Somewhere between the metal- messiah riffs of ” Destroya” and the Red Bull-fueled stomp of “Bulletproof Heart,” Danger Days offers a total rejection of bloated celebrity rock.
Le Noise is also the most intimate and natural-sounding album Young has made in a long time: just a songwriter making his way through a vividly rendered chaos of memoir, affection and fear.
They're more radiant than ever on their third disc, particularly on songs like "Zebra," with background chorales swooping over stately guitar plucking.
Singer Matt Berninger's gorgeous baritone is still the band's main selling point ... Yet the tension comes mainly from composers Aaron and Bryce Dessner: The music is some of their lushest and darkest.
Swift’s third album, Speak Now, is roughly twice as good as 2008’s Fearless, which was roughly twice as good as her 2006 debut.
No Better Than This isn't a perfectly honed set. But Mellencamp has never sounded looser or easier on a record.
On This Is Happening, Murphy, now 40, remains a hipster, often expressing his emotions through quips, asides and allusions ... But Happening also includes Murphy's most earnest, lovelorn songs.
That Lonesome Song, established him as an heir to "outlaws" like Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. The Guitar Song aims even higher, with 25 tracks that take the pulse of a country hitting the skids and a country singer hitting the big time.
On The Union, produced by T Bone Burnett, John and Russell share the resurrection. Each goes back to what he first did best. Then they do it together.
It’s his best album, but it’s more than that — it’s also a rock-star manifesto for a downsizing world.