Average Rating: 3.39 Rating Variance: 0.60 Objectivity Score: 80% (Well Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicRadiohead OK ComputerRadiohead Kid A4.5 superbFlorence and the Machine LungsGrizzly Bear VeckatimestIncubus (USA-CA) Make YourselfRadiohead In RainbowsThe Mars Volta Frances the MuteThe Mars Volta De-Loused in the ComatoriumTV on the Radio Dear ScienceWild Beasts Two Dancers4.0 excellentAnimal Collective Merriweather Post PavilionColdplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His FriendsColdplay X&YColdplay ParachutesFall Out Boy Folie a DeuxFuck Buttons Tarot SportIncubus (USA-CA) Morning ViewJohn Mayer ContinuumJustin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSoundsLórien EsqueLorien EsqueMaroon 5 It Won't Be Soon Before LongMuse AbsolutionMutemath MutemathP.O.D. BrownP.O.D. Fundamental Elements of SouthtownP.O.D. TestifyParamore Brand New EyesParamore Riot!Radiohead The BendsSara Bareilles Kaleidoscope HeartShearwater RookShearwater The Golden ArchipelagoShearwater closes out a musical trilogy with grace and import. The beauty of Shearwater's The Golden Archipelago can be likened to a majestic landscape under destruction of catastrophe. There is a palpable sadness that is engaging and yet distant, as if the view is of someplace far away. With cohesion and understatement Jonathan Meiburg creates the perfect follow-up to 2008's Rook. A more seamless outing than its predecessor, The Golden Archipelago is prone to stretches of increased subtlety, where the memorable moments are a bit faint. Lacking some of the punch and climax that gave Rook a more stately posture, Shearwater's third album in the assumed trilogy, doesn't have the same backdrop with which to play on its nuances. This leaves it feeling a little pale and muted on occasion. While The Golden Archipelago will reward listeners as they soak in its waves, it only ebbs in comparison to its predecessor. Had Rook not already accomplished that by which The Golden Archipelago abides, it would no doubt be a groundbreaking triumph. In the stunning anticipation felt through "Castaways", to the jubilation of "Black Eyes", and the sincere moments of dark beauty found in "Missing Islands", Shearwater provide a remarkable conclusion to this sonic odyssey. -Jonathan Kroening www.itsjustmusic.netSt. Vincent ActorSwitchfoot The Beautiful LetdownThe Mars Volta The Bedlam in GoliathThe xx xx3.5 greatColdplay A Rush of Blood to the HeadDirty Projectors Bitte OrcaFall Out Boy Infinity on HighFall Out Boy From Under the Cork TreeIncubus (USA-CA) S.C.I.E.N.C.E.Jay-Z The Blueprint 3Muse The ResistanceMuse Black Holes & RevelationsMuse Origin of SymmetryPhoenix (FRA) Wolfgang Amadeus PhoenixRadiohead Hail to the ThiefRihanna Rated RSwitchfoot Nothing is SoundSwitchfoot Learning To BreatheThe Avett Brothers I and Love and YouThe Mars Volta AmputechtureYeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz!3.0 goodElectrik Red How To Be A Lady: Volume 1Incubus (USA-CA) Light GrenadesIncubus (USA-CA) A Crow Left of the Murder...Justin Timberlake JustifiedLórien The Missing CollectionLorien The Missing CollectionMuse ShowbizNeko Case Middle CycloneP.O.D. The Warriors EPP.O.D. SatelliteP.O.D. Payable on DeathP.O.D. The Warriors EP Vol. 2P.O.D. When Angels and Serpents DanceParamore All We Know Is FallingRadiohead I Might Be Wrong: Live RecordingsSade Soldier Of LoveSwitchfoot Hello HurricaneSwitchfoot Legend of ChinThe Mars Volta OctahedronTimbaland Timbaland Presents Shock ValueUsher Raymond v. Raymond2.5 averageCorinne Bailey Rae The SeaDamien Rice 9Fever Ray Fever RayJudging this solo debut as an individual work reveals its incidental nature. Having never heard any music from electronic duo The Knife, it's difficult to know where Fever Ray's Karin Dreijer is coming from. Most discussions and critiques of her long-awaited solo album, Fever Ray, center on the anticipation for what she would produce apart from The Knife. It seems most pundits find her eponymous debut to be quite similar to the endeavors of the duo. Be as it may, I find this to be one of the least compelling albums of 2009's top 20. A rather abstract electronic landscape smattered with Dreijer's loose vocal can be hypnotic and is, without a doubt, unique. Yet the idiosyncrasies of the ambient tunes lack memorable repetition. Sure, there are recurrent blips and buzzes within the IDM physique, but there is a want for more convincing melodic repetition. The lack thereof doesn't render Fever Ray an awful record, but it doesn't feel like I'm missing something by discarding it. A rather unconvincing listen, I am left wondering if critics, and those "in-the-know", too easily get caught up in the hype of a highly anticipated solo album. Analyzing Fever Ray's debut record leaves this critic thinking that based on its merit alone -- not in relation to The Knife's discography -- Fever Ray is largely nonessential. 2.5 / 5 stars -Jonathan Kroening www.itsjustmusic.netMinus the Bear OmniParamore The Final Riot!Radiohead AmnesiacRadiohead Pablo HoneySwitchfoot Oh! Gravity.Switchfoot New Way to Be HumanThe Flaming Lips EmbryonicU2 No Line on the Horizon2.0 poorGirls AlbumLudacris Battle of the SexesP.O.D. Snuff the PunkThe Mars Volta Scab DatesUsher Here I Stand1.5 very poorPaper Tongues Paper Tongues1.0 awfulLil Wayne Rebirth
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
