The idea for Synthesis is understandable. An electro-symphonic remixing of greatest hits? On paper, the potential sounds undeniable. I’m sure Amy Lee in particular was thrilled at the concept, having been pushing against the Evanescence formula since the band’s creation.

A collection of singles peppered with a few deep cuts and instrumental interludes, Synthesis is in the end entirely lackluster. The two new tracks are forgettable, and nearly every restructured rendition pales in ... read more

Ahhh...I remember the first time I listened to Ultraviolence upon release back in 2014. That murky tone, led by guitar rather than Born to Die's grandiose strings, put me on high alert instantly. Things felt very, very different, and by the time Lana slinks across the words "got your Bible, got your gun" on opener "Cruel World," I thought the foreshadowing was obvious. "Omfg, she's gonna take that loser she was drooling over a few years ago and kill him!" ... read more

Arriving mere months after Born to Die's release, Lana Del Rey hints at her prolificacy and delivers the Paradise EP. Whereas Born to Die flirted with the retro vibes she is so clearly influenced by, Paradise fully embodies it, fine-tuning its vintage-tinged promise with a set of eight Americana-drenched tracks. "Elvis is my daddy, Marilyn's my mother, Jesus is my bestest friend" she name drops, moments after making perhaps the most unexpected Pepsi reference recorded in ... read more

Splicing strings with hip hop beats, Lana Del Rey weaves an affinity for mid-20th century American pop culture with a modern taste for cinematic pop song execution. There are a lot of ideas stuffed into Born to Die: shouted samples, trip hop-inflected accents, Ennio Morricone-inspired flourishes ... all culminating in endless baroque pop extravagance. She slips in and out of accents as often as she does red dresses, hiccupping with a baby voice one minute, crooning like a smoke-enveloped ... read more

Aided by nothing more than guitar and piano, Joni Mitchell makes the crossover from songwriter to recording artist with Song to a Seagull, her elegant entry into the folk music family. Held together by a loose concept, the first half of Seagull is titled I Came to the City, while the second takes us Out of the City and Down to the Seaside. A self-described "frustrated filmmaker," there's a reason Mitchell's lyricism is revered for its ability to paint pictures with words. ... read more

Billie Eilish is back, and I can't say I saw this version of her coming. Where her debut used a bevy of special effects for emphasis, a different approach is taken the second time around. From understated vocals to acoustic instrumentation, subtlety is the key here. There's no mistaking this chosen change of pace either, as the album consciously kicks off quietly, many of the more aggressive numbers saved for late in the tracklisting. In an age where short attention spans demand ... read more

In a sea of ever revolving pop stars, there's no denying Billie Eilish stands out. She's the one with the pupil-less album cover, smirking all over radio about being the bad guy. A cynic might be tempted to roll their eyes, accusations at the ready of attempted tryhard edginess. But instant dismissiveness would be foolish. Even if all this screeching metal and sharpening of knives was played purely for shock value, it's in the quieter moments that she truly delivers the ... read more

Oh, the calamity of a big reputation for humorless professional victimhood. You can spend an hour trolling everybody and they just assume you're serious. This is the conundrum Taylor Swift finds herself in with The Tortured Poets Department. Make no mistake, that overwrought album title is used with tongue planted firmly in cheek. "You're not Dylan Thomas. I'm not Patti Smith. This ain't the Chelsea Hotel. We'rе modern idiots," she spells out on the title track. Not much of TTPD is ... read more

With the fantastic lockdown folk era behind her, Taylor Swift retreads to familiar pop territory ... sorta. Midnights is not pop in the style of 1989's towering choruses and irresistible earworms, but pop with a more understated delivery. From sparse synths to pitched down vocals, it's messy minimalism. Unfortunately, these lyrics aren't strong enough to elevate all this empty space, and Midnights is in dire need of something to distract from that. In fact, I find a lot of these tracks ... read more

Only five months after the release of Folklore, Taylor Swift's artistic pinnacle, she takes a cottagecore victory lap with Evermore. I can't say this sounds like a Folklore b-sides collection, though it might be tempting to assume it is. For the most part, Evermore definitely has its own identity. There's a buoyancy here that doesn't exist on Folklore; a lightness that lifts lyrics that would be heartbreaking if delivered with Folklore's method of melodic tears-inducing nostalgia. With ... read more

Some of us spent our pandemic hoarding toilet paper. Taylor Swift spent it writing her masterpiece. Several albums deep into an increasingly unimpressive pop output, she ditches the dance tracks for songwriting-driven folk. Paired for the first time with producer Aaron Dessner of The National, Taylor's performing here on a level she hasn't before. Her songwriting has never been more evocative, her delivery never more natural. Folklore opens with "The 1," and its piano-backed ... read more

I did it. I listened to Lover and lived to tell the tale. My least favorite of all of Taylor Swift's albums, this is her one record that repeatedly leaves me in a jaw-dropped stupor. No, not everything here is awful, but Lover is home to many of the worst songs in her catalog. In fact, I dislike so much of this that it almost acts like an eclipse, blocking out any memory of good Taylor Swift songs, leaving me questioning everything. "This is our biggest modern day pop star," I lament. ... read more

Oof. Well, coming on the heels of the near pop perfection of 1989, this certainly is ... something. Reputation, Taylor's aggressively average 6th full length release, finds her playing dress up. Just look at these song titles. "Look What You Made Me Do." "I Did Something Bad." "Don't Blame Me." "Getaway Car." This is Taylor's villain era. She's switching out her classic red lipstick for a shade ever so slightly darker, though you'd be hard-pressed to tell ... read more

Taylor Swift's transformation to pop star is officially complete. Stuffed with massive hooks and synths that sound as tall as skyscrapers, 1989 is a masterstroke of pop construction. It stumbles out of the gate with "Welcome to New York," a flimsy, hand clap-accompanied jingle that would be a better fit in a tourism commercial than a pop record. But let's forget about that. There's too much good going on here to focus on the few misfires. "Blank Space," an endlessly quotable ... read more

How do you solve a problem like Red? Coming 2 years after the release of Speak Now, Taylor Swift's strongest work up to that point, the anticipation is high. Will Red expand upon Taylor's dramatically improved output, or will Speak Now prove to be a one-off? Unfortunately, this time the end result is more of a mixed bag. For a while, it works. Spectacularly. In fact, the first 5 tracks are damn near flawless. There's the drums-driven "State of Grace," a U2-esque rocker made for a ... read more

Two years after the release of her sophomore album, Taylor Swift returns with Speak Now. Whereas that aforementioned effort timidly tread familiar territory, Speak Now explodes right out of the gate. "Mine" and "Sparks Fly," two absolute bangers of the country pop variety, immediately display improved vocals, fuller production, and more interesting wordplay. We're also witnessing some experimentation here, with Taylor trying on different styles to varying degrees of ... read more

Two years after her debut, Taylor Swift returns with Fearless. The album peaks early with the effervescent "Love Story," a solid country pop sing-along. Unfortunately, it's surrounded by 12 middling efforts that do little to add anything of substance to her young oeuvre. The music here is a touch blander, while the lyrics lean heavily into the most youthful aspects of her debut. Romeo and Juliet, princesses and fairytales, cheer captains and school bleachers are all present. ... read more

The Taylor Swift juggernaut launches with an unremarkable, awkwardly youthful debut, an unsurprising result considering these songs were basically written fresh out the womb. This is textbook country pop littered with common country motifs. We're taking pickup trucks, faded blue jeans, and southern summers. The vocals are rough, the forced twang is strong, and the lyrics are juvenile. There are a couple moments that stand above the rest, though: the yearning ballad "Teardrops on My ... read more