in the odd position of advocating the man, singing his praises with wild and uncharacteristic hyperbole. I didn’t even like his music very much–I was into Radiohead and The Verve that year–but I told all
Album Review: Regina Spektor ‘What We Saw from the Cheap Seats’
July 3, 2012
Many of the tracks on What We Saw From the Cheap Seats have already been heard by fans over the past ten years, but it probably wouldn’t be fair to call this album a b-side collection. Regina has completely reworked some of her older stuff, and those tunes which once existed as simple piano ditties
Album Review: The Hunger Games Soundtrack
June 27, 2012
The problem with most soundtracks is that the shifts in mood and genre which take place in a film don’t necessarily work out of context, and with all of the in-between stuff cut out. What you get then is very rarely a true album experience. You get a collection of songs with no apparent relationship,
Album Review: Our Lady Peace ‘Curve’
June 23, 2012
Curve opens with an electric guitar which immediately brings to mind Hendrix at Woodstock. It may or may not have been intentional, but it made me think of raw, live music, and the passionate community around it. Not at all what one would expect from an Our Lady Peace album released in the last decade
Album Review: Adam Lambert ‘Trespassing’
June 21, 2012
It’s easy enough to pass Adam Lambert off as a cookie-cutter pop star, fully equipped with all of the forced attitude it takes to convince a 13-year-old that he can be their bad boy messiah. After all, with his rise coming through an institution as ubiquitous with the campy and overdone as American Idol, dismissiveness
