Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2011 El Camino The Black Keys ★★★ 66 Rock Alternative Rock Blues Rock El Camino represents The Black Keys at their peak popularity. “Lonely Boy” was an absolute banger of a single that had a lot more energy than what they had offered the album prior, an energy that’sContinue reading “El Camino – The Black Keys ★★★”
Category Archives: Album Briefs
Brothers – The Black Keys ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2010 Brothers The Black Keys ★★★½ 71 Rock Indie Rock Blues Rock I look back fondly on the days when The Black Keys were considered hip and cool, when they seemed like one of the last holdouts of the garage rock movement that started in the early 2000s withContinue reading “Brothers – The Black Keys ★★★½”
Crash – Charli XCX ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2022 CRASH Charli XCX ★★★½ 74 Pop Dance Pop While not nearly as daring or interesting as Charli XCX’s previous album, Crash is just as fun and hones in more on nostalgic sounds and paying homage to big songs of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. A lot of theContinue reading “Crash – Charli XCX ★★★½”
Modern Fiction – Ducks Ltd. ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2021 Modern Fiction Ducks Ltd. ★★★½ 78 Rock Alternative Rock Jangle Pop There are a lot of critically acclaimed bands that sound like the album Ducks Ltd. put out in 2021, which has the jangle pop charm of Real Estate with the energy of Cloud Nothings or Rolling BlackoutsContinue reading “Modern Fiction – Ducks Ltd. ★★★½”
RTJ4 – Run the Jewels ★★★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2020 RTJ4 Run The Jewels ★★★★ 80 Hip-Hop I know there have been extremely relevant and timely album releases in the past, but RTJ4 being released at the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement after another example of police brutality during the Covid-19 pandemic, and all of theContinue reading “RTJ4 – Run the Jewels ★★★★”
Father of all… – Green Day ★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2020 Father of all… Green Day ★ 20 Rock Pop Punk Father of all… is a complete abandonment of anything Green Day may have represented or stood for in the 1990s and 2000. American Idiot may have been punk with a squeaky clean finish for commercial radio, as theContinue reading “Father of all… – Green Day ★”
SBTRKT – SBTRKT ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2011 SBTRKT SBTRKT ★★★½ 75 Electronic R&B Electronic R&B SBTRKT’s self-titled debut is an easy-to-listen-to electronic album, made up dance-pop tracks with a slight dubstep build to them and R&B-style feature vocals. “Sanctuary,” “Right Thing to Do” and “Pharaohs” are simple pop tracks that easily could have made theirContinue reading “SBTRKT – SBTRKT ★★★½”
Process – Sampha ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2017 Process Sampha ★★★½ 77 Hip-Hop R&B Electronic R&B Sampha has always brought soulful, genuine lyrics and a soft, pure voice to the R&B world. However, what makes Process — the debut album by an artist who had been featured on dozens of tracks over the decade prior toContinue reading “Process – Sampha ★★★½”
Torches – Foster the People ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2011 Torches Foster the People ★★★½ 75 Pop Indie Pop Indietronica Like Foster The People’s lead single “Pumped Up Kicks,” their debut Torches was a refreshing and fun take on commercialized indie music and the indie pop scene quickly grew in the early 2010s. The album’s singles — theContinue reading “Torches – Foster the People ★★★½”
Fresh Out The Deli 