Machine Gun Kelly - mainstream sellout - Album Review 

Very fair review. I do worry about waking up one day and seeing MGK passed away from an OD or something. I’m sick of artists losing their lives. This album only reinforces that feeling for me. I hope he gets the help he needs.

13:45 The "see Mike Posner" bit is absolutely accurate. Interestingly, Posner and MGK did a song together years ago with a very similar idea to "Drug Dealer," which that in of itself was labeled as a part 2 to Posner's own song "Drug Dealer Girl."

I'm right there with Mark in terms of saying that Tickets To My Downfall is a great album for being dumb, fun and highly energetic pop punk. I honestly wasn't expecting this new one to be anywhere near as consistent ever since I heard the backlash to 'papercuts' and I was definitely proven correct even if I realise the darker themes of the album overall are intentional

Incredible review

This is one of the best written reviews that I have ever seen and was able to put into words everything I felt about this album that I couldn't figure out how to say. Great job. Also someone should check on MGK and make sure he's fine.

Mark your comments about vulnerability really hit home here. I try to give each artist the benefit of the doubt and it's really impossible. It depends on my relationship with the artist on what level of vulnerability I will allow. It's hard to keep yourself in check with that and I commend you for giving this the time of day rather than scoff at it.

Yeah this album is just like quite an amazingly taken picture of a rotting corpse. The fact that it was captured so well, being so telling in its framing impresses me but the picture it paints is horrifying.

The fact that he left Love Race off the album should be enough to turn sane ppl away

i love how after watching the full thing, i'm still not sure if you like it or not LOL

Incredible review! I also had a similar trajectory to you. I adore Tickets to my downfall, and this one feels like he is trying so hard to deflect the "haters", he missed that he really has created an movement with tons of new fans who love him. All of my pop-punk friends were reluctant at first but really embraced him - and listening to this album that is so defensive just doesn't match the situation at all. He listened too much to critics, I think.

7:50 "A series of half-measures and poorly constructed experiments," sounds like a great Punk album title.

This review was much more nuanced than I expected and I love it for that

Your content is always so thoughtful and nuanced. Stellar job

I just realized something: Lyrically, 'Emo Girl' is what would happen if failed X-Factor contestant Shawn Armenta (best known for his song 'Candy Girl') tried to start a pop punk band.

Dude, I fucking love your videos. The amount of thought you put into dissecting this stuff is amazing. This is so accurate in every way. Always appreciate how well researched and thorough you are. Keep it up 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for taking a serious look at this album. So many other reviews treated it like the east target it was, and I really appreciate the time and thought put into this

23:29 I actually remember in your MMLP2 review that you also thought Encore did "exactly what it was designed to do" and I can't tell if that statement was an intentional callback or not.

That was a head trip. I haven't really had much sympathy for the guy before, but your arguments and framing here really opened my eyes to what an unsustainable and scary place he's probably in right now. It's too bad he's feuding with Slipknot, because I feel like they have some perspective on success and mental health and criticism that he could really use.

Seeing people react to this album has been really strange to me, because I liked it WAY more than Tickets To My Downfall on first listen, and that hasn't changed yet. Disagree with the review but I appreciate you gave it more consideration than "it sucks"

i have to say that this is the best and most engaging review I have listened to in a long time. i can tell how much thought you put into it and i'm relieved to see someone who knows their shit taking the time to look past the surface of one of the most passionately disliked artists of the past 3 years. i appreciate your nuanced perspective more than i can put into words!

This seems to be the perfect album where a score does not work.

First video I’ve ever watched by you, I am impressed. You mentioned so much information and detail that I had no knowledge of before.

I'm still thinking about this review a day after watching it. Really appreciate the in-depth review, this is what you are great at, Mark! Interesting to see the amount of quality comments that it has produced, some good discussions to be had for sure. I still don't know what I think about the album, I've only heard it once from front to back, plus a few songs. It's not trying to capture the energy of TTMD, so I'm having a hard time not comparing it to that album and trying to evaluate it in its own right.

I appreciate hearing an unbiased, more thought out opinion of MGK for once. People who act like he's never released anything good in his life is predictable & boring AF. I like God Save Me, Born With Horns, Papercuts, & WW4. I CANNOT stand Emo Girl, Drug Dealer, & most of the other songs I just straight up don't like.

I think this is one of your best reviews to date, coming from a fan whose been on board since 2013!

To be honest. This review is probably on of my favorites of yours.

i'm glad there's at least one reviewer willing to take this kind of lengthy stab at what seems like a very disposable album, even if it can be very much seen as "overthinking" by your own admission. i still don't think i wanna give it a listen ("forget me too" was a decent track that confirmed that i would not enjoy listening to a full album of MGK), but i appreciate the perspective, as MGK is such an easy artist to slap a "NOT GOOD" or "shit/10" on and move on with your day.

One of your best reviews in some time, IMO. Thank you for pointing out the harrowing underbelly of this album that so many people are going to overlook because they'll just presume "MGK = bad." You have always been one of my favorite media critics on RU-vid, and although I'm currently taking a break from watching new Billboard BREAKDOWN episodes weekly, I'm glad I can get my fix of your thoughtfulness through reviews like these. As a side note, I hope MGK is OK as of now, or will be on the right track in the near future. I would hate for his mainstream career to have to end on this note, or for the mainstream pop-punk/rap-rock revival scene to take an ugly turn after this album's release.

Mark: "C'mon, if you want to know how many acts on Warp Tour who were enabled to do far worse than what MGK said in the past, it's a substantial list." *Joel Madden has entered the chat*

I loved Tickets To My Downfall, I don't get why there couldn't have been more singles, especially with the success of My Ex's Best Friend and the Pop Punk rivival, Bloody Valentine & Forget Me Too could've been smashes. His label sucks.

I respect this nuance more than the easy dunk snark I've seen from another channel that I won't name. What I like about your channel is you try to understand why things are popular even if you don't care for it. Also you don't make the critique personal like a certain other channel, which again will go unnamed. My thoughts about this is: not good but at the very least not boring. I'm interested to see where if anywhere this goes. I certainly like it more than some other acts who've tried the pop punk in the past year or two

I think this album is really enjoyable and fun.

I loved this album just because it’s fun and catchy. My area doesnt really have the alt and rock station anymore so it’s hard to come by those music. It’s a nostalgic sound to my ears. I liked TTMD as well. I can’t wait for his rap album.

I've long stood by the fact that MGK may not be making my kind of Pop Punk (AKA; No trap elements, actual, interesting basslines, a producer who's name is NOT Travis Barker, yadda yadda yadda), but like I told Luke when he chuckled at Kelly getting a signature Schecter guitar, so long as he's getting people to play guitar, I will tolerate his presence as Pop Punk's torchbearer, even if I don't like his music much... that said, I will be crushed if this downward spiral he seems to be in ends like... a lot of emo rappers.

25 minutes? Damn Mark does have a lot to say.

I really appreciate the perspective you give in this review. All of the other critics just bashed it for the lulz, which is fine I guess, but one of the reasons Mark is my favorite RU-vid music critic is the way he takes projects like this seriously. It’s easy to just look at the way MGK presents himself in interviews and such and think he’s just a self-absorbed douchebag, but what I see in him is a very deeply hurting person that puts up a massive wall of conceited rockstar posturing to try to hide it. I’m genuinely worried about his well-being, because he’s clearly struggling with his mental health, and with the amount of musicians dying way too young in the last few years due to substance abuse, what’s going on with him is super concerning. As for the music itself, I personally think the high points on Tickets were way higher, but this one is a bit more consistent in quality. The quality is lower, for sure, but on repeat listens I skip less songs here than on Tickets. There’s definitely a lot more going on with this album than most people will give it credit for, and that’s fair enough. In terms of lyrical content, it revels in its own ugliness. It’s not a super likable album on the surface. But I think it’s at least an honest one. I’m not trying to say this is secretly a masterpiece that will be looked back on 10 years from now as a misunderstood classic. It’s not, and maybe I’m reading way too much into all of this, but I feel like i just see in this album another person that has a ton of issues, and isn’t getting the help they need to deal with it, and that’s something I really emphasize with. Sorry for the ridiculously long comment, but this album and this review in particular have been surprisingly thought provoking for me.

Never before has someone gotten into, and then out of, my good graces quite as quickly as MGK. At least we'll always have "my ex's best friend".

16:23 you said it all so perfectly.

What I don't understand is how he is famous, if so many people hate him? I just feel all the people that are hating him are literally the people expressing their feeling on social media, the rest love his stuff. MGK 🖤

it's so nice to see a critic actually attempt to give MGK the benefit of the doubt and not act like everything he touches turns to garbage. i loved this album, in fact - i like it MORE than tickets. it's more raw and energetic and relatable (especially to me) and i'm glad you recognized that too, even if you didn't have strong feelings about it. you honestly might be the most REAL critic on RU-vid. good on you, Mark.

Your outfit was so on point in this video Mark

You are a very sharp person glad I checked the video out

I was expecting 90% music 10% commentary. Great review! I'm debating whether to buy tickets for his tour or not. I absolutely loved "Tickets to my Downfall". But I only feel "Maybe" from "Mainstream Sellout"

I LOVES TICKETS TO MY DOWNFALL....but this album I was disappointed 😞 but everybody had their own opinions.

I seriously wonder what MGK is going to do after this. All the backlash "Mainstream Sellout" is getting can't be good for his mental health!

Honestly this album was an 8/10 for me. My quick thoughts is that its exactly what MGK needed todo tickets to my downfall was a solid 10 for me but not for everyone and as you said had no problem going at that album and for some this one. This album is a statement album meant for him to not only address critics but also bring more of himself into it the only thing sloppy i found was the track order tickets had a perfect track order where this one was way less organized dropping it 2 points for me. There are alot of songs on this list that are for pure enjoyment hence why every artist has a perfect fit with mgk you could say alittle bit of everything. There is also songs with different pacing and direct messages aimed at groups of people. My order list is as follows. Born with horns, emo girl, 5150, god save me, maybe, mainstream sellout, papercuts, ay, die in california, drug dealer, fake love dont last, make up sex, sid and nancy, and finally twin flame. Cut WW4. This list definitively creates a perfect flow to the album where the sounds gets a switch up in the middle and a perfect softer paced ending to fully diversify the sound. To then end off on alittle bit of everything as twin flame ticks every box. Thats my thoughts.

Off the singles, I thought it would be worse than it actually ended up being but still it's no TtMD but I think it's more mature than "Love Sux." I think genre/style hopping works when the usage of that genre/style is/was the appropriate vehicle to convoy those emotions, a kind of justification for using that style. "Tickets" worked because early 2000s punk rock was a great lens through which to convey the anxiety, delayed growing up/extended adolescence post-'08 GFC that is one 20s in the late 2010s/early 2020s. He also didn't try to "change" the genre but used it to convoy those feelings. You take an album like Lorde's "Solar Power" on the other hand that tried to revive the indie folk of the early 2000s, and that didn't work as well because stylistically she dropped the hooks and she used the genre to advocate for physical instead of the metaphorical escapism that songs like "Soak Up the Sun," "Unwritten", etc. advocated in their finding beauty in the mundanity of life. I think "Tickets" would've worked as a standalone with MGK pivoting to something else or returning to rap or using pop punk to explore other topics like politics or capitalism. I think returning to the well outside of that one successful project while commercial making sense (pun intended) wasn't a great artistic decision. Still it's not as bad as people are saying it is even if it's not good.

My favorite review of the year!

Is this the longest album review you’ve made yet?

do you charge to review projects if so how much

I was hyped to see the review on this album from you. Personally, I didn't liked it, at all, I like TTMD for what it is, but I found this record to be not good and mostly very boring, but I was hyped to see review on the album from someone who will go in this record with less bias. That said, I was proven right in my "TTMD is a fluke" opinion

That title says it all

Yeah the discourse is interesting and everything but the core problem is that this album just sucks, period, no hooks, no memorable riff, nothing at all

Before this review, I didn't know where exactly I fell with this album. I was somewhere in between "average" and "bad". The hooks weren't as strong as TTMD and it just wasn't as fun. After watching the review, I realise why it wasn't as fun. It wasn't intended as such. But that just makes me feel all the more unsettled. Like, this album's saying a LOT... and it's not pretty in the slightest. This thing is GRIM. I think I'm gonna say it's a pretty bad album overall but... man...

Will there be another Denzel Curry solo review Mark?

So did Papercuts grow on Mark as it isn't listen as a Worst track.

I was scared at first when I was thinking bout watching this but I think I like this review and at least he's not like Anthony fantano

This album sounds and tastes like the last Pepto Bismol remaining in a drug store cabinet

I liked TTDMF for it being dumb and his best record. This album wasn’t good, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the Binge EP or Bloom. For me, it’s him trying to do features with whomever is popular at the time. (Which was a big problem on Bloom) rather than who would fit his style like on Hotel Diablo, TTDMF, Lace Up and General Admission. The album also feels unfinished for some of it and rushed/not fully thought out ideas on some of the songs off the album. These also feels like cut left on the floor for TTDF and then shoved on the album. He needs to get away from Diddy/Bad Boy/Interscope and Travis Barker (for just an album) and work with someone whom he hasn’t worked with yet (i.e Rob Cavallo or Rick Rubin) to help him get that great album pop punk album he has in him. That and he needs his yes men to get him to rehab and a therapist to talk him through his emotions instead of going on a months long world tour.

I'm not going to lie..this album took me a few listens for it to grow on me but that's the case on a lot of other musicians also. I rate it an 8/10 now. It's a fun listen.

While this album sonically is pretty good, it stays within the cliche traditional style of heavy distortion, gain, and fast drums. Lyrically is where this album falls short due to it being a lot of surface-level explanations for what he is going through, obviously by the title of the album I was thinking he was going to in about the whole rock transition and selling out but unfortunately he doesn't go in that deep into that subject much like the rest of the subject matter of the album whether it was drugs, emotions, and women.

It is as if every single time you forget the four things you "talk about"

Really insightful review, as I have this weird soft spot for both your hot and not-so-hot takes on MGK. In fact, I don't think it's entirely fair to say you're overthinking all the layers in MGK and this album, because you pretty much did all the analyzing that I just don't have the fortitude to do. My point is, this album SUCKS. Grating vocal performances, terrible writing, production that actually made my ears hurt, and just a general lack of cohesion all around. Probably the worst album I've heard this year so far.

I’m the kind of guy that lives more depressing songs and realism so I love it more than tickets

If anyone else had released hotel diablo folks would've goated it. Coming to the album I loved it except for emo gurl. There are couple bangers that'll blow up if his album will do it right but I doubt they'll just like they fkd up forget me too and drunk face

Hotel Diablo was fire. It did like #4.

As someone who has TTMD as a 9, this album was awful. I like the BMTH collab, but outside of that, this album was just unbearable. 3/10 for me and the fact that i saw this coming from a mile away is depressing.

I was generally mixed on Tickets (I think my original review was "not bad for a guy who can't sing"), but while I wanted to look deeper and really connect with the emotional stresses of songs on Mainstream Sellout like "god save me" and "die in california" - but the problem was that a lot of the music was brought down by bad hooks and disasterclass vocal performances, exacerbated by features that sounded a lot better (namely WILLOW on "emo girl" and especially iann dior on "fake love don't last," probably my favorite song here). Light 4/10 imo

I will say one thing, at least he isn't Alexis Marshall.

The fact that before he thinks about posting a bad review, Mark REALLY delves into the psychological and emotional aspects of the record and how it might affect the artist and those listening is why Spectrum Pulse is one of my favorite critics. That and his will to really research the fuck out of the records for context, which might affect his (or our?) listening experience. He did the same while discussing Juice WRLD's Death Race for Love.

I’ve seen so many review channel crap on this album so much and it isn’t fair!! They just do it because MGK isn’t like an old original pop punk act. It seems like hating MGK is a trend!! I like this review and your takes Mark!!

Gang gang

Just like the title of the album says sell out I'll take Dave Grohl's Dream Widow or even Ghost Impera over this punk garbage. this guy deserves a Kevin Owens stunner when he comes to 2K22 very soon my opinion it was one of the worst albums in 2022 just like Skillet or Abbath this one might ends up number 1 s..t he has another album coming this year.

The Rock Album of the Year has already been released a month ago today and that's The Spitfires' Play for Today. This is a punk/mod band whose influences include Small Faces, The Who, and The Jam. And this new record is really awesome! Unfortunately it's their final album and their vocalist Billy Sullivan is going solo, but I wish the best of luck to him and I hope that the others form a new band or have a successful solo career as well. I'll be listening to this album and the rest of their catalogue a lot more than Machine Gun Kelly's pop punk albums!

aesthetically the album art is very cool. The music tho...

Drug Dealer is pretty much the only song I got out of this album. Make Up Sex is decent if not extremely derivative, maybe isn't bad, everything else is mediocre or worse.

MGK's vocals on this album might be one of the worst vocal performances on an album I have ever heard.

1. *oh boy* 2. (1:12-1:17) Okay then, "Voltorb" (or should I say Mark), then please explain to me why Eminem is still doing better than MGK is? I don't give a shit that MGK is wifing up Megan Fox, and I don't give a shit that his pop-punk ventures have kept his career afloat. No matter how much "better" MGK's comments have "aged well" in regards to Eminem, it's pretty clear that Em has occupied space in MGK's head that he could never shake. So, please miss me with that nonsense. 3. Am I surprised at this? No. I'm a fan of MGK, but I think, career-wise, he's long gone.

That cover art is terrible. Dig the wig though.

#1

“Rap Devil” > The entirety of “Tickets To My Downfall” and “Mainstream Sellout”

I've always been more of a fan of The Jam more than the Sex Pistols! The Jam are more sophisticated, and a well dressed band. Songs like Eton Riffles, In the City, and Going Underground are great songs that totally relate to today's society! And they're also the better version of Blink 182. I'm also going to see The Damned with Blondie this summer! Can't wait to see them song.

After Eminem ate him. . . rock said no. . .punk said I guess. . . He sucks.

At worst this album is a 5, youre dragging it too hard

I don't care about this album MGK is the "High Guardian Spice" of Pop Punk and Emo Rap

This album is bad.

Machine Gun Kelly is basically the 2020s equivalent of Kid Rock. Both aren't very intelligent, both aren't very good people, and both are cocky mainstream sellouts, but, they are kind of honest about how douchy they are. They don't claim to be saints, unlike, Scott Stapp for example. I'll give them that.

What points?! mgk had none against em he threw 3 yr old jabs

Album just went #1, just like the last. Stay mad. 🤙🏻 Also. You kinda look like trey Parker. Nit a diss, fan of his.

Mgk is an amazing artist so quit hateing on him dude your just jealous # EST this album going number 1 to so he's going to keep making music and is one of the top artists and will always be

its the album of the year. bad take

If you think tickets was an "album of the year" you have no business reviewing music.