13

I wanted to like this more than I did. Some good ideas buried under uneven execution.

Strong songwriting throughout. The production choices are bold and mostly pay off.

This album has been in heavy rotation for me since it came out. It's not quite flawless — there's a stretch in the middle that loses momentum, and one track I usually skip — but the highs are so high that the minor dips barely register. The opening three tracks alone would make this worth owning. What I appreciate most is the willingness to take risks. Not every experiment lands perfectly, but the ones that do are genuinely thrilling. You can hear an artist pushing past their comfort zone and finding something new. That kind of creative courage is rare and should be celebrated even when the results are imperfect.

Not terrible but certainly not deserving of the acclaim.

I played this for my partner who doesn't even like this genre and they were blown away. That's the sign of a truly great album — it transcends taste. The hooks are undeniable, the depth is real, and the replay value is infinite.