Up on The Chopping Block is Yungblud and I first heard of him when he performed at the Back To The Beginning show. Since then, he is done a collaboration with The Smashing Pumpkins for his song “Zombie.” Let’s see how the rest of his albums are and with that, let’s take a look……….
21st Century Liability- this was one of those albums that I had to go back and listen to a couple of times in order to truly appreciate it. It’s very much a pop record and unlike most other pop artists you can actually hear his British accent during some of his songs. My first reaction was “ this sounds like top 40 hip-hop” but then once you really listen to it, it doesn’t sound like that at all. Definitely a very interesting record and one that made me go out of my comfort zone a little bit. I’ll give it 8/10.
Standouts: Psychotic Kids, Polygraph Eyes, California
YUNGBLUD (Live In Atlanta)- it’s always interesting when an artist puts out a live album so early on in their career. This is one of those live albums that definitely captures the energy that he brings and it just sounds like the crowd is having a great time. For a live album from an artist that is so young in their career it’s actually a pretty good length and I would recommend it if you’re just curious to see how he sounds live and have yet to see him. I’ll give it 8/10.
Standouts: I Love You Will You Marry Me, Polygraph Eyes, Die For The Hype
Weird!- this one sort of seems to drop the hip-hop aspect and just definitely goes for more of a pop sound however, there’s also some Indie rock in there too. The songs are a bit catchier and at the end of the day this is just a really fun record. This album would also see collaborations with MGK and Travis Barker. Fun fact, the album cover imitates the poster for the British film This Is England. Again a little out of my comfort zone but I actually really enjoyed this record so I’m gonna go ahead and give it 8.5/10.
Standouts: acting like that, strawberry lipstick, superdeadfriends
YUNGBLUD- this record seems like it would be the one that would keep putting him over that edge. This one again has more pop, but it also has a slight punk edge to it and you can clearly tell that he’s just sort of building more and more towards that hard rock sound. Again much like the last record, this record is just a lot of fun with catchy songs. I’ll give this album 9/10 again a little out of my comfort zone.
Standouts: Memories (with WILLOW), Don’t Go, Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today
Idols (Complete)- as I said in my review for the last album he’s building up to that hard rock sound. There are two versions of this album, but really the best one is the complete version. Now this album is not a straight up hard rock record, and there are just so many influences that you hear on this one. I mean you have influences from bands/artists like Oasis and David Bowie to pop bands like My Chemical Romance and Madonna. This is the record that also has his solo version of “Zombie” and the re-recording with The Smashing Pumpkins and it is such a good song that it’s almost addicting to listen to. This record proves that an artist like this can in fact have crossover appeal. I really just can’t say enough great things about this album. It’s a really good solid record. I’m giving this album 10/10.
Standouts: Zombie, Ghosts, Lovesick Lullaby
When I first heard of Yungblud, I thought he did a great job at the Black Sabbath final concert and I really wasn’t expecting to like his albums as much as I did. In fact, I really didn’t know what to expect with any of his albums, but they’re all such good and unique albums that I would definitely recommend them especially if you want to step out of your comfort zone a little bit. I can see why some of the biggest names in rock and metal want to work with him I can see him.
Final Grade: A
Album Rankings:
- Idols
- YUNGBLUD
- Weird!
- 21st Century Lullaby
- YUNGBLUD (Live In Atlanta)
Sinister Reviews 