All articles tagged with #album review
Miranda Lambert's 11th major-label album, 'Crisco,' released on October 2, 2026, marks a stylistic pivot toward late-1970s country disco. Produced by Jesse Frasure, the 12-track project features a guest appearance from Ella Langley and a duet with Chris Stapleton. While the album receives praise for its polished production and string arrangements, critics note a lack of lyrical depth compared to Lambert's previous work.
Tinashe released her eighth studio album, 'Popstar,' on September 25, 2026. The record marks a decisive shift from seeking external validation to asserting self-worth through a diverse sonic palette. Critics praise the album for its fearless genre-blending, combining R&B, hyperpop, and experimental production. The release solidifies Tinashe's status as a versatile artist who refuses to be pigeonholed, offering a mature reflection on the pressures and realities of fame.
Tinashe released her eighth studio album, 'Popstar,' on September 25, 2026, featuring 16 tracks that blend R&B, hyperpop, and experimental production. Critics praise its polished yet rebellious sound, with standout tracks like 'Melatonin' and 'Crash Out' highlighting her versatility. The album marks a shift toward unapologetic self-definition, supported by sold-out tour dates and high-profile collaborations.
Leon Bridges released his fifth studio album, 'Happiness Anytime,' on September 25, 2026. The record marks a significant stylistic shift from his previous country-soul work, focusing instead on rhythmic, dance-oriented tracks. It features a full collaboration with the British trio Jungle, blending Afrobeat, Latin, and disco influences. While critics praise the energetic grooves, some note the album lacks the cohesive narrative structure of his earlier projects.
Miley Cyrus’s Bass Persuades opens with club-ready vibes but mostly focuses on romantic ballads and a few quirky detours, promising bangers that don’t fully deliver. The album moves through love songs with standout moments on Orbit and Innocent Ways, includes a surprising interlude with a playful duet, and ends with a remix that feels like filler. Overall it’s pleasant and cohesive but undercooked, marking a mid-point in her new label era rather than a bold artistic arrival.
Pitchfork’s review praises Neil Young’s 50th album Second Song for its hypnotic, atmosphere-first approach with The Chrome Hearts; the long, rambling tracks prioritize mood over traditional songcraft, highlighted by the nine-minute Soon I Might Be Going and the B-side re-recordings of early-era songs, resulting in a reflective, meditative experience rather than hit-ready tunes.
Beck’s first album in seven years, Ride Lonesome, returns to somber folk-rock with fragile melodies and spare textures, recalling Sea Change; the songs—Run Away, In the Night, Bleed, Falling Through My Hands, If You Don’t Know What Love Is, and Beyond the Light—each stand out, making it one of his most committed and beautiful records.
After more than a decade, Alabama Shakes return with I Must Be Dreaming as a three-piece (Howard, Cockrell, Fogg), delivering a grown-up, genre-blending rock-soul album that ranges from vintage torch-song textures to Afrofuturist-inflected explorations. The collection showcases Howard’s expansive vocals on tracks like Another Life and I Feel Hope Coming while nodding to political and personal themes, signaling a reinvigorated, fearless evolution that stays true to what first drew listeners to the band.
Brandon Flowers leans fully into country on his third solo LP, Thrasher, enlisting Nashville veterans like David Rawlings and Charlie McCoy to back his neo‑New Wave sensibility with twangy strings, mariachi horns, and sweeping Americana. While some tracks like Red Ground and Tiger’s Blood hit emotionally strong notes, the album often veers into heavy-handed Springsteen‑style melodrama, leaving the back roads feeling more ambitious than cohesive.
Brandon Flowers’ third solo LP, Thrasher, records in Nashville with an all-star cast and leans into country storytelling as he revisits his Utah upbringing and life beyond The Killers. The set blends road-trip anthems and intimate ballads (notably American Dream, Miss America, Plans) with a desert-Western mood, yielding a heartfelt, authentic departure that showcases Flowers’s growth as a storyteller—even if a few moments feel a touch heavy. Release date: August 21, 2026, Island Records.
A scathing 14-song review of Pat McAfee’s debut album, likening it to Jelly Roll and labeling it a vanity project. The piece criticizes the exaggerated accent, repetitive lyrics, and largely uneven music, though it notes a few moments (like No One Ever Knows) that are somewhat salvageable. Overall, it’s portrayed as a flawed, polarizing effort rather than a serious musical statement.
Vulture critic Craig Jenkins hails Phoebe Bridgers’s third album Lost Weekend as a candid, more vulnerable follow-up to Punisher, expanding her sonic range and sharpening her diaristic storytelling; the result is a standout 2026 release that captures the artist’s ongoing reckoning with fame, relationships, and changing paths.
In Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers channels the post-pandemic mood—ambition stalling and audiences hard to reach—into a beautiful yet frustrating album that follows her Punisher breakthrough and offers a reflective meditation on the era’s lingering disappointments and uneasy artist-audience dynamics.
Pitchfork’s review of Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend frames the album as her loneliest yet—a sonically adventurous, grief-soaked work built around her father’s death, blending sparse folk with shoegaze and experimental textures, and featuring a wide circle of collaborators (notably Bo Burnham and Alex G) as she navigates fame, heartbreak, and rebuilding a life after loss.
Rolling Stone’s review portrays Karol G’s seventh album No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto as a candid, emotionally textured journey through heartbreak, written during a year of public scrutiny and a high-profile breakup with Feid. The 14-track collection fuses Latin genres with indie-pop and features Drake, Bruno Mars, Oklou and more, moving from fury to reflection and ultimately empowerment.