They are saying they’re recording, who knows when it will be out though. I hope in 2013.

I agree to some extent, but I think most people are just having a “OMG I never saw it coming” moment. It has nothing to do with judgment, it’s just that it came as a total surprise to everyone. Although I agree that journalists need to keep their emotions to themselves and provide unbiased reporting, but this is a blog, and blogs are not exactly known for being staffed by trained journalists.

Not everyone is going to like every single album, so of course we will always disagree about pretty much everything. I think of Metals as Feist’s best effort to date, but I’m not going to get upset if someone is being condescending towards it. If you think about all the factors that go into shaping your music taste, such as your upbringing, environment, whether or not you have any classical music training, whether you tend to respond more to the lyrics or the instrumental arrangements, then it’s clear that no two people on this planet could possible have identical combinations of these factors, and therefore, no identical tastes.

That being said, if you call yourself a music critic, then you need to aim at objectivity, and evaluate a music album based on its musical merits, not your own subjective impressions. Tell us if the chord progressions are complex and interesting, or if it is same C-D-E-C stuff over and over again. Or if there is there any diversity in the rhythm structures, etc. It shouldn’t be “it’ll work just as well when I’m washing dishes at night or putting my toddler to bed”. That’s something I would write on my blog for my own entertainment, but I expect more from a professional.

I don’t even know most of these songs. I shelter myself from mainstream culture as best as I can.