Hello, everybody. Today, I’m doing something different … as the title of this post says, I’m reviewing ten different albums, all in this one post!

Now, a few things to mention:

1 – I won’t be going into a ton of detail on these albums. My rule is that to give an album a score, I have to listen to it all the way through at least once (if I take a break to go to the bathroom, go for a walk, etc. I still count that as ‘all the way through’) … that being said, I will almost always listen to it more than once. I wanted to listen to these ten albums until I felt confident about my opinion, but I didn’t want to spend a bunch of extra time and effort trying to write a whole lot about each album, so I’ll keep it pretty brief.

2 – This is something I plan to do in the future, but it won’t always be ten albums … I have another upcoming post where I review seven albums (six new albums and one throwback).

3 – I have randomized the order in which these reviews appear. I mostly finished the reviews before randomly selecting the order, but I’ve made a few edits to the reviews since finding out what order they’ll be in, such as starting the last review with the word, ‘finally’.

4 – As always, all of this is just about my own personal taste. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with me. No hate meant to any of the artists/producers/etc.

Planet Zero by Shinedown:

Alright, so, before I get into my thoughts on this new Shinedown album, I’m going to recommend that you listen to “Monsters”, a song that I love from their 2018 album, Attention, Attention. I haven’t listened to that album, but I love that song!

I mention “Monsters” for two reasons: One reason is that I do actually love that song, and the other reason is because I’ll feel less mean now … because this review is not going to be positive! At all!

I do have to mention that, as always, this is just based on my personal taste … no hate meant toward the members of Shinedown, anyone who helped make the album, or anyone who likes this album. I’ll at least give them this much credit: they recorded and released a full album, which is something I’ve never done.

But about my personal feelings on this album … this album is TWENTY TRACKS LONG, and none of them clicked for me … not even one.

Now, some of the tracks are interludes, but even the majority of the interludes are awful in my opinion.

“Hope” is my favourite full song on the album, and I don’t even like it. But I do love the melody of the first line of the chorus.

Aside from that, when it comes to positive things I have to say about this album … I like some of the melodies at the start of “Dysfunctional You”, and the single-note synths in the chorus of “The Saints Of Violence And Innuendo”.

Overall, this album seems to be going for this big, epic feeling, and so much of it is so cheesy in my opinion, and I personally don’t find much depth in the lyrics.

Before this album came out, lead singer Brent Smith said he thought some people would consider this album controversial, and some of the lyrical themes seem to relate to cancel culture. As someone who doesn’t like cancel culture myself, I understand that it’s an important message to get across … but there’s a lot about these lyrics that I don’t like, and I don’t want to get into it all. Honestly, as unfair as this may be considering that I’m reviewing it, I don’t really feel like looking deeper into this album. I just really couldn’t stand this.

So, don’t take my opinion on the lyrics too seriously, because I haven’t spent a ton of time looking into the lyrics.

Personally, I found this album to be HORRIBLE … for me, it’s a 1/10, and the only reason that score isn’t lower (aside from a few good elements like I mentioned before) is that I found it … not super, super, super annoying? Maybe? At least a decent amount of the songs.

This is the only Shinedown album I’ve listened to, but like I said, “Monsters” is a great song that I recommend you listen to. But this album … I mean, if you’re curious, you can give it a listen. I’m not stopping you. But there are so many other rock albums from this year I’d recommend instead … Love Sux by Avril Lavigne, Wet Leg’s self-titled album, and especially Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road … I’m not trying to judge anyone for liking this, I’m just saying I’d recommend those albums over this one to almost anyone.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 1/10
Favourite Tracks: None
Least Favourite Tracks: “No Sleep Tonight”, “Planet Zero”, “Welcome”, “Dysfunctional You”, “Dead Don’t Die”, “America Burning”, “Do Not Panic”, “A Symptom Of Being Human”, “Clueless And Dramatic”, “Sure Is Fun”, “Daylight”, “This Is A Warning”, “The Saints Of Violence And Innuendo”, “Army Of The Underappreciated”, “Delete”, “What You Wanted”

Mercury – Act 2 by Imagine Dragons:

Yes, I know that a lot of online music critics really don’t like Imagine Dragons … but personally, I’m a fan of this band.

That being said, while I respect a lot of what they’ve been doing recently, most of it hasn’t really clicked for me … but the lead single, “Bones”, brought up my expectations for this album … and then I heard the second single, “Sharks”, which I really couldn’t get into.

So, now that the album’s here … well, I want to make one thing clear: some of the lyrics on this album are very personal to Dan Reynolds, and are about some heavy topics. None of this is meant to attack Dan personally or anything like that. It’s all just based on my personal taste.

And for the third time in a row, I’m not really a fan of the latest Imagine Dragons album. A lot of these songs, despite the lyrical themes, just don’t really work for me personally, and I find a lot of it to be really cheesy … for example, the song, “Symphony”, which is creative, yes, but the lyrics, despite the positive message, just don’t really work for me, especially the instrument references. And a lot of the melodies on this track feel really basic to me.

The aforementioned “Sharks” has some sound effects and vocal ad-libs that really annoy me, like the ‘ha ha ha ha ha’, and the ‘woo woo’ part, and also the bubble sounds … how is this the same band who made “It’s Time”? Or the same band who made “Tiptoe”? Or “Warriors”, “Amsterdam”, “Hear Me”, “Hopeless Opus”, “Walking the Wire” and so many other great songs?

But speaking of great songs, there are a few on this album. I mentioned “Bones”, which has some great melodies and some great synths. “I Wish” is a heartbreaking song where Dan Reynolds sings about wishing he could have said goodbye to his friend before his friend’s death (although I’m pretty sure it’s a bonus track, so it’s not contributing to the version of the album I’m reviewing and won’t affect the score … still worth mentioning, though, as it’s a great song!), and while I could understand why someone might find “I Don’t Like Myself” to be way too cheesy, it clicks for me, partially because of some personal reasons that the lyrics resonate with me, but I also love the way that Dan sings the ‘I-da-da’ part.

Overall, I like this album more than Mercury – Act 1, and every song here is better than “Cutthroat” if you ask me, but it still doesn’t really work for me. Outside of those songs I just mentioned, as well as “Peace Of Mind” and the emotional closer, “They Don’t Know You Like I Do”, this bores me.

Some of the other songs I feel had potential to really click for me, but don’t really get there … “Blur” is one example. I like that it’s more of a rock song than a lot of what they’ve been doing recently, and there are some elements to it that I like, but the production doesn’t work for me, with the guitars mixed way too quietly on the chorus, and the percussion in general not really fitting the rest of the song in my opinion … and I find it a bit off-putting when he says, ‘When I hit the pavement, don’t save me. I’m such a waste of space.’ I get that it’s not meant literally, but it still doesn’t sit well with me.

I also like the lyrical themes on “Younger” about wanting to go back in time, and I love the line, ‘I wish that I could put a force field around every single one of us.’ However, the echo on the percussion really doesn’t work for me, and there’s not much in the instrumentation that I really like. This track reminds me of “Underdog” from their debut album, but nowhere near as good as “Underdog”.

But then there’s “Ferris Wheel”. Not only do I find this track very boring musically, but lyrically it seems to be one of those ‘you shouldn’t be with this person, you should be with me’ songs, which usually really bug me, and this song is no exception, considering that it seems to be intended as a romantic song.

This album gave me some individual songs I like, some of which I love, so while I’m glad I listened to it, and I’ve added some songs to my 2022 playlist … when it comes to full Imagine Dragons albums, I’ll stick with their first three.

Mercury – Act 2 gets a 3/10 from me.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3/10
Favourite Tracks: “Bones”, “I Don’t Like Myself”, “Peace Of Mind”, “They Don’t Know You Like I Do”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Symphony”, “Sharks”, “Higher Ground”, “Take It Easy”, “Ferris Wheel”, “Tied”, “Continual”

Fear of the Dawn by Jack White:

So, I’m not going to count this as a throwback, because it came out this year … but it’s been out for a few months now. Anyway, this is a very creative rock album with lots of interesting song structures, and lots of cool musical ideas.

That being said, while I feel like it’s an enjoyable album overall, it’s very inconsistent if you ask me.

Don’t get me wrong; there are some great songs here, most notably to me, the opener, “Taking Me Back”, and the closer, “Shedding My Velvet”. The former has some awesome distorted guitar and a fantastic snare, and the latter has great production and some small details that add a lot to the track, like the pianos early on, the pauses a bit more than two minutes in, and the tremolo toward the end.

But there’s also some songs that don’t work for me, most notably “Into the Twilight” which, at least to me, just sounds like a bunch of random ideas put together, recorded, and then put onto the album without making any changes. I’m not saying that’s actually what happened with this song, but it just kind of sounds that way.

Some of the songs I have mixed feelings on, like “What’s the Trick?”, which has some cool ideas, but feels too all-over-the-place without the different parts feeling very connected, at least to me. That being said, I do love the line, ‘If I die tomorrow, what did I do today?’

Overall, I feel like this is an album I respect more than I like … I like some of the songs here, and there’s enough here that I like for it to get a 5.5/10 from me, but inconsistency and a lot of these ideas not feeling like they fit together hold this back from getting a higher score. But if you have the time, I recommend that you give it a listen, because it’s certainly interesting!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Taking Me Back”, “The White Raven”, “Eosophobia”, “Morning, Noon and Night”, “Shedding My Velvet”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Hi-De-Ho”, “Into the Twilight”, “Eosophobia (Reprise)”

Farm to Table by Bartees Strange:

On his second studio album, Bartees Strange delivers a variety of different styles, including alternative rock on songs like “Heavy Heart” and “Escape This Circus”, more mellow music like on “Tours”, and even something along the lines of autotuned pop trap with a rock outro on “Cosigns”!

Overall, I do like this album, but I don’t find it to be super consistent. “We Were Only Close For Like Two Weeks” shows up around the middle of the album, and at least to me, it doesn’t add to the album at all, and instead throws off the pacing.

I also don’t like the closing track, “Hennessy”, but overall, while I don’t find this album to be super consistent, it’s got good moments, and enough of them to make this album a 6/10 for me.

I still haven’t listened to Bartees Strange’s first album, but maybe at some point I’ll check it out. At the very least, I like his new album!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 6/10
Favourite Tracks: “Heavy Heart”, “Wretched”, “Cosigns”, “Tours”, “Escape This Circus”
Least Favourite Tracks: “We Were Only Close For Like Two Weeks”, “Hennessy”

DRILL MUSIC IN ZION by Lupe Fiasco:

You guessed it: this is my first time listening to a Lupe Fiasco album!

While I’ve reviewed albums with elements of hip hop/rap, this is probably my first time reviewing a hip hop/rap album on this website (I’m still not quite clear what the difference is between the two genres) … and it’s worth mentioning that I’m not as big a fan of hip hop/rap as most critics seem to be, maybe partially because of how much the lyrics matter in a lot of hip hop/rap, and while I do pay attention to lyrics and consider them when reviewing albums, I pay more attention to the instrumentation, melodies, etc.

Please keep in mind that I haven’t looked super deeply into all the lyrics on this album. I’ve tried to look into them a bit, and I like the majority of what I could find in the lyrics, but I’m not sure what the meaning of a lot of the lyrics here are, and I’m not going to analyze them very much in this review.

But the production on this album is fantastic, and the rapping sounds great, and overall, I love this album!

“MS. MURAL” tells a really interesting story, “PRECIOUS THINGS” and “SEATTLE” both feature great choruses sung by Nayirah, and the closing track, “ON FAUX NEM”, has a fantastic synth at the start, and the first verse of this song is so great that I’m not even going to say anything about it, so that you can hear it for yourself! On this track, Lupe seems to be referencing how much he hears about guns and violence in music, and Lupe having a hard time supporting it, and meanwhile, so many people listen to that kind of music without really thinking about it.

Lupe Fiasco’s flow over the instrumental is awesome on “NAOMI”, and also, for whatever reason, I love the way he sings the word ‘mall’ on “KIOSK”, which is also an excellent track!

All that being said, this album takes a bit to really get going for me. “GHOTI” is okay, but doesn’t fully click for me, and “AUTOBOTO” is my least favourite song on the album, with a really annoying chorus. And even as someone who loves “The Box” by Roddy Ricch, I find the “ee-err” sounds in “AUTOBOTO” to be so annoying.

But overall, this is an album with great rapping, great production, and very interesting lyrics. Great stuff here from Lupe Fiasco!

Personally, I’m giving this album an 8/10, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t into hip hop/rap as much as most critics. So, especially if you are really into hip hop/rap, I highly recommend that you listen to this album if you haven’t already. It’s fantastic!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: “PRECIOUS THINGS”, “KIOSK”, “MS. MURAL”, “NAOMI”, “DRILL MUSIC IN ZION”, “SEATTLE”, “ON FAUX NEM”
Least Favourite Tracks: “GHOTI”, “AUTOBOTO”

Honestly, Nevermind by Drake:

So, after Lupe Fiasco’s new album, which I absolutely love … now it’s time for my review of … this.

Last year, I listened to Certified Lover Boy once and I never wanted to listen to it again … so, despite me not being super familiar with Drake’s discography, I had heard enough of his songs that my expectations for this album were low.

But, of course, I wanted to go into this album with an open mind … but, like I expected, I didn’t end up liking this.

That being said, I like it more than Certified Lover Boy (at least based on what I remember from my one listen to Certified Lover Boy) … but I was almost definitely going to like it more than that album.

When listening to an album, I can usually understand why some people might love it, but with this album … maybe? I kind of understand, but just barely. And I don’t want to make anyone feel bad for liking this album … if you love this album, that’s great! Maybe it’s your favourite album of all time! All I’m saying is I have a hard time understanding the appeal.

But that’s not to say this has been getting a lot of critical acclaim. It hasn’t been. And despite me mostly agreeing with seemingly the majority of critics on this album, one of the songs that seems to have been criticized the most on this album is my favourite track here, “Liability”. And I’m unsure what the most positive takeaway from this album is for me … is it “Liability” because I legitimately like that song? Or is it “Currents” for being awful in such a hilarious way?

“Currents” uses a sample of bed springs and it sounds hilarious—and also very annoying—with the rest of the song!

But then there’s “Calling My Name”, which is also awful in my opinion, but not in a funny way. I don’t even know what to say about this one right now other than that the lyrics are creepy and immature … so, I’ll just add that this song, to me personally, is a flaming pile of garbage, and even that doesn’t tell you just how much I fucking hate this song! If you want to hear something that does explain how I feel about this song, I’ll go as far as to say that this is not only one of my least favourite songs of the year so far, but it might even be my least favourite. Seriously, this song is HORRIBLE!

Aside from that … look, I could go more in-depth on some other songs … but why would I do that?

I like one song on this album … outside of that, there’s the occasional cool moment, but overall, I found this album to be terrible.

No guarantees, but this is probably going to make my top ten least favourite albums of 2022. Of course, as always, it’s just my opinion, but for me, it’s a 2/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 2/10
Favourite Tracks: “Liability”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Falling Back”, “Texts Go Green”, “Currents”, “A Keeper”, “Calling My Name”, “Sticky”, “Massive”, “Tie That Binds”, “Jimmy Cooks”

Arkhon by Zola Jesus:

I don’t have a ton to say about this one.

I planned to include this album in this post before I even listened to it, and after giving it multiple listens, while I don’t think this album is bad, it’s not really my cup of tea.

I’ve seen this album described as art-pop. This is a very mellow album with some personal lyrics, but these tracks blend together for me. If I listened to it more, they wouldn’t blend together as much, but I don’t know if I’d like these tracks more. I’ve already listened to it in full four or five times and I can barely remember any of it.

For me, this album is a 5/10. While I find it consistently enjoyable, none of these tracks stand out as special to me … but I think these tracks could be special to a lot of people, so even though I’m not really a fan of this album myself, I recommend that you listen to it. It sounds like an album that had a lot of effort put into it, and it’s definitely interesting! And you might end up absolutely loving it!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: ????
Least Favourite Tracks: ????

THROWBACK REVIEW – What Love Is All About by Johnny Reid (2015):

First of all, big thanks to my Granny, who recommended that I listen to a Johnny Reid album. Because this is the first time I’ve ever gotten a music recommendation in a comment, I decided this should be my first ever throwback review! I decided to listen to his eighth studio album, What Love Is All About, released in 2015.

So, what do I think of it?

Honestly, this is not for me. And if you’re looking for some simple sing-along country pop rock without a ton of depth in the lyrics (at least I personally didn’t find a lot of lyrical depth), then this very well could click for you … but personally, this just isn’t anything special to me … that is, outside of “A Picture of You”, which has some nice horns, some great melodies, and great vocals from Johnny Reid.

But the majority of this album just feels really uninteresting to me. Yes, there are some cool instrumental moments, and some good vocal melodies, and Johnny Reid is a good singer, but outside of “A Picture of You”, none of these tracks fully click for me.

Some of these songs, in my opinion, are not terrible, but almost every track feels like there’s something very notable missing.

“Honey Honey” is so cheesy, and not in a good way at all. Johnny Reid also covers “I Feel Like Goin’ Home” by Charlie Rich, a song I’m not a big fan of, but I like the original a lot more than this cover.

Also, while I think “Is It Lonely Where Your Heart Is” is one of the better songs here, there’s still one big issue I have with it. I think the vocals and instrumentation are good together, and I love the melody in the instrumentation after each chorus. This song seems to be about looking back on a past relationship, and it would be a great song in my opinion … if it weren’t for the bridge, where he says he’s been running red lights … and I get that it’s not trying to promote unsafe driving, and there’s songs I love where the artist is playing the villain. But in this case, it ruins the mood of the song. It’s supposed to be this emotional song, and he doesn’t seem to be trying to play the villain.

Overall, while I appreciate the recommendation, and I might check out some of Johnny Reid’s other albums, this album isn’t my cup of tea. For me, it’s a 3.5/10. But I discovered one song I like here, “A Picture of You”, so I can take that away as a positive from listening to this album … it’s just that, as a whole, the album isn’t for me. 

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “A Picture of You”
Least Favourite Tracks: “What Love Is All About”, “Honey Honey”, “When the Sun Goes Down”, “The Rest of My Life”, “My Heart Beats Like a Drum”, “I Feel Like Goin’ Home”

Life Is Yours by Foals:

This is the first Foals album I’ve ever listened to, and after giving it multiple listens, despite a few great songs, the album as a whole doesn’t really work for me. A lot of these songs are very danceable, but they don’t really grab me personally for the most part.

“Wake Me Up” is a great track with some great synths, a great bassline, and a chorus that I love! Other highlights for me are “2001” and “Looking High”, the latter of which has a chorus that sounds so good with those synths in the background!

Meanwhile, I don’t like the repetitive (and, in my opinion, boring) bassline on “Under The Radar”, or the ‘bouncy production’ (that I’ve used to describe other songs in previous reviews) on “The Sound”, even though I’ve heard ‘bouncy production’ done worse than this.

I get the appeal of this album, but overall, it’s not for me. Strong 3.5/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3.5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Wake Me Up”, “2001”, “Looking High”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Under The Radar”, “Crest of the Wave”, “The Sound”, “Wild Green”

Otherness by Alexisonfire:

Finally, it’s the newest album from Alexisonfire, Otherness.

Most of the albums I’ve reviewed on this website are the first album I’ve ever listened to by the artist … and this is no exception to that.

Anyway, Otherness is a hard rock album that has some cool instrumental moments, but the majority of this album either bored or annoyed me.

Part of the reason I decided to check out this album is because I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve heard from band member Dallas Green’s solo project, City and Colour. I haven’t listened to much City and Colour music, but I plan to listen to more eventually … and I hope I like it a lot better than this.

The closing track, “World Stops Turning”, feels very boring musically and very creepy lyrically, and “Conditional Love”, in my opinion, is horrible … I don’t even know how to describe it. It sounds like pretty much everything I don’t like about generic hard rock combined into one track.

There are some cool moments on this album, but none of the tracks fully click for me, and I’m giving Otherness a light 3/10.

Final Thoughts
Rating: 3/10
Favourite Tracks: There are some tracks here that I find to be mediocre/decent, but none that really click for me
Least Favourite Tracks: “Conditional Love”, “Dark Night of the Soul”, “Mistaken Information”, “World Stops Turning”