album review

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It's a 'Masterpiece' by Beyoncé, Though Nashville May Disagree

New album 'Cowboy Carter' has twang but is not strictly country, say critics

(Newser) - Enter the era of Cowboy Carter. Released Friday at midnight, Beyoncé's eighth album, and the second in a trilogy , provides country music—and much, much more. "This ain't a country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album," the artist said last week on Instagram,...

The AP Names Top Albums of 2023
The AP Names
Top Albums of 2023
Dec 4, 2023 5:40 PM CST

The AP Names Top Albums of 2023

They range across various genres

(Newser) - It was a blockbuster year across genres, but only a few could make the AP's list of best albums:
  • Génesis, Peso Pluma. The year belongs to regional Mexican artists, who brought their banda, norteño, mariachi, sierreño, and more to geographies well beyond Mexico and the southwest
...

Taylor Swift Evolves Again
Taylor Swift Evolves Again
ALBUM REVIEW
Oct 21, 2022 11:04 AM CDT

Taylor Swift Evolves Again

Tone of 'Midnights' is 'a little darker, a little more experimental, and always electric'

(Newser) - "All of me changed like midnight," Taylor Swift confesses halfway through her 10th original album, the aptly named and moody Midnights, out Friday. It's a moment on the electric "Midnight Rain" that finds the 32-year-old lyricist at her best, reminding you of her unparalleled ability to...

Beyonce Delivers the 'Best Dance Album of 2022'
What Critics Are Saying
About Beyonce's New Album
ALBUM REVIEW
Jul 29, 2022 12:24 PM CDT

What Critics Are Saying About Beyonce's New Album

She's 'having fun on her own terms,' one writes of album 'Renaissance'

(Newser) - The single " Break My Soul " tells us "Bey is back." And now it's official. Renaissance, Beyonce's first solo album release since 2016's Lemonade, dropped Friday after leaking a few days earlier. "My intention was to create a safe place, a place without...

Swift Proves 'the Most Gifted Songwriter in Music'
The Taylor Swift
Reviews Are Incredible
ALBUM REVIEW
Jul 24, 2020 11:50 AM CDT

The Taylor Swift Reviews Are Incredible

8th album manages to 'capture familiar feelings in ways you didn't know were possible'

(Newser) - Whatever you do, do not compare your achievements in coronavirus quarantine to those of Taylor Swift. Because, according to critics, they are massive. In dropping her eighth album , Folklore, compiled of 16 songs plus a bonus track written and recorded in quarantine conditions (with help from Jack Antonoff and the...

No One's Gotten a Pitchfork '10' Since Kanye in 2010. Until Now

Fiona Apple's new album gets first perfect score from music industry pub in almost a decade

(Newser) - Fiona Apple has been mostly out of the public eye for eight years, but the reclusive artist just came back with a big bang. So big, in fact, that Pitchfork felt compelled to give her new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, a perfect score—its first in nearly a decade,...

Bowie's Comeback an 'Absolute Wonder'

 Bowie's 
 Comeback 
 an 'Absolute 
 Wonder' 
music review
Feb 26, 2013 12:00 PM CST

Bowie's Comeback an 'Absolute Wonder'

'The Next Day' earns widespread praise

(Newser) - David Bowie's latest album—marking his return after a decade—seems to be living up to the anticipation. Sure, it's not 1970s Bowie, but critics are loving the 66-year-old's The Next Day:
  • It "may be the greatest comeback album ever," writes Andy Gill in a
...

Madonna Gets Personal on MDNA

 Madonna Gets 
 Personal on 
 MDNA 
Album Review
Mar 27, 2012 12:55 PM CDT

Madonna Gets Personal on MDNA

Reviews of new album surprised by candor about Guy Ritchie divorce

(Newser) - Madonna is back. Her latest album MDNA, is at once a confessional look at her divorce from Guy Ritchie and a bouncy dance album. Critical reaction is divided pretty starkly as well. Here's some of what people are saying:
  • "It’s a bipolar collection that pumps out effervescent
...

Surprise: Britney's New Album Is Innovative

Though she probably had little to do with its edginess, critics say

(Newser) - Britney Spears’ new record is actually pretty innovative for a pop album—though Britney herself may have little to do with that.
  • Femme Fatale is “the rare dance-pop album that never flags, each track preposterously overstuffed with hooks and sensations,” writes Jody Rosen in Slate . Spears is “
...

Radiohead's 'Genius' Again on Display in King of Limbs

Album comes out a day in advance

(Newser) - Radiohead’s new album, The King of Limbs, has appeared a day early—and the reviews are already pouring in. Here’s what critics have to say:
  • “The angst has gone,” writes Lucy Jones in the Telegraph . “There’s none of the anger of Hail to The
...

Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' Review: His Best, and the Year's Best

 Kanye's Latest 
 Is Album of 
 the Year 
music review
Nov 23, 2010 11:01 AM CST

Kanye's Latest Is Album of the Year

'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ' is also the rapper's best effort yet

(Newser) - Kanye West is officially back: "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the best album of 2010 and the best album of West's career," asserts Jonah Weiner on Slate . The rapper, always unable to keep quiet about things he finds unjust, has "managed to channel his sense of...

Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Hole: Nobody's Daughter
 Not Much Love for 
 Hole Comeback Album 
REVIEW ROUNDUP
Apr 28, 2010 11:18 AM CDT

Not Much Love for Hole Comeback Album

Critics split on Courtney Love's return

(Newser) - It's been 12 years—during which frontwoman Courtney Love has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons—since Hole last released an album, and critics are split on whether Nobody's Daughter was worth the wait.
  • "With Courtney Love the only original member involved, Hole's return is nominal,
...

Frances Bean Cobain Makes 'Eccentric' Singing Debut
Frances Bean Cobain Makes 'Eccentric' Singing Debut
music review
Mar 31, 2010 9:34 AM CDT

Frances Bean Cobain Makes 'Eccentric' Singing Debut

Teen lends her voice to 'power ballad' with other 'random' singers

(Newser) - Frances Bean Cobain made her musical debut yesterday—albeit in cameo form—with the release of Evelyn Evelyn. “She’s got a great voice,” says Amanda Palmer, who put together the concept album with Jason Webley. The 17-year-old is featured on the track “My Space” along with...

Ayla Brown's Music Video Debuts, 'Cloying Vanilla Pop'

The video for 'Pick It Up' features, mostly, a distraught-looking Brown

(Newser) - Not surprisingly, Ayla Brown’s EP was released Tuesday, a mere week after dad Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat—and months ahead of its original April release. The songs emulate “that cloying strand of '90s soft-pop that emulated '80s soft-pop,” writes Chris Richards for the...

Lady Gaga's Fame Monster Eccentric, Fun
 Lady Gaga's 
 Fame Monster 
 Eccentric, 
 Fun 
album review
Nov 24, 2009 12:53 PM CST

Lady Gaga's Fame Monster Eccentric, Fun

The reissue includes, among other things, a lock of her hair

(Newser) - Lady Gaga isn’t your typical pop star, and The Fame Monster isn’t your typical reissue. Critics agree that the deluxe version of 2008's The Fame may not be highly original, but it is a lot of fun:
  • “She’s bringing eccentric couture to the masses and is
...

Boyle's I Dreamed Great for Fans, But...
 Boyle's I Dreamed 
 Great for Fans, But... 
music REVIEW
Nov 23, 2009 1:04 PM CST

Boyle's I Dreamed Great for Fans, But...

Her voice is serviceable, some gripe, but why are we listening?

(Newser) - Critics agree that for what it is, Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream ain't half bad. Fans will love it, and the rest of the world may respond with the same odd mixture of feelings that accompanied her television debut. Some takes:
  • "Boyle's record is no joke," Linnie
...

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