| John Mayer Sob Rock | 3.0 |
| Sufjan Stevens Michigan | 4.0 |
| The Strokes First Impressions of Earth | 4.0 |
| The Strokes Room on Fire | 4.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys The Car | 3.0 |
| CHVRCHES Screen Violence | 4.0 |
| Andrew Bird Inside Problems | 4.0 |
| The Beach Boys The Smile Sessions | 5.0 |
| The Beach Boys Pet Sounds | 4.5 |
| The Avett Brothers The Third Gleam | 3.5 |
| Tor Miller Surviving the Suburbs | 3.0 |
| Declan McKenna Zeros | 3.5 |
| The Killers Imploding the Mirage | 3.0 |
| Niall Horan Heartbreak Weather | 3.0 |
| Taylor Swift Lover | 3.0 |
| Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell! | 4.0 |
| Kanye West Jesus Is King | 3.0 |
| The Strokes The New Abnormal | 4.0 |
| The Avett Brothers Closer Than Together | 2.0 |
| One point for each time I managed to make it through this. |
| The Killers Wonderful Wonderful | 2.5 |
| Troye Sivan Blue Neighborhood | 3.5 |
| Red Hearse Red Hearse | 3.5 |
| Ben Folds So There | 3.0 |
| Chance the Rapper The Big Day | 2.5 |
| Vampire Weekend Father Of The Bride | 3.5 |
| Tyler, the Creator IGOR | 4.0 |
| Rex Orange County Apricot Princess | 3.5 |
| Taylor Swift Reputation | 3.5 |
| Declan McKenna What Do You Think About The Car? | 3.5 |
| Niall Horan Flicker | 3.0 |
| LCD Soundsystem American Dream | 4.0 |
| LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem | 3.5 |
| Tyler, the Creator Flower Boy | 4.0 |
| Tyler, the Creator Wolf | 3.5 |
| Kanye West ye | 3.5 |
| Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino | 4.0 |
| The War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding | 4.5 |
| Talking Heads Stop Making Sense | 4.5 |
| Parachute Wide Awake | 3.0 |
| One Direction Made In The A.M. | 3.0 |
| One Direction Four | 3.5 |
| One Direction Midnight Memories | 3.0 |
| One Direction Take Me Home | 2.5 |
| One Direction Up All Night | 2.5 |
| John Mayer Paradise Valley | 3.5 |
| John Mayer Battle Studies | 3.5 |
| John Mayer The Search for Everything | 3.0 |
| Kanye West The Life of Pablo | 4.0 |
| Tor Miller American English | 3.5 |
| The Avett Brothers True Sadness | 2.5 |
| Bruce Springsteen Born to Run | 5.0 |
| Chance the Rapper 10 Day | 4.0 |
| Chance the Rapper Acid Rap | 3.5 |
| Chance the Rapper Coloring Book | 4.0 |
| The Avett Brothers Mignonette | 4.0 |
| Kanye West The College Dropout | 4.5 |
| Young the Giant Young the Giant | 3.5 |
| Tor Miller Headlights | 3.5 |
| Kanye West Graduation | 4.0 |
| Brandon Flowers The Desired Effect | 3.0 |
| Maroon 5 Songs About Jane | 3.5 |
| Bleachers Strange Desire | 3.0 |
| The Format Interventions and Lullabies | 3.0 |
| Taylor Swift 1989 | 4.0 |
| Kanye West Yeezus | 4.0 |
| Andrew Bird I Want to See Pulaski at Night | 3.5 |
| The Avett Brothers Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions | 3.5 |
| Arctic Monkeys AM | 3.5 |
| Foster the People Torches | 3.0 |
| Passion Pit Gossamer | 3.5 |
| The Avett Brothers Magpie and the Dandelion | 3.5 |
| Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend | 4.0 |
| The Killers Battle Born | 3.0 |
For all of its fame in producing the lyrical head-scratcher "Human," 2008's Day & Age was perhaps most notable for its
inclusion of the first truly bad Killers song in "Joy Ride." Unfortunately, the chinks in the armor are spreading on 'Battle
Born.' The less appealing tracks on the group's least consistent album yet range from peculiar ("From Here On Out") to
forgettable ("Deadlines and Commitments") and even downright awful ("Here With Me"). And at 12 tracks long, one
couldn't help but think that at least one of these could have been cut from the album. But a number of other songs are
guided by an undeniable emotional force carrying Brandon Flowers to new heights as he intones, "there's no surrender,
'cause there's no retreat" among "the wreckage of broken dreams and burned-out halos." After a rocky ride, The Killers
reward dedicated listeners with the epic title track closer, which is among the best songs the band has ever produced. In
the end, there is no choice but to average the album's good with its bad, leaving the overall experience somewhere in the
middle.
Standout tracks: Battle Born, Runaways, The Way It Was |
| The Avett Brothers The Carpenter | 3.5 |
The Avett Brothers again team up with Rick Rubin, again with varying degrees of success. No, it's not as consistent as 'I and Love and You' or as impactful as 'Emotionalism,' but the 'The Carpenter' is still a solid album that provides a couple additions to the brothers' already impressive case for inclusion in the songwriters hall of fame.
Standout tracks: February Seven, The Once and Future Carpenter, Life |
| The Avett Brothers The Gleam | 4.0 |
| The Avett Brothers The Second Gleam | 4.0 |
| Dr. Dog Fate | 4.0 |
| fun. Some Nights | 3.0 |
| I'll just say I'm being very generous with a 3. |
| Andrew Bird Armchair Apocrypha | 4.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys Suck It and See | 3.0 |
| The Avett Brothers I and Love and You | 4.0 |
| The Avett Brothers Emotionalism | 4.0 |
| Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 4.5 |
| LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver | 4.0 |
| The Strokes Angles | 3.5 |
| Brandon Flowers Flamingo | 3.0 |
Brandon Flowers' debut finds him with ambitions as lofty as ever, but they are sadly unrealized without the rest of The
Killers. 'Flamingo' is an uneven album: opener "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" is honestly just awful, but "Playing With
Fire" showcases some of Flowers' strongest lyrical work to date ("Rolling river of truth, can you spare me a sip / The holy
fountain of youth has been reduced to a drip"). On first listen much of it comes off as a little too poppy for its own good,
but repeated listens reveal welcome depth to a number of tracks.
Standout tracks: Only The Young, Playing With Fire, Crossfire |
| LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening | 4.0 |
| Foxy Shazam Foxy Shazam | 3.5 |
Wow. This may be Foxy Shazam's third album, but the fact that it's their first eponymous release should clue you
in that things are different this time around. Much different. The band has managed to channel its incredible
energy away from nonsense vocals and into tight music and pristine production. This is 42 straight minutes of
crazy, insane, outlandish, over-the-top, in-your-face, rocking and rolling pop goodness that somehow manages to
retain, and even flaunt, its musicality. Imagine Meatloaf leading a band that is one part The Darkness, one part
Queen, and one part pure cocaine, and you have something of an idea of what this album sounds like. Get ready
to be blown away.
Standout tracks: Bombs Away, Oh Lord, The Only Way To My Heart... |
| The Hush Sound So Sudden | 4.0 |
| Steel Train Steel Train | 4.0 |
| This is really good. There is some truly great stuff on here. |
| Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production Of Eggs | 4.0 |
| Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young | 3.0 |
From the man behind one of the most fabled bands of the past decade comes a puzzlingly uneven release that certainly has its moments. Unfortunately you'll be hard-pressed to remember those moments after the 8 songs span a whopping 40 minutes. 'Phrazes for the Young' starts off strong with three straight upbeat, catchy tunes. From there, however, things start to get messy. "4 Chords..." would be a pretty good song if it wasn't somehow stretched out over 5 minutes. Actually, the same goes for the next four songs as well. Let's put it this way: if you're still awake by the end of the dreary closer "Tourist," you'll wish you weren't. Casablancas deserves credit for being boldly experimental with his solo effort, but overall it's almost unbearably lethargic.
Standout tracks: Out of the Blue, Left & Right In The Dark, River of Brakelights |
| Death Cab for Cutie Plans | 3.5 |
| John Mayer Continuum | 4.5 |
| Ben Folds Ben Folds Live | 3.5 |
| fun. Aim and Ignite | 5.0 |
| After leaving this as a 4.5 for over three years, I am finally ready to take the plunge. It's just that good. |
| The Format Dog Problems | 4.0 |
Really the best way I can put this is this: If not for tracks 3 through 5, 'Dog Problems' would be a classic. As in, 5.0. This
album is amazing. Incredible. Even perfect. But only for 9 of its 12 tracks.
The album starts off with the mind-blowing one-two punch of "Matches" and "I'm Actual," but then immediately
descends into inexplicably frustrating normalcy over the next three tracks. "Time Bomb" starts off fine but ends up
having an average chorus. Then "She Doesn't Get It" really gets old after a couple listens. And "Pick Me Up" is just... well,
weird. But then out of nowhere, "Dog Problems," possibly the best four minutes of music you'll ever hear, rights the
ship, and from there it's smooth sailing through the end, when "If Work Permits" works itself into such a fantastic frenzy
it can't help but self-destruct in an impressive blaze of glory.
Tracks 3-5 aren't really bad, per se, but when they're book-ended by incredible works like the title track and "I'm
Actual," they just don't stand a chance. Add to that some truly baffling issues with how the tracks are mixed and you've
got... well, you've still got a really, really excellent album.
Standout tracks: Dog Problems, If Work Permits, Snails |
| Flight of the Conchords I Told You I Was Freaky | 3.0 |
The second season of Flight of the Conchords was ever so slightly less brilliant than the first, and the corresponding album acts accordingly: not quite as good as the first, but not far behind. The duo's incredible musicianship is not as apparent this time around, and is especially lacking on "We're Both In Love With A Sexy Lady" and the album's title track, both of which completely abandon any concept of melody before they even start. But "Carol Brown" is the most promising Conchords track since last year's "Inner City Pressure," and even the less accessible tracks here have no shortage of the genius rhymes and humor that propelled the Conchords to stardom in the first place.
Standout tracks: Carol Brown, Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor), Petrov Yelyena And Me |
| Arctic Monkeys Humbug | 3.5 |
| The Strokes Is This It | 4.5 |
| The Last Shadow Puppets The Age Of The Understatement | 4.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys Five Minutes With Arctic Monkeys | 4.0 |
| Train My Private Nation | 3.0 |
Given Train's success with the strings- and piano-drenched single "Drops of Jupiter," it's not surprising that their sound on 'My Private Nation' has changed significantly from their first two albums. While Pat Monahan's lyrics and vocals remain solid, the new pop/rock sound inevitably leaves songs sounding less original than previous Train material. The album, overall, is quite good; its quality is just hidden beneath a layer of mainstream production.
Standout tracks: Calling All Angels, When I Look To The Sky, Your Every Color |
| Jack's Mannequin Everything in Transit | 3.0 |
The opening 3 tracks of Andrew McMahon's solo project are so incredible, it's almost a shame to rate the album anything lower than a 4.5. Sadly, 'Everything In Transit' can't rsustain the sheer greatness of the initial ten minutes for 11 tracks. The remaining half hour of music is good, if melodically weak, but one can't help but wonder what could have rbeen if every track was of the same quality as "Bruised."
Standout tracks: Holiday From Real, The Mixed Tape, Bruised |
| Coldplay LeftRightLeftRightLeft | 3.0 |
| Butterfly Assassins Butterfly Assassins | 4.0 |
| Butterfly Assassins Sylvia | 4.5 |
| Keane Hopes & Fears | 3.0 |
| The Killers Day & Age | 3.5 |
Another album, another new sound for The Killers. This one is 100% glitz and glamour. Not the nitty-gritty, real-life glitz and glamour of the immaculate 'Sam's Town,' but ethereal, transcendent glitz and glamour. 'Day & Age' packs twice the synths of 'Hot Fuss' and twice the sound of 'Sam's Town' - if that's even possible. If you didn't like The Killers before, you're certainly not going to now, but if you have a special place in your heart for bands that strive to be larger than life, that strive to be something... *more*... Brandon Flowers made this just for you. The album takes an inexplicable stumble with "Joy Ride," a whole mess of what-were-they-thinking, but quickly picks back up with the show-stopper "A Dustland Fairytale."
Standout tracks: A Dustland Fairytale, Losing Touch, Spaceman |
| The Lonely Island Incredibad | 2.5 |
| For all of the great things The Lonely Island has accomplished in their previously little-known existence, their first commercial album is, sadly, somewhat of a disappointment. As a whole, 'Incredibad' is immature, inconsistent, and messy. It doesn't help that all of the best material is pushed together; tracks 3-6 are some of the very best on the album, but once you get past them, what's left is largely poorly-conceived filler. Download the popular tracks and skip the rest; they're not worth the time or money.rStandout tracks: Jizz In My Pants, I'm On A Boat, Sax Man |
| Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare | 4.0 |
| Coldplay Live 2003 | 3.5 |
| Reel Big Fish Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live | 3.0 |
At 35 tracks, 'Our Live Album...' is more than just a live album; it's practically the definitive collection of Reel Big Fish's greatest hits. In between the vulgar, arrogant, and generally hilarious banter, even a complete stranger to RBF is sure to find plenty of songs to enjoy over and over. The album sounds great, seamlessly integrating recordings from a half-dozen or so live shows. While this allows the band to create a "best of" collection of "Suburban Rhythm" versions, it also causes the who experience to run a little long. And when the DVD documents the band overdubbing guitar and horns right over the original live recordings, you have to wonder how close to an actual RBF show the whole thing actually sounds.
Standout tracks: Beer, Take On Me, S.R. (The Many Versions Of) |
| Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | 4.0 |
| OneRepublic Dreaming Out Loud | 3.0 |
'Dreaming Out Loud' is an interesting debut for OneRepublic. While it proves that Ryan Tedder's songwriting scope is not
limited to hit singles for others, it does not prove that he can come up with an entire album's worth of consistent, cohesive
songs. A deliberate, darker track here and there is fine, but 13 of them in a row is a bit much. His voice is downright
impressive, but would be put to much better use on tracks that aren't so damn dark and lethargic. Here's hoping his next
effort contains some central theme that keeps things moving.
Standout tracks: Come Home, Stop and Stare, Apologize |
| Steel Train Trampoline | 4.0 |
| Sufjan Stevens Illinois | 4.0 |
| Sufjan Stevens is a bona fide songwriting machine. Stevens released a new album every year rfrom 2003-06, the pinnacle of which was 2005's 'Illinois.' Strangely enough, it's also his ronly album to feature tracks that aren't actually songs, as 6 out of the 22 tracks are rsnippets of sound under a minute long. Some help connect songs, some are just fun, and a rcouple are simply unnecessary filler, which is not something the already 74-minute long ralbum needs. Regardless, the actual songs here are superb examples of refined, affecting rwriting that combine to create one hell of a concept album, and one of the more influential rreleases of recent memory.rStandout tracks: Casimir Pulaski Day, Come On! Feel The Illinoise!, Chicago |
| Jet Shine On | 3.0 |
'Shine On' improves on the good, and throws out the bad, of Jet's 2001 debut 'Get Born.' The high-energy classic rock
songs are still here, but this time they're slightly more original, and noticeably more refined. The tracks that resembled
jumbled messes of noise are gone, and replaced with more thoughtful, toned-down tunes. The song that really pushes the
album to the next level, though, is the title track. Although it's basically just a take on Oasis' "Stop Crying Your Heart Out,"
it still showcases a depth I can't imagine many thought Jet capable of.
Standout tracks: Shine On, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, Stand Up |
| Jet Get Born | 3.0 |
If this was the first time this material was ever presented, 'Get Born' could easily be a classic. This is straight-up rock and roll, loud, raucous, and fun. Unfortunately for Jet, it's also decades-old rock and roll. Nothing on here is in any way original, but I'll be damned if "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" isn't a fantastic tune regardless, and "Rollover D.J." even features some incredible organ playing by the legendary Billy Preston.
Standout tracks: Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Cold Hard B****, Move On |
| Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords | 3.5 |
While the Flight of the Conchords' television show may not believably convey the sheer hilarity of their live performances, it more than makes up for it with its delightfully deadpan characters and dialogue. Without the context of the TV show or a live audience, though, not all of their material packs the same punch. But fans would be wise to pick up this release for fully fleshed-out versions of the songs they know and love. Strangely, the only track that truly disappoints is the well-known "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros." Its new lyrics don't match up to the ones they replace, and the lyrics left in place just don't sound quite the same as they used to. I guess this is just a band that truly has to be seen to be believed.
Standout tracks: Inner City Pressure, Robots, Business Time |
| Flight of the Conchords The Distant Future | 4.0 |
| The Fray How to Save a Life | 3.0 |
| Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends | 3.5 |
| The Hush Sound Goodbye Blues | 3.5 |
The Hush Sound is back, and they've brought their pure pop goodness with them. Living up to the expectations set by the
ridiculously good 'Like Vines' is no easy task, but 'Goodbye Blues' handles it with ease, revealing a darker, more mature
Hush Sound. Frustratingly, it's also a Hush Sound that: a) is still completely incapable of breaking free of rigid song
structures, and b) features extremely little of Bob Morris.
Standout tracks: Hurricane, Honey, Medicine Man |
| The Hush Sound Like Vines | 4.0 |
| The Killers Hot Fuss | 4.0 |
| The Killers Sawdust | 4.0 |
| The Killers Sam's Town | 4.5 |
| Ben Folds Way To Normal | 3.0 |
Ben Folds tried. He really did. He masterminded the incredible 'Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner,' but it was met with universal disdain. He created the introspective 'Songs For Silverman,' but no one seemed to care. So really, what more can you expect from him? Of course, this is his best-selling album yet. Sigh.
Standout tracks: Kylie From Connecticut, Dr. Yang, Cologne |
| Ben Folds Supersunnyspeedgraphic | 3.0 |
Ben Folds single-handedly proved that good music can be successfully released online with his series of internet-only EPs, but at the last minute decided to release his best tracks from the experiment as 'Supersunnyspeedgraphic.' Consequently, this truly is more of a compilation of tracks, more than a single, cohesive work. Folds' case isn't helped by the fact help that a whopping one-third of the tracks are covers, albeit very good ones. Connected it's not, but 'Supersunnyspeedgraphic' is still full of fantastic songwriting, unexpected covers, and mind-blowing piano playing.
Standout tracks: Bruised, Rent A Cop, There's Always Someone Cooler Than You |
| Ben Folds Songs for Silverman | 3.5 |
| Ben Folds Rockin' The Suburbs | 4.0 |
| Ben Folds Five The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner | 4.5 |
| Ben Folds Five Whatever and Ever, Amen | 4.0 |
| Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five | 4.0 |
| Train Drops of Jupiter | 3.5 |
| Train Train | 3.5 |
Train's self-produced debut is such a solid effort from beginning to end, it's surprising that "Meet Virginia" was the only
successful single. The album's effortless atmosphere makes it hard to believe the band members made this with money
they threw together. Twangy guitars, tight drumming, and soulful vocals that carry honest lyrics are mixed to perfection
here. Even the final hidden track, a low-key acoustic jam, showcases singer Pat Monahan's expressive singing and
enjoyable songwriting.
Standout tracks: I Am, Meet Virginia, Heavy |
| Train For Me, It's You | 3.0 |
Over the past decade, Train's sound has evolved from lazy bluegrass to mainstream pop-rock. 'For Me, It's You' combines the feel of each of their previous 3 albums into one that features the maturity of 'My Private Nation,' the originality of 'Drops of Jupiter,' and the fun of their eponymous debut. Unfortunately, an otherwise great album is marred by the inclusion of two substandard tracks, "Give Myself To You" and "Always Remember." Excepting these two blunders, 'For Me, It's You' truly showcases Train once again at the top of their game.
Standout tracks: All I Ever Wanted, Skyscraper, For Me It's You |
