"Pure pop, informed by rock"

Reviewed Item: Trespassing (Album) by Adam Lambert
Reviewer: Jenn

Trespassing features an innovative infusion of retro styles including club, rock and funk, brought up-to-date with sounds new to any genre. I'm fascinated by the 2-star reviews posted here that express disappointment because Trespassing isn't a rock album. Adam Lambert may well have the vocal ability to become the next Robert Plant or Freddie Mercury, but Trespassing was conceived and promoted as a pop album and should be evaluated on that basis. With this sophomore album Adam had the luxury of time to enforce his artistic vision. While the tracks include some amazing rock wails, this collection is sufficiently cohesive to drive home the fact that at least at this point in his musical evolution, Adam is a pop artist at heart. Don't buy this album if you're not open to music that doesn't neatly fit the rock genre-- even the power ballads on the "dark side" of Trespassing combine Adam's incredible rock vocals with modern electropop and sophisticated, cutting-edge production. That said, he's created a masterful pop album... and unlike most of the hits currently in heavy rotation on CHR, his lyrical messages are consistently both powerful and nuanced. I'm looking forward to hearing Adam's rock side when he fronts Queen this summer, but I predict that Adam's own style in the future is more likely to move into new and groundbreaking territory than back to the sound of Led Zeppelin.