Machine Gun Kelly - "Tickets To My Downfall" Album Review


In a genre that seems on the tails of a resurgence in mainstream popularity comes well known rapper and singer Machine Gun Kelly who back in 2019 dipped his toes into pop punk and rock on his record "Hotel Diablo" which in tern set the bar for what would come on his first ever pop punk project "Tickets To My Downfall"; but there is a question that lingers, is the record a hit and a future staple of the genre? or is the record a flop and will fall into forgettable territory?.

"Tickets To My Downfall" falls into two different categories with one being a record carried heavily by it's influences and the other being a record that tries to bring in modern touches to the core sound while making the record seem shallow and all over the place; but to the record's credit it does change up things here and there that keeps the record in some sort of focus.

The record's opener and title track (which wittingly titled 'Title Track') is a track that surprisingly catches you off guard with a soft spoken emo ballad before kicking into a fast paced pop punk rager that has enough grit and emotion to it that makes it feel unique when compared to the rest of the record.

'Bloody Valentine' which was the first taste of this project is an alright moment that takes a lot of nods from bands like Blink-182, Green Day, My Chemical Romance and others while also making the track fun and catchy if a little bit clique and by the numbers.

'Concert For Aliens' is a moment that stands out in the track list as a fantastic moment that will make any pop punk fan feel like their back at warped tour in the summertime; it's a track that adds a little bit of punk rock and skate punk to the mix that makes it feel refreshing.

'Play This When I'm Gone' is an alright closer that has a nice enough sentiment and it is cool how MGK ties this track in with his own mental health struggles and the track has a nice emo-rap vibe to it.

As for the rest of the record we sadly get a generic ride through dime a dozen pop punk and emo-rap tracks that otherwise don't fit in well, especially with the odd guest features.

'Kiss Kiss' and 'Drunk Face' are the start of the generic lyrics and the by the numbers feels to the track list, not to mention that 'Drunk Face' straight up copies the closing moment of Blink-182's 'Feeling This'.

'Forget Me Too' which features Halsey could have been something special with it's fast paced pop punk angst but it's Halsey's feature that feels phoned in and out of place on a pop punk track of it's nature.

'My Ex's Best Friend' which features Blackbear is yet another track that feels more like a Blackbear track featuring MGK rather than the opposite; this is a track that is not great and especially when Blackbear did a solid enough feature previously with All Time Low on their album "Wake Up Sunshine".

While the rest of the record falls into a generic rabbit hole of clique after clique it does beg the question whether or not the record is worthy of your time.

"Tickets To My Downfall" is a disappointing record to say the least and while the record does have it's moments the rest of the record just feels so washed out of creativity that it just falls into generic and forgettable territory. - Samuel Cook

Our rating: 2.5/5

Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

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