Jelly Roll Beautifully Broken
Jelly Roll's Beautifully Broken lands as a bracing, confessional set that channels recovery, shame and redemption into arena-minded country-pop. Across five professional reviews the record earned a 71.8/100 consensus score, with critics noting its emotional honesty even when the songwriting sometimes trades subtlety for stadium sweep. The quick verdict from critics: the album's strengths lie in lived-in performances and moments of genuine catharsis more than consistent melodic invention.
Reviewers consistently point to a handful of standout tracks where confession and craft align. Critics praised “Unpretty” and “I Am Not Okay” for turning personal wreckage into communal uplift, while “Liar” and “When The Drugs Don't Work (with Ilsey)” serve as whiskey-soaked emotional fulcrums that splice country, rock and hip-hop influences. Pitchfork and The Guardian flag songs like “Hear Me Out” and “Get By” for their gospel-soaked choruses and plainspoken narratives, and Rolling Stone and Variety emphasize the album's church-basement intimacy that translates into arena-sized moments.
At the same time some critics point out recurring clichés and moments where production flattens nuance, making parts of the record feel branded rather than vulnerably lived-in. Still, the consensus among professional reviews is that Beautifully Broken is worth hearing for its powerful vocal delivery and the standout songs that crystallize Jelly Roll's themes of addiction and recovery. For readers wondering whether Beautifully Broken is good or which are the best songs on the album, the critics agree that those highlighted tracks represent the record's most convincing work and its clearest emotional payoffs.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Unpretty
2 mentions
"“Unpretty,” which has the sweetest, most irresistible melody on the album"— Variety
Liar
1 mention
"The whiskey-soaked "Liar" sees him walk away from a toxic friendship."— The Independent (UK)
When The Drugs Don't Work (with Ilsey)
1 mention
"British-American singer-songwriter Ilsey ... joins him for "When The Drugs Don’t Work"."— The Independent (UK)
“Unpretty,” which has the sweetest, most irresistible melody on the album
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Winning Streak
Burning
Heart of Stone
I Am Not Okay
When The Drugs Don't Work (with Ilsey)
Higher Than Heaven (with Wiz Khalifa)
Liar
Everyone Bleeds
Get By
Unpretty
Grace
What It Takes
Hey Mama
Time of Day (with mgk)
Born Again
Guilty
Little Light
Hear Me Out
Woman
Smile So Much
My Cross
What’s Wrong With Me
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 6 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Meaghan Garvey writes that on Beautifully Broken Jelly Roll brings the voice and pathos of an American folk hero but still needs the songs to match that charisma. She praises big moments like “Winning Streak” and “Hear Me Out” for their poignant storytelling and gospel-soaked choruses, while noting many tracks lean on familiar clichés. The review consistently returns to themes of addiction, salvation, and working-class reckoning, positioning songs such as “I Am Not Okay” as emotionally resonant if not always musically inventive. This is a record with big intentions and some genuine highs, even as Garvey asks for sharper songwriting to turn those highs into classics.
Key Points
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“Hear Me Out” is best because it crystallizes Jelly Roll’s mission with intimate storytelling and emotional urgency.
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The album’s core strengths are powerful vocal delivery, earnest themes of addiction and redemption, and big, stadium-ready choruses.
Critic's Take
Jelly Roll pares back bravado on Beautifully Broken, and the best songs - like “Winning Streak”, “Unpretty” and “Hey Mama” - land because they feel lived-in and confessional. Hudak writes with the plainspoken, church-basement intimacy that suits Jelly: portraits of a flawed man admitting his faults, not excusing them. Those tracks best crystallize the album's project of confronting addiction and love, and they work because the writing and vocal delivery make you believe him. The result is an album that is, in the critic's phrasing, "quite alright" precisely because its truths are unvarnished.
Key Points
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The best song is "Winning Streak" because it sets the album's confessional tone with vivid AA-meeting imagery.
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The album's core strength is candid, lived-in honesty about addiction, mental health, and personal redemption.
Themes
Critic's Take
By now almost everybody has an inkling that Jelly Roll is staking out a rare niche on Beautifully Broken, mining shame and recovery for arena-sized catharsis. The reviewer hears the best songs as those that balance confession with irresistible melody - notably “I Am Not Okay” and the sweet, melodic “Unpretty” - which make the album’s themes sing rather than sermonize. From the AA-meeting opener “Winning Streak” to the peppy college-football anthem “Get By”, the record keeps a taut emotional throughline while varying its production to avoid monotony. In short, the best tracks on Beautifully Broken are the ones that turn personal wreckage into communal uplift.
Key Points
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The best song is the emotionally central “I Am Not Okay” because it crystallizes Jelly Roll’s counselor-like persona and connects confession to catharsis.
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The album’s core strengths are its candid treatment of shame and recovery, and production variety that keeps heavy themes from becoming monotonous.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a voice that wears its scars proudly, Jelly Roll makes Beautifully Broken feel like a lived confessional, where best songs such as “When The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Liar” double as emotional fulcrums. Roisin O'Connor hears him at his most authentic when country tropes are braided with rock and hip-hop, and she singles out the whiskey-soaked “Liar” and the duet “When The Drugs Don’t Work” as standout moments. The reviewist praises the album's polish and potency while noting that bonus tracks like “Woman” and “Born Again” can rival the main sequence, making clear the best tracks on Beautifully Broken feel both vulnerable and muscular.
Key Points
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The best song is strong because it pairs raw confession with convincing vocal delivery and genre-blending arrangements.
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The album’s core strengths are authentic songwriting, polished production, and successful fusion of country with rock and hip-hop.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a typically plainspoken register Alexis notices that on Beautifully Broken Jelly Roll still leans on the songs about his past, and the best tracks - notably “Get By” and “Hey Mama” - are the ones where that grit lifts otherwise glossy stadium-pop into something vital. Petridis writes with a cautious admiration: he praises the honesty of “Get By” and the narrative clarity of “Hey Mama”, while noting the album risks becoming a branded version of suffering. The result is an album whose best songs reward you because the personal stakes cut through the production rather than being swamped by it.
Key Points
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“Get By” stands out because it pairs candid lyricism with mainstream exposure, making the personal feel anthemic.
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The album's core strength is its gritty, confessional voice that lifts otherwise polished country-pop into urgency.