Ordinary Corrupt Human Love has moving, emotional pieces and sharp performances bolstered by a band clearly stretching out of its comfort zone successfully. It's a refreshing new shade of Deafheaven's sound without abandoning any of the band’s core mechanics. An album review by TJ Kliebhan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: h...
Jul 09, 2018•8 min
In late 2016, Nine Inch Nails masterminds Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross staked a sudden pivot to short-form with Not the Actual Events : the unruly, first chapter in a planned EP trilogy -- a saga the band furthered last year with the even-terser Add Violence . The triptych’s final installment, a six-song, 31-minute mini-album titled Bad Witch , proves far more fleshed out than the preceding releases: a refreshingly grounded conclusion to an ephemeral thrill ride. An album review by Zoe Camp, re...
Jul 03, 2018•7 min
Gorillaz seem content to oscillate between extremes, a futuristic pop powerhouse that cannot decide what the future looks like. An album review by Collin Brennan, read by Cap Blackard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
Jul 02, 2018•8 min
In contrast to his previous release, Uniform Distortion isn’t wrapped in a web of psychedelia, but rather in a blanket of solace. With lines like, “I guess I’ll leave it in a song,” this album, at its core, functions as a coping mechanism for James and a delightful extension of his songwriting skills for his fans. Through the strain of incessant information, James cuts through the bullshit to remind us to all take a pause … and that alone these days is remarkable. Learn more about your ad choice...
Jun 27, 2018•8 min
Liberation really is a welcome return to form for one of this era’s greatest vocalists. Christina Aguilera’s voice is arguably at its very apex — stronger, deeper, and fuller than we remember -- and Liberation is a showcase of exactly what she can do with those pipes. All of it makes for her most interesting, diverse, unusual, and conceptually cohesive set since 2006’s Back to Basics or even 2002’s Stripped . She has our attention once again. Now, what will she really do with it? An album review...
Jun 23, 2018•7 min
Listening to Heaven & Earth will give you a better sense of Kamasi Washington, the man and the artist, as well as the moods and textures of the America in which he resides. It'll also give you the chance to say you heard him when he was still, it seems, on the ascent towards the heights of his considerable powers. What a lucky time to own a record player. An album review by Tyler Clark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy...
Jun 21, 2018•8 min
There's no danger of Chromeo remaking their chosen genre in their own funky image, but there's also no danger of them releasing a bad record, either. The most dependable dance band of the 21st century continues its consistency streak on Head Over Heels , which contains enough radio-ready rump-shakers to earn a spot in your warm-weather playlist for this summer and a few more to come. If Chromeo can settle into their new California home and keep flipping through their ever-deepening Rolodex of po...
Jun 18, 2018•8 min
Testing is loud, frenetic, spastic, and about as vibrant as rap can be. The songs are busy, crowded with radiant instrumentation and stacked vocals, and rarely take time to breathe. It’s a welcome addition to a genre that has become so occupied with spacey, bare-bones operations and overly simplistic results. An album review by Banksy Gonzalez, read by Michael Roffman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/priv...
Jun 15, 2018•7 min
Lost & Found finds Jorja Smith making a name for herself with presence and poise. Throughout these 12 songs, she commands a mastery of various styles, with enough experiments to flesh out a varied, captivating album. An album review by David Sackllah, read by Cap Blackard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcirc...
Jun 13, 2018•8 min
Moby is selling his entire record collection in the name of charity. Ahead of the big purge, the legendary producer meditates on his time collecting vinyl and explains why he's relieved to let them all go. He also offers a sneak peek at the rare finds, choice gems, and embarrassing relics everyone will find when the collection goes online at Reverb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inqu...
Jun 12, 2018•28 min
18-year-old Lindsey Jordan has been steadily gaining a growing following over the last few years and with Lush , she finally delivers her debut album, a master class in how to grow out of a DIY scene without losing any of the raw charm that turned heads in the first place. An album review by Steven Edelstone, read by Cap Blackard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redc...
Jun 11, 2018•6 min
With No Shame , Lily Allen has eschewed making an Irish exit from her days as a party girl and instead delivered a eulogy that gracefully buries the past while continuing to seek the sunshine of the future. An album review by Zack Ruskin, read by Eleanor Edwards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
Jun 08, 2018•8 min
so sad so sexy demonstrates Lykke Li’s refined prowess for communicating romantic turmoil, and the synth-heavy instrumentation of the record gives the indie-pop artist a new musical space within which to operate. Li understands how to use this electronic ambiance to her advantage, as the album is full of memorable hooks and sleek production. Although the trap-influenced style wears thin at times, so sad so sexy is a superb reinvention of Lykke Li. An album review by Grant Sharples. Learn more ab...
Jun 05, 2018•8 min
On the latest Track by Track, Virginia singer-songwriter Natalie Prass explains how she rummaged through the thrift shops of music history for her sophomore album, The Future and the Past , dusting off artifacts of funk, soul, Brazilian tropicalia, indie folk, and bedazzled LA rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://r...
Jun 01, 2018•41 min
Age Of is the most collaborative Oneohtrix Point Never album yet, with contributions from James Blake, Prurient, Kelsey Lu, and Anohni building on both the serene beauty and abject horror. An album review by David Sackllah, read by Cap Blackard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
Jun 01, 2018•9 min
Only seven tracks long, coke rap’s poet laureate continues to amaze with age as he pontificates on the hustle and grind. An album review by Gary Suarez, read by Pat Freely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
May 30, 2018•7 min
After America got the Bad Ending on its playthrough of the 2016 presidential election, Richmond singer-songwriter Natalie Prass scrapped the intended follow-up to her stunning 2015 debut in favor of a new collection of songs inspired in equal parts by feminine resilience and a box of Janet Jackson 45s. An album review by Tyler Clark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://r...
May 28, 2018•6 min
Love Is Dead is a collection of songs about grand concepts like openness, heartbreak, disappointment, and generally growing up. But without the benefit of specificity or a sharp perspective, the result is that it may be the most impersonal record that CHVRCHES have ever produced. Pain without specificity sounds a lot like numbness. An album review by Kayleigh Hughes, read by Cap Blackard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, ...
May 24, 2018•9 min
God's Father Customer sees Father John Misty at his most desperate, heartbroken state, making a solid comedown record from I Love You, Honeybear and Pure Comedy that doesn’t quite hit the profound highs of its predecessors, but gets carried quite a long way on the backs of its honest songwriting. An album review by Steven Edelstone, read by Michael Roffman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertis...
May 21, 2018•6 min
As expected, Tell Me How You Really Feel still finds Courtney Barnett writing "Courtney Barnett" songs, but there’s an unmistakable growth in the Aussie’s compositions. Her strongest melodies yet meet an untrained voice that’s gaining confidence and a band (Bones Sloane, Dave Mudie, and Dan Luscombe) that’s learned to trust itself to breathe and show restraint at times rather than instinctively douse a song in more scuzz. An album review by Matt Melis, read by Michael Roffman. Learn more about y...
May 18, 2018•8 min
After 17 years as a solo artist, Stephen Malkmus still has the ability to delight, if perhaps not outright surprise, his audience. Sparkle Hard is at once his most sonically adventurous and structurally tight set of music in over a decade and easily stands among his most rewarding work with the Jicks. Since leaving Pavement, Malkmus has always favored low-key consistency over wild experimentation, but when the results are this good, you can't really blame him. An album review by Tyler Clark. Lea...
May 16, 2018•7 min
Easily the weirdest record in the Arctic Monkeys' catalog, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is a fun, flawed aberration (at least, for now). Even in failure, there's enough to explore within Alex Turner's thicket of lyrics and the haze of this inviting, yet not quite fully realized sonic setting to warrant a few active listens. Getting chemically altered and listening to this in some headphone on a very dark night might be a solid way to pass the time. Just don't expect to be humming anything...
May 14, 2018•7 min
It’s impressive enough for the dream pop duo to keep making some of the best songs of their career seven albums in, when most bands would be well past their peak. By retooling their sound and shaking off any complacency that may have settled in, Beach House make their claim as one of the preeminent indie rock bands of the decade. An album review by David Sackllah, read by Pat Freely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit...
May 10, 2018•9 min
I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer delivers enough new wrinkles in The Body’s sound to make this a compelling release in their catalog. An album review by T.J. Kliebhan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
May 07, 2018•8 min
The Sciences is the first album from Sleep in 15 years - roughly half newly written songs and half material that was written but not recorded prior to their lengthy hiatus. It's the same primordial rock and roll that drove the band almost 30 years ago, this time buffeted by the lessons they learned over the intervening years in their other bands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiri...
May 04, 2018•9 min
Introducing Track by Track - a new podcast feature where we explore an album one song at a time with the artist behind it - discussing the song's origins, tales from the recording studio - every story that brought this music to life. In this episode, former Fiery Furnace, Eleanor Friedberger, finds the depths of mythology, the absurdity of text messages, and the beauty of human complexity in every moment with her new record, Rebound. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/p...
May 03, 2018•50 min
Dirty Computer is a call for all of us to be our true and authentic selves, but especially women, queer people, and people of color. Janelle Monáe doesn't want to eliminate the oppressor, but rather, help them understand why their views are wrong. Are parties more effective than protests in changing public opinion? Dirty Computer thinks they might be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising In...
May 01, 2018•7 min
Essential for fans and sporadically thrilling for newcomers, Eat the Elephant is the kind of reunion record that most bands would kill for. While it doesn't court the same kind of controversy as the band's previous political statements, it rewards multiple listens enough to overcome the vast majority of its shortcomings. If you've ever been angry and tired of being angry at the same time, this one's for you. An album review by Tyler Clark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Apr 16, 2018•5 min
Care for Me is about the woozy mix of city and family and friends and mental health ... and grief. It’s about needing care and needing self-care ... and grief, it’s about all this and more, but that grief is strong. And maybe it’s morbid to be so interested; maybe it’s emotional rubbernecking, gawping at the wreckage of someone else’s life. It’s a grief we hope to avoid and yet a grief we can't help tasting. Saba makes it near impossible to turn away. An album review by Wren Graves. Learn more a...
Apr 06, 2018•11 min
Virtue delivers a bracing set of experiments and amounts to the most interesting record of Julian Casablancas’ career. The band is allowed more room compared to Tyranny and the quality of the material is benefited from this, sprouting into hoary, genre-bending but ultimately tuneful psychedelic pop and rock music. An album review by Langdon Hickman, read by Michael Roffman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com...
Apr 03, 2018•7 min
