Grandaddy Try Country-Style Ballads With Mixed Results
With Blu Wav, their first album in seven years, Grandaddy ask, “What if we just forget the upbeat synth-rock this time and make sad ballads?”
With Blu Wav, their first album in seven years, Grandaddy ask, “What if we just forget the upbeat synth-rock this time and make sad ballads?”
Hole in My Head is full of good songs, and Laura Jane Grace is an excellent songwriter with intriguing lyrical turns of phrase and an ear for catchy melodies.
Cake were perfectly positioned for mid-’90s success. Artists willing to experiment and incorporate different genres were about to ascend briefly in popular music.
Saviors is the best Green Day album in at least 15 years. It’s refreshing to hear them on Saviors, where they sound focused and energized again.
As a Tim DeLaughter solo album featuring guest musicians from the Polyphonic Spree, this would be an easier sell. As a full-band LP, it feels undercooked.
Deafheaven’s Sunbather was the first time a black metal act broke through the clutter of heavy metal releases to be appreciated outside of the genre’s fans.
Jenn Champion’s melodies and superb synths keep things lively on Last Night of Sadness, even when heavy. It’s a thoughtful, harrowing, and catchy album.
The Shins’ Chutes Too Narrow is one of the defining albums of the indie rock era when the genre grew alongside independent, online publications and hipsterism.
Vanishing Twin’s Afternoon X is a worthwhile musical journey through a wealth of different ambient, psychedelic, and groove-based sounds.
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 set the template for nerdy Coheed and Cambria’s future releases. It remains a fan favorite and one of their best.
Baroness’ Stone incorporates the heavy riffs, thundering grooves, and melodic hooks that have been their trademark and revisits their folkier, acoustic side.
Despite the personal turmoil for Josh Homme, In Times New Roman… is remarkably consistent with Queens of the Stone Age’s last few records.