Indigo – Never Shout Never – Joplin, Mo,bad boy Chris Drew is a Conor badboy showing his range if not his tats, on this mess of an album. It has been three years since "Trouble" and while he has worked hard the drug haze that settles over the band leads to albums like this; where ths songs are heartfelt alt pop songs where he does his best to subvert his talents as they are. Acoustic, whiney, draggy and its hearfelt nature isn't helping him – Grade: C
Standing Ovation:The Greatest Songs From The Stage – Susan Boyle – A live album? Nah, it is a misnomer, this is a songs from musicals sung by the great Mezzo-Soprano, the X Factor winner who went from a 47 year old spinster who had never been kissed to a worldwide star and she deserved it. With guest appearances by Michael Crawford and Donny Osmond, Boyle performs superb versions of "Winner Takes It All" and "Music Of The Night" and though "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is neither a stage song nor very good, everything else makes it because at her heart, Boyle is a deeply eccentric womanand that unusualness comes through time after time – Grade: B
Koi No Yokan – Deftones – By an odd coincidence, these early, early grungers new album coincides with Soundgarden's reunion album and Deftones so a better jon of keeping a dark hued melodic squeeze and then release vive going. And this despite a bassist, Chi Ching, still recovering from a near fat car crash. From first song "Swerve City" opening with a cool riff to the hard drumming "Graphic Nature", this gets the job done – Grade: B+
Trilogy – The Weeknd – 30 tracks from their first three albums compiled on one long slice of r&b as moody broken rhythms – Grade: C+
Paradise – Lana Del Rey – 8 new tracks including a credible version of "Blue Velvet" and enough to make it clear. Lana is a studio creation with enough character to be more than that. Nothing here is as good as the firs three tracks off the album, and they are the definition of running in place, but all of them are worth listening to. Springsteen shout out duly noted. – Grade: B+
Silver And Gold – Sutfan Stevens – Jesus wept, a 5 CD package of Christmas songs, many original, which is also part two of a similar box set from 2006. Grade: C+ (I think, I couldn't finish it.
Dos! – Green Day – I guess it doesn't peak as high as Uno!, though "Amy" comes close, and if there is any real reason for it not be one long album, I can't hear it. But once you've said this
King Animal – Soundgarden – The return of the native but with worse songs and a lead singer who has long outstayed his welcome. I've been listening to this for a week and not one song has kicked in. A dog – Grade:C
Lotus – Christina Aguilera – A pop move that won't, second tier pop producers and two of her The Voice pals add nothing to this dreadful product . "Rise up" this – Grade: D+
Pale Fire – El Perro Del Mar – Nearly ten years in a chick Swedish singer songwriter knows how to write around beats but is so depressive who considerable skills as melody maker fails to thrill – Grade: B-