Like the colourless photo of a near-anonymous Swift that adorns the album cover, it casts an artful pose but doesn't have the guts to look the listener in the eye.

The diversity he curates quickly turns messy, though, as a surplus of talent doesn't guarantee musical versatility.

Ultimately, there isn't much to recommend with Black Panties.

It's clear Atreyu crave rebirth in the crucible of lifeless arena rock, but with a selection of tracks this dull and inoffensive, they'll probably get their wish.

Sadly, Relapse sounds like an uninspired band ripping off, and attempting to sound like, classic Ministry.

There are plenty of moments worthy of headbanging throughout Hammer of the Witches, especially on "Blackest Magick in Practice." Unfortunately, they're too often interrupted by the album's half-baked sonic experiments.

Leery fans will find the uninspired drumming to be the least of their problems, as it fits perfectly with a far more glaring issue: uninspired songwriting.

Granted, many of these songs were written while members of the band were between the ages of 16 and 18, but it might have been a better idea to hold off on the release of Be Slowly to hone their songwriting skills and define their sound a little more.

When a guy comes all the way from Jakarta, that's unique, and you want something unique from him. Amen falls way short of that.

While there's nothing abhorrent about this album, it's so unobtrusive that it's practically not there, just one more forgettable release from a guy we're all secretly rooting for.

Chesney's folk-pop Songs for the Saints is a charity album that although compassionate and kind, carries few memorable and catchy country tunes.

Anxiety, anguish and unrest can often produce great art, but so can spiritual harmony. It's just a shame that in the case of Turnover, contentment sounds so bland.

No Pier Pressure throws out that decade and a half worth of good will by doing the exact opposite, stacking the record with guest stars like Nate Ruess and Kacey Musgraves and "updating" Wilson's compositions with heaps of undercooked stylistic diversions.

It's a puny representation of a big sound made all the more unlistenable by the nuisance of the vocal lines.

At its best, Mechanical Bull is standard, paint-by-numbers fare that attempts to sprint to the finish line. However, it runs out of gas and you have to wonder if Kings of Leon have as well.

Cruel Summer has too few of these transcendent moments and is decidedly less than the sum of its parts.

There's nothing here we haven't heard done better somewhere else. Sum 41 can and have done better.

There's undeniably something missing here.

Ceremony is one of Phantogram's weakest records, one that struggles to set itself apart in the sea of electro-pop still stuck in the aesthetics of the late 2010s.

Much of it is too unremarkable for it to be anything but a decent starting point for Quarrell to build upon.

Full Circle as a whole feels anti-climactic. It's a rough start for Haelos, aren't exactly short on potential--here's hoping they branch out and find themselves on future releases.

Unfortunately, a lack of cohesion drains this album's momentum entirely.

The album is so riven by corporate overtures that it bears no resemblance to its prequel.

Sadly, today there's nothing to distinguish Lowery and co. from scores of other unfocused bands trying to combine too many disparate elements.

The problem is that Earle's melancholy has taken primacy over his songwriting, which is uncharacteristically generic here, making this subdued and plodding release a career low.