All articles tagged with #music review
Mojo’s review hails Madonna Confessions II as a magnificent return to her club roots, trading the more experimental tones of Madame X for a forward-looking dance-pop palette anchored by Stuart Price and Sabrina Carpenter; the album revisits NYC club history and Madonna’s personal growth, with standout tracks such as I Feel So Free and Bring Your Love, and arrives July 3 on Warner.
Olivia Rodrigo’s new concept album surveys first love and self-discovery across 13 tracks, melding matured storytelling with lush production, synth-pop textures, and ‘80s/‘90s influences. Guided by longtime producer Dan Nigro and featuring a high-profile collaboration with Robert Smith of The Cure, the record blends big, hooky moments with intimate, piano-driven passages and standout songs like u + me = 3, Maggots for Brains, and The Cure, earning four-and-a-half stars and signaling a confident artistic leap beyond her prior works.
Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro pivot from their signature pop-punk to a bright '80s-inspired new wave on a two-act love album, opening with buoyant, crush-filled tracks and closing with somber, self-reflective ballads; standout moments include the Cure duet and Cigarette Smoke, and the record blends nostalgic synths with lush vocal harmonies to chart love's arc from infatuation to disillusionment.
Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane is a solid, nostalgia-soaked 14-track album that looks back to his childhood in Speke rather than the Beatles era, mixing autobiographical sketches with inventive arrangements. McCartney largely performs the instruments himself, aided by producer Andrew Watt, with Ringo Starr contributing on two tracks, showing his enduring collaborative reach. While not a career-defining statement or a cohesive concept album, it’s a warm, present-tense collection that bridges past and present, with standout moments on "As You Lie There," "Days We Left Behind," "Mountain Top," "Never Know," "First Star of the Night," and "Momma Gets By."
Defector’s Listening Habits columnist Israel Daramola reviews Drake’s three new albums—Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour—totaling 43 tracks and about 2.5 hours, delivering a mostly objective take on the comeback amid backlash and related legal and sponsorship drama.
Drake's Iceman trilogy (three albums totaling 43 tracks) lands as a massive, momentum-driven rollout that creates buzz but lacks lasting artistic cohesion. The review argues the project showcases Drake’s mastery of engagement in the streaming era—big hits, oversized tracklists, and moments designed for social media—yet feels formulaic, risk-averse, and ultimately more about extraction than lasting art, leaving a memory of the moment rather than a durable artistic statement.
Drake’s Iceman is arguably his strongest solo outing in a decade, thanks to inventive production, sharper flows, and a surprisingly cohesive visual rollout. The album relitigates old beef with Kendrick, Future, and more, threading bragging rights with moments of introspection, and it often lands on songs that push Drake into new vocal territory. It isn’t flawless—some lines and transitions feel forced, and the relentless beef-talk weighs it down at times—but overall Iceman marks a bold, technically skilled comeback that reconnects Drake with his best rap instincts.
The review frames Drop Dead as a bold pivot into a euphoric, time-stopping romance, driven by lush, maximalist production, sky‑high vocals, and a wild momentum that signals a new era for Rodrigo after Guts, complete with a Versailles-set video that amplifies its feverish mood.
Kacey Musgraves releases Dry Spell as the lead single from her upcoming album Middle of Nowhere, delivering a witty, innuendo-laced take on sexual boredom set to a Western-noir vibe with a minor-key Spanish guitar. Pitchfork's Lily Goldberg frames it as playful and unapologetic rather than seductive, highlighting its light, bloodless energy.
Pitchfork's review frames Gorillaz's ninth album The Mountain as an ambitious, grief-soaked, India-inspired concept record that threads unreleased material with a star-studded roster of living and deceased collaborators, including Proof, Black Thought, Asha Puthli, and Omar Souleyman. While the global, cross-cultural scope yields bold moments of memory and fusion, some tracks lean into bombast and treat guests as ornaments. Overall, it's a bold meditation on memory and loss from Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.
Pitchfork hails Lana Del Rey's new single 'White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter' as a moody, horror-film-inspired track that deepens her signature vernacular, with co-writing by husband Jeremy Dufrene, signaling a fresh album direction after Norman Fucking Rockwell! era and drawing on influences from Buffy Saint‑Marie to vintage Disney.
Pitchfork’s review of Two Shell’s bonus remix album revisiting their 2024 self-titled LP is mixed: several remixes offer energy and texture (notably Ship Sket, SWARMM, Facta, Tamaranamen), and the updated version of “Everybody Worldwide” stands out; however, many new tracks feel inconsistent when heard track-by-track, with some relying on lightweight or AI-like hooks and older material like “levitate” from 2023. The opener “<initialize> ᵛⁱⁿʸˡ” hints at the duo’s playful humanity amid the uneven batch.
This article reviews the author's top discoveries in old music from the year, highlighting a range of genres and eras, from the eerie depths of The Mamas and the Papas' 'Mansions' to the eclectic sounds of Ulver and the nostalgic charm of Badly Drawn Boy's 'Once Around the Block,' emphasizing how these tracks and artists offered new insights and emotional connections.
Rob Sheffield's list highlights his 25 favorite songs of 2025, showcasing a diverse range of genres and artists, from rap and pop to indie and rock, with notable mentions including Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Wet Leg, and others, reflecting a vibrant and eclectic musical year.
The article lists Pitchfork's 100 best songs of 2025, highlighting a diverse range of genres including electronic, rap, country, indie, and more, with a focus on songs that explore love and human connection, featuring artists like gyrofield, Tortoise, Morgan Wallen, and Kelela.