2026: The 2nd Quarter - The Albums
Dermot Kennedy “The Weight Of The Woods” (#1) 6
This was an interesting listen because the mark wasn’t easy. The song-writing is good but not massively inspiring in and of itself. I’m heavily reminded of other current make solo acts – Sam Fender, Alex Warren, Noah Kahan etc., so we’re looking at ‘average’ – a mark of 5. However, it places itself beyond that by the music arrangements and interesting quirks, such as industrial sounding percussion and choral passages. This elevates it to a 6. But, even beyond that there are moments such as the opening track “The Weight Of The Woods (Reprise)” and “The Only Time I Prayed” where I’m so impressed that I’m considering a 7. However, I don’t think these moments occupy an adequate enough percentage of the album to warrant that. So 6.
Arlo Parks “Ambiguous Desire” 6
Holly Humberstone “Cruel World” 7
Skindred “You Got This” 7
They do a good job at making the music accessible even if harder rock genres are not your thing. 7
Jessie Ware “Superbloom” 7
Noel Kahan “The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs” 6 (#1)
Foo Fighters “Your Favourite Toy” 6
KNEECAP “Fenian” 7
Melanie C “Sweat” 6
There are some cracking tracks on this to be fair. “Sweat”. “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
Released close to the 30 year anniversary of The Spice Girls’ Debut “Spice” (1996) – yea, I can’t quite get my head around that cold hard heartless fact. 6
Snail Mail “Ricochet” 6
Drake..........
This was an interesting idea. He released 3 new albums simultaneously. The idea seemed to be each one explored a different aspect of his musical persona. One, “Iceman” focused on hip-hop and rap. Another, “Habibti” explored that more mellow, melodic and R&B side. “Maid Of Honour” feels more like a dance album.
So......
Drake “Iceman” 6 (#1)
I don’t know masses about Drake but this feels fairly standard and familiar. Is good – creative in parts – if a little long. 6
Drake “Habibti” 6
This one starts brilliantly, the first few tracks feel like we are being offered up something very interesting. However, it falls a little flat after that. I’d still say its good, though. I prefer it to “Iceman”. 6
Drake “Maid Of Honour” 7
Really enjoyed this one. Interestingly, I’d say its the most creative of the trio. This gives credence to Charlie XCX’s statement that dance music can be expressive, creative, art..... 7
Paul McCartney “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” 7 (#1)
Less inventive than “McCartney III” (2020) but really good to be fair. Lyrically, its a big memory/nostalgia trip for himself so be prepared! 7.
Maisie Peters “Florescence” 5 (#1)
Boards Of Canada “Inferno” 6
Aja Monet “The Color Of Rain” 7
Very interesting – largely spoken poetry over a jazz backing. An editing job might have made in an 8. 7
Niall Horan “Dinner Party” 5
overpass “Elsewhere, Always” 6
Olivia Rodrigo “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” (#1) 6
This feels like a somewhat more mellow album to the previous two (both of which I also gave 6/10). There are some brilliant tracks on this as always. It has a distinct 80s vibe to it and features a guest appearance from the great Robert Smith. There’s also very interesting vocal work here in the forms of layered harmony and use of counterpoint and polyphonic melodies. Overall, however, although a definite 6, I think its my least favourite of the 3 Rodrigo albums I’ve heard. 6
Myles Smith “My Mess, My Heart, My Life” 6 (or 7)
This one confused me – clocking in at 45 mins but listed as 2 discs. One would assume disc 2 is ‘bonus’ stuff (and I believe this to be the case). However, the tracks of ‘disc 2’ appear to be included in the album track-listing if you look the album up. Without these tracks the album is only about 30 mins long. Short ...... although that concludes nothing as many modern albums are that short. Disc 2 is just 4 tracks and there are singles Smith has released over the past few years. So...... which is it? Or, is the idea that we can chose. I guess my problem is that those 4 tracks are significantly better than all the others. So, without them, its a 6. With them, it would be a 7. 6
Muse “The Wow! Signal” (#1) 7
I’ve been up and down on Muse over the decades. My main gripe with them during their mid-years (the most-successful ones) was that a huge emphasis on production seemed to be covering up quite ‘lazy’ song-writing. However, they’ve got me here. 7
Madonna “Confessions Ii” (#1) 6
Released 20 years after “Confessions On A Dancefloor (2005) (which was released 21 years after her “Like A Virgin” (1984) album).... but I’ve never listened to that album. This album runs without break which I am on board with as a fan of ‘the album’ as an art-form. There are some problems with it however. As a dance album it means that a huge portion of the album is at the same tempo, and the dynamic of the album is quite flat. This is broken somewhat between track 12 (“Fragile”) and 13 (“My Sins Are My Savior (featuring Sabrina Carpenter) where a heartbeat, which acts as a music beat, slows to become the beat of a slower track. Listening to the various ways the transitions between tracks are achieved it quite interesting, and my criticism is not that ‘all the tracks are the same’. There are some fantastic tracks here. “I Feel So Free”, “School” & “L E S. Girl” stand out for me. 6
Sienna Spiro “Visitor” 8
She’s going for a very traditional soul sound. This means there’s nothing particularly original going on here. But, that would be my only minor criticism. Its all done so well done. There are strong melodies backed by simple yet masterful arrangements and a superb but subtle singing voice that is refreshingly ‘held back’ rather than ‘show-off-y”. The lyrics impress me as well – displaying a wisdom beyond her years (at just 20 years old). They display a cynicism about life, love, and relationships. However, the wisdom goes beyond this, because the cynicism isn’t an angry or bitter one. Rather, it is one of acceptance........ this is the reality of life. “This Is My House”, “Great Expectation”, “Die On This Hill”, “The Visitor”, “You Stole The Show” & “Mono No Aware” are all outstanding efforts. Its worth taking in the deluxe version of the album which includes a stripped back vocal/guitar version of the superb “Die On This Hill” and a short but brilliant track called “Autumn Leaves” which I am very surprised didn’t make the cut. 8
Winged Wheel “Desert So Green” 7
April + VISTA “Traditional Noise” 7
Quiet Light “Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2” 7
CONCLUSIONS?
Well I’ve referred to 2026 as a slow year so far. That said, as you can see, the picture is a little more interesting when it comes to albums. That’s not a bad set of marks I’ve given there and it was even stronger in the 1st quarter. So...... it not all bad!
Marking key (in a nutshell)
10 – Perfect (only 3 albums in history)
9 – Basically 10/10 (I just don’t quite view them in the same way as the 3 albums)
8 – Outstanding (possible nit-picking criticisms)
7 – Brilliant
6 – Good
5 – Average
4 – Has potential but below average
3 – Some good points but not very good overall
2 – Poor (possibly a few good points)
1 – Abysmal
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