Rated 6/10
Solid 7/10! Every song had me thinking that they sounded like some other popular rock band, but maybe that's unfair. Really, they sound like Pavement, and they're pretty good!
Standouts: Elevate Me Later • Stop Breathin • Gold Soundz • 5-4=Unity • Range Life • Fillmore Jive
Rated 6/10
Album so long it took me three days to finish!! At least he keeps this fresh throughout the runtime, as he experiments with just about every sort of pop and rock imaginable. Can't hate it!
Standouts: I Saw the Light • Cool Morning Light • Breathless - Instrumental • Dust in the Wind • Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
Rated 4/10
Every Neil Young album has him pouring his whole damn heart and soul out as I inevitably sit there not knowing what to do with it. I dunno. I can't seem to engage with his music in the way I at least can with, for example, Bob Dylan's.
Standout: Heart of Gold
Rated 4/10
Classic post-punk singing with a heavy dose of reverb. It’s pretty bad.
By the generator’s will, I listened to this and Red Hot Chili Peppers back-to-back. And you know what? Hate him all you want, but reverbed Anthony Kiedis singing about California or sacks of beans on this would’ve made for a far more interesting record.
Rated 10/10
I'm an Ajapilled guy; a Countdown To Ecstasyhead; a rare Pretzel Logic respecter. I mention all that because I was excited for our fourth and final Steely Dan project today, and was sadly not as Thrilled with it as I hoped.
I can't even make sense of it to be honest. If I had to guess, the plain classic rock sound probably has a lot to do with it since I do love them most when they're pulling off some crazy genre fusions...... but then Countdown To Ecstasy also quite traditional in that respect, and it still instantly hooked me a lot harder.
Here, I enjoyed most tracks, and that's about it. There's no Bodhisattva earworm. No East St. Louis Toodle-Oo weirdness. No Peg sax.
I'll try revisiting and seeing how much it grows on me, but for now this is just an alright Dan project. :(
Standouts: Dirty Work • Only A Fool Would Say That • Fire In The Hole
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Edit, 2 months later:
They've done it again. Goddamn it. I'm not even kidding when I say that in the two months that followed the review above, this may actually have become my most played album of the year. Never doubt The Dan.
Rated 6/10
I think this is the first Wu-Tang-adjacent project that really gets my head bopping. Love the properly grimy RZA production as always, plus Raekwon and all of his featured MCs are notably on top of their game.
If it doesn't reach the 4-star for me, it's really because of the length. I'm a fan of hip hop, but this is slightly too much grimy mafioso rap for one sitting. Still packs a lot of heat!
Standouts: Knuckleheadz • Knowledge God • Incarcerated Scarfaces • Ice Water • Glaciers of Ice • Wisdom Body • Spot Rusherz • Heaven & Hell
Rated 6/10
Big win for the country genre. For an album that so effectively distances itself from the stereotypical sounds and themes of country, I did find it funny that a Chevy Silverado truck *had* to get a mention nonetheless. Lovely songs all around!
Standouts: Slow Burn • Love Is A Wild Thing
Rated 6/10
Hmmmm.... I like the general sound they have going on, and there are some beautiful moments scattered throughout the album.
There's also a looooooot of fluff.
6/10; I probably wouldn't revisit, but I didn't dislike it.
Standouts: Upon 9th And Fairchild • Wish I Was Skinny • Barney (...and Me) • The White Noise Revisited
Rated 4/10
Not sure what to even say about this... There are moments where he gets personal and even somewhat introspective, but I’m guessing they’d land harder with someone who’s more familiar with Morrissey and his background. He touches on his unashamedly inflated ego on a few songs, and in a way it reminded me of Kanye - a similarly controversial name that I can at least connect to more. Drawing that parallel, and from that perspective, I could see how fans of Morrissey’s music could regard this album highly. Could this perhaps be his own MBDTF?
... Maybe if it was more musically impressive. As genuinely listenable as this is, it isn’t reinventing the wheel, and it certainly isn’t making me crave more Morrissey.
Standouts: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? • I Like You
Rated 6/10
A downtempo bossa nova album with electronic elements had all the makings of an instant classic for me, but frustratingly it only reaches those heights on a handful of tracks. It's a very enjoyable listen regardless, but songs like Alguém and Lonely give a peek into what could've been, had the whole album leaned further into that more adventurous, almost trip-hoppy sound.
Standouts: Samba da Benção • Alguém • Tanto Tempo • Lonely • Bananeira • Close Your Eyes
Rated 6/10
If you told me this was Phil Collins, I'd believe you. Steve has his own funky sauce though! Love the bass and synth tones he uses throughout the album.
Standouts: Arc of a Diver • Second-Hand Woman • Night Train
Rated 4/10
This sounds like the soundtrack for a suburban white teen coming-of-age movie. A bit too cheesy to my ears, though I can definitely see the appeal for those who can buy into it.
Standouts: Black Mirror • Intervention
Rated 8/10
Rahhhh I didn't believe she could do it, but Christina Aguilera managed to make an 80-minute double LP fully worth the length!! Her complete commitment to the Back To Basics concept is the key here, which she accomplishes by splitting the project into two different takes on the same idea.
The first half has her going back to her own basics, singing over some disgustingly smooth RnB beats that complement her style pretty well. Lots of bangers to be found, but my highlight's actually the closer, as it embodies the title theme so perfectly - sampling her debut megahit Genie In A Bottle and working in actual recordings from her fans, it's just a wonderfully fun dedication imo, all while still being a really good song on its own.
The second half focuses more on her voice, and goes even further back to basics by taking inspiration of 20s-50s music?? It gets weird, it gets horny, but Christina sells it all very convincingly and the backing production never stops shining.
I don't know if it's making the rotation, but the more I think about this album, the more I respect it. A solid 4!
Standouts: Intro (Back to Basics) • Ain't No Other Man • Slow Down Baby • F.U.S.S. (Interlude) • Still Dirrty • Thank You (Dedication to Fans...) • Enter the Circus • Welcome
Rated 6/10
This sounds like a 90's revival of 70's rock. Nothing mindblowing, but hey, it rocks harder than expected!
Standouts: Jealous Again • Seeing Things
You get a bit of everything on this album, and I think it greatly showcases the strengths of all its collaborators. The slower, atmospheric/psychedelic feel they're going for is not 100% my cup of tea, but it's never bad and they do keep it interesting with incredible highs here and there.
The climactic title track more than makes up for every underwhelming part of the album.
Standouts: Northern Whale • Herculean • Nature Springs • The Good, The Bad And The Queen
Rated 6/10
Even as an enemy of 60s rock and punk/noise rock, I found this to be a fun album. These guys' schtick is bad equipment and yelling WAOUUUU from time to time. That's it; that's all the special sauce they needed to distinguish themselves from the usual 60s fare, and to influence a generation of musicians down the line.
Standouts: The Witch • Do You Love Me • Good Golly Miss Molly
Rated 6/10
Some fun, carefree late-90s pop. The cover photo is pretty great. To think this guy would go on to become a monkey......
Standouts: Life Thru A Lens • Ego Agogo • Old Before I Die
Robert.... Please, I beg you.... that's enough teenage British punk rock bands......
Rated 4/10
Was this the dawn of chill indie??
The oversaturation of the genre might be to blame, but to my 2026 ears this sounds like a whole buncha nothin'
Standouts: Crystalised • Heart Skipped a Beat • Basic Space
Rated 6/10
Intriguing project! I will say that the album is quite out of my wheelhouse for the most part, but the genre explorations at play consistently kept me interested. I definitely hear a big Cohen influence, which is cool.
While I don't think I'm going to revisit the entire album anytime soon, the standouts did leave a very good impression on me - PARTICULARLY Temptation of Egg, a wonderfully fun song in an otherwise dreamy/melancholic record! The background vocals genuinely add so much to it!
Standouts: Punishing Sun • Temptation of Egg • Satellite
