Album Reviews8/10
The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ Finally Puts His Two Selves on One Record: 8/10
A restless singer's fourth record sets nocturnal confession against gleaming, damning light, never softening his own ruin.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Album Reviews
Records we have scored.
Album Reviews6.9/10
Lorde Trades Urgency for Calm on Solar Power, and Only Sometimes Wins the Bet
A record of stillness: Lorde's third work trades tumult for calm, its finest hours proving her spirit yet, its middle wafting like idle fog.
Album Reviews8.3/10
Harry’s House Review: Comfort as Craft, and Styles at Ease in His Own Fame
A record of comfort, not spectacle: Harry Styles settles into ease across 13 songs, style abounding where substance sometimes fails.
Album Reviews8.4/10
Life’s a Beach: easy life’s Debut Earns Its Warmth by Admitting the Cold Underneath
An album that pairs sunlit melody with private doubt and quiet dread, mostly succeeding at a hard task.
Album Reviews8.2/10
Heavy Light Turns U.S. Girls’ Rage Into Warmth — and It Works
Heavy Light, tenth record from U.S. Girls, turns memory into soul-warmed song, its finest moments carrying a weight the shorter pieces cannot quite match.
Album Reviews7.6/10
Rare Review: Selena Gomez Finally Trusts Her Own Voice
Selena Gomez opens a settled record of self-worth; Rare answers what remains when nobody else tells you who you are.
Album Reviews8/10
Chromatica: Lady Gaga’s Return to the Dance Floor — 8/10
A dance-floor tale of pain turned release, told through a wandering hook, a tearful song for two, and a hopeful close.
Album Reviews8/10
Manic: Halsey’s Unguarded Confession Fights Its Own Polish — 8/10
A pop singer's confession, told across sixteen tracks, some plain and true, some too polished to feel — a review of Manic.
Album Reviews7.9/10
Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’: Open-Hearted, Overlong, Very Good
A record of love, wherein warmth and trouble mingle beautifully, though wanting the hand of an editor.
Album Reviews8.9/10
Kacey Musgraves Stretched Country Into Disco on Golden Hour — and It Holds Up Eight Years Later
A dream of gold and disco: Musgraves opens her voice from Slow Burn to Rainbow, a world seen plain and full of wonder.