SOUND JUDGEMENT
THE LATEST ALBUM RELEASES RATED AND REVIEWED
PANIC! AT THE DISCO PRAY FOR THE WICKED ★★★★★ AFTER a short break, Brendon Urie and his ever-changing line-up are back with their sixth studio album.
The rich tones that Urie has been sharing on Broadway, in the musical Kinky Boots, are welcoming from the first bar of the first song.
High Hopes is about aiming to be the best you can be, while Roaring 20s is a satirical look at fame and its fickle nature (with a similar feel to Fall Out Boy’s Arms Race).
On first impressions Panic! At The Disco have a damn good pop record here, but continued listening reveals a deeper look at the swiftly changing world around us.
NINE INCH NAILS BAD WITCH ★★★★★ NINE Inch Nails conclude their experimental trilogy that began with EPs
Not The Actual Events in 2016 and Add Violence in 2017 with what Trent Reznor insists is a full-length album, but at a svelte six tracks and 30 minutes in length is really somewhere in between.
Thankfully, not a second is wasted in this pulsating handful of brooding soundscapes. Even after 30 years in the business, Reznor maintains his place at the cutting edge.
Bad Witch features tracks as weird and atonal as Ahead Of Ourselves, which sounds like dance music as imagined by a Dalek, and Play The Goddamned Part, which combines a nightmarish bass riff with, of all things, jazz saxophone.
BEBE REXHA EXPECTATIONS ★★★★★ IT’S hard to believe that someone as accomplished as
Bebe Rexha is only just releasing her debut album. The US singer-songwriter first found fame back in 2013 when she wrote the Grammy-winning Eminem and Rihanna hit Monster, and since then she has collaborated with Louis Tomlinson, Nicki Minaj, David Guetta and Rita Ora among others.
The 28-year-old has a voice that ventures into Britney Spears-esque territory, and the songwriting skill and musicality of someone with decades in the industry.
From electro/rock ballad Don’t Get Any Closer, to the funky yet melodic Self Control, Rexha offers up an intoxicating combination to keep listeners on their toes.