The debut album by Australian-Ghanaian artist Genesis Owusu is so musically restless it’s exhilarating. What’s clear is this guy doesn’t want to be placed in a box, marked hip hop or anything else. Over a wild variety of music, he adopts multiple vocal styles, reminding of beatbox genius Reggie Watts (most especially his recent Wajatta project with John Tejada).

Over the course of seven albums and nearly two decades, Kings of Leon have gone from spiky, short bursts of adrenaline-fuelled garage rock to swollen stadium pomp, full of big builds and grandiose gestures.

A decade ago, Alice Cooper reconnected with his roots. He created a sequel to his 1975 album Welcome to my Nightmare with Bob Ezrin, the producer whose vision crystallized Alice Cooper, the band, and shot them to stardom in the early-Seventies. The survivors of that original outfit also played on the album, their first recordings with the singer in 38 years.

Theartsdesk is a labour of love. Bloody-mindedly run as a co-operative of journalists from the beginning, our obsession with maintaining a daily-updated platform for good culture writing has caused a good few grey and lost hairs over the years. But it has also been rewarding – and looking back over the 10 years of Disc of the Day reviews has been a good chance to remind ourselves of that. 

Continuing our week of pieces celebrating the 10^th birthday of theartsdesk’s album reviews section, today it’s time to ‘fess up! Seven of our regular reviewers reflect on occasions when, in retrospect, their writing did not correctly sum up the music in question. Yes. It happens. Even to us!

The Black Keys - El Camino – by Russ Coffey

It’s odd to hear a band benefit from becoming more conventional. But where Glasgow’s Mogwai used to fiercely stake out a very distinctive musical space of their own, here they’re letting their influences flood into their songs – and note the word “songs” there – yet managing to retain all the sonic power they ever had, and adding extra emotional impact to boot. 

On Valentine’s Day 2011 Disc of the Day album reviews sprang into being, and has been solidly reviewing five albums a week ever since. Out of the many thousands, which ones did we rate the most? To mark 10 years since its inception, 12 of theartsdesk’s music writers mark the occasion by choosing an Album of the Decade. They appear in alphabetical order by writer.

Alt-J – An Awesome Wave – by Russ Coffey

Ten years ago yesterday, on Monday 14^th February 2011, one of theartsdesk’s writers, Joe Muggs, reviewed an album called Paranormale Aktivitat, by an outfit called Zwischenwelt. It was the first ever Disc of the Day, a new slot inserted into theartsdesk’s front page design, where it still resides today.

The top-selling vinyl at independent UK record shops in 2020 was Idles' latest album (closely followed by Yungblud, which is impressive, given his only came out in December!). The Top 10 is dominated by indie, rock and retro but, actually, the bigger picture is that limited runs by music in all styles are selling across the board. Our first theartsdesk on Vinyl of 2021 showcases, as ever, the enormous range of music pouring out on plastic.

Four albums in and The Pretty Reckless singer, Taylor Momsen, still feels the need to explain herself to her doubters. In a recent interview, the former actress reiterated that quitting the TV show Gossip Girl, a decade ago, was her best decision ever; music has always been her real passion, she said, and now it's become her saviour.  

Momsen's recent emotional struggles are laid bare on Death By Rock And Roll. The album's tracks are shot through with tragedy and grief. Two deaths, in particular, underpin the LP: Firstly, the suicide of friend-of-the-band Chris Cornell. More devastating still was the passing of the band's former producer Kato Khandwala, whose motorcycle accident forms the subject of the exhilarating and defiant title track.

In a way, the whole album feels like a tribute to Khandwala. It's not just the lyrics ("Harley Darling" is another eulogy), but also how the band stays true to their old producer's recipe of classic metal mixed with grunge, with a dollop of country-rock on top.

This eclectic mix of styles may not always make for the most coherent listen, but there sure are some rip-roaring tracks: "25" is a soaring power ballad that consciously evokes Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name". "Got So High", another slow number, has a softer, acid-laced, country chill-out feel. At the opposite end of the spectrum, "And So it Went" (feat. Tom Morello), is dark, thick, sludgy, and very loud. 

Even the album's fillers are not entirely devoid of charm. Momsen injects some bad girl charisma into the meat-and-spuds metal of "My Bones". And the nondescript, Southern rock twang of "Turning Gold," is (partially) redeemed by the grit and power of her voice.

Of course, The Pretty Reckless like to say they're a band and not just a vehicle for their singer. Really though it's Momsen's persona that dominates. The other three may be fine instrumentalists, but there's nothing strikingly original about the band's music. It's Momsen's attitude, vocals and image that provide the X factor and on Death By Rock And Roll she's as bewitching as ever. 

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@russcoffey 

Overleaf: The Pretty Reckless's video for "And So it Went"