Album Reviews6.7/10
Ten Years On, The Weeknd’s Starboy Still Sounds Like a Man Who Has Made Peace With Fame
The Weeknd's Starboy blends old hooks with glossy synth-pop, a deliberate, conservative record about fame and excess.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Album Reviews
Records we have scored.
Album Reviews7.4/10
The Weeknd Refines His Haunted R&B on Beauty Behind the Madness
A dark, polished R&B victory lap from the Weeknd, settling old scores while building a brighter future.
Eighteen Years On, Lady Gaga’s Debut Still Plays Like a Pop Star’s Coronation
A record of fame and confession, wherein a girl becomes a star and sings of a boy she loved and lost.
Album Reviews6.7/10
Ten Years On, Lady Gaga’s ‘Joanne’ Still Rewards Its Rock Bet
A review of Lady Gaga's rock-leaning album Joanne, weighing its hits against its misses amid grief and genre-shifting.
Album Reviews6.1/10
Thirteen Years On, Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP Still Struggles to Fuse Fine Art With Pop Culture
A review of Lady Gaga's ARTPOP, weighing its pop ambition against its artifice, track by track.
Album Reviews6.4/10
Twelve Years On, Cheek to Cheek Still Sways More Than It Soothes
A review of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's Cheek to Cheek, a standards record where the chemistry between the two singers carries the record.
Album Reviews6.3/10
Kiss at 14: Call Me Maybe Still Carries Carly Rae Jepsen’s Pop Record
A review of Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss, a pop record whose hits define it while its lesser tracks merely fill space.
Album Reviews7.9/10
Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘The Loveliest Time’ Balances Ambition and Heart, Mostly Landing on the Highs
A review of Carly Rae Jepsen's The Loveliest Time, weighing its ambitious genre-hopping against its weaker, padded middle stretch.
Album Reviews8/10
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Day and Night Balances Bright Summer Pop With Dark Dance Tracks
A double record of day and night, Carly Rae Jepsen's bold ambition across 24 tracks, reviewed.
Album Reviews8/10
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Double Album Moves From Solitude Toward Joy
A double album of twenty-nine songs, wherein loneliness and love contend within one voice.