Andrew McMahon of Jack's Mannequin

Click here to read my review of Jack’s Mannequin at Sokol Auditorium on June 20. Click here to read my interview with Andrew McMahon.

Kaitlyn Filippini (Photo courtesy of MAW photography)

Click here to read my front page (!!) article about the amazing Kaitlyn Filippini.

'21' is Adele's second full-length release.

Click here to read my review of Adele’s “21.”

Download this: “Set Fire to the Rain”

You might like this artist if you like Jessie J, Duffy or Sara Bareilles.

Track listing:
1. “Rolling in the Deep”
2. “Rumour Has It”
3. “Turning Tables”
4. “Don’t You Remember”
5. “Set Fire to the Rain”
6. “He Won’t Go”
7. “Take It All”
8. “I’ll Be Waiting”
9. “One and Only”
10. “Lovesong”

"Lucky Street" is Go Radio's first LP. (Photo courtesy of wearegoradio.com.)

Well, my review of Adele’s “21″ hasn’t been printed yet so I’ll have to check on that.

But go here to read my review of Go Radio’s “Lucky Street.”

Download this: “Kill The Beast”

You might like this artist if you like Mayday Parade, Artist Vs Poet or We Are The In Crowd.

Track listing:
1. “Lucky Street”
2. “Any Other Heart”
3. “Singing With The King”
4. “Strength To Stay”
5. “Swear It Like You Mean It”
6. “Why I’m Home”
7. “Kill The Beast”
8. “Hold On”
9. “Forever My Father”
10. “Fight, Fight (Reach for the Sky)”
11. “House Of Hallways”
12. “Redemption In The Verse”
13. “The Truth Is”
14. “Forever My Father (Feat. Erin and Daniel Lancaster)”

Katy Perry performing at the ceremony. (Reuters)

Click here to read my review of the 2011 Grammy Awards.

"Light Me Up" is the debut album from The Pretty Reckless.

Click here to read my review of “Light Me Up” by The Pretty Reckless.

Download this: “Since You’re Gone”

You might like this artist if you like Leighton Meester, Avril Lavigne or Katy Perry.

Track listing:
1. “My Medicine”
2. “Since You’re Gone”
3. “Make Me Wanna Die”
4. “Light Me Up”
5. “Zombie”
6. “Just Tonight”
7. “Miss Nothing”
8. “Goin’ Down”
9. “Nothing Left to Lose”
10. “You”
11. “Factory Girl”

In a few days I will post a review of “Light Me Up” by The Pretty Reckless (Taylor Momsen of “Gossip Girl” fame). I need to wait for the story to be officially published on Thursday before I can add it here.

Also, I’m writing a piece about the Grammys for The Gateway, so that will be up by next Tuesday.

Keep an eye out for an Adele review and a Go Radio review within the next few weeks.

I know everything is a little behind but if you live under a rock, you should be totally fine.

"Get Closer" is Urban's eighth studio album.

Keith Urban’s “Get Closer” kicks off with the twang of a cowbell beat, preparing fans for the modern country sound that Urban captures so well. After eight studio albums and twenty years of dominating the Country charts, Urban proves he still has what it takes.

“Get Closer” is perfect for blasting through car speakers with the windows rolled down on a warm summer day. At only eight tracks, the album doesn’t drag. The album’s first single, “Put You in a Song,” plays like the perfect country love song. Urban sounds smitten as he professes his wish to write a song about someone special. The song’s chorus has the same liveliness as Urban’s 2009 hit “Kiss a Girl.” Urban slows things down in the romantic ballad “All For You.”

Urban’s personal life strongly influences his work. “Without You” is about missing family while out on the road. Urban pays tribute to his daughter, Sunday Rose, as he sings, “Along comes a baby girl / and suddenly my little world / just got a whole lot bigger.”

“Georgia Woods” showcases Urban’s talents with sleek guitar solos. “Right On Back to You” experiments with a different sound. The track begins with a thunderstorm sounding in the background, followed by the introduction of drums and a smooth guitar. Urban sounds torn up as he apologetically sings, “I don’t know where I’d be without you now / I guess I get scared and that’s why I act like such a fool / ‘Cause you’re the one thing I can’t lose.”

“Get Closer” is both hit and miss. Urban’s unique style shines throughout the album, but the end falls a little flat. The tracks run out just as the music is getting good. If you want your money’s worth, get the Deluxe Edition from Target, which includes three additional new songs and four live tracks.

Download this: “Put You in a Song”

You might like this artist if you like Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts or Kenny Chesney.

Track listing:

1. “Put You in a Song”
2. “You Gonna Fly”
3. “All for You”
4. “Long Hot Summer”
5. “Without You”
6. “Georgia Woods”
7. “Right on Back to You”
8. “Shut Out the Lights”

"Speak Now" went platinum in its first week of sales.

Country superstar Taylor Swift doesn’t hold back in “Speak Now.” It’s no secret that Swift’s music plays like a diary. The 20-year-old’s third studio album is all about getting the chance to say what she should have said, especially when it comes to relationships.

“Speak Now” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling a whopping 1,047,000 copies in the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s the largest sales week for an album since 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” in March of 2005, which sold 1,141,000 copies. There have only been 16 albums that have sold a million copies in the first week and Swift is one of only four women to achieve the million-plus sales mark in a single week. And if she doesn’t already have enough accomplishments, she penned all 14 tracks entirely on her own—a first for the singer-songwriter.

The album kicks off with the wildly popular single, “Mine.” Swift admits defeat in the apologetic “Back To December.” Lyrically, the subject of the song is blatantly obvious. The album’s title track, “Speak Now,” is more elusive. The upbeat tune illustrates Swift breaking up a wedding, the scene playing out just like a movie.

Vocally, Swift shines on the slower tunes, especially the heart-wrenching “Dear John,” a ballad about ruined love, and “Never Grow Up,” Swift’s musical way of coping with moving out of her parents’ house.

Swift calls people out again and again, especially in the toe-tapping “Mean” and “Better Than Revenge,” a song that can only be described as a country version of Paramore’s “Misery Business.” Complete with heavy guitars and a steady drum, the song is a blend of country and rock. Unfortunately, Swift’s much-anticipated retaliation to Kanye West’s stage-stealing interruption fell flat. “Innocent” isn’t a bad song, but fans expected a little more bite to the track than “It’s okay, life is a tough crowd / 32, and still growing up now / Who you are is not what you did / You’re still an innocent.”

“Enchanted” is classic Swift, sweetly recounting a love-at-first-sight encounter. “Haunted” begins with a lovely, yet predictable, string segment. Closing the album is another ballad, “Last Kiss,” and the spirited “Long Live,” which sounds similar to “Change” from Swift’s “Fearless” album.

Although she repeatedly writes about personal relationships, Swift has clearly found a formula that works and fans aren’t really complaining. As for all those exes she exposed, Swift provides a simple warning in the album’s booklet:

“To all the boys who inspired this album, you should’ve known. : )”

Download this: “Enchanted”

You might like this artist if you like Carrie Underwood, Julianne Hough, Kellie Pickler or Miranda Lambert.

Track listing:

1. “Mine”
2. “Sparks Fly”
3. “Back To December”
4. “Speak Now”
5. “Dear John”
6. “Mean”
7. “The Story of Us”
8. “Never Grow Up”
9. “Enchanted”
10. “Better Than Revenge”
11. “Innocent”
12. “Haunted”
13. “Last Kiss”
14. “Long Live”

Say Anything

Click here to read my review of Motion City Soundtrack and Say Anything at Sokol Auditorium on Oct. 24, 2010.