Red Pill Blues
by Maroon 5
User Score
4.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 159 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 159
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 159
  3. Negative: 67 out of 159
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  1. LancerReviews
    Nov 17, 2017
    3
    Maroon 5 settles for mediocrity on Red Pill Blues. They say don’t judge the music by its album cover, but looking at the horrible record art of Red Pill Blues (which also is a terrible record title) just can’t help any instinct but be skeptic; give it a listen and reality does hit like a truck: Maroon 5 struggles all over on their sixth record.

    A very unpassionate Levine croons for over    Maroon 5 settles for mediocrity on Red Pill Blues. They say don’t judge the music by its album cover, but looking at the horrible record art of Red Pill Blues (which also is a terrible record title) just can’t help any instinct but be skeptic; give it a listen and reality does hit like a truck: Maroon 5 struggles all over on their sixth record.

    A very unpassionate Levine croons for over 50 minutes of uninteresting ideas and story lines with the band’s new take on production, injecting house, r&b, and funk. The production per track are identical, like listening for ten songs with different love problems but having same instrumentation, flow, and distastefulness.    … Expand
  2. Music_Observer
    Nov 18, 2017
    3
    This atrocious album shows the band’s complete ineptitude to listen to themselves, which is a basic task for a musician, with ungodly melodic repetitions that could be played in torture chambers, insanely tedious and bland harmonic progressions, and a disgusting, systematized weak timbre that couldn’t even be improved in a long apologetic jam at the end, all presented so innocently itThis atrocious album shows the band’s complete ineptitude to listen to themselves, which is a basic task for a musician, with ungodly melodic repetitions that could be played in torture chambers, insanely tedious and bland harmonic progressions, and a disgusting, systematized weak timbre that couldn’t even be improved in a long apologetic jam at the end, all presented so innocently it makes me want to burn all physical copies in existence. My Score: 48/180 (Trash) = 2.7/10… Expand
  3. spongeswift
    Nov 12, 2017
    1
    Red Pill Blues extends on Maroon 5's mediocrity. Instead of going for the usual rock and sometimes pop crossovers this album goes full electropop and Adam Levine is not flattering with that sound. What Lovers Do is a catchy song but it still is just not as good as their old work. This album is for sure a skip.
  4. Dominix99
    Jan 3, 2018
    2
    I really wanted to give this album a chance, but it is just plain bad. Maroon 5 have been on a rapid decline over the past few years, and "Songs About Jane" is still their shining achievement.
  5. Willduffy
    Aug 16, 2020
    3
    Sorry, but this sucks. I've always been a massive Maroon 5 fan, and I love all of their previous albums very much, but this just isn't it. It's generic, boring, too long and just BAD.

    The only thing stopping it from getting a lower score are the singles which were all pretty good and enjoyable, but yeah overall this album is not good at all.
  6. GamePlayer77
    Jun 3, 2021
    2
    Maroon 5 manages to descend from making extremely boring, alright music to making you want to fall asleep.

    FAV TRACK: Girls Like You
    LEAST FAV TRACK: Visions
  7. stanley834
    Nov 3, 2017
    0
    Maroon 5 has now to succumbed to generic mainstream trash. Anyone who is expecting for the old sound will be deeply upset by the direction they have taken.
  8. YT_Guyyy
    Nov 4, 2017
    1
    Incredibly bland and forgettable pop from Maroon 5. I can't remember a single song from the album. It's just there. There was nothing good here. Not that I expected something good.

    I can't write a review for something that did nothing but give me a **** headache. I can't believe how far this band has come from Songs About Jane. That was actually a semi-enjoyable album. Harder To Breathe    Incredibly bland and forgettable pop from Maroon 5. I can't remember a single song from the album. It's just there. There was nothing good here. Not that I expected something good.

    I can't write a review for something that did nothing but give me a **** headache. I can't believe how far this band has come from Songs About Jane. That was actually a semi-enjoyable album. Harder To Breathe is still my jam. All the slight hyperbole and angry rambling aside, here's some kind of a review.

    On the album Maroon 5 descends futher into the chasms of soulless pop and R&B music. The album flows with the lowest amount of steam like a river about to go dry. Adam Levine sings in his usual high-pitched voice, though I guess this time it's not too bad. Actually thinking about it now the fact that his voice is a little subdued kind of makes the album worse. At least usually there's something about Levine's voice that gives Maroon 5 the slightest bite. The best parts on the album come from the various featured artists. No clue how they got Kendrick and SZA on this.

    Really could be the worst album I've heard this year.

    Good songs: I guess Best 4 U and Lips On You were less horrendous than most of the other tracks

    Bad songs: What Lovers Do, Wait, Bet My Heart, Help Me Out, Girls Like You, Closure, most of the bonus tracks    … Expand
  9. MusicalButter
    Nov 4, 2017
    2
    Such experience in the industry - you may think they should know what's original and what is mainstream. Hiring stars such as Kendrick Lamar and Future may be because they're productive, but it is quite clear Maroon 5 are on the dying end of the industry now.

    Favourites: I... umm... Eh: Well... My head hurts now: Don't Wanna Know, Cold, Best 4 U, What Lovers Do, Wait, Lips on You,    Such experience in the industry - you may think they should know what's original and what is mainstream. Hiring stars such as Kendrick Lamar and Future may be because they're productive, but it is quite clear Maroon 5 are on the dying end of the industry now.

    Favourites: I... umm...

    Eh: Well...

    My head hurts now: Don't Wanna Know, Cold, Best 4 U, What Lovers Do, Wait, Lips on You, Bet My Heart, Closure, Plastic Rose, Visions.

    My opinion... alright...    … Expand
  10. robertoiglesias
    Jun 12, 2021
    0
    Literal garbage, Maroon 5 hit the bottom of the barrel. It's even worse than V, which at least had 1 great song, Maps, and a few ok ones, It Was Always You, Unkiss Me, and This Summer.
    But this album has no good songs. The first half is mostly boring filler like Lips On You and Bet My Heart. It does however feature the absolute worst Maroon 5 song ever: What Lovers Do. This song is so    Literal garbage, Maroon 5 hit the bottom of the barrel. It's even worse than V, which at least had 1 great song, Maps, and a few ok ones, It Was Always You, Unkiss Me, and This Summer.
    But this album has no good songs. The first half is mostly boring filler like Lips On You and Bet My Heart. It does however feature the absolute worst Maroon 5 song ever: What Lovers Do. This song is so f*cking atrocious, with horrid production, and an abysmal excuse for lyrics that are repeated a million times.
    The second half of the album has a bunch of crap with featured artists. It starts with Help Me Out, which is so cringeworthy with the terrible vocals and dumb noises. Closure is the least worst on this album, and it kinda works as background music.
    Don't forget Girls Like You, no not the Crappy B, sorry I meant Cardi B version. This version is the boring version because my god, it is so f*cking lame.

    And then there's the deluxe version, which features the godawful Denim Jacket, the pathetic Visions, the dull Plastic Rose, the irritating Don't Wanna Know, and the monotonous Cold.
    It also has the Crappy B version of Girls Like You.

    So overall, worse than V, another disappointment.    … Expand
  11. Anastia
    Dec 24, 2017
    1
    I used to wait for this album and think that it would be so unexpected... However, I overestimated it so much. It's like you're listening to the same song all the time. They're all so similar. Sad.
  12. TheJaggedOnes
    Jan 3, 2018
    1
    This album is totally bland. The lyrics are the embodiment of repetition. for example "Don't wanna Know Know Know" and the melodies are completely uninteresting. This albums melodies doesn't even sound like a band, if there were actual drums and guitars and bass in this album, it would sound like there were more than just Adam Levine working on this stuff. Completely bland and kind ofThis album is totally bland. The lyrics are the embodiment of repetition. for example "Don't wanna Know Know Know" and the melodies are completely uninteresting. This albums melodies doesn't even sound like a band, if there were actual drums and guitars and bass in this album, it would sound like there were more than just Adam Levine working on this stuff. Completely bland and kind of annoying mixed with the music sounds like it had no heart poured into it gives it a 2.3/10.… Expand
  13. MahdiBzs
    May 11, 2018
    3
    The worst album I've ever heard in the pop genre. It was awful.The sound of Adam is good on this album, but the lyrics and performance of other members of the band are catastrophic.
  14. JulietteK
    Dec 25, 2018
    2
    Changes for the worse. Degradation. It seems that this is the beginning of the end of the once beautiful band. Where did the drive, corporate identity? I do not understand why they need 7 people. For such a "music" enough three.
  15. modern_football
    Aug 30, 2021
    2
    As a huge fan of Maroon 5's pre-"Moves Like Jagger" work, this has got to be the worst album I have ever forced myself to sit through in full. Their new album "Jordi" came out this year and I just couldn't even force myself to give it a listen. What a disgraceful fall from a band that once created a 10/10 album in Songs About Jane.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed Album of 2017
88
#88 Most Shared Album of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. Pitchfork
    Nov 8, 2017
    48
    Levine’s voice murmurs and glints in the corners of the arrangement, and the total effect is exactly as pleasingly immaculate and numbing as all soft rock should be.
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  2. Rolling Stone
    Nov 6, 2017
    70
    Whether skating over house beats on "Plastic Rose" or cruising through a ballad like "Denim Jacket," Levine proves himself a pliant star of Jacksonian ease and Stingly self-assurance.
    Read full review
  3. The Skinny
    Nov 6, 2017
    20
    With Red Pill Blues Levine and co have managed to produce an album that is uninteresting and unexciting; at best this is background music, to be listened to on very, very low volume, or even better, not at all.
    Read full review
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